The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had a start list of 22 competitors from 19 nations, with three quarterfinals (22 runners), two semifinals (16), and a final (8) that took place on Saturday July 26, 1980.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Volker Beck of East Germany, the nation's first medal in the event. Vasyl Arkhypenko earned silver, the second consecutive Games that the Soviet Union reached the podium in the event. Gary Oakes put Great Britain back on the podium after a one-Games absence with his bronze.
Background
This was the 17th 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.
One of the eight finalists from the 1976 Games returned: sixth-place finisher Yanko Bratanov of Bulgaria. Also returning was 1972 gold medalist John Akii-Bua of Uganda, who had not competed in 1976 due to the African boycott. The overwhelming favorite would have been reigning champion Edwin Moses of the United States, but he (along with his biggest challenger, European champion Harald Schmid of West Germany) were absent from Moscow due to the American-led boycott.[2]
Botswana, Nicaragua, Syria, and Zambia each made their debut in the event. Great Britain made its 15th appearance, most of any competing nation but behind the United States' 16; this was the first time the Americans did not compete in the event.
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. 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 3 quarterfinal heats with 7 or 8 athletes each. The top 4 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals along with the next fastest 4 overall. The 16 semifinalists were divided into 2 semifinals of 8 athletes each, with the top 3 in each semifinal, and the next 2 fastest overall, advancing to the 8-man final.[2]
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics.
