400 metres hurdles

Athletics 400 metres hurdles
Women's 400m hurdles.
World records
Men	Kevin Young 46.78 (1992)
Women	Dalilah Muhammad 52.16 (2019)
Olympic records
Men	Kevin Young 46.78 (1992)
Women	Melaine Walker 52.64 (2008)
World Championship records
Men	Kevin Young 47.18 (1993)
Women	Dalilah Muhammad 52.16 (2019)

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.

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 best male athletes can run the 400 m hurdles in a time of around 47 seconds, while the best female athletes achieve a time of around 53 seconds. The current men's and women's world record holders are Kevin Young with 46.78 seconds and Dalilah Muhammad with 52.16 seconds. Compared to the 400 metres run, the hurdles race takes the men about three seconds longer and the women four seconds longer.

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

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 so that virtually identical races could be held and the finish times compared to each 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 91.4 cm (3 feet) for men and 76.20 cm (2 ft, 6 inches) for women. The hurdles were now placed on the course with a run-up to the first hurdle of 45 metres, a distance between the hurdles of 35 metres each, and a home stretch from the last hurdle to the finish line of 40 metres.

The first documented 400 m hurdles race for women took place in 1971. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) introduced the event officially as a discipline in 1974, although it was not run at the Olympics until 1984, the first Men's World Champion having been crowned the year before at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics. A special edition of the Women's 400m Hurdles happened in the 1980 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in response to the Women's 400m Hurdles not being included in the boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics and the 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."

Hurdling technique

"The 400m hurdle race one of the most demanding of all events in the sprint-hurdle group." (Lindeman) It requires speed, endurance, and hurdling technique all along with unique awareness and special concentration throughout the race. Athletes and coaches alike have described sprinting the final 100m stretch in the 400m hurdle race as being the most mentally and physically exhausting run they've ever had to complete.

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 take off 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 doesn't 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. 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 of 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. The 400 metre hurdles is a very physically demanding race. It requires intense training to get the endurance, speed and technique needed to compete.

All-time top 25 hurdlers

Men

• Correct as of August 2020.^[1][2]

Rank	Time	Athlete	Country	Date	Place	Ref
1	46.78	Kevin Young	United States	6 August 1992	Barcelona
2	46.87	Karsten Warholm	Norway	23 August 2020	Stockholm	[3]
3	46.98	Abderrahman Samba	Qatar	30 June 2018	Paris	[4]
		Rai Benjamin	United States	29 August 2019	Zürich	[5]
5	47.02	Edwin Moses	United States	31 August 1983	Koblenz
6	47.03	Bryan Bronson	United States	21 June 1998	New Orleans
7	47.10	Samuel Matete	Zambia	7 August 1991	Zürich
8	47.19	Andre Phillips	United States	25 September 1988	Seoul
9	47.23	Amadou Dia Ba	Senegal	25 September 1988	Seoul
10	47.24	Kerron Clement	United States	26 June 2005	Carson
11	47.25	Félix Sánchez	Dominican Republic	29 August 2003	Saint-Denis
		Angelo Taylor	United States	18 August 2008	Beijing
13	47.30	Bershawn Jackson	United States	9 August 2005	Helsinki
14	47.37	Stéphane Diagana	France	5 July 1995	Lausanne
15	47.38	Danny Harris	United States	10 July 1991	Lausanne
16	47.43	James Carter	United States	9 August 2005	Helsinki
17	47.48	Harald Schmid	West Germany	8 September 1982	Athens
18	47.53	Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily	Saudi Arabia	27 September 2000	Sydney
19	47.54	Derrick Adkins	United States	5 July 1995	Lausanne
		Fabrizio Mori	Italy	10 August 2001	Edmonton
		Kyron McMaster	British Virgin Islands	30 June 2018	Paris	[6]
22	47.60	Winthrop Graham	Jamaica	4 August 1993	Zürich
23	47.63	Johnny Dutch	United States	26 June 2010	Des Moines
24	47.66 A	L. J. van Zyl	South Africa	25 February 2011	Pretoria
	47.66			31 May 2011	Ostrava
25	47.67	Bennie Brazell	United States	11 June 2005	Sacramento

Notes

Below is a list of all other times superior to 47.43:

• Karsten Warholm ran 46.92 (2019), 47.07 (2020), 47.08 (2020), 47.10 (2020), 47.12 (2019), 47.26 (2019), 47.33 (2019), 47.42 (2019), 47.43 (2019).
• Rai Benjamin ran 47.02 (2018), 47.16 (2019), 47.23 (2019).
• Edwin Moses ran 47.13 (1980), 47.14 (1981), 47.17 (1980), 47.27 (1981), 47.32 (1984), 47.37 (1981, 1983, 1988), 47.38 (1986), 47.43 (1983).
• Kevin Young ran 47.18 (1993), 47.37 (1993), 47.40 (1992), 47.42 (1992).
• Abderrahman Samba ran 47.27 (2019), 47.37 (2018), 47.41 (2018), 47.42 (2018).
• Bershawn Jackson ran 47.32 (2010).
• Felix Sanchez ran 47.35 (2002), 47.38 (2001).
• Kerron Clement ran 47.39 (2006).

Women

As of October 2019^[7]

Rank	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref
1	52.16	Dalilah Muhammad	United States	4 October 2019	Doha	[8]
2	52.23	Sydney McLaughlin	United States	4 October 2019	Doha	[8]
3	52.34	Yuliya Pechonkina	Russia	8 August 2003	Tula
4	52.42	Melaine Walker	Jamaica	20 August 2009	Berlin
5	52.47	Lashinda Demus	United States	1 September 2011	Daegu
6	52.61	Kim Batten	United States	11 August 1995	Gothenburg
7	52.62	Tonja Buford-Bailey	United States	11 August 1995	Gothenburg
8	52.70	Natalya Antyukh	Russia	8 August 2012	London	[9]
9	52.74	Sally Gunnell	Great Britain	19 August 1993	Stuttgart
10	52.75	Shamier Little	United States	25 June 2017	Sacramento	[10]
11	52.77	Fani Halkia	Greece	22 August 2004	Athens
12	52.79	Sandra Farmer-Patrick	United States	19 August 1993	Stuttgart
		Kaliese Spencer	Jamaica	5 August 2011	London
14	52.82	Deon Hemmings	Jamaica	31 July 1996	Atlanta
15	52.83	Zuzana Hejnová	Czech Republic	15 August 2013	Moscow
16	52.89	Daimí Pernía	Cuba	25 August 1999	Seville
17	52.90	Nezha Bidouane	Morocco	25 August 1999	Seville
18	52.94	Marina Stepanova	Soviet Union	17 September 1986	Tashkent
19	52.95	Sheena Johnson	United States	11 July 2004	Sacramento
		Kori Carter	United States	25 June 2017	Sacramento	[11]
21	53.02	Irina Privalova	Russia	27 September 2000	Sydney
22	53.11	Tatyana Ledovskaya	Soviet Union	29 August 1991	Tokyo
		Ashley Spencer	United States	25 June 2017	Sacramento	[12]
				28 July 2019	Des Moines	[13]
24	53.14	Georganne Moline	United States	25 June 2017	Sacramento	[14]
25	53.17	Debbie Flintoff-King	Australia	28 September 1988	Seoul

Notes

Below is a list of all other times superior to 52.88.

• Dalilah Muhammad also ran 52.20 (2019), 52.64 (2017), 52.88 (2016).
• Lashinda Demus also ran 52.63 (2009), 52.77 (2012), 52.82 (2010).
• Melaine Walker also ran 52.64 (2008), 52.73 (2011).
• Kim Batten also ran 52.74 (1998), 52.84 (1998).
• Sydney McLaughlin also ran 52.75 (2018), 52.85 (2019), 52.88 (2019).
• Faní Halkiá also ran 52.82 (2004).

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
• Women
  • First official world record: 56.51 seconds, Krystyna Kacperczyk (POL), 1974
  • First under 56 seconds: 55.74 seconds, Tatyana Storozheva (USSR), 1977
  • First under 55 seconds: 54.89 seconds, Tatyana Zelentsova (USSR), 1978
  • First under 54 seconds: 53.58 seconds, Margarita Ponomaryova (USSR), 1984
  • First under 53 seconds: 52.94 seconds, Marina Stepanova (USSR), 1986

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. The U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow prevented him from winning a hat-trick of gold medals, but his career is nonetheless widely regarded as one of the most successful in hurdling. He finished third in the 1988 Olympic final, the last race in his professional career. He also held the world record for sixteen years from when he first broke it at the Olympics on 25 July 1976 (twice in one day) 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 (and Olympic silver 2008), World 2007 and 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
• 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
  • Nezha Bidouane (MAR), 1997 and 2001 (won silver in 1999)
  • Jana Rawlinson (AUS), 2003 (as Jana Pittman) and 2007
  • Zuzana Hejnová (CZE), 2013 and 2015
  • Karsten Warholm (NOR), 2017 and 2019
• Note: Edwin Moses and Kevin Young are the only male 400 m hurdlers to have been Olympic Champion, World Champion and broken the World Record.
• Note: Sally Gunnell and Dalilah Muhammad are the only female 400 m hurdlers to have been Olympic Champion, World Champion and broken the World Record.

Olympic medalists

Men

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

Women

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

World Championships medalists

Men

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

Women

• The official IAAF World Championships in Athletics began in 1983, 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).^[15]

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

Season's bests

External links

• IAAF list of 400-metres-hurdles records in XML

Notes and references