# Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles

The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics programme were held at Stadium Australia on Sunday 24 September, Monday 25 September and Wednesday 27 September 2000. There were 62 competitors from 45 nations. The event was won by 0.03 seconds by Angelo Taylor of the United States, the nation's fifth consecutive and 17th overall victory in the event. Saudi Arabia and South Africa each earned their first medals in the men's 400 metres hurdles, as Hadi Souan Somayli took silver and Llewellyn Herbert received bronze.

## Background

This was the 22nd 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 in 1920 after World War I, the men's 400 metres hurdles was back and would continue to be contested at every Games thereafter.
Four of the eight finalists from the 1996 Games returned: silver medalist Samuel Matete of Zambia, fifth-place finisher Rohan Robinson of Australia, sixth-place finisher Fabrizio Mori of Italy, and eighth-place finisher Eronilde de Araujo of Brazil. Mori had won the 1999 World Championship, but Angelo Taylor of the United States and Llewellyn Herbert of South Africa were the favorites.
Belarus, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Namibia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 21st appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

## Qualification

Each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run 49.90 seconds or faster during the qualification period. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. If an NOC had no athletes that qualified under that standard, one athlete that had run 50.20 seconds or faster could be entered.

## Competition format

The competition used the three-round format used every Games since 1908 (except the four-round competition in 1952): quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. The number of semifinals was expanded from 2 to 3. 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. The 400 metres track was standard.
There were 8 quarterfinal heats with 7 or 8 athletes each. The top 2 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals along with the next fastest 8 overall. The 24 semifinalists were divided into 3 semifinals of 8 athletes each, with the top 2 in each semifinal and the next 2 fastest overall advancing to the 8-man final.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Kevin Young (USA) | 46.78 | Barcelona, Spain | 6 August 1992 |
| Olympic record | Kevin Young (USA) | 46.78 | Barcelona, Spain | 6 August 1992 |
No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

## Schedule

All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Sunday, 24 September 2000 | 18:15 | Quarterfinals |
| Monday, 25 September 2000 | 19:45 | Semifinals |
| Wednesday, 27 September 2000 | 20:35 | Final |

## Results

All times shown are in seconds.

### Quarterfinals
#### Quarterfinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Llewellyn Herbert | South Africa | 0.171 | 49.25 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Thomas Goller | Germany | 0.154 | 49.32 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Ruslan Mashchenko | Russia | 0.255 | 50.01 | q |
| 4 | 4 | Rohan Robinson | Australia | 0.173 | 50.80 | |
| 5 | 5 | Willie Smith | Namibia | 0.156 | 50.89 | |
| 6 | 6 | Carlos Zbinden | Chile | 0.180 | 51.36 | |
| 7 | 2 | Victor Houston | Barbados | 0.179 | 51.51 | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Fabrizio Mori | Italy | 0.162 | 49.35 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Boris Gorban | Russia | 0.195 | 49.44 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Félix Sánchez | Dominican Republic | 0.142 | 49.70 | q |
| 4 | 6 | Blair Young | Australia | 0.193 | 49.75 | q |
| 5 | 2 | Tien-Wen Chen | Chinese Taipei | 0.180 | 49.93 | q, NR |
| 6 | 3 | Erick Keter | Kenya | 0.269 | 50.06 | q, SB |
| 7 | 1 | Kazuhiko Yamazaki | Japan | 0.177 | 50.15 | |
| 8 | 7 | Yvon Rakotoarimiandry | Madagascar | 0.185 | 50.15 | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Angelo Taylor | United States | 0.185 | 49.48 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Dinsdale Morgan | Jamaica | 0.171 | 49.64 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Ibou Faye | Senegal | 0.188 | 50.09 | |
| 4 | 7 | Arijan Raja Ratnayake | Sri Lanka | 0.346 | 50.43 | |
| 5 | 5 | Erkinjon Isakov | Uzbekistan | 0.182 | 50.71 | |
| 6 | 3 | Hillary Kiprotich Maritim | Kenya | 0.180 | 51.04 | |
| 7 | 2 | Sylvester Omodiale | Nigeria | 0.189 | 51.06 | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Jiri Muzik | Czech Republic | 0.216 | 50.11 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Eric Thomas | United States | 0.170 | 50.16 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Periklis Iakovakis | Greece | 0.165 | 50.20 | |
| 4 | 4 | Hideaki Kawamura | Japan | 0.172 | 50.68 | |
| 5 | 7 | Vadim Zadoinov | Moldova | 0.173 | 51.08 | |
| 6 | 2 | Mustapha Sdad | Morocco | 0.216 | 51.39 | |
| 7 | 3 | Tom McGuirk | Ireland | 0.183 | 51.73 | |
| 8 | 5 | Lee Du-yeon | South Korea | 0.192 | 52.61 | |

#### Quarterfinal 5

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Christopher Rawlinson | Great Britain | 0.184 | 51.30 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Paweł Januszewski | Poland | 0.163 | 51.40 | Q |
| 3 | 7 | Tibor Bedi | Hungary | 0.169 | 51.54 | |
| 4 | 5 | Kenneth Harnden | Zimbabwe | 0.435 | 51.83 | |
| 5 | 4 | Leonid Vershinin | Belarus | 0.151 | 51.84 | |
| 6 | 1 | Darko Juricic | Croatia | 0.167 | 52.39 | |
| 7 | 6 | Zahr-el-Din El-Najem | Syria | 0.160 | 52.70 | |
| 8 | 8 | Iliya Dzhivondov | Bulgaria | 0.279 | 54.36 | |

#### Quarterfinal 6

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Hadi Souan Somayli | Saudi Arabia | 0.174 | 49.28 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | James Carter | United States | 0.174 | 49.41 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Alwyn Myburgh | South Africa | 0.184 | 49.57 | q |
| 4 | 5 | Pedro Rodrigues | Portugal | 0.162 | 49.90 | q |
| 5 | 4 | Anthony Borsumato | Great Britain | 0.155 | 50.73 | |
| 6 | 3 | Costas Pochanis | Cyprus | 0.244 | 51.20 | |
| 7 | 8 | Matthew Beckenham | Australia | 0.176 | 51.27 | |
| 8 | 2 | Ian Weakley | Jamaica | 0.179 | 52.18 | |

#### Quarterfinal 7

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Samuel Matete | Zambia | 0.184 | 48.98 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Gennadiy Gorbenko | Ukraine | 0.406 | 49.12 | Q, PB |
| 3 | 8 | Matt Douglas | Great Britain | 0.163 | 49.62 | q |
| 4 | 7 | Kemel Thompson | Jamaica | 0.241 | 50.40 | |
| 5 | 3 | Zid Abou Hamed | Syria | 0.117 | 50.74 | |
| 6 | 6 | Paul Tucker | Guyana | 0.354 | 50.92 | |
| 7 | 2 | Radoslav Holubek | Slovakia | 0.127 | 51.18 | |
| 8 | 4 | Mowen Boino | Papua New Guinea | 0.406 | 51.28 | NR |

#### Quarterfinal 8

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Eronilde de Araújo | Brazil | 0.179 | 50.06 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Giorgio Frinolli Puzzilli | Italy | 0.179 | 50.27 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Vladislav Shiryayev | Russia | 0.179 | 50.39 | |
| 4 | 5 | Inigo Monreal | Spain | 0.502 | 51.32 | |
| 5 | 7 | Sinisa Pesa | FR Yugoslavia | 0.165 | 52.14 | |
| 6 | 2 | Curt Young | Panama | 0.164 | 52.46 | |
| 7 | 3 | Iain Harnden | Zimbabwe | 0.287 | 54.01 | |
| 8 | 1 | Dai Tamesue | Japan | 0.256 | 1:01.81 | |

### Semifinals
#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Hadi Souan Somayli | Saudi Arabia | 0.316 | 48.14 | Q, AR |
| 2 | 4 | Fabrizio Mori | Italy | | 48.40 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 5 | Gennadiy Gorbenko | Ukraine | 0.478 | 48.40 | q, PB |
| 4 | 7 | Paweł Januszewski | Poland | 0.244 | 48.42 | q, SB |
| 5 | 2 | Eric Thomas | United States | 0.188 | 49.25 | |
| 6 | 3 | Thomas Goller | Germany | 0.152 | 49.28 | |
| 7 | 1 | Pedro Rodrigues | Portugal | 0.163 | 49.48 | SB |
| 8 | 8 | Tien-Wen Chen | Chinese Taipei | 0.182 | 50.52 | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Llewellyn Herbert | South Africa | 0.153 | 48.38 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Angelo Taylor | United States | 0.250 | 48.49 | Q |
| 3 | 7 | Ruslan Mashchenko | Russia | 0.177 | 48.49 | |
| 4 | 8 | Blair Young | Australia | 0.255 | 49.20 | |
| 5 | 5 | Jiri Muzik | Czech Republic | 0.277 | 49.23 | |
| 6 | 6 | Chris Rawlinson | Great Britain | 0.177 | 49.25 | |
| 7 | 1 | Félix Sánchez | Dominican Republic | 0.178 | 49.69 | |
| 8 | 2 | Giorgio Frinolli Puzzilli | Italy | 0.242 | 50.10 | |

#### Semifinal 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | James Carter | United States | 0.202 | 48.48 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Eronilde de Araújo | Brazil | 0.181 | 48.76 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Samuel Matete | Zambia | 0.228 | 48.98 | |
| 4 | 1 | Alwyn Myburgh | South Africa | 0.202 | 49.25 | |
| 5 | 5 | Boris Gorban | Russia | 0.454 | 49.29 | |
| 6 | 8 | Matt Douglas | Great Britain | 0.177 | 49.53 | |
| 7 | 2 | Dinsdale Morgan | Jamaica | 0.166 | 50.23 | |
| 8 | 7 | Erick Keter | Kenya | 0.202 | 51.25 | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| | 1 | Angelo Taylor | United States | 0.179 | 47.50 | PB |
| | 4 | Hadi Souan Somayli | Saudi Arabia | 0.437 | 47.53 | AR |
| | 6 | Llewellyn Herbert | South Africa | 0.169 | 47.81 | NR |
| 4 | 5 | James Carter | United States | 0.421 | 48.04 | PB |
| 5 | 8 | Eronilde de Araújo | Brazil | 0.190 | 48.34 | |
| 6 | 2 | Paweł Januszewski | Poland | 0.149 | 48.44 | |
| 7 | 3 | Fabrizio Mori | Italy | 0.198 | 48.78 | |
| 8 | 7 | Gennadiy Gorbenko | Ukraine | 0.395 | 49.01 | |

## Results summary

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Notes |
| | Angelo Taylor | United States | 49.48 | 48.49 | 47.50 | PB |
| | Hadi Souan Somayli | Saudi Arabia | 49.28 | 48.14 | 47.53 | AR |
| | Llewellyn Herbert | South Africa | 49.25 | 48.38 | 47.81 | NR |
| 4 | James Carter | United States | 49.41 | 48.48 | 48.04 | PB |
| 5 | Eronilde de Araújo | Brazil | 50.06 | 48.76 | 48.34 | |
| 6 | Paweł Januszewski | Poland | 51.40 | 48.42 | 48.44 | SB |
| 7 | Fabrizio Mori | Italy | 49.35 | 48.40 | 48.78 | SB |
| 8 | Gennadiy Gorbenko | Ukraine | 49.12 | 48.80 | 49.01 | PB |
| 9 | Ruslan Mashchenko | Russia | 50.01 | 48.94 | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Samuel Matete | Zambia | 49.98 | 48.98 | Did not advance | |
| 11 | Blair Young | Australia | 49.75 | 49.20 | Did not advance | |
| 12 | Jiri Muzik | Czech Republic | 50.11 | 49.23 | Did not advance | |
| 13 | Alwyn Myburgh | South Africa | 49.57 | 49.25 | Did not advance | |
| 13 | Chris Rawlinson | Great Britain | 51.30 | 49.25 | Did not advance | |
| 13 | Eric Thomas | United States | 50.16 | 49.25 | Did not advance | |
| 16 | Thomas Goller | Germany | 49.32 | 49.28 | Did not advance | |
| 17 | Boris Gorban | Russia | 49.44 | 49.29 | Did not advance | |
| 18 | Pedro Rodrigues | Portugal | 49.90 | 49.48 | Did not advance | SB |
| 19 | Matt Douglas | Great Britain | 49.62 | 49.53 | Did not advance | |
| 20 | Félix Sánchez | Dominican Republic | 49.70 | 49.69 | Did not advance | |
| 21 | Giorgio Frinolli Puzzilli | Italy | 50.27 | 50.10 | Did not advance | |
| 22 | Dinsdale Morgan | Jamaica | 49.64 | 50.23 | Did not advance | |
| 23 | Tien-Wen Chen | Chinese Taipei | 49.93 | 50.52 | Did not advance | NR |
| 24 | Erick Keter | Kenya | 50.06 | 51.25 | Did not advance | SB |
| 25 | Ibou Faye | Senegal | 50.09 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 26 | Yvon Rakotoarimiandry | Madagascar | 50.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 26 | Kazuhiko Yamazaki | Japan | 50.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Periklis Iakovakis | Greece | 50.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 29 | Vladislav Shiryayev | Russia | 50.39 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 30 | Kemel Thompson | Jamaica | 50.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 31 | Arijan Raja Ratnayake | Sri Lanka | 50.43 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 32 | Hideaki Kawamura | Japan | 50.68 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 33 | Erkinjon Isakov | Uzbekistan | 50.71 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 34 | Anthony Borsumato | Great Britain | 50.73 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 35 | Zid Abou Hamed | Syria | 50.74 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 36 | Rohan Robinson | Australia | 50.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 37 | Willie Smith | Namibia | 50.89 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 38 | Paul Tucker | Guyana | 50.92 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 39 | Hillary Kiprotich Maritim | Kenya | 51.04 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 40 | Sylvester Omodiale | Nigeria | 51.06 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 41 | Vadim Zadoinov | Moldova | 51.08 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 42 | Radoslav Holubek | Slovakia | 51.18 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 43 | Costas Pochanis | Cyprus | 51.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 44 | Matthew Beckenham | Australia | 51.27 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 45 | Inigo Monreal | Spain | 51.32 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 46 | Carlos Zbinden | Chile | 51.36 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 47 | Mowen Boino | Papua New Guinea | 51.28 | Did not advance | Did not advance | NR |
| 48 | Mustapha Sdad | Morocco | 51.39 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 49 | Victor Houston | Barbados | 51.51 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 50 | Tibor Bedi | Hungary | 51.54 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 51 | Tom McGuirk | Ireland | 51.73 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 52 | Kenneth Harnden | Zimbabwe | 51.83 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 53 | Leonid Vershinin | Belarus | 51.84 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 54 | Sinisa Pesa | FR Yugoslavia | 52.14 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 55 | Ian Weakley | Jamaica | 52.18 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 56 | Darko Juricic | Croatia | 52.39 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 57 | Curt Young | Panama | 52.46 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 58 | Du-Yeon Lee | South Korea | 52.61 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 59 | Zahr-Edin Al Najem | Syria | 52.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 60 | Iain Harnden | Zimbabwe | 54.01 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 61 | Iliya Dzhivondov | Bulgaria | 54.36 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 62 | Dai Tamesue | Japan | 1:01.81 | Did not advance | Did not advance | |