# Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

The men's 400 metres was an Olympic event for the fourth time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held from 21 July 1908, to 23 July 1908. The rerun of the final was held on 25 July 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres=1⁄3 mile in circumference.
37 runners from 11 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
It was the most controversial event of the London Games: the final resulted in the disqualification of American runner John Carpenter who was accused by the British officials of a manoeuvre that was legal under American rules (under which Carpenter normally competed) but prohibited by the British rules under which the race was run.
As part of the disqualification of Carpenter, a second final race was ordered, with Halswelle to face the other two finalists again. These athletes, William Robbins and John Taylor, were both Americans, and they boycotted the re-run final to protest the judges' decision.
Thus, Halswelle was the only medallist in the 400 metres.

## Background

This was the fourth time the event was held. Only one of the runners from 1904, Paul Pilgrim of the United States, returned. Defending gold medalist Harry Hillman, also American, was in London but competed only in the hurdles. The favorite was British runner Wyndham Halswelle, the 1905, 1906, and 1908 AAA champion.
Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands appeared in the event for the first time. The United States made its fourth appearance in the event, the only nation to compete in it at the first four Olympic Games.

## Competition format

The competition consisted of three rounds. The first round had 16 heats, ranging from 0 to 4 runners (the second heat was cancelled because no athletes started). Only the top runner in each heat advanced to the semifinals. The semifinal was to consist of 4 heats of 4 runners each, but the final heat had only 3 runners due to the cancellation of the second heat in the first round. Again, only the top runner in each semifinal heat advanced, making a four-man final.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Maxie Long (USA) | 47.8(*) | New York, United States | 29 September 1900 |
| Olympic record | Harry Hillman (USA) | 49.2(**) | St. Louis, United States | 29 August 1904 |
(*) 440 yards (= 402.34 m)
(**) This track was 536.45 metres=1⁄3 mile in circumference.
In the semi-finals Wyndham Halswelle set a new Olympic record with 48.4 seconds.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| Tuesday, 21 July 1908 | | Round 1 |
| Wednesday, 22 July 1908 | 17:30 | Semifinals |
| Thursday, 23 July 1908 | 17:30 | Final (original) |
| Saturday, 25 July 1908 | 12:00 | Final (rerun) |

## Results
### Heats

The heats were run on 21 July 1908. The winner of each advanced to the semifinals, with all other runners eliminated.

#### Heat 1

Montague led by twelve yards when he finished.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Edwin Montague | Great Britain | 50.2 | Q |
| 2 | Paul Pilgrim | United States | 51.4 | |

#### Heat 2

The second heat was scratched as there were no starters.

#### Heat 3

Ryle had no competition in the third heat.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Edward Ryle | Great Britain | walkover | Q |

#### Heat 4

Taylor won by twelve yards.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | John Taylor | United States | 50.8 | Q |
| 2 | Roberto Penna | Italy | 52.4 | |
| 3 | Sven Låftman | Sweden | Unknown | |

#### Heat 5

Nicol won easily, holding a twelve-yard lead over Guttormsen as he crossed the finish line.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | George Nicol | Great Britain | 50.8 | Q |
| 2 | Oscar Guttormsen | Norway | 52.4 | |

#### Heat 6

Eight yards separated the two runners when Malfait crossed the line.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Georges Malfait | France | 50.0 | Q |
| 2 | Donald Buddo | Canada | 51.2 | |

#### Heat 7

Robbins had no difficulty in this race, leading from start to finish to win by six yards.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | William Robbins | United States | 50.4 | Q |
| 2 | József Nagy | Hungary | 51.1 | |
| 3 | Noel Godfrey Chavasse | Great Britain | Unknown | |
| 4 | Victor Henny | Netherlands | Unknown | |

#### Heat 8

Prout's lead was only two yards when he finished.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | William C. Prout | United States | 50.4 | Q |
| 2 | Christopher Maude Chavasse | Great Britain | 50.7 | |

#### Heat 9

Ramey's victory was one of the closest of the first round, with only a yard and a half separating him from Astley.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Horace Ramey | United States | 51.0 | Q |
| 2 | Arthur Astley | Great Britain | Unknown | |

#### Heat 10

Jacquemin took an early lead, but pulled up lame, allowing Sebert to win by 20 yards.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Louis Sebert | Canada | 50.2 | Q |
| 2 | Massimo Cartasegna | Italy | 52.7 | |
| — | Victor Jacquemin | Belgium | DNF | |

#### Heat 11

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | John Atlee | United States | 50.4 | Q |
| 2 | Alan Patterson | Great Britain | 50.6 | |
| 3 | Giuseppe Tarella | Italy | Unknown | |

#### Heat 12

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Charles Davies | Great Britain | 50.4 | Q |
| 2 | Cornelis den Held | Netherlands | 51.0 | |

#### Heat 13

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Ned Merriam | United States | 52.2 | Q |
| 2 | Robert Robb | Great Britain | 52.5 | |

#### Heat 14

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | John Carpenter | United States | 49.8 | Q |
| 2 | Otto Trieloff | Germany | 50.9 | |
| 3 | Arvid Ringstrand | Sweden | Unknown | |
| 4 | Henk van der Wal | Netherlands | Unknown | |

#### Heat 15

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Wyndham Halswelle | Great Britain | 49.4 | Q |
| 2 | Frederick de Selding | United States | 50.8 | |
| 3 | Bram Evers | Netherlands | Unknown | |

#### Heat 16

Young won by 30 yards.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | George Young | Great Britain | 52.4 | Q |
| 2 | Jacobus Hoogveld | Netherlands | 54.3 | |

### Semifinals

The semifinals were held on 22 July 1908. Winners advanced, all others were eliminated.

#### Semifinal 1

Carpenter led throughout, with Davies challenging him at the end. Carpenter was "slowing fast in the last thirty yards" but managed to hold off Davies and win "by three yards."
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | John Carpenter | United States | 49.4 | Q |
| 2 | Charles Davies | Great Britain | 49.8 | |
| 3 | Ned Merriam | United States | Unknown | |
| 4 | G. W. Young | Great Britain | Unknown | |

#### Semifinal 2

Halswelle broke the Olympic record in this semifinal. He took the lead early and "was right away at the half distance," ultimately winning "by 12 yards."
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Wyndham Halswelle | Great Britain | 48.4 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Edwin Montague | Great Britain | 49.8 | |
| 3 | George Nicol | Great Britain | Unknown | |
| 4 | William C. Prout | United States | Unknown | |

#### Semifinal 3

Malfait took the lead at the start. Taylor caught him at 300 yards.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | John Taylor | United States | 49.8 | Q |
| 2 | Horace Ramey | United States | 50.5 | |
| 3 | Edward Ryle | Great Britain | Unknown | |
| 4 | Georges Malfait | France | Unknown | |

#### Semifinal 4

Sebert started slow, but then lengthened his stride to pass Atlee and nearly catch Robbins, who held him off to win "by 3 yards."
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | William Robbins | United States | 49.0 | Q |
| 2 | Louis Sebert | Canada | 49.5 | |
| 3 | John Atlee | United States | Unknown | |

### Final

The final was initially held on 23 July 1908. After the disqualification of Carpenter, a re-run of the final was scheduled for 25 July.

#### First running

The first final ended with Carpenter winning ahead of Halswelle with Robbins in third, and Taylor last.
Roscoe Badger, one of the British umpires of the event, noticed Carpenter had maneuvered so as to prevent Halswelle from passing him; this was legal at the time under the American rules under which Carpenter normally competed, but prohibited by the British rules that were in effect for the Olympics.
Badger therefore signalled to the judges to declare the race null and void: his decision led to a thirty-minute argument between British and American team members.
At the official inquiry later that day, the judges upheld Badger's complaint, and Carpenter was disqualified. It was also ordered that the final be re-run with Carpenter excluded.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| 1 | John Carpenter | United States | 47.8 |
| 2 | Wyndham Halswelle | Great Britain | Unknown |
| 3 | William Robbins | United States | Unknown |
| 4 | John Taylor | United States | Unknown |

#### Second running

After the judges ruled that Carpenter was disqualified and barred from starting in the re-run, Robbins and Taylor withdrew in disgust.
Halswelle, now assured of the gold medal, won in the only walkover in Olympic track and field history.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| | Wyndham Halswelle | Great Britain | 50.0 |
| — | William Robbins | United States | DNS |
| — | John Taylor | United States | DNS |
| — | John Carpenter | United States | DSQ |