Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games – Men's 400 metres explained

The 400 metres at the 2006 Commonwealth Games as part of the athletics programme were held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from Monday 20 March to Wednesday 22 March 2006.

The top two runners in each of the eight heats automatically qualified for the semifinals. The next eight fastest runners from across the heats also qualified. Those 24 runners competed in 3 semifinals, with the top two runners from each and next two fastest qualifying for the final.

Records

World Record	43.18 s	Michael Johnson	USA	Seville, Spain	26 August 1999
Games Record	44.52 s	Iwan Thomas	WAL	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	18 September 1998

Medals

Gold:	Silver:	Bronze:
John Steffensen, Australia	Alleyne Francique, Grenada	Jermaine Gonzales, Jamaica

Qualification

Going into the event, the top ten Commonwealth athletes as ranked by the International Association of Athletics Federations were:

13 March Rank		Athlete	Nation	Games Result	27 March Rank
Comm.	World				Comm.	World
1	2	Chris Brown	Bahamas	4th	1	2
=2	=3	Timothy Benjamin		Did not compete	=2	=3
=2	=3	Brandon Simpson	Jamaica	Did not compete	=2	=3
4	5	Tyler Christopher	Canada	Did not compete	4	5
5	=7	Alleyne Francique	Grenada	Silver	5	6
6	=9	Michael Blackwood	Jamaica	Did not compete	6	=9
7	12	Davian Clarke	Jamaica	Semifinalist	7	12
8	16	Sanjay Ayre	Jamaica	Did not compete	9	17
9	17	John Steffensen	Australia	Gold	8	13
10	18	Robert Tobin		Semifinalist	11	19

Results

All times shown are in seconds.

• Q denotes qualification by place in heat.
• q denotes qualification by overall place.
• DNS denotes did not start.
• DNF denotes did not finish.
• DQ denotes disqualification.
• NR denotes national record.
• GR denotes Games record.
• WR denotes world record.
• PB denotes personal best.
• SB denotes season best.

Heats

Heat 1 of 8 Date: Monday 20 March 2006 Time: ??:?? AM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	7	James Godday	Nigeria	3	0.224 s	45.93 s	Q
2	=9	Chris Lloyd	Dominica	4	0.166 s	46.14 s	Q	SB
3	19		Botswana	6	0.174 s	46.43 s	q	PB
4	24	Jan van der Merwe	South Africa	5	0.292 s	46.81 s	q
5	=36	Chris Walasi	Solomon Islands	2	0.193 s	48.20 s
-	-	Moses Kamut	Vanuatu	1		DNS

Heat 2 of 8 Date: Monday 20 March 2006 Time: ??:?? AM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	14	Robert Tobin	England	4	0.230 s	46.20 s	Q
2	21	Davian Clarke	Jamaica	7	0.246 s	46.53 s	Q
3	22		Trinidad and Tobago	3	0.244 s	46.66 s	q
4	30	Julius Kirwa	Kenya	5	0.213 s	47.55 s
5	31	Enote Inanga	Saint Kitts and Nevis	6	0.216 s	47.59 s
6	=36	Samuel Egadu	Uganda	2	0.217 s	48.20 s

Heat 3 of 8 Date: Monday 20 March 2006 Time: ??:?? AM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	18	Ato Modibo	Trinidad and Tobago	3	??	46.42 s	Q
2	23	Eric Milazar	Mauritius	5	??	46.68 s	Q
3	26		Sri Lanka	7	??	47.03 s
4	28	Gareth Warburton	Wales	6	??	47.31 s
5	34	Waisea Finau	Fiji	2	??	48.10 s		PB

Heat 4 of 8 Date: Monday 20 March 2006 Time: ??:?? AM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	11	Chris Brown	Bahamas	4	0.187 s	46.16 s	Q
2	13	Clinton Hill	Australia	6	0.206 s	46.18 s	Q
3	25		Sri Lanka	3	0.227 s	46.83 s
4	35	Fernando Augustin	Mauritius	5	0.212 s	48.11 s
5	43	Tawhidul Islam Md	Bangladesh	7	0.239 s	51.70 s
6	44	Shaquan Been	Turks and Caicos Islands	2	0.250 s	51.79 s

Heat 5 of 8 Date: Monday 20 March 2006 Time: ??:?? AM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	6	John Steffensen	Australia	2	0.200 s	45.87 s	Q
2	15	Saul Welgopwa	Nigeria	7	0.360 s	46.26 s	Q
3	20		South Africa	6	0.178 s	46.44 s	q
4	32	Obakeng Ngwigwa	Botswana	5	0.229 s	47.67 s
5	41	Nkosie Barnes	Antigua and Barbuda	4	0.327 s	49.69 s
-	-	Daryl Vassallo	Gibraltar	3		DNS

Heat 6 of 8 Date: Monday 20 March 2006 Time: ??:?? AM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	1	California Molefe	Botswana	6	0.228 s	45.36 s	Q
2	2	Alleyne Francique	Grenada	3	0.183 s	45.60 s	Q	SB
3	4		Bahamas	4	0.194 s	45.82 s	q	SB
4	12	Sean Wroe	Australia	7	0.264 s	46.17 s	q
5	39	Foy Waqairadovu	Fiji	2	0.224 s	48.98 s		PB
6	46	Ismail Saneem	Maldives	5	0.226 s	53.42 s		SB
-	-	Bola Lawal	Nigeria	8	0.242 s	DSQ		163.3

Heat 7 of 8 Date: Monday 20 March 2006 Time: ??:?? AM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	8	Lansford Spence	Jamaica	2	0.278 s	46.13 s	Q
2	=9	Paul Gorries	South Africa	5	0.279 s	46.14 s	Q
3	16		Kenya	3	0.364 s	46.31 s	q
4	17	Niko Verekauta	Fiji	4	0.236 s	46.40 s	q	PB
5	29	Roger Polydore	Dominica	6	0.323 s	47.40 s		PB
6	45	Arnold Sorina	Vanuatu	1	0.190 s	52.41 s
-	-	Albert Kobba	Sierra Leone	7	0.183 s	DSQ		163.3

Heat 8 of 8 Date: Monday 20 March 2006 Time: ??:?? AM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	3	Martyn Rooney	England	7	0.255 s	45.69 s	Q	PB
2	5	Jermaine Gonzales	Jamaica	6	0.223 s	45.86 s	Q	SB
3	27		Kenya	3	0.269 s	47.10 s
4	33	Hassan Fullah	Sierra Leone	4	0.186 s	47.91 s
5	38	Jean Degrace	Mauritius	5	0.223 s	48.41 s
6	40	Lukungu Waiswa	Uganda	1	0.319 s	49.10 s		PB
7	42	Charmant Ollivierre	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2	0.235 s	50.31 s
-	-	Dennis Darling	Bahamas	8	0.154 s	DNF

Heats overall results
Place	Athlete	Nation	Heat	Lane	Place	Wind	Time	Qual.	Record
1	California Molefe	Botswana	6	6	1	?.?	45.36 s	Q
2	Alleyne Francique	Grenada	6	3	2	?.?	45.60 s	Q	SB
3	Martyn Rooney	England	8	7	1	?.?	45.69 s	Q	PB
4		Bahamas	6	4	3	?.?	45.82 s	q	SB
5	Jermaine Gonzales	Jamaica	8	6	2	?.?	45.86 s	Q	SB
6	John Steffensen	Australia	5	2	1	?.?	45.87 s	Q
7	James Godday	Nigeria	1	3	1	?.?	45.93 s	Q
8	Lansford Spence	Jamaica	7	2	1	?.?	46.13 s	Q
9	Paul Gorries	South Africa	7	5	2	?.?	46.14 s	Q
	Chris Lloyd	Dominica	1	4	2	?.?	46.14 s	Q	SB
11	Chris Brown	Bahamas	4	4	1	?.?	46.16 s	Q
12	Sean Wroe	Australia	6	7	4	?.?	46.17 s	q
13	Clinton Hill	Australia	4	6	2	?.?	46.18 s	Q
14	Robert Tobin	England	2	4	1	?.?	46.20 s	Q
15	Saul Welgopwa	Nigeria	5	7	2	?.?	46.26 s	Q
16		Kenya	7	3	3	?.?	46.31 s	q
17	Niko Verekauta	Fiji	7	4	4	?.?	46.40 s	q	PB
18	Ato Modibo	Trinidad and Tobago	3	3	1	?.?	46.42 s	Q
19		Botswana	1	6	3	?.?	46.43 s	q	PB
20		South Africa	5	6	3	?.?	46.44 s	q
21	Davian Clarke	Jamaica	2	7	2	?.?	46.53 s	Q
22		Trinidad and Tobago	2	3	3	?.?	46.66 s	q
23	Eric Milazar	Mauritius	3	5	2	?.?	46.68 s	Q
24	Jan van der Merwe	South Africa	1	5	4	?.?	46.81 s	q
25		Sri Lanka	4	3	3	?.?	46.83 s
26		Sri Lanka	3	7	3	?.?	47.03 s
27		Kenya	8	3	3	?.?	47.10 s
28	Gareth Warburton	Wales	3	6	4	?.?	47.31 s
29	Roger Polydore	Dominica	7	6	5	?.?	47.40 s		PB
30	Julius Kirwa	Kenya	2	5	4	?.?	47.55 s
31	Enote Inanga	Saint Kitts and Nevis	2	6	5	?.?	47.59 s
32	Obakeng Ngwigwa	Botswana	5	5	4	?.?	47.67 s
33	Hassan Fullah	Sierra Leone	8	4	4	?.?	47.91 s
34	Waisea Finau	Fiji	3	2	5	?.?	48.10 s		PB
35	Fernando Augustin	Mauritius	4	5	4	?.?	48.11 s
36	Samuel Egadu	Uganda	2	2	6	?.?	48.20 s
	Chris Walasi	Solomon Islands	2	2	6	?.?	48.20 s
38	Jean Degrace	Mauritius	8	5	5	?.?	48.41 s
39	Foy Waqairadovu	Fiji	6	2	5	?.?	48.98 s		PB
40	Lukungu Waiswa	Uganda	8	1	6	?.?	49.10 s		PB
41	Nkosie Barnes	Antigua and Barbuda	5	4	5	?.?	49.69 s
42	Charmant Ollivierre	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	8	2	7	?.?	50.31 s
43	Tawhidul Islam Md	Bangladesh	4	7	5	?.?	51.70 s
44	Shaquan Been	Turks and Caicos Islands	4	2	6	?.?	51.79 s
45	Arnold Sorina	Vanuatu	7	1	6	?.?	52.41 s
46	Ismail Saneem	Maldives	6	5	6	?.?	53.42 s		SB
-	Dennis Darling	Bahamas	8	8	-	?.?	DNF
	Bola Lawal	Nigeria	6	8	-	?.?	DSQ		163.3
	Albert Kobba	Sierra Leone	7	7	-	?.?	DSQ		163.3
	Moses Kamut	Vanuatu	1	1	-	?.?	DNS
	Daryl Vassallo	Gibraltar	5	3	-	?.?	DNS

Semi-finals

Semifinal 1 of 3 Date: Tuesday 21 March 2006 Time: ??:?? PM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	3	Lansford Spence	Jamaica	5	0.323 s	45.32 s	Q
2	4	Martyn Rooney	England	3	0.221 s	45.35 s	Q	PB
3	8	Paul Gorries	South Africa	6	0.177 s	45.41 s	q	SB
4	9	Ato Modibo	Trinidad and Tobago	4	0.256 s	45.44 s
5	10		Bahamas	2	0.166 s	45.72 s		SB
6	16	Saul Welgopwa	Nigeria	1	0.168 s	46.12 s
7	18	Niko Verekauta	Fiji	7	0.189 s	46.28 s		PB
8	21	Sean Wroe	Australia	8	0.207 s	46.47 s

Semifinal 2 of 3 Date: Thursday 23 March 2006 Time: ??:?? PM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	1	John Steffensen	Australia	5	0.283 s	45.05 s	Q	PB
2	=5	Alleyne Francique	Grenada	3	0.215 s	45.36 s	Q	SB
3	7	Jermaine Gonzales	Jamaica	6	0.350 s	45.38 s	q	PB
4	13	James Godday	Nigeria	4	0.308 s	45.80 s
5	19		Kenya	7	0.370 s	46.34 s
6	20		South Africa	8	0.350 s	46.46 s
7	22	Eric Milazar	Mauritius	1	0.254 s	46.48 s
8	24		Botswana	2	0.150 s	46.97 s

Semifinal 3 of 3 Date: Thursday 23 March 2006 Time: ??:?? PM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place		Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Qual.	Record
Heat	Overall
1	2	Chris Brown	Bahamas	6	0.182 s	45.24 s	Q	SB
2	=5	California Molefe	Botswana	3	0.289 s	45.36 s	Q	FS 1
3	11	Robert Tobin	England	4	0.236 s	45.74 s
4	12	Davian Clarke	Jamaica	7	0.213 s	45.74 s
5	14	Clinton Hill	Australia	1	0.206 s	45.86 s
6	15	Jan van der Merwe	South Africa	2	0.250 s	45.93 s
7	17	Chris Lloyd	Dominica	5	0.162 s	46.24 s
8	23		Trinidad and Tobago	8	0.418 s	46.96 s

Semifinals overall results
Place	Athlete	Nation	Heat	Lane	Place	Wind	Time	Qual.	Record
1	John Steffensen	Australia	2	5	1	?.?	45.05 s	Q	PB
2	Chris Brown		3	6	1	?.?	45.24 s	Q	SB
3	Lansford Spence	Jamaica	1	5	1	?.?	45.32 s	Q
4	Martyn Rooney	England	1	3	2	?.?	45.35 s	Q	PB
5	Alleyne Francique	Grenada	2	3	2	?.?	45.36 s	Q	SB
	California Molefe	Botswana	3	3	2	?.?	45.36 s	Q	FS 1
7	Jermaine Gonzales	Jamaica	2	6	3	?.?	45.38 s	q	PB
8	Paul Gorries	South Africa	1	6	3	?.?	45.41 s	q	SB
9	Ato Modibo	Trinidad and Tobago	1	4	4	?.?	45.44 s
10		Bahamas	1	2	5	?.?	45.72 s		SB
11	Robert Tobin	England	3	4	3	?.?	45.74 s
12	Davian Clarke	Jamaica	3	7	4	?.?	45.74 s
13	James Godday	Nigeria	2	4	4	?.?	45.80 s
14	Clinton Hill	Australia	3	1	5	?.?	45.86 s
15	Jan van der Merwe	South Africa	3	2	6	?.?	45.93 s
16	Saul Welgopwa	Nigeria	1	1	6	?.?	46.12 s
17	Chris Lloyd	Dominica	3	5	7	?.?	46.24 s
18	Niko Verekauta	Fiji	1	7	7	?.?	46.28 s		PB
19		Kenya	2	7	5	?.?	46.34 s
20		South Africa	2	8	6	?.?	46.46 s
21	Sean Wroe	Australia	1	8	8	?.?	46.47 s
22	Eric Milazar	Mauritius	2	1	7	?.?	46.48 s
23		Trinidad and Tobago	3	8	8	?.?	46.96 s
24		Botswana	2	2	8	?.?	46.97 s

Final

Final Date: Wednesday 22 March 2006 Time: ??:?? PM Wind: ?.? m/s
Place	Athlete	Nation	Lane	Reaction	Time	Record
1	John Steffensen	Australia	4	0.201 s	44.73 s	PB
2	Alleyne Francique	Grenada	7	0.206 s	45.09 s	SB
3	Jermaine Gonzales	Jamaica	8	0.216 s	45.16 s	PB
4	Chris Brown	Bahamas	3	0.264 s	45.19 s	SB
5	Martyn Rooney	England	5	0.182 s	45.51 s
6	California Molefe	Botswana	2	0.283 s	45.78 s
7	Paul Gorries	South Africa	1	0.161 s	45.79 s
7	Lansford Spence	Jamaica	6	0.322 s	45.79 s

References

• Results