Athletics at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games – Men's 400 metres hurdles
# Athletics at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games – Men's 400 metres hurdles

The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games was held on 18, 20 and 21 July at the Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the first time that the metric distance was contested at the Games replacing the 440 yards hurdles.

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - |
| John Sherwood England | William Koskei Uganda | Charles Kipkemboi Yego Kenya |

## Results

### Heats

Qualification: First 4 in each heat (Q) and the next 4 fastest (q) qualify for the semifinals.

| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | John Sherwood | England | 51.6 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Charles Kipkemboi Yego | Kenya | 51.8 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Roger Johnson | New Zealand | 51.9 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | William Taylor | Scotland | 54.4 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | Norman Brinkworth | Pakistan | 55.3 | |
| 6 | 1 | Henry Jackson | Jamaica | 1:00.4 | |
| | 1 | Rich McDonald | Canada | DNF | |
| 1 | 2 | John Akii-Bua | Uganda | 51.8 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Bill Gairdner | Canada | 52.3 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Gary Knoke | Australia | 52.4 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | David Scharer | England | 52.5 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | John Lewis | Wales | 53.4 | q |
| 6 | 2 | Tony Harper | Bermuda | 53.6 | q |
| 7 | 2 | Raymond Lweendo | Zambia | 55.6 | |
| 8 | 2 | John Kinahan | Northern Ireland | 55.8 | |
| 1 | 3 | William Koskei | Uganda | 51.3 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Tony Collins | England | 52.4 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | James Grant | Jamaica | 52.5 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Kingsley Agbabokha | Nigeria | 53.1 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Andrew Webb | Scotland | 53.5 | q |
| 6 | 3 | Wilfred Kailema | Kenya | 54.2 | q |
| 7 | 3 | Brian Donnelly | Canada | 54.5 | |
| 8 | 3 | Roger Richardson | Wales | 54.8 | |

### Semifinals

Qualification: First 4 in each semifinal (Q) qualify directly for the final.

| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | John Sherwood | England | 51.5 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | John Akii-Bua | Uganda | 51.9 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Kingsley Agbabokha | Nigeria | 52.1 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | Bill Gairdner | Canada | 52.1 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | James Grant | Jamaica | 52.2 | |
| 6 | 1 | William Taylor | Scotland | 52.2 | |
| 7 | 1 | John Lewis | Wales | 52.4 | |
| 8 | 1 | Wilfred Kailema | Kenya | 54.6 | |
| 1 | 2 | William Koskei | Uganda | 51.3 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Charles Kipkemboi Yego | Kenya | 51.7 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Gary Knoke | Australia | 51.75 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | David Scharer | England | 51.9 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Roger Johnson | New Zealand | 52.0 | |
| 6 | 2 | Tony Collins | England | 52.9 | |
| 7 | 2 | Andrew Webb | Scotland | 53.0 | |
| 8 | 2 | Tony Harper | Bermuda | 53.1 | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | 5 | John Sherwood | England | 50.03 |
| | 4 | William Koskei | Uganda | 50.15 |
| | 2 | Charles Kipkemboi Yego | Kenya | 50.19 |
| 4 | 7 | John Akii-Bua | Uganda | 51.1 |
| 5 | 1 | David Scharer | England | 51.17 |
| 6 | 5 | Bill Gairdner | Canada | 51.6 |
| 7 | 8 | Kingsley Agbabokha | Nigeria | 51.6 |
| 8 | 3 | Gary Knoke | Australia | 52.13 |
