# Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The competition was held from July 27 to July 30, 1980. Fifty athletes from 32 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.24 seconds by Viktor Markin of the Soviet Union, the nation's first title in the men's 400 metres and first medal in the event since 1956. With the United States boycotting the Games, the country was not represented on the podium for the first time since 1920. Australia earned its first medal in the event with Rick Mitchell's silver, while East Germany won its first medal with Frank Schaffer's bronze, which was the first medal by any German since the United Team took silvers in 1956 and 1960.

## Background

This was the nineteenth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Defending gold medalist from 1976 Alberto Juantorena of Cuba returned to try to repeat without competition from the Americans, but with an Achilles tendon injury from 1979. Other returning finalists were fourth-place finisher Fons Brijdenbach of Belgium, sixth-place finisher Rick Mitchell of Australia, and seventh-place finisher David Jenkins of Great Britain. The field was relatively open, with no clear favorite.
Botswana, Guinea, Laos, Libya, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, and Syria appeared in this event for the first time. Great Britain made its seventeenth appearance in the event, most of any present in Moscow but still one behind the United States at 18.

## Competition format

The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1964, was available but not used because there were 8 first-round heats, making for even advancement. Each heat has 6 or 7 runners, with the top 4 advancing. The 4 quarterfinals each had 8 runners; the top four athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals, with no "fastest loser" spots. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 8 runners each. The top four runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making an eight-man final.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1976 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Lee Evans (USA) | 43.86 | Mexico City, Mexico | 18 October 1968 |
| Olympic record | Lee Evans (USA) | 43.86 | Mexico City, Mexico | 18 October 1968 |
No world or Olympic records were set during this event.

## Schedule

The quarterfinals were moved to the second day (along with the semifinals) after one time on the first day in 1976.
All times are Moscow Time (UTC+3)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Sunday, 27 July 1980 | 11:30 | Round 1 |
| Monday, 28 July 1980 | 11:00 19:30 | Quarterfinals Semifinals |
| Wednesday, 30 July 1980 | 18:40 | Final |

## Results
### Round 1

Eight Round One heats were held at the Lenin Stadium on Sunday, 27 July 1980. The first four in each heat progressed to the quarterfinals.

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | David Jenkins | Great Britain | 46.67 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Karel Kolář | Czechoslovakia | 47.26 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Francis Demarthon | France | 47.43 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Eddy De Leeuw | Belgium | 47.59 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | Charles Dramiga | Uganda | 48.69 | |
| 6 | 4 | Asfaw Deble | Ethiopia | 49.77 | |
| — | — | Constantino Reis | Mozambique | DNS | |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Bert Cameron | Jamaica | 47.54 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Didier Dubois | France | 47.57 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Silver Ayoo | Uganda | 47.78 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Charles Lupiya | Zambia | 48.49 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | Horia Toboc | Romania | 49.90 | |
| 6 | 2 | Léopold Hounkanrin | Benin | 51.04 | |
| 7 | 5 | Joseph Ramotshabi | Botswana | 51.49 | |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Dele Udo | Nigeria | 46.48 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Joseph Coombs | Trinidad and Tobago | 46.55 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Rick Mitchell | Australia | 46.63 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | Jens Smedegaard Hansen | Denmark | 47.01 | Q |
| 5 | 4 | Jimmy Massallay | Sierra Leone | 49.68 | |
| 6 | 6 | El-Mehdi Sallah Diab | Libya | 49.89 | |
| 7 | 2 | Panh Khemanith | Laos | 53.74 | |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Derrick Peynado | Jamaica | 47.37 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Fons Brydenbach | Belgium | 47.72 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Andrzej Stępień | Poland | 47.99 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Glen Cohen | Great Britain | 48.35 | Q |
| 5 | 6 | Régis Tranquille | Seychelles | 49.34 | |
| 6 | 5 | Mohamed Diakité | Guinea | 49.59 | |
| — | — | Emmanuel Bitanga | Cameroon | DNS | |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Viktor Markin | Soviet Union | 46.88 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Mike Solomon | Trinidad and Tobago | 47.24 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Hope Ezeigbo | Nigeria | 47.46 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Jacques Borlée | Belgium | 47.77 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Mohamed El-Abed | Syria | 50.47 | |
| 6 | 5 | Sahr Kendor | Sierra Leone | 52.98 | |
| — | — | Koen Gijsbers | Netherlands | DNS | |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Jozo Alebić | Yugoslavia | 47.61 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Stefano Malinverni | Italy | 47.63 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Ian Stapleton | Jamaica | 47.97 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Hussain Ali Nasayyif | Iraq | 48.03 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | Harry Schulting | Netherlands | 48.53 | |
| 6 | 1 | William Akabi-Davis | Sierra Leone | 50.80 | |
| — | — | Ramyan al-Ramian | Kuwait | DNS | |

#### Heat 7

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Frank Schaffer | East Germany | 46.13 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Viktor Burakov | Soviet Union | 46.41 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Alberto Juantorena | Cuba | 46.69 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Roberto Tozzi | Italy | 47.01 | Q |
| 5 | 6 | Jerzy Pietrzyk | Poland | 47.18 | |
| 6 | 1 | Geraldo José Pegado | Brazil | 48.71 | |
| — | — | Ruben Inacio | Angola | DNS | |
| — | — | Boubacar Diallo | Senegal | DNS | |

#### Heat 8

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Nikolay Chernetskiy | Soviet Union | 47.04 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Mauro Zuliani | Italy | 47.16 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Marcel Klarenbeek | Netherlands | 47.67 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Alan Bell | Great Britain | 47.38 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | Oddur Sigurðsson | Iceland | 47.39 | |
| 6 | 1 | Isidoro Hornillos | Spain | 47.45 | |
| — | — | Christer Gullstrand | Sweden | DNS | |

### Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals were held on 28 July 1980. The top four in each heat advanced to the semifinals.

#### Quarterfinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Rick Mitchell | Australia | 45.73 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Fons Brijdenbach | Belgium | 45.88 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Jens Smedegaard Hansen | Denmark | 45.89 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | Dele Udo | Nigeria | 46.18 | Q |
| 5 | 4 | Francis Demarthon | France | 46.38 | |
| 6 | 3 | Jozo Alebić | Yugoslavia | 46.60 | |
| 7 | 5 | Charles Lupiya | Zambia | 47.67 | |
| 8 | 8 | Stefano Malinverni | Italy | 47.79 | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Viktor Markin | Soviet Union | 45.58 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Joseph Coombs | Trinidad and Tobago | 45.81 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Mauro Zuliani | Italy | 45.93 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Alan Bell | Great Britain | 46.17 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | Andrzej Stępień | Poland | 46.31 | |
| 6 | 7 | Eddy De Leeuw | Belgium | 46.47 | |
| 7 | 8 | Derrick Peynado | Jamaica | 46.50 | |
| 8 | 6 | Marcel Klarenbeek | Netherlands | 46.81 | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Frank Schaffer | East Germany | 46.15 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Alberto Juantorena | Cuba | 46.23 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Viktor Burakov | Soviet Union | 46.23 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | Didier Dubois | France | 46.60 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | Silver Ayoo | Uganda | 47.03 | |
| 6 | 4 | Bert Cameron | Jamaica | 47.31 | 3 |
| 7 | 3 | Glen Cohen | Great Britain | 47.35 | |
| 8 | 8 | Jacques Borlée | Belgium | 47.73 | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | David Jenkins | Great Britain | 45.99 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Mike Solomon | Trinidad and Tobago | 46.12 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Karel Kolář | Czechoslovakia | 46.27 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Nikolay Chernetskiy | Soviet Union | 46.30 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | Roberto Tozzi | Italy | 46.73 | |
| 6 | 6 | Hope Ezeigbo | Nigeria | 46.88 | |
| 7 | 4 | Ian Stapleton | Jamaica | 47.64 | |
| 8 | 7 | Hussain Ali Nasayyif | Iraq | 48.50 | |

### Semifinals

The semifinals were held on Tuesday, July 29, 1980.
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Fons Brijdenbach | Belgium | 45.46 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Rick Mitchell | Australia | 45.48 | Q |
| 3 | 7 | David Jenkins | Great Britain | 45.59 | Q |
| 4 | 8 | Mike Solomon | Trinidad and Tobago | 45.61 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Dele Udo | Nigeria | 45.88 | |
| 6 | 2 | Nikolay Chernetskiy | Soviet Union | 45.94 | |
| 7 | 6 | Mauro Zuliani | Italy | 46.01 | |
| 8 | 1 | Karel Kolář | Czechoslovakia | 46.11 | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Frank Schaffer | East Germany | 45.47 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Viktor Markin | Soviet Union | 45.60 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Alberto Juantorena | Cuba | 45.95 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Joseph Coombs | Trinidad and Tobago | 45.96 | Q |
| 5 | 6 | Viktor Burakov | Soviet Union | 45.97 | |
| 6 | 4 | Didier Dubois | France | 46.72 | |
| 7 | 5 | Jens Smedegaard Hansen | Denmark | 47.00 | |
| 8 | 2 | Alan Bell | Great Britain | 48.50 | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| | 2 | Viktor Markin | Soviet Union | 44.60 |
| | 4 | Rick Mitchell | Australia | 44.84 |
| | 6 | Frank Schaffer | East Germany | 44.87 |
| 4 | 3 | Alberto Juantorena | Cuba | 45.09 |
| 5 | 1 | Fons Brydenbach | Belgium | 45.10 |
| 6 | 7 | Mike Solomon | Trinidad and Tobago | 45.55 |
| 7 | 8 | David Jenkins | Great Britain | 45.56 |
| 8 | 5 | Joseph Coombs | Trinidad and Tobago | 46.33 |