A thrilling final in which three men finished in a line with another three less than one metre back. Former 400 star Krylov ran the best bend but in the middle of the finishing straight, 20 year-old Regis (lane 2) went to the front along with Quenéhervé (lane 6). In lane 8, defending champion Smith looked as if he would not even get a medal, lying fifth at 150m. But he finished the quickest, whereas Regis not only dipped too soon at the line but also looked over to his right. Regis, Quenéhervé and Smith all took turns in thinking they had won after the finish. It was then confirmed that Smith had retained his title despite sharing the same time as the Frenchman. Regis was third, just two hundredths behind the leading pair. “The time differences that decided the final placements were infinitesimal,” stated the IAF’s Scientific Report of the championships. “The time analysis of the final shows that the fast finish (the last 50m section) was decisive. Smith would not have had such a tough time contesting the first place with Quenéhervé if he had clocked a better time in the first 100m section, which was fully within his potential.” In fact, the American was not able to run a faster bend because of a groin injury picked up in the semi-final.
USA
FRA
GBR
BRA
URS
ITA
CAN
AUT
HUN
JAM
KEN
FRG
CUB
NED
ISV
POR
GHA
AUS
TCH
ALG
BKF
TRI
CHN
SLE
MLI
SIN
CKI
HKG
YEM
PNG
TON
GEQ