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

The men's 400 metres event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics programme was held at Stadium Australia from 22 to 25 September 2000. Sixty-eight athletes from 44 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.56 seconds by Michael Johnson of the United States, successfully defending his 1996 gold medal (the only man to do so in the history of the Olympic 400 metres race). It was the fifth in what would ultimately be 7 consecutive American victories stretching from 1984 to 2008 and the 17th overall title in the event by the United States. Gregory Haughton's bronze was Jamaica's first medal in the event since the nation won back-to-back golds in 1948 and 1952.

## Background

This was the 24th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Five of the finalists from 1996 returned: defending gold medalist Michael Johnson and fourth-place finisher Alvin Harrison of the United States, bronze medalist Davis Kamoga of Uganda, seventh-place finisher Davian Clarke of Jamaica, and eight-place Ibrahim Ismail Muftah of Qatar. Johnson had stretched his world championship streak to 4, set a new world record, and was the (overwhelming) favorite again in 2000. Both of the other medalists (Sanderlei Parrela of Brazil and Alejandro Cárdenas of Mexico) from the 1999 worlds were in Sydney as well.
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Lithuania and Ukraine appeared in this event for the first time; Russia appeared for the first time since 1912. The United States made its 23rd 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 45.80 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 46.20 seconds or faster could be entered.

## Competition format

The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1964, was used for the first round. There were 9 first-round heats, each with 7 or 8 runners. The top three runners in each heat advanced, along with the next five fastest overall. The 32 quarterfinalists were divided into 4 quarterfinals with 8 runners each; 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 2000 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Michael Johnson (USA) | 43.18 | Seville, Spain | 26 August 1999 |
| Olympic record | Michael Johnson (USA) | 43.49 | Atlanta, United States | 29 July 1996 |
No world or Olympic records were set in this event.
The following national records were established during the competition:
| Nation | Athlete | Round | Time |
| Haiti | Gerald Clervil | Heat 1 | 46.69 |
| Saudi Arabia | Hamdan O Al-Bishi | Heat 8 | 45.22 |

## Schedule

Following the 1984 schedule, the event was held on four separate days, with each round being on a different day.
All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Friday, 22 September 2000 | 10:40 | Round 1 |
| Saturday, 23 September 2000 | 21:25 | Quarterfinals |
| Sunday, 24 September 2000 | 21:00 | Semifinals |
| Monday, 25 September 2000 | 20:25 | Final |

## Results

All times shown are in seconds.

### Round 1
#### Heat 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Avard Moncur | Bahamas | 0.266 | 45.23 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Daniel Caines | Great Britain | 0.153 | 45.39 | Q, PB |
| 3 | 5 | Casey Vincent | Australia | 0.162 | 45.49 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Dmitriy Golovastov | Russia | 0.234 | 45.90 | q |
| 5 | 2 | Takahiko Yamamura | Japan | 0.261 | 46.25 | |
| 6 | 4 | Carlos Santa | Dominican Republic | 0.169 | 46.40 | |
| 7 | 8 | Piotr Rysiukiewicz | Poland | 0.227 | 46.67 | |
| 8 | 6 | Gerald Clervil | Haiti | 0.556 | 46.69 | NR |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Jude Monye | Nigeria | 0.220 | 45.79 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Patrick Dwyer | Australia | 0.196 s | 45.82 s | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Alejandro Cardenas | Mexico | 0.143 s | 46.14 s | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Neil de Silva | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.220 | 46.84 | |
| 5 | 3 | Gustavo Aguirre | Argentina | 0.237 | 47.03 | |
| 6 | 3 | Troy McIntosh | Bahamas | 0.237 | 47.06 | |
| — | 7 | Jonas Motiejūnas | Lithuania | 0.220 | DNF | |
| — | 4 | Kennedy Ochieng | Kenya | 0.178 | DNF | |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Sanderlei Claro Parrela | Brazil | 0.472 | 45.55 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Danny McFarlane | Jamaica | 0.480 | 45.84 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Soufiene Labidi | Tunisia | 0.252 | 45.84 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Jun Osakada | Japan | 0.231 | 45.88 | q |
| 5 | 1 | Tawanda Chiwira | Zimbabwe | 0.203 | 46.50 | |
| 6 | 7 | Nduka Awazie | Nigeria | 0.319 | 46.81 | |
| 7 | 8 | Johnson Kubisa | Botswana | 0.387 | 46.97 | |
| — | 2 | Evripedes Demosthenous | Cyprus | 0.179 | DNF | |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Gregory Haughton | Jamaica | 0.295 | 45.63 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | David Kirui | Kenya | 0.207 | 45.69 | Q, PB |
| 3 | 3 | Marc Raquil | France | 0.238 | 45.72 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Arnaud Malherbe | South Africa | 0.200 | 45.73 | q |
| 5 | 6 | Sunday Bada | Nigeria | 0.554 | 45.75 | q |
| 6 | 5 | Ato Modibo | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.486 | 45.91 | |
| 7 | 4 | Benjamin Youla | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 0.183 | 47.54 | |
| 8 | 1 | Iliya Dzhivondov | Bulgaria | 0.200 | 48.64 | |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Hendrick Mokganyetsi | South Africa | 0.209 | 45.22 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Piotr Haczek | Poland | 0.248 | 45.61 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 7 | Alessandro Attene | Italy | 0.134 | 45.79 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Rohan Pradeep Kumara | Sri Lanka | 0.499 | 46.00 | |
| 5 | 8 | Salaheddine Bakar Al-Safi | Qatar | 0.414 | 46.16 | |
| 6 | 5 | Zsolt Szeglet | Hungary | 0.176 | 46.19 | |
| 7 | 6 | Jamie Baulch | Great Britain | 0.164 | 46.52 | |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Alvin Harrison | United States | 0.467 | 44.96 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Davian Clarke | Jamaica | 0.204 | 45.30 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Robert Maćkowiak | Poland | 0.236 | 45.39 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Anastasios Gousis | Greece | 0.211 | 46.38 | |
| 5 | 7 | Fawzi Al Shammari | Kuwait | 0.157 | 46.38 | |
| 6 | 8 | Paramjit Singh | India | 0.188 | 46.64 | |
| 7 | 4 | Philip Mukomana | Zimbabwe | 0.503 | 47.11 | |

#### Heat 7

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Michael Johnson | United States | 0.176 | 45.25 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | David Canal | Spain | 0.189 | 45.53 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 3 | Ibrahima Wade | France | 0.262 | 45.72 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Malik Louahla | Algeria | 0.158 | 46.06 | |
| 5 | 4 | Sean Baldock | Great Britain | 0.180 | 46.45 | |
| 6 | 8 | Fabian Rollins | Barbados | 0.447 | 46.85 | |
| 7 | 6 | Oleksandr Kaydash | Ukraine | 0.586 | 46.88 | |

#### Heat 8

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Hamdan O Al-Bishi | Saudi Arabia | 0.153 | 45.22 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 2 | Sugath Thilakaratne | Sri Lanka | 0.211 | 45.48 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Ibrahim Ismail Muftah | Qatar | 0.234 | 45.48 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | Eric Milazar | Mauritius | 0.459 | 45.66 | q |
| 5 | 3 | Štefan Balošák | Slovakia | 0.192 | 46.42 | |
| 6 | 7 | Kenji Tabata | Japan | 0.143 | 46.59 | |
| 7 | 8 | Rudieon Sylvan | Grenada | 0.241 | 48.17 | |
| 8 | 6 | Basheer Al-Khewani | Yemen | 0.452 | 49.72 | PB |

#### Heat 9

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Antonio Pettigrew | United States | 0.328 | 45.62 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Christopher Brown | Bahamas | 0.505 | 45.80 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Davis Kamoga | Uganda | 0.625 | 45.92 | Q, SB |
| 4 | 7 | Metija Sestak | Slovenia | 0.295 | 45.95 | |
| 5 | 5 | Tomas Coman | Ireland | 0.263 | 46.17 | |
| 6 | 2 | Juan Pedro Toledo | Mexico | 0.282 | 46.82 | |
| — | 8 | Daniel Batman | Australia | 0.378 | DNF | |

#### Overall results for Round 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Heat | Lane | Place | Time | Qual. | Record |
| 1 | Alvin Harrison | United States | 6 | 6 | 1 | 44.96 s | Q | |
| 2 | Hamdan O Al-Bishi | Saudi Arabia | 8 | 4 | 1 | 45.22 s | Q | NR |
| 2 | Hendrick Mokganyetsi | South Africa | 5 | 2 | 1 | 45.22 s | Q | |
| 4 | Avard Moncur | Bahamas | 1 | 1 | 1 | 45.23 s | Q | |
| 5 | Michael Johnson | United States | 7 | 5 | 1 | 45.25 s | Q | |
| 6 | Davian Clarke | Jamaica | 6 | 5 | 2 | 45.30 s | Q | |
| 7 | Daniel Caines | Great Britain | 1 | 7 | 2 | 45.39 s | Q | PB |
| 7 | Robert Maćkowiak | Poland | 6 | 2 | 3 | 45.39 s | Q | |
| 9 | Ibrahim Ismail Muftah | Qatar | 8 | 1 | 3 | 45.48 s | Q | |
| 9 | Sugath Thilakaratne | Sri Lanka | 8 | 2 | 2 | 45.48 s | Q | |
| 11 | Casey Vincent | Australia | 1 | 5 | 3 | 45.49 s | Q | |
| 12 | David Canal | Spain | 7 | 2 | 2 | 45.53 s | Q | SB |
| 13 | Sanderlei Claro Parrela | Brazil | 3 | 4 | 1 | 45.55 s | Q | |
| 14 | Piotr Haczek | Poland | 5 | 3 | 2 | 45.61 s | Q | SB |
| 15 | Antonio Pettigrew | United States | 9 | 3 | 1 | 45.62 s | Q | |
| 16 | Gregory Haughton | Jamaica | 4 | 8 | 1 | 45.63 s | Q | |
| 17 | Eric Milazar | Mauritius | 8 | 5 | 4 | 45.66 s | q | |
| 18 | David Kipkorir Kirui | Kenya | 4 | 2 | 2 | 45.69 s | Q | PB |
| 19 | Marc Raquil | France | 4 | 3 | 3 | 45.72 s | Q | |
| 19 | Ibrahima Wade | France | 7 | 3 | 3 | 45.72 s | Q | |
| 21 | Arnaud Malherbe | South Africa | 4 | 7 | 4 | 45.73 s | q | |
| 22 | Sunday Bada | Nigeria | 4 | 6 | 5 | 45.75 s | q | |
| 23 | Alessandro Attene | Italy | 5 | 7 | 3 | 45.79 s | Q | |
| 23 | Jude Monye | Nigeria | 2 | 8 | 1 | 45.79 s | Q | |
| 25 | Christopher Brown | Bahamas | 8 | 4 | 2 | 45.80 s | Q | |
| 26 | Patrick Dwyer | Australia | 2 | 1 | 2 | 45.82 s | Q | |
| 27 | Soufiene Labidi | Tunisia | 3 | 3 | 3 | 45.84 s | Q | |
| 27 | Danny McFarlane | Jamaica | 3 | 5 | 2 | 45.84 s | Q | |
| 29 | Jun Osakada | Japan | 3 | 6 | 4 | 45.88 s | q | |
| 30 | Dmitriy Golovastov | Russia | 1 | 3 | 4 | 45.90 s | q | |
| 31 | Ato Modibo | Trinidad and Tobago | 4 | 5 | 6 | 45.91 s | | |
| 32 | Davis Kamoga | Uganda | 9 | 6 | 3 | 45.82 s | Q | SB |
| 33 | Matija Sestak | Slovenia | 9 | 7 | 4 | 45.95 s | | |
| 34 | Rhohan Pradeep Kumar | Sri Lanka | 5 | 4 | 4 | 46.00 s | | |
| 35 | Malik Louahla | Algeria | 7 | 4 | 4 | 46.06 s | | |
| 36 | Alejandro Cardenas | Mexico | 2 | 5 | 3 | 46.14 s | Q | |
| 37 | Salaheldin E Bakkar | Qatar | 5 | 8 | 5 | 46.16 s | | |
| 38 | Tomas Coman | Ireland | 9 | 5 | 5 | 46.17 s | | |
| 39 | Zsolt Szeglet | Hungary | 5 | 5 | 6 | 46.19 s | | |
| 40 | Takahiko Yamamura | Japan | 1 | 2 | 5 | 46.25 s | | |
| 41 | Fawzi Al Shammari | Kuwait | 6 | 7 | 5 | 46.38 s | | |
| 41 | Anastasios Gousis | Greece | 6 | 3 | 4 | 46.38 s | | |
| 43 | Carlos Santa | Dominican Republic | 1 | 4 | 6 | 46.40 s | | |
| 44 | Štefan Balošák | Slovakia | 8 | 3 | 5 | 46.42 s | | |
| 45 | Sean Baldock | Great Britain | 7 | 4 | 5 | 46.45 s | | |
| 46 | Tawanda Chiwira | Zimbabwe | 3 | 1 | 5 | 46.50 s | | |
| 47 | Jamie Baulch | Great Britain | 5 | 6 | 7 | 46.52 s | | |
| 48 | Kenji Tabata | Japan | 8 | 7 | 6 | 46.59 s | | |
| 49 | Paramjit Singh | India | 6 | 8 | 8 | 46.64 s | | |
| 50 | Piotr Rysiukiewicz | Poland | 1 | 8 | 7 | 46.67 s | | |
| 51 | Gerald Clervil | Haiti | 1 | 6 | 8 | 46.69 s | | NR |
| 52 | Nduka Awazie | Nigeria | 3 | 7 | 6 | 46.81 s | | |
| 53 | Juan Pedro Toledo | Mexico | 9 | 2 | 6 | 46.82 s | | |
| 54 | Neil de Silva | Trinidad and Tobago | 2 | 2 | 4 | 46.84 s | | |
| 55 | Fabian Rollins | Barbados | 7 | 8 | 6 | 46.85 s | | |
| 56 | Oleksandr Kaydash | Ukraine | 7 | 6 | 7 | 46.88 s | | |
| 57 | Johnson Kubisa | Botswana | 3 | 8 | 7 | 46.97 s | | |
| 58 | Gustavo Aguirre | Argentina | 2 | 3 | 5 | 47.03 s | | |
| 59 | Troy McIntosh | Bahamas | 2 | 6 | 6 | 47.06 s | | |
| 60 | Philip Mukomana | Zimbabwe | 6 | 4 | 7 | 47.11 s | | |
| 61 | Benjamin Youla | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 4 | 4 | 7 | 47.54 s | | |
| 62 | Rudieon Sylvan | Grenada | 8 | 8 | 7 | 48.17 s | | |
| 63 | Iliya Dzhivondov | Bulgaria | 4 | 1 | 8 | 48.64 s | | |
| 64 | Basheer Al Khewani | Yemen | 8 | 6 | 8 | 49.72 s | | PB |
| - | Daniel Batman | Australia | 9 | 8 | - | DNF | | |
| - | Evripedes Demosthenous | Cyprus | 3 | 2 | - | DNF | | |
| - | Jonas Motiejunas | Lithuania | 2 | 7 | - | DNF | | |
| - | Kennedy Ochieng | Kenya | 2 | 4 | - | DNF | | |

### Quarterfinals
#### Quarterfinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Michael Johnson | United States | 0.150 | 45.31 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Piotr Haczek | Poland | 0.251 | 45.43 | Q, PB |
| 3 | 5 | Avard Moncur | Bahamas | | 45.43 | Q |
| 4 | 8 | Casey Vincent | Australia | 0.163 | 45.45 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | Eric Milazar | Mauritius | 0.364 | 45.52 | |
| 6 | 6 | Sugath Thilakaratne | Sri Lanka | 0.199 | 45.54 | |
| 7 | 3 | David Canal | Spain | 0.221 | 45.54 | |
| 8 | 2 | Arnaud Malherbe | South Africa | 0.192 | 45.59 | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Davian Clarke | Jamaica | 0.283 | 45.06 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 4 | Antonio Pettigrew | United States | 0.475 | 45.35 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Hamdan O Al-Bishi | Saudi Arabia | 0.600 | 45.35 | Q |
| 4 | 8 | Danny McFarlane | Jamaica | 0.183 | 45.40 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | Ibrahima Wade | France | 0.223 | 45.61 | |
| 6 | 2 | Davis Kamoga | Uganda | 0.207 | 45.74 | SB |
| 7 | 5 | David Kirui | Kenya | | 46.00 | |
| 8 | 1 | Jun Osakada | Japan | 0.217 | 46.15 | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Alvin Harrison | United States | 0.195 | 44.25 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Gregory Haughton | Jamaica | 0.475 | 45.08 | Q |
| 3 | 7 | Alessandro Attene | Italy | 0.150 | 45.35 | Q, PB |
| 4 | 8 | Patrick Dwyer | Australia | 0.174 | 45.38 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | Dmitriy Golovastov | Russia | 0.184 | 45.66 | |
| 6 | 5 | Christopher Brown | Bahamas | 0.204 | 45.76 | |
| 7 | 2 | Soufiene Labidi | Tunisia | 0.215 | 46.01 | |
| 8 | 3 | Jude Monye | Nigeria | 0.203 | 46.32 | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Robert Maćkowiak | Poland | 0.194 | 45.01 | Q, PB |
| 2 | 4 | Hendrick Mokganyetsi | South Africa | 0.440 | 45.15 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Daniel Caines | Great Britain | 0.161 | 45.37 | Q, PB |
| 4 | 3 | Sanderlei Claro Parrela | Brazil | 0.302 | 45.55 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Marc Raquil | France | 0.224 | 45.56 | |
| 6 | 1 | Alejandro Cardenas | Mexico | 0.139 | 45.66 | |
| 7 | 8 | Sunday Bada | Nigeria | 0.226 | 45.83 | |
| 8 | 6 | Ibrahim Ismail Muftah | Qatar | 0.549 | 45.96 | |

#### Overall results for quarterfinals

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Heat | Lane | Place | Time | Qual. | Record |
| 1 | Alvin Harrison | United States | 3 | 6 | 1 | 44.25 s | Q | |
| 2 | Robert Maćkowiak | Poland | 4 | 7 | 1 | 45.01 s | Q | PB |
| 3 | Davian Clarke | Jamaica | 2 | 3 | 1 | 45.06 s | Q | SB |
| 4 | Gregory Haughton | Jamaica | 3 | 4 | 2 | 45.08 s | Q | |
| 5 | Hendrick Mokganyetsi | South Africa | 4 | 4 | 2 | 45.15 s | Q | |
| 6 | Michael Johnson | United States | 1 | 4 | 1 | 45.31 s | Q | |
| 7 | Hamdan O Al-Bishi | Saudi Arabia | 2 | 6 | 3 | 45.35 s | Q | |
| 7 | Alessandro Attene | Italy | 3 | 7 | 3 | 45.35 s | Q | PB |
| 7 | Antonio Pettigrew | United States | 2 | 4 | 2 | 45.35 s | Q | |
| 10 | Daniel Caines | Great Britain | 4 | 5 | 3 | 45.37 s | Q | PB |
| 11 | Patrick Dwyer | Australia | 3 | 8 | 4 | 45.38 s | Q | |
| 12 | Danny McFarlane | Jamaica | 2 | 8 | 4 | 45.40 s | Q | |
| 13 | Piotr Haczek | Poland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 45.43 s | Q | PB |
| 13 | Avard Moncur | Bahamas | 1 | 5 | 3 | 45.43 s | Q | |
| 15 | Casey Vincent | Australia | 1 | 8 | 4 | 45.45 s | Q | |
| 16 | Eric Milazar | Mauritius | 1 | 7 | 5 | 45.52 s | | |
| 17 | David Canal | Spain | 1 | 3 | 7 | 45.54 s | | |
| 17 | Sugath Thilakaratne | Sri Lanka | 1 | 6 | 6 | 45.54 s | | |
| 19 | Sanderlei Claro Parrela | Brazil | 4 | 3 | 4 | 45.50 s | Q | |
| 20 | Marc Raquil | France | 4 | 2 | 5 | 45.56 s | | |
| 21 | Arnaud Malherbe | South Africa | 1 | 2 | 8 | 45.59 s | | |
| 22 | Ibrahima Wade | France | 2 | 7 | 5 | 45.61 s | | |
| 23 | Alejandro Cardenas | Mexico | 4 | 1 | 6 | 45.66 s | | |
| 23 | Dmitriy Golovastov | Russia | 3 | 1 | 5 | 45.66 s | | |
| 25 | Davis Kamoga | Uganda | 2 | 2 | 6 | 45.74 s | | |
| 26 | Christopher Brown | Bahamas | 3 | 5 | 6 | 45.76 s | | |
| 27 | Sunday Bada | Nigeria | 4 | 8 | 7 | 45.83 s | | |
| 28 | Ibrahim Ismail Muftah | Qatar | 4 | 6 | 8 | 45.96 s | | |
| 29 | David Kirui | Kenya | 2 | 5 | 7 | 46.00 s | | |
| 30 | Soufiene Labidi | Tunisia | 3 | 2 | 7 | 46.01 s | | |
| 31 | Jun Osakada | Japan | 2 | 1 | 8 | 46.15 s | | |
| 32 | Jude Monye | Nigeria | 3 | 3 | 8 | 46.32 s | | |

### Semifinals
#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Alvin Harrison | United States | 0.220 | 44.53 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Michael Johnson | United States | 0.164 | 44.65 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Gregory Haughton | Jamaica | 0.258 | 44.93 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Sanderlei Claro Parrela | Brazil | 0.212 | 45.17 | Q |
| 5 | 8 | Avard Moncur | Bahamas | 0.198 | 45.18 | |
| 6 | 4 | Piotr Haczek | Poland | 0.470 | 45.66 | |
| 7 | 1 | Patrick Dwyer | Australia | 0.176 | 45.70 | |
| 8 | 7 | Hamdan O Al-Bishi | Saudi Arabia | 0.179 | 45.98 | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Antonio Pettigrew | United States | 0.499 | 45.24 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Danny McFarlane | Jamaica | 0.253 | 45.38 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Hendrick Mokganyetsi | South Africa | 0.529 | 45.52 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Robert Maćkowiak | Poland | 0.192 | 45.53 | Q |
| 5 | 8 | Daniel Caines | Great Britain | 0.168 | 45.55 | |
| 6 | 2 | Casey Vincent | Australia | 0.229 | 45.61 | |
| 7 | 1 | Alessandro Attene | Italy | 0.221 | 46.41 | |
| — | 3 | Davian Clarke | Jamaica | 0.270 | DNF | |

#### Overall results for semifinals

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Heat | Lane | Place | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Alvin Harrison | United States | 1 | 6 | 1 | 44.53 s | Q |
| 2 | Michael Johnson | United States | 1 | 5 | 2 | 44.65 s | Q |
| 3 | Gregory Haughton | Jamaica | 1 | 3 | 3 | 44.93 s | Q |
| 4 | Sanderlei Claro Parrela | Brazil | 1 | 2 | 4 | 45.17 s | Q |
| 5 | Avard Moncur | Bahamas | 1 | 8 | 5 | 45.18 s | |
| 6 | Antonio Pettigrew | United States | 2 | 4 | 1 | 45.24 s | Q |
| 7 | Danny McFarlane | Jamaica | 2 | 7 | 2 | 45.38 s | Q |
| 8 | Hendrick Mokganyetsi | South Africa | 2 | 5 | 3 | 45.52 s | Q |
| 9 | Robert Maćkowiak | Poland | 2 | 6 | 4 | 45.53 s | Q |
| 10 | Daniel Caines | Great Britain | 2 | 8 | 5 | 45.55 s | |
| 11 | Casey Vincent | Australia | 2 | 2 | 6 | 45.61 s | |
| 12 | Piotr Haczek | Poland | 1 | 4 | 6 | 45.66 s | |
| 13 | Patrick Dwyer | Australia | 1 | 1 | 7 | 45.70 s | |
| 14 | Hamdan O Al-Bishi | Saudi Arabia | 1 | 7 | 8 | 45.98 s | |
| 15 | Alessandro Attene | Italy | 2 | 1 | 7 | 46.41 s | |
| - | Davian Clarke | Jamaica | 2 | 3 | | DNF | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| | 6 | Michael Johnson | United States | 0.610 | 43.84 | |
| | 4 | Alvin Harrison | United States | 0.490 | 44.40 | |
| | 8 | Gregory Haughton | Jamaica | 0.346 | 44.70 | SB |
| 4 | 2 | Sanderlei Claro Parrela | Brazil | 0.280 | 45.01 | |
| 5 | 1 | Robert Maćkowiak | Poland | 0.232 | 45.14 | |
| 6 | 7 | Hendrick Mokganyetsi | South Africa | 0.442 | 45.26 | |
| 7 | 3 | Danny McFarlane | Jamaica | 0.332 | 45.55 | |
| — | 5 | Antonio Pettigrew | United States | 0.576 | 45.42 DSQ | |