Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres The men's 400 metres was an Olympic event for the fourth time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held originally scheduled from July 21, 1908 to July 23, 1908. The rerun of the final was held on July 25, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres= mile in circumference. 37 runners from ten nations competed. It was the most controversial event of the London Games. The final resulted in the disqualification of American runner John Carpenter, who had blocked British athlete Wyndham
Olympic Games Athens. These Games were, but are not now, officially recognised by the IOC and no Intercalated Games have been held since. The Games attracted a broad international field of participants and generated great public interest. This marked the beginning of a rise in both the popularity and the size of the Olympics. The Winter Olympics was created to feature snow and ice sports that were logistically impossible to hold during the Summer Games. Figure skating (in 1908 and 1920) and ice hockey (in 1920) were featured as Olympic events at the Summer Olympics. The IOC desired to expand this list