| 2021 | ||||
| (Tokyo, August 3) | ||||
| 1. | Karsten Warholm (Norway) | 45.94 | WR, OR | |
| 2. | Rai Benjamin (USA) | 46.17 | AR | |
| 3. | Alison dos Santos (Brazil) | 46.72 | ||
| 4. | Kyron McMaster (British Virgin Islands) | 47.08 | ||
| 5. | Abderrahmane Samba (Qatar) | 47.12 | ||
| 6. | Yasmani Copello (Turkey) | 47.81 | ||
| 7. | Rasmus Mägi (Estonia) | 48.11 | ||
| 8. | Alessandro Sibilio (Italy) | 48.77 | ||
| [David Kendziera (USA) 3rd in semi] | ||||
| [Kenny Selmon (USA) 4th in semi] | ||||
| 2016 | ||||
| (Rio de Janeiro, August 18) | ||||
| 1 | Kerron Clement (USA) | 47.73 | ||
| 2 | Boniface Tumuti (Kenya) | 47.78 | ||
| 3 | Yasmani Copello (Turkey) | 47.92 | ||
| 4 | Thomas Barr (Ireland) | 47.97 | ||
| 5 | Annsert Whyte (Jamaica) | 48.07 | ||
| 6 | Rasmus Mägi (Estonia) | 48.40 | ||
| 7 | Haron Koech (Kenya) | 49.09 | ||
| fs | Javier Culson (Puerto Rico) | |||
| [Byron Robinson (USA) 3rd in semi] | ||||
| [Michael Tinsley (USA) 6th in heat] | ||||
| 2012 | ||||
| (London, August 6) | ||||
| 1 | Félix Sánchez (Dominican Republic) | 47.63 | ||
| 2 | Michael Tinsley (USA) | 47.91 | ||
| 3 | Javier Culson (Puerto Rico) | 48.10 | ||
| 4 | Dai Greene (Great Britain) | 48.24 | ||
| 5 | Angelo Taylor (USA) | 48.25 | ||
| 6 | Jehue Gordon (Trinidad) | 48.86 | ||
| 7 | Leford Green (Jamaica) | 49.12 | ||
| 8 | Kerron Clement (USA) | 49.15 | ||
| 2008 | ||||
| 1 | Angelo Taylor (USA) | 47.25 | ||
| 2 | Kerron Clement (USA) | 47.98 | ||
| 3 | Bershawn Jackson (USA) | 48.06 | ||
| 4 | Danny McFarlane (Jamaica) | 48.30 | ||
| 5 | LJ van Zyl (South Africa) | 48.42 | ||
| 6 | Marek Plawgo (Poland) | 48.52 | ||
| 7 | Markino Buckley (Jamaica) | 48.60 | ||
| 8 | Periklís Iakovákis (Greece) | 49.96 | ||
| 2004 | ||||
| 1 | Félix Sánchez (Dominican Republic) | 47.63 | ||
| 2 | Danny McFarlane (Jamaica) | 48.11 | ||
| 3 | Naman Keïta (France) | 48.26 | ||
| 4 | James Carter (USA) | 48.58 | ||
| 5 | Bayano Kamani (Panama) | 48.74 | ||
| 6 | Marek Plawgo (Poland) | 49.00 | ||
| 7 | Alwyn Myburgh (South Africa) | 49.07 | ||
| 8 | Bennie Brazell (USA) | 49.51 | ||
| [Angelo Taylor (USA) 4th in semi] | ||||
| 2000 | ||||
| 1 | Angelo Taylor (USA) | 47.50 | ||
| 2 | Hadi Al-Somaily (Saudi Arabia) | 47.53 | ||
| 3 | Llewellyn Herbert (South Africa) | 47.81 | ||
| 4 | James Carter (USA) | 48.04 | ||
| 5 | Eronilde de Araújo (Brazil) | 48.34 | ||
| 6 | Pawel Januszewski (Poland) | 48.44 | ||
| 7 | Fabrizio Mori (Italy) | 48.78 | ||
| 8 | Gennadiy Gorbenko (Ukraine) | 49.01 | ||
| [Eric Thomas (USA) 5th in semi] | ||||
| 1996 | ||||
| 1 | Derrick Adkins (USA) | 47.54 | ||
| 2 | Samuel Matete (Zambia) | 47.78 | ||
| 3 | Calvin Davis (USA) | 47.96 | ||
| 4 | Sven Nylander (Sweden) | 47.98 | ||
| 5 | Rohan Robinson (Australia) | 48.30 | ||
| 6 | Fabrizio Mori (Italy) | 48.41 | ||
| 7 | Everson Texeira (Brazil) | 48.57 | ||
| 8 | Eronilde de Araújo (Brazil) | 48.78 | ||
| [Bryan Bronson (USA) 8th in semi] | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1 | Kevin Young (USA) | 46.78 | ||
| 2 | Winthrop Graham (Jamaica) | 47.66 | ||
| 3 | Kriss Akabusi (Great Britain) | 47.82 | ||
| 4 | Stéphane Diagana (France) | 48.17 | ||
| 5 | Niklas Wallenlind (Sweden) | 48.63 | ||
| 6 | Oleg Tverdokhleb (Ukraine) | 48.63 | ||
| 7 | Stéphane Caristan (France) | 48.86 | ||
| 8 | David Patrick (USA) | 49.26 | ||
| [McClinton Neal (USA) 5th in semi] | ||||
| [Young 46.78 WR, OR] | ||||
| 1988 | ||||
| 1 | Andre Phillips (USA) | 47.19 | ||
| 2 | Amadou Dia Bâ (Senegal) | 47.23 | ||
| 3 | Edwin Moses (USA) | 47.56 | ||
| 4 | Kevin Young (USA) | 47.94 | ||
| 5 | Winthrop Graham (Jamaica) | 48.04 | ||
| 6 | Kriss Akabusi (Great Britain) | 48.69 | ||
| 7 | Harald Schmid (West Germany) | 48.76 | ||
| 8 | Edgar Itt (West Germany) | 48.78 | ||
| [Phillips 47.19 OR] | ||||
| 1984 | ||||
| 1 | Edwin Moses (USA) | 47.75 | ||
| 2 | Danny Harris (USA) | 48.13 | ||
| 3 | Harald Schmid (West Germany) | 48.19 | ||
| 4 | Sven Nylander (Sweden) | 48.97 | ||
| 5 | Amadou Dia Bâ (Senegal) | 49.28 | ||
| 6 | Tranel Hawkins (USA) | 49.42 | ||
| 7 | Michel Zimmerman (Belgium) | 50.69 | ||
| 8 | Henry Amike (Nigeria) | 53.78 | ||
| 1980 | ||||
| 1 | Volker Beck (East Germany) | 48.70 | ||
| 2 | Vasiliy Arkhipenko (Soviet Union) | 48.86 | ||
| 3 | Gary Oakes (Great Britain) | 49.11 | ||
| 4 | Nikolay Vasilyev (Soviet Union) | 49.34 | ||
| 5 | Rok Kopitar (Yugoslavia) | 49.67 | ||
| 6 | Horia Toboc (Romania) | 49.84 | ||
| 7 | Franz Meier (Switzerland) | 50.00 | ||
| 8 | Yanko Bratanov (Bulgaria) | 56.35 | ||
| 1976 | ||||
| 1 | Edwin Moses (USA) | 47.64 | ||
| 2 | Mike Shine (USA) | 48.69 | ||
| 3 | Yevgeniy Gavrilyenko (Soviet Union) | 49.45 | ||
| 4 | Quentin Wheeler (USA) | 49.86 | ||
| 5 | José Carvalho (Portugal) | 49.94 | ||
| 6 | Yanko Bratanov (Bulgaria) | 50.03 | ||
| 7 | Alfonso Damaso (Cuba) | 50.19 | ||
| 8 | Alan Pascoe (Great Britain) | 51.29 | ||
| [Moses 47.64 WR, OR] | ||||
| 1972 | ||||
| 1 | John Akii‑Bua (Uga) | 47.82 | ||
| 2 | Ralph Mann (USA) | 48.51 | ||
| 3 | Dave Hemery (Great Britain) | 48.52 | ||
| 4 | Jim Seymour (USA) | 48.64 | ||
| 5 | Rainer Schubert (West Germany) | 49.65 | ||
| =6 | Yevgeniy Gavrilenko (Soviet Union) | 49.66 | ||
| =6 | Stavros Tziortzis (Greece) | 49.66 | ||
| 8 | Yuriy Zorin (Soviet Union) | 50.25 | ||
| [Dick Bruggeman (USA) 6th in heat] | ||||
| [Akii-Bua 47.82 WR, OR] | ||||
| 1968 | ||||
| (high altitude) | ||||
| 1 | Dave Hemery (Great Britain) | 48.1 (48.12) | ||
| 2 | Gerhard Hennige (West Germany) | 49.0 (49.02) | ||
| 3 | John Sherwood (Great Britain) | 49.0 (49.03) | ||
| 4 | Geoff Vanderstock (USA) | 49.0 (49.07) | ||
| 5 | Vyacheslav Skomorokhov (Soviet Union) | 49.1 (49.12) | ||
| 6 | Ron Whitney (USA) | 49.1 (49.27) | ||
| 7 | Rainer Schubert (West Germany) | 49.2 (49.30) | ||
| 8 | Roberto Frinolli (Italy) | 50.1 (50.13) | ||
| [Boyd Gittins (USA) injured, did not run heat] | ||||
| [Whitney 49.0 (49.06) OR {heat}; Hemery 48.1 WR, OR] | ||||
| 1964 | ||||
| 1 | Rex Cawley (USA) | 49.6 | ||
| 2 | John Cooper (Great Britain) | 50.1 | ||
| 3 | Salvatore Morale (Italy) | 50.1 | ||
| 4 | Gary Knoke (Australia) | 50.4 | ||
| 5 | Jay Luck (USA) | 50.5 | ||
| 6 | Roberto Frinolli (Italy) | 50.7 | ||
| 7 | Vasiliy Anisimov (Soviet Union) | 51.1 | ||
| 8 | Wilfried Geeroms (Belgium) | 51.4 | ||
| [Billy Hardin (USA) 6th in semi] | ||||
| 1960 | ||||
| 1 | Glenn Davis (USA) | 49.3 (49.51) | ||
| 2 | Cliff Cushman (USA) | 49.6 (49.77) | ||
| 3 | Dick Howard (USA) | 49.7 (49.90) | ||
| 4 | Helmut Janz (West Germany) | 49.9 (50.05) | ||
| 5 | Jussi Rintamäki (Finland) | 50.8 (50.98) | ||
| 6 | Bruno Galliker (Switzerland) | 51.0 (51.11) | ||
| [Davis 49.3 OR] | ||||
| 1956 | ||||
| 1 | Glenn Davis (USA) | 50.1 (50.29) | ||
| 2 | Eddie Southern (USA) | 50.8 (50.94) | ||
| 3 | Josh Culbreath (USA) | 51.6 (51.74) | ||
| 4 | Yuriy Lituyev (Soviet Union) | 51.7 (51.91) | ||
| 5 | Dave Lean (Australia) | 51.8 (51.93) | ||
| 6 | Gert Potgieter (South Africa) | 56.0 (fell) | ||
| [Southern 50.1 (50.26) OR {semi}; Davis 50.1 =OR] | ||||
| 1952 | ||||
| 1 | Charley Moore (USA) | 50.8 (51.06) | ||
| 2 | Yuriy Lituyev (Soviet Union) | 51.3 (51.51) | ||
| 3 | John Holland (New Zealand) | 52.2 (52.26) | ||
| 4 | Anatoliy Yulin (Soviet Union) | 52.8 (52.81) | ||
| 5 | Harry Whittle (Great Britain) | 53.1 (53.36) | ||
| 6 | Armando Filiput (Italy) | 54.4 (54.49) | ||
| [Lee Blackmon (USA) 5th in semi] | ||||
| [Lee Yoder (USA) 4th in semi] | ||||
| [Moore 50.8 (50.98) OR {quarter}, 50.8 =OR] | ||||
| 1948 | ||||
| 1 | Roy Cochran (USA) | 51.1 | ||
| 2 | Duncan White (SrL) | 51.8 (0.76 behind) | ||
| 3 | Rune Larsson (Sweden) | 52.2 (1.00) | ||
| 4 | Dick Ault (USA) | 52.4 (1.26) | ||
| 5 | Yves Cros (France) | 53.3 (2.18) | ||
| 6 | Ottavio Missoni (Italy) | 54.0 (2.85) | ||
| [Jeff Kirk (USA) 5th in semi] | ||||
| [Cochran 51.1 OR] | ||||
| 1936 | ||||
| 1 | Glenn Hardin (USA) | 52.4 | ||
| 2 | John Loaring (Canada) | 52.7 | ||
| 3 | Miguel White (Philippines) | 52.8 | ||
| 4 | Joe Patterson (USA) | 53.0 | ||
| 5 | Sylvio de Magalhães Padilha (Brazil) | 54.0 | ||
| 6 | Christos Mantikas (Greece) | 54.2 | ||
| [Dale Schofield (USA) 4th in semi] | ||||
| 1932 | ||||
| 1 | Bob Tisdall (Ireland) | 51.8 (51.67) | ||
| 2 | Glenn Hardin (USA) | 52.0 (51.85) | ||
| 3 | F. Morgan Taylor (USA) | 52.0 (51.96) | ||
| 4 | David Burghley (Great Britain) | 52.2 (52.01) | ||
| 5 | Luigi Facelli (Italy) | 53.0 | ||
| 6 | Kjell Areskoug (Sweden) | 54.6 | ||
| [Joe Healey (USA) 4th in semi] | ||||
| [Tisdall 51.8 OR [unacceptable as WR]; Hardin 52.0 WR] | ||||
| 1928 | ||||
| 1 | David Burghley (Great Britain) | 53.4 | ||
| 2 | Frank Cuhel (USA) | 53.6 | ||
| 3 | F. Morgan Taylor (USA) | 53.6 | ||
| 4 | Sten Pettersson (Sweden) | 53.8 | ||
| 5 | Thomas Livingston-Learmonth (Great Britain) | 54.2 | ||
| 6 | Luigi Facelli (Italy) | 55.8 | ||
| [John Gibson (USA) 4th in semi] | ||||
| [Robert Maxwell (USA) 5th in semi] | ||||
| 1924 | ||||
| 1 | F. Morgan Taylor (USA) | 52.6 | ||
| 2 | Erik Vilén (Finland) | 53.8 | ||
| 3 | Ivan Riley (USA) | 54.2 | ||
| 4 | Geo André (France) | 56.2 | ||
| DQ—Charles Brookins (USA) (52.8) | ||||
| DQ—Frederick Blackett (Great Britain) | ||||
| [Charles Coulter (USA) 5th in semi] | ||||
| [Taylor 52.6 OR] | ||||
| 1920 | ||||
| 1 | Frank Loomis (USA) | 54.0 | ||
| 2 | John Norton (USA) | c54.6 | ||
| 3 | August Desch (USA) | c54.7 | ||
| 4 | Geo André (France) | c54.8 | ||
| 5 | Carl-Axel Christiernsson (Sweden) | c55.4 | ||
| 6 | Charles Daggs (USA) | c55.7 | ||
| [Loomis 54.0 WR, OR] | ||||
| 1912 | ||||
| (not contested) |
| 1908 | ||||
| 1 | Charlie Bacon (USA) | 55.0 | ||
| 2 | Harry Hillman (USA) | 55.3 | ||
| 3 | Leonard Tremeer (Great Britain) | 57.0 | ||
| DNF—Leslie Burton (Great Britain) | ||||
| [Harry Coe (USA) 2nd in semi] | ||||
| [Bacon 57.0 WR, OR {heat}; Hillman 56.4 WR, OR {semi}; Bacon | ||||
| 55.0 WR, OR] | ||||
| 1904 | ||||
| 1 | Harry Hillman (USA) | 53.0 | ||
| 2 | Frank Waller (USA) | c53.2 | ||
| 3 | George Poage (USA) | c58.4 | ||
| 4 | George Varnell (USA) | nt (fell, maybe DNF) | ||
| [Hillman 53.0 {30-inch hurdles}] | ||||
| 1900 | ||||
| 1 | Walter Tewksbury (USA) | 57.6 | ||
| 2 | Henri Tauzin (France) | c58.1 | ||
| 3 | George Orton (Canada) | c58.5 | ||
| [Tewksbury 61.2 OR{heat}; Orton 60.2 OR {heat}; Tauzin 60.2 =OR | ||||
| {heat}; Tewksbury 57.6 OR] | ||||
| 1896 | ||||
| (not contested) |