400-Meter Dash
Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff 
| 1896 | Thomas Burke, United States | 54.20 |
| 1900 | Maxwell Long, United States | 49.40 |
| 1904 | Harry Hillman, United States | 49.20 |
| 1906 | Paul Pilgrim, United States | 53.20 |
| 1908 | Wyndham Halswelle, Great Britain (walkover) | 50.00 |
| 1912 | Charles Reidpath, United States | 48.20 |
| 1920 | Bevil Rudd, South Africa | 49.60 |
| 1924 | Eric Liddell, Great Britain | 47.60 |
| 1928 | Ray Barbuti, United States | 47.80 |
| 1932 | William Carr, United States | 46.20 |
| 1936 | Archie Williams, United States | 46.50 |
| 1948 | Arthur Wint, Jamaica, B.W.I. | 46.20 |
| 1952 | George Rhoden, Jamaica, B.W.I. | 45.90 |
| 1956 | Charles Jenkins, United States | 46.70 |
| 1960 | Otis Davis, United States | 44.90 |
| 1964 | Mike Larrabee, United States | 45.10 |
| 1968 | Lee Evans, United States | 43.80 |
| 1972 | Vincent Matthews, United States | 44.66 |
| 1976 | Alberto Juantorena, Cuba | 44.26 |
| 1980 | Viktor Markin, USSR | 44.60 |
| 1984 | Alonzo Babers, United States | 44.27 |
| 1988 | Steve Lewis, United States | 43.87 |
| 1992 | Quincy Watts, United States | 43.50 |
| 1996 | Michael Johnson, United States | 43.49 |
| 2000 | Michael Johnson, United States | 43.84 |
| 2004 | Jeremy Wariner, United States | 44.00 |
| 2008 | LaShawn Merritt, United States | 43.75 |
