400 metres, Men
| Date | 14 – 15 July 1900 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Croix Catelan, Bois de Boulogne, Paris |
| Participants | 15 from 6 countries |
The heats were held on 14 July, a Saturday, and the Americans dominated those proceedings, qualifying five runners for the six-man final. The final was held the next day, and three of the Americans, Dixon Boardman, William Moloney, and Harry Lee, declined to compete because of the problems with Sunday competition.
With only three starters, the event was robbed of some of its interest. Maxie Long had been the favorite, having won the 1898 and 1899 AAU Championship and, only the week before, the 1900 AAA title. But he had lost the 1900 IC4A title to Yale’s Boardman, so Boardman’s absence essentially handed Long the championship.
Long took the lead at the outset, followed by Bill Holland and Ernst Schultz. Coming into the final straight, as they exited the tree-bordered section of the track, Long was ahead by three yards and he finished up five in front of Holland, with Schulz a well-spent third. In a strange set of events, Long was cheered heartily by the French spectators. He was wearing the blue-and-white colors of his school, Columbia, and the French mistook this for the colors of the Racing Club de France, and thought Long was one of theirs.
Later in 1900, Maxie Long did some outstanding record-breaking over this distance. On 29 September he ran 440 yards in 47.8 on a one-fifth mile track. A few days later, on 4 October, he ran the same distance in 47.0 over a straightaway at Guttenberg racetrack in New Jersey.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Maxey Long | 50.4 (1 h1) | 49.4 (1) | Gold | |||
| 2 | – | Bill Holland | – (2 h3) | at 5 yards (2) | Silver | |||
| 3 | – | Ernst Schultz | easy win (2 h2) | at 25 yards (3) | Bronze | |||
| 1 h2 r1/2 | – | William Moloney | 51.0 (1 h2) | – | ||||
| 1 h3 r1/2 | – | Dixon Boardman | 51.2 (1 h3) | – | ||||
| 2 h1 r1/2 | – | Harry Lee | easy win (2 h1) | – | ||||
| 3 h1 r1/2 | – | Harvey Lord | – (3 h1) | – | ||||
| 3 h2 r1/2 | – | Charles-Robert Faidide | – (3 h2) | – | ||||
| 3 h3 r1/2 | – | Henry Slack | – (3 h3) | – | ||||
| 4 h1 r1/2 | – | Georges Clément | – (4 h1) | – | ||||
| 4 h2 r1/2 | – | Pál Koppán | – (4 h2) | – | ||||
| 5 h1 r1/2 | – | Walter Drumheller | – (5 h1) | – | ||||
| 5 h2 r1/2 | – | Yngvar Bryn | – (5 h2) | – | ||||
| AC h3 r1/2 | – | Zoltán Speidl | – (AC h3) | – | ||||
| AC h3 r1/2 | – | Umberto Colombo | – (AC h3) | – | ||||
| – | Frank Jarvis | – (DNS h1) | – | |||||
| – | Rotolante | – (DNS h1) | – | |||||
| – | Norman Pritchard | – (DNS h1) | – | |||||
| – | Albert Amrhein | – (DNS h1) | – | |||||
| – | Stan Rowley | – (DNS h2) | – | |||||
| – | Walter Tewksbury | – (DNS h2) | – | |||||
| – | Harrison Smith | – (DNS h2) | – | |||||
| – | Albert Werkmüller | – (DNS h2) | – | |||||
| – | Johannes Gandil | – (DNS h3) | – | |||||
| – | Albert Witbeck | – (DNS h3) | – | |||||
| – | Karel Nedvěd | – (DNS h3) | – | |||||
| – | Cornelius von Lubowiecki | – (DNS h3) | – |
Round One (14 July 1900 — 11:25)
Top two in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One (11:25)
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Maxey Long | 50.4 | ||||
| 2 | – | Harry Lee | easy win | ||||
| 3 | – | Harvey Lord | – | ||||
| 4 | – | Georges Clément | – | ||||
| 5 | – | Walter Drumheller | – | ||||
| – | Frank Jarvis | – | |||||
| – | Rotolante | – | |||||
| – | Norman Pritchard | – | |||||
| – | Albert Amrhein | – |
Heat Two (11:25)
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | William Moloney | 51.0 | ||||
| 2 | – | Ernst Schultz | easy win | ||||
| 3 | – | Charles-Robert Faidide | – | ||||
| 4 | – | Pál Koppán | – | ||||
| 5 | – | Yngvar Bryn | – | ||||
| – | Stan Rowley | – | |||||
| – | Walter Tewksbury | – | |||||
| – | Harrison Smith | – | |||||
| – | Albert Werkmüller | – |
Heat Three (11:25)
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Dixon Boardman | 51.2 | ||||
| 2 | – | Bill Holland | – | ||||
| 3 | – | Henry Slack | – | ||||
| – | Zoltán Speidl | – | |||||
| – | Umberto Colombo | – | |||||
| – | Johannes Gandil | – | |||||
| – | Albert Witbeck | – | |||||
| – | Karel Nedvěd | – | |||||
| – | Cornelius von Lubowiecki | – |
Final (15 July 1900 — 15:00)
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Maxey Long | 49.4 | ||||
| 2 | – | Bill Holland | at 5 yards | ||||
| 3 | – | Ernst Schultz | at 25 yards |