The 1908 men’s 400m Olympic finals (London) was a case of misinterpreting British rules and American rules. Three Americans and a Brit in the finals, what was considered legal in America was deemed illegal under British rules and hence John Carpenter was disqualified in the finals. This was followed by his fellow mates boycotting the rerun and what followed was Wyndham Halswelle, the sole finalist ended up winning the event -which till date happens to be the only walkover in the Olympic track and field history. These series of unfortunate events led to the formation of IAAF, the governing body of Track and Field events.
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