Olympics: Men's 400m Preview

Men’s 400m

Heats 8:05 PM Friday, August 12^th

Semi-Final 7:30 PM Saturday, August 13^th

Final 9:00 PM Sunday, August 14^th

World Record: Michael Johnson (USA) 43.18, 1999

Best Mark Past 10 Years: Jeremy Wariner (USA) 43.45, 2007

Olympic Record: Michael Johnson (USA) 43.44, 1996

A Standard: 45.40

2012 Olympic Medalists

Kirani James (Grenada) 43.94, Luguelin Santos (Dominican Republic) 44.46, Lalonde Gordon (Trinidad and Tobago) 44.52

2015 World Championship Medalists

Wayde Van Niekerk (South Africa) 43.48, LaShawn Merritt (USA) 43.65, Kirani James (Grenada) 43.78

2016 World Leaders

LaShawn Merritt (USA) 43.97, Kirani James (Grenada) 44.08, Wayde Van Niekerk (South Africa) 44.12

Team USA

Lashawn Merritt, 30 (43.65/43.97), Gil Roberts, 27 (44.53/44.67), David Verburg, 25 (44.41/44.82)

In 2012, Grenada’s Kirani James who emerged as a breakthrough star in the 400, winning the Olympic Gold and breaking into the 43 second club. Before Kirani broke through, that 43 second club was owned and operated by Americans. In other words, Kirani was the first man outside the USA to break 44. Now, 4 years later, the list has ballooned to 5: Rusheen McDonald (Jamaica), Youseef Al-Masrahi (KSA), Isaac Makwala (Botswana), Wayde Van Niekerk (South Africa) and the aforementioned Kirani. The 2012 Olympics marked a changing of the guard in the Men’s 400 when no Americans finished in the medals. There won’t be another USA sweep (like there was in 2008) any time soon.

But US fans still have at least one super star to root for in the quarter. That would be 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Lashawn Merritt who is the fastest man in the world this year with the globe’s only sub 44 clocking. Merritt has also cracked a sub 22 second 200m to place himself among the world leaders in that event. He’s also the silver medalist from last year’s World Championships where, at 29, he ran a personal best 43.65 at the lightening quick Beijing track. There he defeated rival Kirani James who finished with a bronze despite running 43.78.

Although James was the first rival to the USA throne, it appears Wayde Van Niekerk is version 2.0. The South African dropped an unreal 43.48 to win the 2015 World Title, catapulting himself up the world’s all time list. He’s run 44.12 for 400 this season and has shown fantastic form in his victories to date. He’s run sub 10, sub 20, and 31.03 for 300 and that 43.48 within the last 14 months.

Also in the mix will be Olympic silver medalist Luguelin Santos who has run 44.11. The contingents from the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago will also surely have medal contenders including 2012 bronze medalist Lalonde Gordon or newcomer Machel Cedenio (44.34 season best).

The USA’s Gil Roberts and David Verburg will hope to break through and make their first global final. It’s going to be an uphill battle, but both have season bests in the 44s (44.67 for Roberts, 44.82 for Verburg). Verburg has been on a few US teams already, mainly gaining experience through the 4x4 relay. He finished 4^th in the 2014 World Indoor Final and then made it to the semi-finals in Beijing a year ago (and was 3^rd in his heat). It’s not crazy to imagine Verburg as a finalist if things break right for him, but he will need a mark in the low 44s. Roberts made his only outdoor individual championship performance back in 2009 at Berlin, but failed to qualify from the prelims. Looking at his first round heat, he’s got decent odds at advancing to semis.

I know Bolt runs around the same time, but I think this 400 final will be a better race. It’s going to be awesome to watch Merritt, Wayde and Kirani go head to head once again, perhaps with a newcomer emerging as a medal threat outside of the big three. I’m a big Kirani fan, but Wayde and especially Merritt seem to be operating on another plane. I’ve got Lashawn winning this and, if the track is as fast as it was in Beijing, don’t be surprised if he is within earshot of the world record.

Merritt, 2. Van Niekerk, 3. James