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.
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course. In many countries, athletes previously competed in the 440-yard dash (402.336 m)—which is a quarter of a mile and was referred to as the "quarter-mile"—instead of the 400 m (437.445 yards), though this distance is now obsolete.
Dalilah Muhammad is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters hurdles. She is the 2016 Rio Olympics champion and 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, becoming at the latter the then-second-fastest woman of all time in the event with her personal best of 51.58 seconds. Muhammad was second at both the 2013 and 2017 World Championships to take her first gold in 2019, setting the former world record of 52.16 s. She was the second female 400 m hurdler in history, after Sally Gunnell, to have won the Olympic, World titles and broken the world record. At both the 2019 World Championships and Tokyo Games, she also took gold as part of women's 4 × 400 metres relay team.
The women's 400 metres hurdles competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was held at the Olympic Stadium between 15 and 18 August.
Sydney Michelle McLaughlin-Levrone is an American hurdler and sprinter who competes in the 400 meters hurdles. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion with the Games record, and 2022 World champion with a world record time of 50.68 seconds. Setting four world records during 13 months, she was the first woman to break the 52-second and 51-second barriers in the 400 m hurdles. She won the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. At all three competitions, she also took gold as part of a women's 4 × 400 m relay team.
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on 7−8 and 10 August.
The women's 400 metres hurdles event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place between 31 July and 4 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 39 athletes from 25 nations competed.
The women's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 5 and 7 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. There were 16 competing relay teams, with each team having at least 5 members from which 4 were selected in each round.
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, from 1 to 4 October 2019.
The women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, from 5 to 6 October 2019. In the final the Jamaican team were initially disqualified, but were reinstated as the bronze medallists upon appeal.
Femke Bol is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in hurdling and sprinting. She specialises in the 400 metres hurdles, where she is the 2023 World Champion, and in the 400 metres, where she is the 2024 World Indoor Champion and the short track world record holder. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion and the 2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team.
The women's 400 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships took place on 18 and 19 March 2022.
The men's 110 metres hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 16 and 17 July 2022.
The women's 400 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, U.S. from 17 to 22 July 2022.
The women's 1500 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene from 15 to 18 July 2022.
The women's 100 metres hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 23 and 24 July 2022. It was won by Tobi Amusan. Amusan set a world record of 12.12 seconds in the semi-final. She ran 12.06 to win the final, but that was not a world record because it was wind assisted.
The women's 400 metres at the 2022 European Athletics Championships took place in three rounds at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany, from 15 to 17 August 2022.
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2022 European Athletics Championships took place in three rounds at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany, from 17 to 19 August 2022.
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary from 21 to 24 August 2023. The final was won by the Dutchwoman Femke Bol in a time of 51.70 s, ahead the American Shamier Little in second place and the Jamaican Rushell Clayton in third place.
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2024 European Athletics Championships took place in three rounds at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, from 9 to 11 June 2024. This was the sixteenth time that the women's 400 metres hurdles was contested at the European Athletics Championships. A total of 37 athletes qualified for the event by entry standard, ranking, or wild card. The startlists contained 35 athletes from 21 countries.
