Harry Lee "Butch" Reynolds Jr. is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 meter dash. He held the world record for the event for 11 years 9 days with his personal best time of 43.29 seconds set in 1988. That year, he was the silver medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and a relay gold medalist.
LaShawn Merritt is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He is a former Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.65 seconds makes him the eleventh fastest of all time.
The men's 100 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 4–5 August 2012. Seventy-four athletes from 61 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The competition comprised four rounds: a preliminary round for entrants without the minimum qualifying standard, a heats round, followed by three semi-finals of eight athletes each, which then reduced to eight athletes for the final.
The men's 1500 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–7 August. Forty-three athletes from 29 nations competed. The event was won by Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria, the nation's first title and medal in the event since 1996. Leonel Manzano's silver was the first medal for the United States in the men's 1500 metres since 1968. Morocco earned its fourth medal in six Games with Abdalaati Iguider's bronze. Kenya's four-Games podium streak ended.
The men's 100 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 13–14 August at the Olympic Stadium. 84 athletes from 57 nations competed.
The men's 400 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 12 and 14 August at the Olympic Stadium. Fifty-three athletes from 35 nations competed. The event was won by 0.73 seconds by Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa, who broke the world record and won the nation's second gold medal in the men's 400 metres. Kirani James of Grenada and LaShawn Merritt of the United States became the sixth and seventh men to win two medals in the event, but Michael Johnson remained the only man with two gold medals.
The men's 400 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 23, 24 and 26 August. The winning margin was 0.17 seconds.
Michael Arthur Norman Jr. is an American sprinter. He previously held the world best time in the indoor 400 meters at 44.52 seconds. Outdoors, his 43.45, set at the 2019 Mt. SAC Relays, is tied on sixth on the all time list. In 2016, he became the world junior champion in both the 200 meters and 4×100 meter relay. In 2022, he became the world champion in both the 400 meters and 4x400 meter relay.
The men's 200 metres at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on 7, 9, and 10 August. The winning margin was 0.02 seconds.
The men's 400 metres at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on 5, 6, and 8 August. The winning margin was 0.43 seconds.
The women's 200 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 2 and 3 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 41 athletes from 31 nations competed. In successfully defending her title, Elaine Thompson-Herah became the first woman in history to win both the 100 and 200 metres titles at successive games. Her winning time of 21.53 secs, moved her to second on the world all-time list behind Florence Griffith Joyner, and broke Merlene Ottey's 30-year-old Jamaican record. The winning margin was 0.28 seconds. Surprisingly, Thompson-Herah had the slowest reaction time in the final.
The men's 400 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place between 1 and 5 August 2021 at the Olympic Stadium. Approximately fifty athletes were expected to compete; the exact number was dependent on how many nations use universality places to enter athletes in addition to the 48 qualifying through time or ranking. 48 athletes from 33 nations competed. The event was won by 0.23 seconds by Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas, with Anthony Zambrano of Colombia taking silver. Those were the first medals in the men's 400 metres for each of those two nations. Kirani James of Grenada won his third consecutive medal in the event with his bronze, making him the first man to earn three medals in the 400 metres.
The men's 400 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on 1, 2 and 4 October 2019. The winning margin was 0.67 seconds which as of 2024 is the greatest winning margin in the men's 400 metres at these championships since the retirement of Michael Johnson.
The men's 200 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene from 18 to 21 July 2022. The winning margin was 0.46 seconds.
The women's 100 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, U.S. on 16 and 17 July 2022.
The women's 200 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, U.S. from 18 to 21 July 2022.
The women's 800 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene from 21 to 24 July 2022.
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from 19 to 22 July 2022. It was won by Sydney McLaughlin in a world record time of 50.68 seconds. The winning margin was 1.59 seconds which as of 2024 stands as the greatest winning margin for the women's 400 metres hurdles at these championships.
The men's 400 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary from 20 to 24 August 2023. The winning margin was 0.09 seconds.
The men's 400 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, between 4-7 August 2024. This was the 30th time that the men's 400 metres was contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 48 athletes were able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.
