400 meter hurdles

A women's race over 400 meter hurdles. The runners are on the back straight

The 400-meter hurdles race is an Olympic athletics discipline in which a stadium lap is to be run on which ten hurdles are set up at regular intervals. Each athlete runs in his own lane throughout the lap. The start takes place in the low start of starting blocks, which are set up offset to compensate for the different curve lengths. The hurdles are set up in such a way that they can fall over when they hit, which is not considered a fault for the runners.

The best men achieve times of 47 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles (world record: 46.70 s), which corresponds to 8.51 m / s or 30.63 km / h. The best women achieve approx. 52 seconds (world record: 51.90 seconds), which corresponds to 7.69 m / s or 27.69 km / h. Compared to the 400-meter run , 400-meter hurdlers need around four seconds longer for the stadium lap for men and around five seconds for women.

At the Olympic Games , the 400-meter hurdles have been part of the program for men since 1900 and for women since 1984 .

history

The first recordings of the 400-meter hurdles date from 1860. In Oxford, England, a competition is reported that represented a race over 440 yards . On this 440 yard, the equivalent of approx. 402 meters, twelve massive wooden "hurdles" over one meter high had to be overcome, which were evenly spaced along the course.

To reduce the risk of injury, from 1895 lighter constructions were introduced that could be knocked over. By 1935, however, all runners who knocked over more than three hurdles were disqualified. Records were only recognized if all the hurdles were stopped.

In 1900 the distance became Olympic . In order to be able to hold the competition under the same conditions, the length of the course was standardized to 400 meters, i.e. one round of the stadium, and the number of hurdles was reduced to ten. The official hurdle height has since been set at 91.44 centimeters (3 feet ) for men and since 1974 at 76.20 centimeters (2 feet, 6 inches ) for women. The hurdles are set up at a distance of 35 meters, with the approach to the first hurdle 45 meters and the run-out from the last hurdle to the finish being 40 meters.

The first documented 400-meter women's race with hurdles took place in 1971.

The World Athletics Federation (IAAF) officially introduced the competition as a discipline in 1974, although it was not until 1983 that the route was on the schedule for the first time at world championships and the first female world champion over the 400 meter hurdles was determined.

Milestones

• Men
  • First world record officially recognized by the IAAF: 55.0 s, Charles Bacon , 1908 
  • First under 54 seconds: 53.8 s, Sten Pettersson , 1925 
  • First under 53 seconds: 52.6 s, John Gibson , 1927 
  • First under 52 seconds: 51.7 s, Bob Tisdall , 1932 
  • First under 51 seconds: 50.6 s, Glenn Hardin , 1934 
  • First under 50 seconds: 49.5 s, Glenn Davis , 1956 
  • First under 49 seconds: 48.8 s, Geoff Vanderstock , 1968 
  • First under 48 seconds: 47.82 s, John Akii-Bua , 1972 
  • First under 47 seconds: 46.78 s, Kevin Young , 1992 

  Jetziger Weltrekord: 46,70s von Karsten Warholm, 2021

• Women
  • First official world record: 56.51 s, Krystyna Kacperczyk , 1974 
  • First under 56 seconds: 55.74 s, Tatjana Storoschewa , 1977 
  • First under 55 seconds: 54.89 s, Tatjana Selenzowa , 1978 
  • First under 54 seconds: 53.58 s, Margarita Ponomarjowa , 1984 
  • First under 53 seconds: 52.94 s, Marina Stepanowa , 1986 

Most successful athlete

• Two Olympic victories:
  •  Glenn Davis , 1956 and 1960
  •  Edwin Moses , 1976 and 1984 , and Olympic Knight 1988
  •  Félix Sánchez , 2004 and 2012
  •  Angelo Taylor , 2000 and 2008
• Two world championship titles:
  •  Edwin Moses , 1983 and 1987
  •  Félix Sánchez , 2001 and 2003
  •  Nezha Bidouane , 1997 and 2001 , and 1999 World Cup runner-up
• Most successful Germans:
  •  Volker Beck , Olympic champion 1980
  •  Bärbel Broschat , world champion 1980
  •  Sabine Busch , world champion 1987

The most amazing climber is Glenn Davis, who ran his first 400-meter hurdle race in April 1956 with a meager 54.4 seconds. Two months later he set the world record with 49.5 seconds. In the same year he became an Olympic champion, and he was the first to get the title repeated ( 1960 ).

The American Edwin Moses wrote history about this discipline among men. Between 1977 and 1987 he won 122 races in a row and two gold medals at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics . The US boycott at the 1980 Games prevented his gold hat-trick . Nevertheless, his career is considered unique. He was the world record holder from the 1976 Olympic Games to 1992 . On August 6, 1992, he had to hand over his world record of 47.02 s to Kevin Young , who completed the 400-meter hurdle distance in 46.78 s.

The fastest German over the 400 meter hurdles is Harald Schmid , who with 47.48 seconds holds 18th place in the all-time world best list (as of July 2021). Germany's only Olympic champion in the discipline in 1980 was Volker Beck , who benefited from the boycott of the USA and other countries (including Germany) mentioned and was able to take the gold medal from Moscow to the GDR.

statistics

Olympic Games medalist

Men

year	gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
1900	Walter Tewksbury	Henri Tauzin	George Orton
1904	Harry Hillman	Frank Waller	George Poage
1908	Charles Bacon	Harry Hillman	Jimmy Tremeer
1920	Frank Loomis	John Norton	August Desch
1924	Morgan Taylor	Erik Wilén	Ivan Riley
1928	David Burghley	Frank Cuhel	Morgan Taylor
1932	Bob Tisdall	Glenn Hardin	Morgan Taylor
1936	Glenn Hardin	John Loaring	Miguel White
1948	Roy Cochran	Duncan White	Rune Larsson
1952	Charles Moore	Yuri Lituev	John Holland
1956	Glenn Davis	Eddie Southern	Josh Culbreath
1960	Glenn Davis	Clifton Cushman	Dick Howard
1964	Rex Cawley	John Cooper	Salvatore Morale
1968	David Hemery	Gerhard Hennige	John Sherwood
1972	John Akii-Bua	Ralph Mann	David Hemery
1976	Edwin Moses	Michael Shine	Yevgeny Gavrilenko
1980	Volker Beck	Wassyl Archypenko	Gary Oakes
1984	Edwin Moses	Danny Harris	Harald Schmid
1988	André Phillips	Amadou Dia Ba	Edwin Moses
1992	Kevin Young	Winthrop Graham	Kriss Akabusi
1996	Derrick Adkins	Samuel Matete	Calvin Davis
2000	Angelo Taylor	Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily	Llewellyn Herbert
2004	Félix Sánchez	Danny McFarlane	Naman Keita
2008	Angelo Taylor	Kerron Clement	Bershawn Jackson
2012	Félix Sánchez	Michael Tinsley	Javier Culson
2016	Kerron Clement	Boniface Mucheru Tumuti	Yasmani Copello

Women

year	gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
1984	Nawal El Moutawakel	Judi Brown	Cristieana Cojocaru
1988	Debbie Flintoff-King	Tazzjana Ljadouskaja	Ellen Fiedler
1992	Sally Gunnell	Sandra Farmer-Patrick	Janeene Vickers
1996	Deon Hemmings	Kim Batten	Tonja Buford-Bailey
2000	Irina Privaleova	Deon Hemmings	Nezha Bidouane
2004	Fani Chalkia	Ionela Târlea-Manolache	Tetiana Tereshchuk-Antipova
2008	Melaine Walker	Sheena Tosta	Tasha Danvers
2012	Natalja Antjuch	Lashinda Demus	Zuzana Hejnová
2016	Dalilah Muhammad	Sara Slott Petersen	Ashley Spencer

World Championships medalist

Men

year	gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
1983	Edwin Moses	Harald Schmid	Alexander Charlow
1987	Edwin Moses	Danny Harris	Harald Schmid
1991	Samuel Matete	Winthrop Graham	Kriss Akabusi
1993	Kevin Young	Samuel Matete	Winthrop Graham
1995	Derrick Adkins	Samuel Matete	Stéphane Diagana
1997	Stéphane Diagana	Llewellyn Herbert	Bryan Bronson
1999	Fabrizio Mori	Stéphane Diagana	Marcel Schelbert
2001	Félix Sánchez	Fabrizio Mori	Dai Tamesue
2003	Félix Sánchez	Joey Woody	Periklis Iakovakis
2005	Bershawn Jackson	James Carter	Dai Tamesue
2007	Kerron Clement	Félix Sánchez	Marek Plawgo
2009	Kerron Clement	Javier Culson	Bershawn Jackson
2011	David Greene	Javier Culson	Louis van Zyl
2013	Jehue Gordon	Michael Tinsley	Emir Bekrić
2015	Nicholas bed	Denis Kudryavtsev	Jeffery Gibson
2017	Karsten Warholm	Yasmani Copello	Kerron Clement
2019	Karsten Warholm	Rai Benjamin	Abderrahman Samba

Women

year	gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
1980	Bärbel brooch	Ellen Neumann	Petra Pfaff
1983	Ekaterina Fessenko-Grun	Ana Ambrazienė	Ellen Fiedler
1987	Sabine Busch	Debbie Flintoff-King	Cornelia Ullrich
1991	Tazzjana Ljadouskaja	Sally Gunnell	Janeene Vickers
1993	Sally Gunnell	Sandra Farmer-Patrick	Margarita Ponomaryova
1995	Kim Batten	Tonja Buford-Bailey	Deon Hemmings
1997	Nezha Bidouane	Deon Hemmings	Kim Batten
1999	Daimi Pernia	Nezha Bidouane	Deon Hemmings
2001	Nezha Bidouane	Yulia Nosova	Daimi Pernia
2003	Jana Pittman	Sandra Glover	Yulia Pechonkina
2005	Yulia Pechonkina	Lashinda Demus	Sandra Glover
2007	Jana Rawlinson	Yulia Pechonkina	Anna Jesień
2009	Melaine Walker	Lashinda Demus	Josanne Lucas
2011	Lashinda Demus	Melaine Walker	Natalja Nikolajewna Antjuch
2013	Zuzana Hejnová	Dalilah Muhammad	Lashinda Demus
2015	Zuzana Hejnová	Shamier Little	Cassandra Tate
2017	Kori Carter	Dalilah Muhammad	Ristananna Tracey
2019	Dalilah Muhammad	Sydney McLaughlin	Rushell Clayton

See also

• Olympic medalist
• Medalist at world championships
• Olympic medalists
• Medal winners at world championships

World record development

Men

Notes:
In brackets: electronically timed, but the world record was registered with the hand-timed time.
y: 440-yard world record (402.34 m), mentioned here because it is better than the 400-meter performance

Time (s)	Surname	date	place
55.0	Charles Bacon	July 22, 1908	London
54 2/5 y	John Norton	June 26, 1920	Pasadena
54.0	Frank Loomis	August 16, 1920	Antwerp
53.8	Sten Pettersson	October 4, 1925	Paris
52 2/5	John Gibson	July 2, 1927	Lincoln
52.0	Morgan Taylor	4th July 1928	Philadelphia
52.0	Glenn Hardin	August 1, 1932	los Angeles
51.8	Glenn Hardin	June 30, 1934	Milwaukee
50.6	Glenn Hardin	July 26, 1934	Stockholm
50.4	Yuri Lituev	20th September 1953	Budapest
49.5	Glenn Davis	June 29, 1956	los Angeles
49.2	Glenn Davis	August 6, 1958	Budapest
49.2	Salvatore Morale	September 14, 1962	Belgrade
49.1	Rex Cawley	September 13, 1964	los Angeles
48.8 (48.94)	Geoff Vanderstock	September 11, 1968	Echo Summit
48.1 (48.12)	David Hemery	15th October 1968	Mexico City
47.8 / 47.82	John Akii-Bua	2nd September 1972	Munich
47.64	Edwin Moses	July 25, 1976	Montreal
47.45	Edwin Moses	June 11, 1977	Westwood
47.13	Edwin Moses	3rd July 1980	Milan
47.02	Edwin Moses	August 31, 1983	Koblenz
46.78	Kevin Young	August 6, 1992	Barcelona
46.70	Karsten Warholm	July 1, 2021	Oslo

Women

Time (s)	Surname	date	place
56.51	Krystyna Kacperczyk	July 13, 1974	augsburg
55.74	Tatiana Storoschewa	June 26, 1977	Karl Marx City
55.63	Karin Rossley	August 13, 1977	Helsinki
55.44	Krystyna Kacperczyk	August 18, 1978	Berlin
55.31	Tatiana Selentsova	19th August 1978	Podolsk
54.89	Tatiana Selentsova	2nd September 1978	Prague
54.78	Marina Makeyeva	July 27, 1979	Moscow
54.28	Karin Rossley	May 17, 1980	Jena
54.02	Ana Ambrazienė	June 11, 1983	Moscow
53.58	Margarita Ponomaryova	June 22, 1984	Kiev
53.55	Sabine Busch	September 22, 1985	Berlin
53.32	Marina Stepanova	August 30, 1986	Stuttgart
52.94	Marina Stepanova	17th September 1986	Tashkent
52.74	Sally Gunnell	19th August 1993	Stuttgart
52.61	Kim Batten	August 11, 1995	Gothenburg
52.34	Yulia Pechonkina	August 8, 2003	Tula
52.20	Dalilah Muhammad	28th July 2019	Des Moines
52.16	Dalilah Muhammad	4th October 2019	Doha
51.90	Sydney McLaughlin	June 27, 2021	Eugene

World best list

Men

All runners with a time of 47.98 s or faster. A = time achieved under altitude conditions.

Last change: July 4th, 2021

1. 46.70 s Karsten Warholm , Oslo , July 1, 2021 
2. 46.78s Kevin Young , Barcelona , August 6, 1992 
3. 46.83s Rai Benjamin , Eugene , June 26, 2021 
4. 46.98s Abderrahman Samba , Paris , June 30, 2018 
5. 47.02 s Edwin Moses , Koblenz , August 31, 1983 
6. 47.03s Bryan Bronson , New Orleans , June 21, 1998 
7. 47.10 s Samuel Matete , Zurich , August 7, 1991 
8. 47.19s Andre Phillips , Seoul , September 25, 1988 
9. 47.23 s Amadou Dia Ba , Seoul , September 25, 1988 
10. 47.24s Kerron Clement , Carson , June 26, 2005 
11. 47.25 s Félix Sánchez , Paris , August 29, 2003 
12. 47.25s Angelo Taylor , Beijing , August 18, 2008 
13. 47.30 s Bershawn Jackson , Helsinki , August 9, 2005 
14. 47.34s Alison dos Santos , Stockholm , July 4, 2021 
15. 47.37 s Stéphane Diagana , Lausanne , July 5, 1995 
16. 47.38 s Danny Harris , Lausanne , July 10, 1991 
17. 47.43s James Carter , Helsinki , August 9, 2005 
18. 47.48 s Harald Schmid , Athens , September 8, 1982 ( German record ) 
19. 47.50s Kyron McMaster , Walnut , May 9, 2021 
20. 47.53s Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily , Sydney , September 27, 2000 
21. 47.54 s Derrick Adkins , Lausanne , July 5, 1995 
22. 47.54s Fabrizio Mori , Edmonton , August 10, 2001 
23. 47.60 s Winthrop Graham , Zurich , August 4, 1993 
24. 47.63s Johnny Dutch , Des Moines , June 26, 2010 
25. 47.66s A LJ van Zyl , Pretoria , February 25, 2011 
26. 47.67s Bennie Brazell , Sacramento , June 11, 2004 
27. 47.69 s Jehue Gordon , Moscow , August 15, 2013 
28. 47.70s Michael Tinsley , Moscow , August 15, 2013 
29. 47.72s Javier Culson , Ponce , May 8, 2010 
30. 47.75s David Patrick , Indianapolis , July 17, 1988 
31. 47.78s Boniface Mucheru Tumuti , Rio de Janeiro , August 18, 2016 
32. 47.79s Nicholas Bett , Beijing , August 25, 2015 
33. 47.81s Llewellyn Herbert , Sydney , September 27, 2000 
34. 47.81s Yasmani Copello , Berlin , August 9, 2018 
35. 47.82 s John Akii-Bua , Munich , September 2, 1972 
36. 47.82s Kriss Akabusi , Barcelona , August 6, 1992 
37. 47.82 s Periklis Iakovakis , Osaka , May 6, 2006 
38. 47.84 s Bayano Kamani , Helsinki , 7 August 2005 
39. 47.84s David Greene , Saint-Denis , July 6, 2012 
40. 47.85s Sean Burrell , Eugene , June 11, 2021 
41. 47.89s Dai Tamesue , Edmonton , August 10, 2001 
42. 47.91s Calvin Davis , Atlanta , July 31, 1996 
43. 47.92 s Aleksandr Wasiljew , Moscow , August 17, 1985 
44. 47.93 s Kenji Narisako , Osaka , May 6, 2006 
45. 47.93s Jeshua Anderson , Eugene , June 26, 2011 
46. 47.93s Omar Cisneros , Moscow , August 13, 2013 
47. 47.94s Eric Thomas , Rome , June 30, 2000 
48. 47.97 s Maurice Mitchell , Zurich , August 14, 1996 
49. 47.97s Joey Woody , New Orleans , June 21, 1998 
50. 47.97s Thomas Barr , Rio de Janeiro , August 18, 2016 

• Austrian record: Thomas Futterknecht - 49.33 s on August 30, 1985 in Kobe
• Swiss record: Marcel Schelbert - 48.13 s on August 27, 1999 in Seville

Women

All runners with a time of 53.79 s or faster. A = time obtained under altitude conditions.

Last change: July 4th, 2021

1. 51.90s Sydney McLaughlin , Eugene , June 27, 2021 
2. 52.16 s Dalilah Muhammad , Doha , October 4, 2019 
3. 52.34 s Julija Pechonkina , Tula , August 8, 2003 
4. 52.37 s Femke Bol , Stockholm , July 4, 2021 
5. 52.39 s Shamier Little , Stockholm , July 4, 2021 
6. 52.42 s Melaine Walker , Berlin , August 20, 2009 
7. 52.47 s Lashinda Demus , Daegu , September 1, 2011 
8. 52.61s Kim Batten , Gothenburg , August 11, 1995 
9. 52.62 s Tonja Buford-Bailey , Gothenburg , August 11, 1995 
10. 52.70s Natalja Antjuch , London , August 8, 2012 
11. 52.74 s Sally Gunnell , Stuttgart , August 19, 1993 
12. 52.77 s Fani Chalkia , Athens , August 22, 2004 
13. 52.79 s Sandra Farmer-Patrick , Stuttgart , August 19, 1993 
14. 52.79s Kaliese Spencer , London , 5th August 2011 
15. 52.82 s Deon Hemmings , Atlanta , July 31, 1996 
16. 52.83 s Zuzana Hejnová , Moscow , August 15, 2013 
17. 52.89 s Daimí Pernía , Seville , August 25, 1999 
18. 52.90 s Nezha Bidouane , Seville , August 25, 1999 
19. 52.94s Marina Stepanova , Tashkent , September 17, 1986 
20. 52.95s Sheena Tosta , Sacramento , July 11, 2004 
21. 52.96s Kori Carter , Sacramento , June 25, 2017 
22. 52.96 s Hanna Ryschykowa , Stockholm , July 4, 2021 
23. 53.02 s Irina Priwalowa , Sydney , September 27, 2000 
24. 53.11s Tazzjana Ljadouskaja , Tokyo , August 29, 1991 
25. 53.11s Ashley Spencer , Sacramento , June 25, 2017 
26. 53.14s Georganne Moline , Sacramento , June 25, 2017 
27. 53.17s Debbie Flintoff-King , Seoul , September 28, 1988 
28. 53.20 s Josanne Lucas , Berlin , August 20, 2009 
29. 53.21 s Marie-José Perec , Zurich , August 16, 1995 
30. 53.22s Jana Rawlinson , Paris , Saint-Denis , August 28, 2003 
31. 53.24 s Sabine Busch , Potsdam , August 21, 1987 ( German record ) 
32. 53.25 s Ionela Târlea , Rome , 7 July 1999 
33. 53.28s Tiffany Williams , Indianapolis , June 24, 2007 
34. 53.32s Sandra Glover , Helsinki , August 13, 2005 
35. 53.36s Andrea Blackett , Seville , August 25, 1999 
36. 53.36s Brenda Taylor , Sacramento , July 11, 2004 
37. 53.37s Tetjana Tereschchuk-Antipowa , Athens , August 22, 2004 
38. 53.46 s Janieve Russell , Lausanne , July 5, 2018 
39. 53.47 s Janeene Vickers , Tokyo , August 29, 1991 
40. 53.48 s Margarita Chromowa-Ponomarjowa , Stuttgart , August 19, 1993 
41. 53.55s Sara Slott Petersen , Rio de Janeiro , August 18, 2016 
42. 53.58 s Cornelia Feuerbach-Ullrich , Potsdam , August 21, 1987 
43. 53.63 s Ellen Neumann-Fiedler , Seoul , September 28, 1988 
44. 53.67s Perri Shakes-Drayton , London , July 26th 2013 
45. 53.68 s Vanya Stambolowa , Rabat , June 5, 2011 
46. 53.70s Anna Cockrell , Eugene , June 27, 2021 
47. 53.72 s Jekaterina Bikert , Tula , July 30, 2004 
48. 53.74s A Myrtle Simpson-Bothma , Johannesburg , April 18, 1986 
49. 53.74 s Ristananna Tracey , London , August 10, 2017 
50. 53.74 s Rushell Clayton , Doha , 4 October 2019 

• Austrian record: Gerda Haas - 56.86 s, June 27, 1987 in Athens
• Swiss record: Léa Sprunger - 54.06 s, October 4, 2019 in Doha

See also

• List of Olympic team abbreviations
• Hurdles

swell

• Eternal world best list men
• Eternal world best list women
• Athletics annual world best list up to 20th place ( Memento from July 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• Progression of World best performances and official IAAF World Records, 2003 Edition, Monaco, 2003, p. 127 ff. And p. 287 ff. (English)