400 metres hurdles

The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women.

Athletics 400 metres hurdles
Women's 400m hurdles
World records
Men	Karsten Warholm 45.94 (2021)
Women	Sydney McLaughlin 50.68 (2022)
Olympic records
Men	Karsten Warholm 45.94 (2021)
Women	Sydney McLaughlin 51.46 (2021)
World Championship records
Men	Alison dos Santos 46.29 (2022)
Women	Sydney McLaughlin 50.68 (2022)

On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lanes the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly spaced around the track. The hurdles are positioned and weighted so that they fall forward if bumped into with sufficient force, to prevent injury to the runners. Although there is no longer any penalty for knocking hurdles over, runners prefer to clear them cleanly, as touching them during the race slows runners down.

The current men's and women's world record holders are Karsten Warholm with 45.94 seconds and Sydney McLaughlin with 50.68 seconds. Compared to the 400 metres run, the hurdles race takes the men about three seconds longer and the women four seconds longer (except for Sydney McLaughlin). Men clear hurdles that are 36 inches (91.4 cm) high, while women negotiate 30 inches (76.2 cm) barriers.

The 400 m hurdles was held for both sexes at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics. The first championship for women came at the 1980 World Championships in Athletics – being held as a one-off due to the lack of a race at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

History

See also: Men's 400 metres hurdles world record progression and Women's 400 metres hurdles world record progression

The first awards in a 400 m hurdles race were given in 1860 when a race was held in Oxford, England, over a course of 440 yards (402.336 m). While running the course, participants had to clear twelve wooden hurdles, over 100 centimetres tall, that had been spaced in even intervals.

To reduce the risk of injury, somewhat more lightweight constructions were introduced in 1895 that runners could push over. However, until 1935 runners were disqualified if they pushed over more than three hurdles in a race and records were only officially accepted if the runner in question had cleared all hurdles clean and left them all standing.

The 400 m hurdles became an Olympic event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. At the same time, the race was standardized; thus, virtually identical races could be held and the finish times compared to one other. As a result, the official distance was fixed to 400 metres, or one lap of the stadium, and the number of hurdles was reduced to ten. The official height of the hurdles was set to 36 inches (91.4 cm). The hurdles are now placed on the course with a run-up to the first hurdle of 45 metres, distance between the hurdles of 35 metres each, and home stretch from the last hurdle to finish line of 40 metres.

The first documented 400 m hurdles race for women took place in 1971. In 1974, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), now known as World Athletics, introduced the event officially as a discipline, with hurdles at the lower height of 30 inches (76.2 cm). The women's race was not run at the Olympics until the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles where it was first staged with the first Men's World Champion having been crowned the year before at the inaugural World Athletics Championships. A special edition of the Women's 400m Hurdles took place in the 1980 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in response to the Women's 400m Hurdles not being included at the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and Liberty Bell Classic.

Many athletic commentators and officials have often brought up the idea of lifting the height of the women's 400 m hurdles to incorporate a greater requirement of hurdling skill. This is a view held by German athletic coach Norbert Stein, "All this means that the women's hurdles for specialists, who are the target group to be dealt with in this discussion, is considerably depreciated in skill demands when compared to the men's hurdles. It should not be possible in the women's hurdles that the winner is an athlete whose performance in the flat sprint is demonstrably excellent but whose technique of hurdling is only moderate and whose anthropometric characteristics are not optimal. This was the case at the World Championships in Seville and the same problem can often be seen at international and national meetings."^{[citation needed]}

Hurdling technique

In terms of technique and endurance, the 400-metre hurdles is arguably the most demanding event in the sprints and hurdles group.^{[1]: 4169 [2]: 9} Athletes must be able to run a fast 400-metre flat time, maintain a good hurdling technique, and have a unique awareness of stride pattern between hurdles.^[2]: 9 Furthermore, athletes must possess anaerobic endurance over the final 150 to 100 metres of the race as, at this point, lactate (the conjugate base of lactic acid) will accumulate in the body from anaerobic glycolysis.^[3]: 43

Block start

When preparing to hurdle, the blocks should be set so that the athlete arrives at the first hurdle leading on the desired leg without inserting a stutter step. A stutter step is when the runner has to chop his or her stride down to arrive on the "correct" leg for take off. Throughout the race, any adjustments to stride length stride speed should be made several strides out from the hurdle because a stutter or being too far from the hurdle at takeoff will result in loss of momentum and speed.

Hurdling

At the beginning of the take-off, the knee must be driven toward the hurdle and the foot then extended. The leg position when extended must be stretched out, in a position of a split. The knee should be slightly bent when crossing the hurdle. Unless an athlete's body has great flexibility, the knee must be slightly bent to allow a forward body lean. Unlike the 110m hurdles, a significant forward body lean is not that necessary due to the hurdles being lower. However, the trail leg must be kept bent and short to provide a quick lever action allowing a fast hurdle clearance. The knee should pull through under the armpit and should not be flat across the top of the hurdle.

It is also important that the hurdler does not reach out on the last stride before the hurdle as this will result in a longer bound being made to clear the hurdle. This will also result in a loss of momentum if the foot lands well in front of the center of gravity.

Stride length

Using a left lead leg on the bends allows the hurdler to run closer to the inside of the lane and cover a shorter distance. Additionally, if the left leg is used for the lead, then the athlete's upper body can be leaned to the left, making it easier to bring the trail leg through. Additionally, an athlete hurdling with a right leg lead around the bends must take care that they do not inadvertently trail their foot or toe around the hurdle rather than passing over the top, which would lead to a disqualification from the race. Depending on the height and strength of the athlete, men work toward a stride pattern of 13 to 15 steps between each hurdle, and women work toward a stride pattern of 15 to 17. This does not include the landing step from the previous hurdle. Ed Moses was the first man to keep 13 strides throughout an entire race. Weaker athletes will typically hold a longer step pattern throughout the race so that they do not bound or reach with each step, which also results in a loss of speed. These patterns are ideal because it allows the hurdler to take off from their predominant leg throughout the race without switching legs. However, fatigue from the race will knock athletes off their stride pattern and force runners to switch legs. At an early age, many coaches train their athletes to hurdle with both legs. This is a useful skill to learn since as a runner tires, their stride length may decrease, resulting in the need either to add a stutter stride, or to take a hurdle on the other leg.

Continental Records

• Updated 22 July 2022.^[4][5]

Area	Men			Women
	Time (s)	Athlete	Nation	Time (s)	Athlete	Nation
Africa (records)	47.10	Samuel Matete	Zambia	52.90	Nezha Bidouane	Morocco
Asia (records)	46.98	Abderrahman Samba	Qatar	53.96	Han Qing	China
					Song Yinglan	China
Europe (records)	45.94 WR	Karsten Warholm	Norway	52.03	Femke Bol	Netherlands
North, Central America and Caribbean (records)	46.17	Rai Benjamin	United States	50.68 WR	Sydney McLaughlin	United States
Oceania (records)	48.28	Rohan Robinson	Australia	53.17	Debbie Flintoff-King	Australia
South America (records)	46.29	Alison dos Santos	Brazil	53.69	Gianna Woodruff	Panama

All-time top 25

Men

• Correct as of September 2022.^[6][7]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Time (s)	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	45.94	Karsten Warholm	Norway	03 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[8]
2	2	46.17	Rai Benjamin	United States	03 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[8]
3	3	46.29	Alison dos Santos	Brazil	19 JUL 2022	Eugene	^[9]
	4	46.70	Warholm #2		01 JUL 2021	Oslo
	5	46.72	dos Santos #2		03 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[8]
4	6	46.78	Kevin Young	United States	06 AUG 1992	Barcelona
	7	46.80	dos Santos #3		30 JUN 2022	Stockholm	^[10]
	8	46.83	Benjamin #2		27 JUN 2021	Eugene
	9	46.87	Warholm #3		23 AUG 2020	Stockholm
	10	46.89	Benjamin #3		19 JUL 2022	Eugene	^[11]
	11	46.92	Warholm #4		29 AUG 2019	Zürich
5	12	46.98	Abderrahman Samba	Qatar	30 JUN 2018	Paris	^[12]
	13	46.98	Benjamin #4		29 AUG 2019	Zürich
			dos Santos #4		08 SEP 2022	Zürich	^[13]
6	15	47.02	Edwin Moses	United States	31 AUG 1983	Koblenz
	15	47.02	Benjamin #5		08 JUN 2018	Eugene
7	17	47.03	Bryan Bronson	United States	21 JUN 1998	New Orleans
	18	47.04	Benjamin #6		26 JUN 2022	Eugene
	19	47.07	Warholm #5		17 SEP 2020	Rome
	20	47.08	Warholm #6		13 SEP 2020	Berlin
			Warholm #7		09 JUL 2021	Monaco	^[14]
8	22	47.08	Kyron McMaster	British Virgin Islands	03 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[8]
9	23	47.10	Samuel Matete	Zambia	07 AUG 1991	Zürich
	23	47.10	Warholm #8		14 AUG 2020	Monaco
	25	47.12	Warholm #9		20 JUL 2019	London
			Samba #2		03 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[8]
			Warholm #10		19 AUG 2022	Munich	^[15]
10		47.19	Andre Phillips	United States	25 SEP 1988	Seoul
11		47.23	Amadou Dia Ba	Senegal	25 SEP 1988	Seoul
12		47.24	Kerron Clement	United States	26 JUN 2005	Carson
13		47.25	Félix Sánchez	Dominican Republic	29 AUG 2003	Saint-Denis
			Angelo Taylor	United States	18 AUG 2008	Beijing
15		47.30	Bershawn Jackson	United States	09 AUG 2005	Helsinki
16		47.37	Stéphane Diagana	France	05 JUL 1995	Lausanne
17		47.38	Danny Harris	United States	10 JUL 1991	Lausanne
18		47.39	Trevor Bassitt	United States	19 JUL 2022	Eugene	^[16]
19		47.41	Wilfried Happio	France	19 JUL 2022	Eugene	^[17]
20		47.43	James Carter	United States	09 AUG 2005	Helsinki
21		47.48	Harald Schmid	West Germany	08 SEP 1982	Athens
22		47.53	Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily	Saudi Arabia	27 SEP 2000	Sydney
23		47.54	Derrick Adkins	United States	05 JUL 1995	Lausanne
			Fabrizio Mori	Italy	10 AUG 2001	Edmonton
25		47.60	Winthrop Graham	Jamaica	04 AUG 1993	Zürich

Women

• Correct as of August 2022.^[18]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Time (s)	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	50.68	Sydney McLaughlin	United States	22 JUL 2022	Eugene	^[19]
	2	51.41	McLaughlin #2		25 JUN 2022	Eugene	^[20]
	3	51.46	McLaughlin #3		04 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[21]
2	4	51.58	Dalilah Muhammad	United States	04 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[21]
	5	51.61	McLaughlin #4		05 JUN 2022	Nashville	^[22]
	6	51.68	McLaughlin #5		08 AUG 2022	Székesfehérvár	^[23]
	7	51.90	McLaughlin #6		27 JUN 2021	Eugene	^[24]
3	8	52.03	Femke Bol	Netherlands	04 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[21]
	9	52.16	Muhammad #2		04 OCT 2019	Doha	^[25]
	10	52.17	McLaughlin #7		20 JUL 2022	Eugene	^[26]
	11	52.20	Muhammad #3		28 JUL 2019	Des Moines
	12	52.23	McLaughlin #8		04 OCT 2019	Doha	^[25]
	13	52.27	Bol #2		30 JUN 2022	Stockholm	^[10]
			Bol #3		22 JUL 2022	Eugene	^[27]
4	15	52.34	Yuliya Pechonkina	Russia	08 AUG 2003	Tula
	16	52.37	Bol #4		04 JUL 2021	Stockholm	^[28]
5	17	52.39	Shamier Little	United States	04 JUL 2021	Stockholm	^[28]
6	18	52.42	Melaine Walker	Jamaica	20 AUG 2009	Berlin
	19	52.42	Muhammad #4		27 JUN 2021	Eugene	^[29]
7	20	52.47	Lashinda Demus	United States	01 SEP 2011	Daegu
8	21	52.61	Kim Batten	United States	11 AUG 1995	Gothenburg
	22	52.61	Bol #5		16 JUN 2022	Oslo	^[30]
9	23	52.62	Tonja Buford-Bailey	United States	11 AUG 1995	Gothenburg
	24	52.63	Demus #2		28 JUL 2009	Monaco
	25	52.64	Walker #2		20 AUG 2008	Beijing
			Muhammad #5		25 JUN 2017	Sacramento
10		52.74	Sally Gunnell	Great Britain	19 AUG 1993	Stuttgart
11		52.77	Fani Halkia	Greece	22 AUG 2004	Athens
12		52.79	Sandra Farmer-Patrick	United States	19 AUG 1993	Stuttgart
			Kaliese Spencer	Jamaica	05 AUG 2011	London
14		52.82	Deon Hemmings	Jamaica	31 JUL 1996	Atlanta
15		52.83	Zuzana Hejnová	Czech Republic	15 AUG 2013	Moscow
16		52.89	Daimí Pernía	Cuba	25 AUG 1999	Seville
17		52.90	Nezha Bidouane	Morocco	25 AUG 1999	Seville
18		52.92	Natalya Antyukh	Russia	30 JUL 2010	Barcelona
19		52.94	Marina Stepanova	Soviet Union	17 SEP 1986	Tashkent
20		52.95	Sheena Johnson	United States	11 JUL 2004	Sacramento
			Kori Carter	United States	25 JUN 2017	Sacramento
22		52.96	Anna Ryzhykova	Ukraine	04 JUL 2021	Stockholm	^[28]
23		53.02	Irina Privalova	Russia	27 SEP 2000	Sydney
24		53.08	Janieve Russell	Jamaica	04 AUG 2021	Tokyo	^[21]
			Britton Wilson	United States	25 JUN 2022	Eugene	^[31]

Note: The following athletes have had their associated 400 m hurdles performances annulled due to doping offences:

Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref
52.70	Natalya Antyukh	Russia	08 AUG 2012	London	^[32]

Milestones

• Men
  • First official IAAF world record: 55.0 seconds, Charles Bacon (USA), 1908
  • First under 54 seconds: 53.8 seconds, Sten Pettersson (SWE), 1925
  • First under 53 seconds: 52.6 seconds, John Gibson (USA), 1927
  • First under 52 seconds: 51.7 seconds, Bob Tisdall (IRL), 1932
  • First under 51 seconds: 50.6 seconds, Glenn Hardin (USA), 1934
  • First under 50 seconds: 49.5 seconds, Glenn Davis (USA), 1956
  • First under 49 seconds: 48.8 seconds, Geoff Vanderstock (USA), 1968
  • First under 48 seconds: 47.82 seconds, John Akii-Bua (UGA), 1972
  • First under 47 seconds: 46.78 seconds, Kevin Young (USA), 1992
  • First under 46 seconds: 45.94 seconds, Karsten Warholm (NOR), 2021^[33]
• Women
  • First official world record: 56.51 seconds, Krystyna Kacperczyk (POL), 1974
  • First under 56 seconds: 55.74 seconds, Tatyana Storozheva (URS), 1977
  • First under 55 seconds: 54.89 seconds, Tatyana Zelentsova (URS), 1978
  • First under 54 seconds: 53.58 seconds, Margarita Ponomaryova (URS), 1984
  • First under 53 seconds: 52.94 seconds, Marina Stepanova (URS), 1986
  • First under 52 seconds: 51.90 seconds, Sydney McLaughlin (USA), 2021
  • First under 51 seconds: 50.68 seconds, Sydney McLaughlin (USA), 2022

Most successful athletes

American athlete Glenn Davis had a prodigious start to his hurdling career, running his first race in April 1956 in 54.4 s. Two months later, he ran a new world record with 49.5 s and later that year he won the 400 m hurdles at the Olympics, and was also the first to repeat that feat in 1960.

In terms of success and longevity in competition, Edwin Moses' record is significant: he won 122 races in a row between 1977 and 1987 plus two gold medals, at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was undefeated for exactly nine years nine months and nine days, from 26 August 1977 until 4 June 1987. He finished third in the 1988 Olympic final, the last race of his career. He also held the world record for sixteen years from when he first broke it at the Olympics on 25 July 1976 until it was finally broken by Kevin Young at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

 

Edwin Moses

• Olympic Games & World Championships victories
  • Edwin Moses (USA), Olympic 1976, 1984, World 1983, 1987
  • Felix Sanchez (DOM), Olympic 2004, 2012, World 2001, 2003
  • Kerron Clement (USA), Olympic 2016, World 2007, 2009
  • Sally Gunnell (GBR), Olympic 1992, World 1993
  • Kevin Young (USA), Olympic 1992, World 1993
  • Derrick Adkins (USA), Olympic 1996, World 1995
  • Melaine Walker (JAM), Olympic 2008, World 2009
  • Dalilah Muhammad (USA), Olympic 2016, World 2019
  • Karsten Warholm (NOR), Olympic 2020, World 2017, 2019
  • Sydney McLaughlin (USA) Olympic 2020, World 2022
• Two Olympic victories:
  • Glenn Davis (USA), 1956 and 1960
  • Edwin Moses (USA), 1976 and 1984 (also bronze in 1988)
  • Angelo Taylor (USA), 2000 and 2008
  • Félix Sánchez (DOM), 2004 and 2012
• Two World Championships:
  • Edwin Moses (USA), 1983 and 1987
  • Félix Sánchez (DOM), 2001 and 2003 (won silver in 2007)
  • Kerron Clement (USA), 2007 and 2009
  • Karsten Warholm (NOR), 2017 and 2019
  • Nezha Bidouane (MAR), 1997 and 2001 (won silver in 1999)
  • Jana Pittman (AUS), 2003 and 2007
  • Zuzana Hejnová (CZE), 2013 and 2015

* Note: Edwin Moses, Kevin Young and Karsten Warholm are the only male 400 m hurdlers to have been Olympic Champion, World Champion, and broken the World Record.
* Note: Sally Gunnell, Dalilah Muhammad and Sydney McLaughlin are the only female 400 m hurdlers to have been Olympic Champion, World Champion, and broken the World Record.

Olympic medalists

Men

edit

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1900 Paris details	Walter Tewksbury   United States	Henri Tauzin   France	George Orton   Canada
1904 St. Louis details	Harry Hillman   United States	Frank Waller   United States	George Poage   United States
1908 London details	Charles Bacon   United States	Harry Hillman   United States	Jimmy Tremeer   Great Britain
1912 Stockholm	not included in the Olympic program
1920 Antwerp details	Frank Loomis   United States	John Norton   United States	August Desch   United States
1924 Paris details	Morgan Taylor   United States	Erik Wilén   Finland	Ivan Riley   United States
1928 Amsterdam details	David Burghley   Great Britain	Frank Cuhel   United States	Morgan Taylor   United States
1932 Los Angeles details	Bob Tisdall   Ireland	Glenn Hardin   United States	Morgan Taylor   United States
1936 Berlin details	Glenn Hardin   United States	John Loaring   Canada	Miguel White   Philippines
1948 London details	Roy Cochran   United States	Duncan White   Ceylon	Rune Larsson   Sweden
1952 Helsinki details	Charles Moore   United States	Yuriy Lituyev   Soviet Union	John Holland   New Zealand
1956 Melbourne details	Glenn Davis   United States	Eddie Southern   United States	Josh Culbreath   United States
1960 Rome details	Glenn Davis   United States	Clifton Cushman   United States	Dick Howard   United States
1964 Tokyo details	Rex Cawley   United States	John Cooper   Great Britain	Salvatore Morale   Italy
1968 Mexico City details	David Hemery   Great Britain	Gerhard Hennige   West Germany	John Sherwood   Great Britain
1972 Munich details	John Akii-Bua   Uganda	Ralph Mann   United States	David Hemery   Great Britain
1976 Montreal details	Edwin Moses   United States	Michael Shine   United States	Yevgeniy Gavrilenko   Soviet Union
1980 Moscow details	Volker Beck   East Germany	Vasyl Arkhypenko   Soviet Union	Gary Oakes   Great Britain
1984 Los Angeles details	Edwin Moses   United States	Danny Harris   United States	Harald Schmid   West Germany
1988 Seoul details	André Phillips   United States	Amadou Dia Ba   Senegal	Edwin Moses   United States
1992 Barcelona details	Kevin Young   United States	Winthrop Graham   Jamaica	Kriss Akabusi   Great Britain
1996 Atlanta details	Derrick Adkins   United States	Samuel Matete   Zambia	Calvin Davis   United States
2000 Sydney details	Angelo Taylor   United States	Hadi Al-Somaily   Saudi Arabia	Llewellyn Herbert   South Africa
2004 Athens details	Félix Sánchez   Dominican Republic	Danny McFarlane   Jamaica	Naman Keïta   France
2008 Beijing details	Angelo Taylor   United States	Kerron Clement   United States	Bershawn Jackson   United States
2012 London details	Félix Sánchez   Dominican Republic	Michael Tinsley   United States	Javier Culson   Puerto Rico
2016 Rio de Janeiro details	Kerron Clement   United States	Boniface Mucheru Tumuti   Kenya	Yasmani Copello   Turkey
2020 Tokyo details	Karsten Warholm   Norway	Rai Benjamin   United States	Alison dos Santos   Brazil
2024 Paris details

Women

edit

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1984 Los Angeles details	Nawal El Moutawakel   Morocco	Judi Brown   United States	Cristieana Cojocaru   Romania
1988 Seoul details	Debbie Flintoff-King   Australia	Tatyana Ledovskaya   Soviet Union	Ellen Fiedler   East Germany
1992 Barcelona details	Sally Gunnell   Great Britain	Sandra Farmer-Patrick   United States	Janeene Vickers   United States
1996 Atlanta details	Deon Hemmings   Jamaica	Kim Batten   United States	Tonja Buford-Bailey   United States
2000 Sydney details	Irina Privalova   Russia	Deon Hemmings   Jamaica	Nezha Bidouane   Morocco
2004 Athens details	Fani Halkia   Greece	Ionela Târlea-Manolache   Romania	Tetyana Tereshchuk-Antipova   Ukraine
2008 Beijing details	Melaine Walker   Jamaica	Sheena Tosta   United States	Tasha Danvers   Great Britain
2012 London details	Lashinda Demus   United States	Zuzana Hejnová   Czech Republic	Kaliese Spencer   Jamaica
2016 Rio de Janeiro details	Dalilah Muhammad   United States	Sara Petersen   Denmark	Ashley Spencer   United States
2020 Tokyo details	Sydney McLaughlin   United States	Dalilah Muhammad   United States	Femke Bol   Netherlands
2024 Paris details

World Championships medalists

Men

Championships	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1983 Helsinki details	Edwin Moses (USA)	Harald Schmid (FRG)	Aleksandr Kharlov (URS)
1987 Rome details	Edwin Moses (USA)	Danny Harris (USA)	Harald Schmid (FRG)
1991 Tokyo details	Samuel Matete (ZAM)	Winthrop Graham (JAM)	Kriss Akabusi (GBR)
1993 Stuttgart details	Kevin Young (USA)	Samuel Matete (ZAM)	Winthrop Graham (JAM)
1995 Gothenburg details	Derrick Adkins (USA)	Samuel Matete (ZAM)	Stéphane Diagana (FRA)
1997 Athens details	Stéphane Diagana (FRA)	Llewellyn Herbert (RSA)	Bryan Bronson (USA)
1999 Seville details	Fabrizio Mori (ITA)	Stéphane Diagana (FRA)	Marcel Schelbert (SUI)
2001 Edmonton details	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Fabrizio Mori (ITA)	Dai Tamesue (JPN)
2003 Saint-Denis details	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Joey Woody (USA)	Periklis Iakovakis (GRE)
2005 Helsinki details	Bershawn Jackson (USA)	James Carter (USA)	Dai Tamesue (JPN)
2007 Osaka details	Kerron Clement (USA)	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Marek Plawgo (POL)
2009 Berlin details	Kerron Clement (USA)	Javier Culson (PUR)	Bershawn Jackson (USA)
2011 Daegu details	Dai Greene (GBR)	Javier Culson (PUR)	L. J. van Zyl (RSA)
2013 Moscow details	Jehue Gordon (TRI)	Michael Tinsley (USA)	Emir Bekrić (SRB)
2015 Beijing details	Nicholas Bett (KEN)	Denis Kudryavtsev (RUS)	Jeffery Gibson (BAH)
2017 London details	Karsten Warholm (NOR)	Yasmani Copello (TUR)	Kerron Clement (USA)
2019 Doha details	Karsten Warholm (NOR)	Rai Benjamin (USA)	Abderrahman Samba (QAT)
2022 Eugene details	Alison dos Santos (BRA)	Rai Benjamin (USA)	Trevor Bassitt (USA)

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	7	6	4	17
2	Dominican Republic (DOM)	2	1	0	3
3	Norway (NOR)	2	0	0	2
4	Zambia (ZAM)	1	2	0	3
5	France (FRA)	1	1	1	3
6	Italy (ITA)	1	1	0	2
7	Great Britain (GBR)	1	0	1	2
8	Brazil (BRA)	1	0	0	1
	Kenya (KEN)	1	0	0	1
	Trinidad and Tobago (TTO)	1	0	0	1
11	Puerto Rico (PUR)	0	2	0	2
12	Germany (GER)	0	1	1	2
	Jamaica (JAM)	0	1	1	2
	South Africa (RSA)	0	1	1	2
15	Russia (RUS)	0	1	0	1
	Turkey (TUR)	0	1	0	1
17	Japan (JPN)	0	0	2	2
18	Bahamas (BAH)	0	0	1	1
	Greece (GRE)	0	0	1	1
	Poland (POL)	0	0	1	1
	Qatar (QAT)	0	0	1	1
	Serbia (SRB)	0	0	1	1
	Soviet Union (URS)	0	0	1	1
	Switzerland (SUI)	0	0	1	1
Totals (24 entries)		18	18	18	54

Women

• The official World Athletics Championships began in 1983 as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, but in 1980, the women's 3000 metres and 400 metres hurdles events had a World Championship competition in Sittard, Netherlands. This was due to these events not yet being on the Olympic program (the same had happened in 1976 for the men's 50 km walk).^[34]

Championships	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1980 Sittard details	Bärbel Broschat (GDR)	Ellen Neumann (GDR)	Petra Pfaff (GDR)
1983 Helsinki details	Yekaterina Fesenko (URS)	Ana Ambrazienė (URS)	Ellen Neumann-Fiedler (GDR)
1987 Rome details	Sabine Busch (GDR)	Debbie Flintoff (AUS)	Cornelia Feuerbach (GDR)
1991 Tokyo details	Tatyana Ledovskaya (URS)	Sally Gunnell (GBR)	Janeene Vickers (USA)
1993 Stuttgart details	Sally Gunnell (GBR)	Sandra Farmer-Patrick (USA)	Margarita Ponomaryova (RUS)
1995 Gothenburg details	Kim Batten (USA)	Tonja Buford (USA)	Deon Hemmings (JAM)
1997 Athens details	Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	Deon Hemmings (JAM)	Kim Batten (USA)
1999 Seville details	Daimí Pernía (CUB)	Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	Deon Hemmings (JAM)
2001 Edmonton details	Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)	Daimí Pernía (CUB)
2003 Saint-Denis details	Jana Pittman (AUS)	Sandra Glover (USA)	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)
2005 Helsinki details	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)	Lashinda Demus (USA)	Sandra Glover (USA)
2007 Osaka details	Jana Rawlinson (AUS)	Yuliya Pechenkina (RUS)	Anna Jesień (POL)
2009 Berlin details	Melaine Walker (JAM)	Lashinda Demus (USA)	Josanne Lucas (TRI)
2011 Daegu details	Lashinda Demus (USA)	Melaine Walker (JAM)	Natalya Antyukh (RUS)
2013 Moscow details	Zuzana Hejnová (CZE)	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)	Lashinda Demus (USA)
2015 Beijing details	Zuzana Hejnová (CZE)	Shamier Little (USA)	Cassandra Tate (USA)
2017 London details	Kori Carter (USA)	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)	Ristananna Tracey (JAM)
2019 Doha details	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)	Sydney McLaughlin (USA)	Rushell Clayton (JAM)
2022 Eugene details	Sydney McLaughlin (USA)	Femke Bol (NED)	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)

Season's bests

Men's

Year	Time	Athlete	Place
1971	48.9h	Ralph Mann (USA)	Helsinki
1972	47.82	John Akii-Bua (UGA)	Munich
1973	48.54	John Akii-Bua (UGA)	Lagos
1974	48.1h	Jim Bolding (USA)	Milan
1975	48.4h	Jim Bolding (USA)	Milan
1976	47.63	Edwin Moses (USA)	Montreal
1977	47.45	Edwin Moses (USA)	Westwood
1978	47.94	Edwin Moses (USA)	Zürich
1979	47.53	Edwin Moses (USA)	Montreal
1980	47.13	Edwin Moses (USA)	Milan
1981	47.14	Edwin Moses (USA)	Lausanne
1982	47.48	Harald Schmid (FRG)	Athens
1983	47.02	Edwin Moses (USA)	Koblenz
1984	47.32	Edwin Moses (USA)	Koblenz
1985	47.63	Danny Harris (USA)	Zürich
1986	47.38	Edwin Moses (USA)	Lausanne
1987	47.46	Edwin Moses (USA)	Rome
1988	47.19	Andre Phillips (USA)	Seoul
1989	47.86	Kevin Young (USA)	Berlin
1990	47.49	Danny Harris (USA)	Lausanne
1991	47.10	Samuel Matete (ZAM)	Zürich
1992	46.78	Kevin Young (USA)	Barcelona
1993	47.18	Kevin Young (USA)	Stuttgart
1994	47.70	Derrick Adkins (USA)	Linz
1995	47.37	Stéphane Diagana (FRA)	Lausanne
1996	47.54	Derrick Adkins (USA)	Atlanta
1997	47.64	Bryan Bronson (USA)	Monaco
1998	47.03	Bryan Bronson (USA)	New Orleans
1999	47.72	Fabrizio Mori (ITA)	Seville
2000	47.50	Angelo Taylor (USA)	Sydney
2001	47.38	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Zürich
2002	47.35	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Zürich
2003	47.25	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Saint-Denis
2004	47.63	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Athens
2005	47.24	Kerron Clement (USA)	Carson
2006	47.39	Kerron Clement (USA)	Indianapolis
2007	47.61	Kerron Clement (USA)	Osaka
2008	47.25	Angelo Taylor (USA)	Beijing
2009	47.91	Kerron Clement (USA)	Berlin
2010	47.32	Bershawn Jackson (USA)	Des Moines
2011	47.66	L. J. van Zyl (RSA)	Pretoria
			Ostrava
2012	47.63	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	London
2013	47.69	Jehue Gordon (TRI)	Moscow
2014	48.03	Javier Culson (PUR)	New York City
2015	47.79	Nicholas Bett (KEN)	Beijing
2016	47.73	Kerron Clement (USA)	Rio de Janeiro
2017	47.80	Kyron McMaster (IVB)	Kingston
2018	46.98	Abderrahman Samba (QAT)	Paris
2019	46.92	Karsten Warholm (NOR)	Zürich
2020	46.87	Karsten Warholm (NOR)	Stockholm
2021	45.94	Karsten Warholm (NOR)	Tokyo
2022	46.29	Alison dos Santos (BRA)	Eugene

Women's

Year	Time	Athlete	Place
1971
1972
1973	56.7h	Danuta Piecyk (POL)	Warsaw
1974	56.51	Krystyna Kacperczyk (POL)	Augsburg
1975
1976
1977	55.63	Karin Roßley (GDR)	Helsinki
1978	54.89	Tatyana Zelentsova (URS)	Prague
1979	54.78	Marina Stepanova (URS)	Moscow
1980	54.28	Karin Roßley (GDR)	Jena
1981	54.79	Ellen Fiedler (GDR)	Jena
1982	54.57	Ann-Louise Skoglund (SWE)	Athens
1983	54.02	Anna Ambrazienė (URS)	Moscow
1984	53.58	Margarita Ponomaryova (URS)	Kyiv
1985	53.55	Sabine Busch (GDR)	Berlin
1986	52.94	Marina Stepanova (URS)	Tashkent
1987	53.24	Sabine Busch (GDR)	Potsdam
1988	53.17	Debbie Flintoff-King (AUS)	Seoul
1989	53.37	Sandra Farmer-Patrick (USA)	New York City
1990	53.62	Tatyana Ledovskaya (URS)	Split
1991	53.11	Tatyana Ledovskaya (URS)	Tokyo
1992	53.23	Sally Gunnell (GBR)	Barcelona
1993	52.74	Sally Gunnell (GBR)	Stuttgart
1994	53.33	Sally Gunnell (GBR)	Helsinki
1995	52.61	Kim Batten (USA)	Gothenburg
1996	52.82	Deon Hemmings (JAM)	Atlanta
1997	52.97	Kim Batten (USA)	Indianapolis
		Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	Athens
1998	52.74	Kim Batten (USA)	Monaco
1999	52.89	Daimí Pernía (CUB)	Seville
2000	53.02	Irina Privalova (RUS)	Sydney
2001	53.34	Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	Edmonton
2002	53.10	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)	Tula
2003	52.34	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)	Tula
2004	52.77	Faní Halkiá (GRE)	Athens
2005	52.90	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)	Helsinki
2006	53.02	Lashinda Demus (USA)	Athens
2007	53.28	Tiffany Williams (USA)	Indianapolis
2008	52.64	Melaine Walker (JAM)	Beijing
2009	52.42	Melaine Walker (JAM)	Berlin
2010	52.82	Lashinda Demus (USA)	Rome
2011	52.47	Lashinda Demus (USA)	Daegu
2012	52.77	Lashinda Demus (USA)	London
2013	52.83	Zuzana Hejnová (CZE)	Moscow
2014	53.41	Kaliese Spencer (JAM)	Kingston
2015	53.50	Zuzana Hejnová (CZE)	Beijing
2016	52.88	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)	Eugene
2017	52.64	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)	Sacramento
2018	52.75	Sydney McLaughlin (USA)	Knoxville
2019	52.16	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)	Doha
2020	53.79	Femke Bol (NED)	Arnhem
2021	51.46	Sydney McLaughlin (USA)	Tokyo
2022	50.68	Sydney McLaughlin (USA)	Eugene

National records

• Updated 25 February 2023.^[35][36]

Men

NR's inside 48.00 sec:

Nation	Time	Athlete	Date	Place
Norway	45.94	Karsten Warholm	3 August 2021	Tokyo
United States	46.17	Rai Benjamin	3 August 2021	Tokyo
Brazil	46.29	Alison dos Santos	19 July 2022	Eugene
Qatar	46.98	Abderrahman Samba	30 June 2018	Paris
British Virgin Islands	47.08	Kyron McMaster	3 August 2021	Tokyo
Zambia	47.10	Samuel Matete	7 Aaugust 1991	Zürich
Senegal	47.23	Amadou Dia Ba	25 September 1988	Seoul
Dominican Republic	47.25	Félix Sánchez	29 August 2003	Saint-Denis
France	47.41	Wilfried Happio	19 July 2022	Eugene
Germany	47.48	Harald Schmid	8 September 1982	Athens
Saudi Arabia	47.53	Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily	27 September 2000	Sydney
Italy	47.54	Fabrizio Mori	10 August 2001	Edmonton
Jamaica	47.60	Winthrop Graham	4 August 1993	Zürich
South Africa	47.66	L. J. van Zyl	25 February 2011	Pretoria
Trinidad and Tobago	47.69	Jehue Gordon	15 August 2013	Moscow
Puerto Rico	47.72	Javier Culson	8 May 2010	Ponce
Kenya	47.78	Boniface Mucheru	18 August 2016	Rio de Janeiro
Turkey	47.81	Yasmani Copello	9 August 2018	Berlin
Uganda	47.82	John Akii-Bua	2 September 1972	Munich
Great Britain	47.82	Kriss Akabusi	6 August 1992	Barcelona
Greece	47.82	Periklis Iakovakis	6 May 2006	Osaka
Estonia	47.82	Rasmus Mägi	14 June 2022	Turku
Panama	47.84	Bayano Kamani	7 August 2005	Helsinki
Japan	47.93	Kenji Narisako	6 May 2006	Osaka
Cuba	47.93	Omar Cisneros	13 August 2013	Moscow
Ireland	47.97	Thomas Barr	18 August 2016	Rio de Janeiro
Sweden	47.98	Sven Nylander	1 August 1996	Atlanta

Women

NR's inside 53.00 sec:

Nation	Time	Athlete	Date	Place
United States	50.68	Sydney McLaughlin	22 July 2022	Eugene
Netherlands	52.03	Femke Bol	4 August 2021	Tokyo
Russia	52.34	Yuliya Pechonkina	8 August 2003	Tula
Jamaica	52.42	Melaine Walker	20 August 2009	Berlin
Great Britain	52.74	Sally Gunnell	19 August 1993	Stuttgart
Greece	52.77	Fani Halkia	22 August 2004	Athens
Czech Republic	52.83	Zuzana Hejnová	15 August 2013	Moscow
Cuba	52.89	Daimí Pernía	25 August 1999	Seville
Morocco	52.90	Nezha Bidouane	25 August 1999	Seville
Soviet Union	52.94	Marina Stepanova	17 September 1986	Tashkent
Ukraine	52.96	Anna Ryzhykova	4 July 2021	Stockholm

Notes and references

1. Lindeman, Ralph (1995). McGill, Kevin (ed.). "400 Meter Hurdle Theory". Track Coach. El Camino Real: Track & Field News (131): 4169–4171, 4196. ISSN 0041-0314. OCLC 477310277. Retrieved 3 August 2021. Formerly Track Technique. Spring 1995 edition. Reprinted from the October 1994 edition of the Hurdle Times newsletter published by the USATF Men's Development Committee.
2. Schiffer, Jürgen (2012). International Amateur Athletic Federation. "The 400m Hurdles". New Studies in Athletics. Aachen: Meyer & Meyer Sport. 27 (1–2): 9–25. ISSN 0961-933X. OCLC 751170802. from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
3. Iskra, Janus (1991). International Amateur Athletic Federation. "Endurance in the 400 metres Hurdles". New Studies in Athletics. Aachen: Meyer & Meyer Sport. 6 (2): 43–50. ISSN 0961-933X. OCLC 751170802. from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
4. "Men's outdoor 400 Metres Hurdles| Records". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
5. "Women's outdoor 400 Metres Hurdles | Records". worldathletcs.org. World Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
6. Larsson, Peter (10 August 2019). "All-time men's best 400m hurdles". Track and Fiel

April 09, 2023