| Final 15:00 | time | L | | 1. Charles Reidpath |  United States | 48.2s WR | 3 | | 2. Hanns Braun |  Germany | 48.3s | 2 | | 3. Edward Lindberg | United States | 48.4s | 5 | | 4. Ted Meredith | United States | 49.2s | 1 | | 5. Carroll Haff | United States | 49.5s | 4 |
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| | | Venue: Stockholm Olympic Stadion 20,000. 49 competitors from 16 nations. | | Semi-Finals | | Heats |
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| World Record: Maxie Long, United States 47.8s New York, United States 29 September 1900 | | Olympic Record: Wyndham Halswelle, Great Britain 48.4s London, United Kingdom 22 July 1908 |
This track was 536.45 metres=1⁄3 mile in circumference.The Olympic record of 48.4 seconds, set at the previous Olympics,
fell in the final. Charles Reidpath broke the record with a 48.2 second performance. Reidpath's time was ratified by the IAAF
as the inaugural official world record. Hanns Braun also broke the old Olympic record and Edward Lindberg tied it, en route to
silver and bronze medals, respectively.
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Semi-Finals - Friday, 12th July 1912 16:15 | | 5 Semis with 29 athletes. Winners advanced to Final. |
| Semi 1 | time | | | 1. Charles Reidpath | United States | 48.7s | Q | | 2. Clarence Edmundson | United States | Unknown | | | 3. George Nicol |  Great Britain | Unknown | | | 4. Frigyes Wiesner |  Hungary | Unknown | | | 5. Charles Poulenard |  France | Unknown | | | -. John Dahlin |  Sweden | DNS | |
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| Semi 2 | time | | | 1. Edward Lindberg | United States | 48.9s | Q | | 2. Eric Lindholm | Sweden | 50.2s | | | 3. Charles Lelong | France | Unknown | | | -. Jacques Person | Germany | DNF | | | -. Cyril Seedhouse | Great Britain | DNF | | | -. Joseph Wells | Great Britain | DNF | |
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| Semi 3 | time | | | 1. Ted Meredith | United States | 48.8s | Q | | 2. Mel Sheppard | United States | 48.9s | | | 3. George Patching | South Africa | 50.5s | | | 4. Knut Stenborg | Sweden | 50.5s | | | 5. Jacob Pedersen |  Norway | Unknown | | | 6. Ernest Henley | Great Britain | Unknown | |
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| Semi 4 | time | | | 1. Carroll Haff | United States | 49.7s | Q | | 2. Emilio Lunghi |  Italy | Unknown | | | 3. Ervin Szerelemhegyi |  Hungary | Unknown | | | -. Ernest Haley | Great Britain | DNF | | | -. James Rosenberger | United States | DNF | | | -. Yahiko Mishima |  Japan | DNS | |
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| Semi 5 | time | | | 1. Hanns Braun | Germany | 49.2s | Q | | 2. Ira Davenport | United States | Unknown | | | 3. James Soutter | Great Britain | Unknown | | | 4. Paul Zerling | Sweden | Unknown | | | -. Donnell Young | United States | DSQ | |
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Heats - Friday, 12 July 1912 11:00 | | 15 Heats with 49 athletes. Best 2 advanced to Semi-Finals. |
| Heat 1 | time | | | 1. James Rosenberger | United States | 50.6s | Q | | 2. Charles Poulenard | France | 50.7s | Q | | 3. Wladyslaw Ponurski |  Austria | Unknown | | | -. Claude Ross |  Australasia | DNF | |
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| Heat 2 | time | | | 1. Ernest Haley | Great Britain | 1:06.6 | Q | | 2. Mel Sheppard | United States | 1:06.6 | Q |
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| Heat 3 | time | | | 1. Hanns Braun | Germany | 50.6s | Q | | 2. Ted Meredith | United States | Unknown | Q | | 3. Armando Cortesão |  Portugal | Unknown | |
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| Heat 4 | time | | | 1. Paul Zerling | Sweden | 55.4s | Q | | 2. Yahiko Mishima | Japan | 55.5s | Q |
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| Heat 5 | time | | | 1. Charles Lelong | France | 50.2s | Q | | 2. Donnell Young | United States | 50.4s | Q | | 3. István Déván | Hungary | Unknown | | | 4. Gustav Möller | Sweden | Unknown | |
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| Heat 6 | time | | | 1. Knut Stenborg | Sweden | 1:01.6 | Q |
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| Heat 7 | time | | | 1. Carroll Haff | United States | 50.4s | Q | | 2. Emilio Lunghi |  Italy | 50.5s | Q | | 3. Max Herrmann | Germany | Unknown | |
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| Heat 8 | time | | | 1. Frigyes Wiesner | Hungary | 50.8s | Q | | 2. John Dahlin | Sweden | 51.0s | Q | | 3. Georges Malfait | France | Unknown | |
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| Heat 9 | time | | | 1. Eric Lindholm | Sweden | 51.4s | Q | | 2. Jacob Pedersen | Norway | 51.6s | Q | | 3. Heinrich Burkowitz | Germany | 51.7s | | | 4. Václav Labík |  Bohrmia | Unknown | |
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| Heat 10 | time | | | 1. Edward Lindberg | United States | 50.6s | Q | | 2. James Soutter | Great Britain | Unknown | Q | | 3. Franco Giongo | Italy | Unknown | |
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| Heat 11 | time | | | 1. Clarence Edmundson | United States | 50.2s | Q | | 2. Ernest Henley | Great Britain | Unknown | Q | | 3. Mel Brock |  Canada | Unknown | | | 4. Pyotr Gayevsky |  Russia | Unknown | |
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| Heat 12 | time | | | 1. George Nicol | Great Britain | 50.0s | Q | | 2. Ira Davenport | United States | Unknown | Q | | 3. Thomas Gallon | Canada | Unknown | | | 4. Erich Lehmann | Germany | Unknown | | | 5. Georges Rolot | France | Unknown | | | 6. Bodor Ödön | Hungary | Unknown | |
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| Heat 13 | time | | | 1. Jacques Person | Germany | 55.4s | Q | | 2. Joseph Wells | Great Britain | 1:01.2s | Q |
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| Heat 14 | time | | | 1. Cyril Seedhouse | Great Britain | 51.5s | Q | | 2. Ervin Szerelemhegyi | Hungary | Unknown | Q | | -. Alexander Pedersen | Norway | 51.9s DSQ | |
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| Heat 15 | time | | | 1. George Patching | South Africa | 51.1s | Q | | 2. Charles Reidpath | United States | 51.2s | Q | | 3. Heinrich Wenseler |  Germany | Unknown | | | 4. Alan Patterson | Great Britain | Unknown | | | 5. Robert Schurrer | France | Unknown | |
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