His time was initially noted as one hundredth slower, but this was rounded up after an analysis of the photo finish.

However, when the Olympics returned in 1920 after World War I, the men's 400 metres hurdles was back and would continue to be contested at every Games thereafter.

Two of the eight finalists from the 1972 Games returned: the joint sixth-place finishers Yevgeny Gavrilenko of the Soviet Union and Stavros Tziortzis of Greece.

The favorite would have been reigning champion John Akii-Bua of Uganda, but the African boycott of the 1976 Games prevented him from competing.

European and Commonwealth champion Alan Pascoe of Great Britain was hampered by a leg injury.

None of the Americans were particularly prominent; the United States team was led by Edwin Moses, a hurdler competing in his first international meet, though he would go on to become the preeminent athlete in the event.