# Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles

The men's 400 metres hurdles event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Sunday, August 15, 1920, and on Monday, August 16, 1920. 19 runners from 9 nations competed. Nations were limited to 4 hurdlers each. The event was won by Frank Loomis of the United States, the fourth consecutive victory (in four appearances of the event) by an American. The United States secured its second sweep in the event, and first with other nations competing (only Americans had run in 1900), with John Norton taking silver and August Desch bronze.

## Background

This was the fourth time the event was held. It had been introduced along with the men's 200 metres hurdles in 1900, with the 200 being dropped after 1904 and the 400 being held through 1908 before being left off the 1912 programme. However, when the Olympics returned after World War I, the men's 400 metres hurdles was back and would continue to be contested at every Games thereafter.
There was no favorite in the event, which was not a common competition (and had not been held at the previous Games).
Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland, South Africa, and Sweden each made their debut in the event. The United States made its fourth appearance, the only nation to have competed at every edition of the event to that point.

## Competition format

As in 1908, the competition consisted of three rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. Ten sets of hurdles were set on the course. The hurdles were 3 feet (91.5 centimetres) tall and were placed 35 metres apart beginning 45 metres from the starting line, resulting in a 40 metres home stretch after the last hurdle.
There were 5 quarterfinal heats, with between 2 and 5 athletes each. The top 2 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals. The 10 semifinalists were divided into 2 semifinals of 5 athletes each, with the top 3 in each semifinal advancing to the 6-man final.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.
| World record | John Norton (USA) | 54.2 | Pasadena, United States | 26 June 1920 |
| Olympic record | Charles Bacon (USA) | 55.0 | London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 22 July 1908 |
Frank Loomis set a new world record with 54.0 seconds in the final.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| Sunday, 15 August 1920 | 11:30 14:30 | Quarterfinals Semifinals |
| Monday, 16 August 1920 | 14:30 | Final |

## Results
### Quarterfinals
#### Quarterfinal 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | August Desch | United States | 57.6 | Q |
| 2 | Erik Wilén | Finland | 58.4 | Q |
| 3 | George Gray | Great Britain | 58.8 | |
| 4 | František Marek | Czechoslovakia | Unknown | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Wilfrid Kent-Hughes | Australia | 57.2 | Q |
| 2 | Gösta Bladin | Sweden | 57.7 | Q |
| 3 | František Kiehlmann | Czechoslovakia | 59.9 | |
| — | Antoine Jarrety | France | DNF | |
| — | Attie van Heerden | South Africa | DNF | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | John Norton | United States | 57.6 | Q |
| 2 | Edward Wheller | Great Britain | 58.4 | Q |
| 3 | Georg Lindström | Sweden | 59.1 | |
| 4 | Albert Lucas | France | Unknown | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Carl-Axel Christiernsson | Sweden | 56.4 | Q |
| 2 | Charles Daggs | United States | 56.7 | Q |
| 3 | Valdemar Wickholm | Finland | 57.9 | |
| — | Omer Smet | Belgium | DNF | |

#### Quarterfinal 5

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Frank Loomis | United States | 55.8 | Q |
| 2 | Géo André | France | 55.9 | Q |

### Semifinals
#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | August Desch | United States | 55.4 | Q |
| 2 | Géo André | France | 55.5 | Q |
| 3 | John Norton | United States | 56.2 | Q |
| 4 | Gösta Bladin | Sweden | 56.5 | |
| 5 | Wilfrid Kent-Hughes | Australia | 56.9 | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Frank Loomis | United States | 55.4 | Q |
| 2 | Carl-Axel Christiernsson | Sweden | 55.7 | Q |
| 3 | Charles Daggs | United States | 55.8 | Q |
| 4 | Edward Wheller | Great Britain | Unknown | |
| 5 | Erik Wilén | Finland | Unknown | |

### Final

The final was held on Monday, August 16, 1920.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| | Frank Loomis | United States | 54.0 | WR |
| | John Norton | United States | 54.6 | |
| | August Desch | United States | 54.7 | |
| 4 | Géo André | France | 54.8 | |
| 5 | Carl-Axel Christiernsson | Sweden | 55.4 | |
| 6 | Charles Daggs | United States | 55.7 | |

## Results summary

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Notes |
| | Frank Loomis | United States | 55.8 | 55.4 | 54.0 | WR |
| | John Norton | United States | 57.6 | 56.2 | 54.6 | |
| | August Desch | United States | 57.6 | 55.4 | 54.7 | |
| 4 | Géo André | France | 55.9 | 55.5 | 54.8 | |
| 5 | Carl-Axel Christiernsson | Sweden | 56.4 | 55.7 | 55.4 | |
| 6 | Charles Daggs | United States | 56.7 | 55.8 | 55.7 | |
| 7 | Gösta Bladin | Sweden | 57.7 | 56.5 | Did not advance | |
| 8 | Wilfrid Kent-Hughes | Australia | 57.2 | 56.9 | Did not advance | |
| 9 | Edward Wheller | Great Britain | 58.4 | Unknown | Did not advance | 4th in semifinal |
| 10 | Erik Wilén | Finland | 58.4 | Unknown | Did not advance | 5th in semifinal |
| 11 | Valdemar Wickholm | Finland | 57.9 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 12 | George Gray | Great Britain | 58.8 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 13 | Georg Lindström | Sweden | 59.1 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 14 | František Kiehlmann | Czechoslovakia | 59.9 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 15 | Albert Lucas | France | Unknown | Did not advance | Did not advance | 4th in quarterfinal |
| 15 | František Marek | Czechoslovakia | Unknown | Did not advance | Did not advance | 4th in quarterfinal |
| 17 | Attie van Heerden | South Africa | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 17 | Antoine Jarrety | France | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 17 | Omer Smet | Belgium | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | |