Medalists
| Gold |
Angelo Taylor
United States (USA) |
| Silver |
Kerron Clement
United States (USA) |
| Bronze |
Bershawn Jackson
United States (USA) |
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:
| World Record |
Kevin Young (USA) |
46.78 s |
Barcelona, Spain |
6 August 1992 |
| Olympic Record |
Kevin Young (USA) |
46.78 s |
Barcelona, Spain |
6 August 1992 |
Heats
| Heat |
Lane |
Name |
Nationality |
Results |
Notes |
| 1 |
2 |
Kenji Narisako |
Japan |
49.63 |
|
| 1 |
3 |
Pieter de Villiers |
South Africa |
49.24 |
Q |
| 1 |
4 |
Bershawn Jackson |
United States |
49.20 |
Q |
| 1 |
5 |
Harouna Garba |
Niger |
55.14 |
|
| 1 |
6 |
Mahau Suguimati |
Brazil |
49.45 |
Q |
| 1 |
7 |
Edivaldo Monteiro |
Portugal |
49.89 |
SB |
| 1 |
8 |
Jonathan Williams |
Belize |
49.61 |
q |
| 2 |
3 |
Alexander Derevyagin |
Russia |
49.19 |
q |
| 2 |
4 |
Bayano Kamani |
Panama |
49.05 |
q SB |
| 2 |
5 |
Alwyn Myburgh |
South Africa |
48.92 |
Q SB |
| 2 |
6 |
Danny McFarlane |
Jamaica |
48.86 |
Q |
| 2 |
7 |
Ibrahima Maiga |
Mali |
50.57 |
|
| 2 |
8 |
Angelo Taylor |
United States |
48.67 |
Q |
| 3 |
3 |
Meng Yan |
China |
49.73 |
SB |
| 3 |
4 |
Marek Plawgo |
Poland |
49.17 |
Q |
| 3 |
5 |
Markino Buckley |
Jamaica |
48.65 |
Q PB |
| 3 |
6 |
Aleksey Pogorelov |
Kyrgyzstan |
51.47 |
|
| 3 |
7 |
Javier Culson |
Puerto Rico |
49.60 |
q |
| 3 |
8 |
L.J. van Zyl |
South Africa |
48.86 |
Q |
| 4 |
2 |
Yevgeniy Meleshenko |
Kazakhstan |
DNF |
|
| 4 |
3 |
Isa Phillips |
Jamaica |
49.55 |
Q |
| 4 |
4 |
Mowen Boino |
Papua New Guinea |
51.47 |
SB |
| 4 |
5 |
Felix Sanchez |
Dominican Republic |
51.10 |
Q |
| 4 |
6 |
Kerron Clement |
United States |
49.42 |
Q |
| 4 |
7 |
Dai Tamesue |
Japan |
49.82 |
|
| 4 |
8 |
Periklis Iakovakis |
Greece |
49.50 |
Q |
Semifinals
Heat 1
| Place |
Athlete |
Time |
Qual. |
| 1 |
Angelo Taylor (USA) |
47.94 |
Q |
| 2 |
Bershawn Jackson (USA) |
48.02 |
Q |
| 3 |
.J van Zyl (RSA) |
48.57 |
Q |
| 4 |
Marek Plawgo (POL) |
48.75 |
Q |
| 5 |
Isa Phillips (JAM) |
48.85 |
|
| 6 |
lexander Derevyagin (RUS) |
49.23 |
|
| 7 |
ieter de Villiers (RSA) |
49.44 |
|
| 8 |
Javier Culson (PUR) |
49.85 |
|
Heat 2
| Place |
Athlete |
Time |
Qual. |
| 1 |
Kerron Clement (USA) |
48.27 |
Q |
| 2 |
Danny McFarlane (JAM) |
48.33 |
Q |
| 3 |
Markino Buckley (JAM) |
48.50 |
Q |
| 4 |
Periklis Iakovakis (GRE) |
48.69 |
Q |
| 5 |
lwyn Myburgh (RSA) |
49.16 |
|
| 6 |
Jonathan Williams (BIZ) |
49.64 |
|
| 7 |
Mahau Suguimati (BRA) |
50.16 |
|
| 8 |
Bayano Kamani (PAN) |
50.48 |
|
Final
| Rank |
Athlete |
Time |
| 1 |
Angelo Taylor (USA) |
47.25 |
| 2 |
Kerron Clement (USA) |
47.98 |
| 3 |
Bershawn Jackson (USA) |
48.06 |
| 4 |
Danny McFarlane (JAM) |
48.30 |
| 5 |
L.J van Zyl (RSA) |
48.42 |
| 6 |
Marek Plawgo (POL) |
48.52 |
| 7 |
Markino Buckley (JAM) |
48.60 |
| 8 |
Periklis Iakovakis (GRE) |
49.96 |
|
