Moore had run 50.7 in the US Trials to become the second man to run
under 51 seconds. He enhanced his status as the man to beat by being
more than a second faster than anyone else in the first two rounds -
with 51.8 (51.95), then 50.8 (50.98). In the second round he coasted in,
accepting afterwards that he would otherwise have broken Hardin’s
world record of 50.6. For the first time three rounds were required to
arrive at six finalists, and the semi-finals were won by Lituyev - 51.8
(51.90) - and Moore 52.0 (52.08).
The field was level in the final until hurdle three, and Moore then
applied pressure, taking a slight lead over Lituyev, passing the fifth
hurdle in 23.1 (22.7 in the earlier 50.8), while the others tailed off. The
Russian was trying to run 13 strides between hurdles as far as possible,
while Moore was taking 15 paces between barriers. The American
began to move clear after the ninth barrier, where he held half a metre
advantage, and his much greater quarter-miling speed took him home
more than 3m clear.
United States
Soviet Union
New Zealand
Great Britain
Italy
Sweden
Hungary
France
Switzerland
Finland
Greece
Brazil
South Africa
Australia
Japan
Austria
Luxembourg
Pakistan
Iceland
Chile
Turkey
Venezuela
Portugal
Puerto Rico
