Men's 400 metres world record progression
Time Athlete Nationality Location of race Date
47.8y Maxie Long United States New York , USA September 29 , 1900
48.2 Charles Reidpath United States Stockholm , Sweden July 13 , 1912
47.4y Ted Meredith United States Cambridge , USA May 27 , 1916
47.6 Eric Liddell United Kingdom Paris , France July 11 , 1924
47.0 Emerson Spencer United States Palo Alto , USA May 12 , 1928
46.4y Ben Eastman United States Palo Alto , California , USA March 26 , 1932
46.2 Bill Carr United States Los Angeles , USA August 5 , 1932
46.1 Archie Williams United States Chicago , USA June 19 , 1936
46.0 Rudolf Harbig Germany Frankfurt am Main , Germany August 12 , 1939
46.0 Grover Klemmer United States Philadelphia , USA June 6 , 1941
46.0y Herb McKenley Jamaica Berkeley , USA June 5 , 1948
45.9 Herb McKenley Jamaica Milwaukee , USA July 2 , 1948
45.8 George Rhoden Jamaica Eskilstuna , Sweden August 22 , 1950
45.4A Lou Jones United States Mexico City , Mexico March 18 , 1955
45.2 Lou Jones United States Los Angeles , USA June 30 , 1956
44.9 Otis Davis United States Rome , Italy September 6 , 1960
44.9 Carl Kaufmann Germany Rome , Italy September 6 , 1960
44.9y Adolph Plummer United States Tempe , USA May 25 , 1963
44.9 Mike Larrabee United States Los Angeles , USA September 12 , 1964
44.5+ Tommie Smith United States San Jose , USA May 20 , 1967
Records 1912–1976
The first world record in the 400 m for men (athletics) was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912. The IAAF ratified Charles Reidpath's 48.2 performance set at that year's Stockholm Olympics as a world record, but it also recognized the superior mark over 440 yards (402.34 metres) run by Maxie Long in 1900 as a world record. To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 23 world records in the event. The following tables show the world record progression in the men's 400 metres, as ratified by the IAAF.