Women's 400 metres hurdles at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | Japan National Stadium | ||||||||||||
Dates | 31 July 2021 (round 1) 2 August 2021 (semifinals) 4 August 2021 (final) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 39 from 25 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 51.46 s WR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics | |||
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Qualification | |||
Track events | |||
100 m | men | women | |
200 m | men | women | |
400 m | men | women | |
800 m | men | women | |
1500 m | men | women | |
5000 m | men | women | |
10,000 m | men | women | |
100 m hurdles | women | ||
110 m hurdles | men | ||
400 m hurdles | men | women | |
3000 m steeplechase | men | women | |
4 × 100 m relay | men | women | |
4 × 400 m relay | men | mixed | women |
Road events | |||
Marathon | men | women | |
20 km walk | men | women | |
50 km walk | men | ||
Field events | |||
High jump | men | women | |
Pole vault | men | women | |
Long jump | men | women | |
Triple jump | men | women | |
Shot put | men | women | |
Discus throw | men | women | |
Hammer throw | men | women | |
Javelin throw | men | women | |
Combined events | |||
Heptathlon | women | ||
Decathlon | men | ||
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. [1] 39 athletes from 25 nations competed. [2]
At the U.S. Olympic trials in June 2021, Sydney McLaughlin became the first woman to run the event in under 52 seconds, improving Dalilah Muhammad's world record of 52.16 secs to 51.90. In Tokyo, both women ran inside the world record, with McLaughlin winning the gold medal with a new world record time of 51.46, while 2016 Olympic champion Muhammad ran 51.58 for the silver medal. Dutch athlete Femke Bol broke the European record with 52.03 for the bronze, to move to third on the world all-time list. Another three national records (for Colombia, Belgium and Panama) were set during the competition.
2021 was a dynamic year for the women's 400 metres hurdles. Returning gold medalist and reigning world champion Dalilah Muhammad began the year with the world record from that world championship race. But she was pushed to that record and her previous world record by her American teammate Sydney McLaughlin. McLaughlin was also in the Rio Olympics, but then she made news for qualifying for the semi-final round a few days after her seventeenth birthday. In 2019 McLaughlin matured to be a few steps off the world record while gaining the world championship silver medal. In 2021 at the United States Olympic Trials, she reversed that picture by winning with a new world record of 51.90. A week later, another hurdler, 6 months younger than McLaughlin, Femke Bol improved her personal best to 52.37, to become the #4 performer of all time, behind #1 McLaughlin and #2 Muhammad. A new world record was predicted for this event. Those same three athletes were the three individual semi-final winners qualifying for the final.
Knowing she had to run a world record, Muhammad was out fast clearing the first hurdle just ahead of McLaughlin and Bol. By the third hurdle, she had passed the athletes staggered to her outside. Muhammad kept the pressure up over each hurdle, with McLaughlin three lanes inside of her, watching her. Keeping pace, Bol was touching down just a fraction of a step behind McLaughlin. Those three separated from the rest of the field but kept the same pattern, Muhammad, McLaughlin, Bol over all ten hurdles. When she crossed the finish line, Muhammad had bettered the 6-week-old world record by almost a third of a second, 51.58. And McLaughlin had run faster from the last hurdle home to win, setting a new world record in 51.46. Bol was just barely behind the previous world record in 52.03, the #3 performer and #4 performance ever all in the same race. [3]
This was the 10th appearance of the event, having appeared at every Olympics since 1984.
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 3 qualified athletes in the women's 400 metres hurdles event if all athletes meet the entry standard or qualify by ranking during the qualifying period. (The limit of 3 has been in place since the 1930 Olympic Congress.) The qualifying standard is 55.40 seconds. This standard was "set for the sole purpose of qualifying athletes with exceptional performances unable to qualify through the IAAF World Rankings pathway." The world rankings, based on the average of the best five results for the athlete over the qualifying period and weighted by the importance of the meet, will then be used to qualify athletes until the cap of 40 is reached. [2] [4]
The qualifying period was originally from 1 May 2019 to 29 June 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the period was suspended from 6 April 2020 to 30 November 2020, with the end date extended to 29 June 2021. The world rankings period start date was also changed from 1 May 2019 to 30 June 2020; athletes who had met the qualifying standard during that time were still qualified, but those using world rankings would not be able to count performances during that time. The qualifying time standards could be obtained in various meets during the given period that have the approval of the IAAF. Both indoor and outdoor meets are eligible. The most recent Area Championships may be counted in the ranking, even if not during the qualifying period. [2] [5]
NOCs can also use their universality place—each NOC can enter one female athlete regardless of time if they had no female athletes meeting the entry standard for an athletics event—in the 400 metres hurdles. [2]
The event continued to use the three-round format introduced in 2012. [6]
Prior to this competition, the existing global and area records were as follows.
World record | Sydney McLaughlin (USA) | 51.90 | Eugene, United States | 27 June 2021 |
Olympic record | Melaine Walker (JAM) | 52.64 | Beijing, China | 20 August 2008 |
World Leading | Sydney McLaughlin (USA) | 51.90 | Eugene, United States | 27 June 2021 |
Area | Time (s) | Athlete | Nation |
---|---|---|---|
Africa ( records ) | 52.90 | Nezha Bidouane | Morocco |
Asia ( records ) | 53.96 | Han Qing | China |
Song Yinglan | China | ||
Europe ( records ) | 52.34 | Yuliya Pechonkina | Russia |
North, Central America and Caribbean ( records ) | 51.90 WR | Sydney McLaughlin | United States |
Oceania ( records ) | 53.17 | Debbie Flintoff-King | Australia |
South America ( records ) | 55.60 | Gianna Woodruff | Panama |
The following new World and Olympic records were set during this competition:
World record | Sydney McLaughlin (USA) | 51.46 | Tokyo, Japan | 04 August 2021 |
Olympic record | Sydney McLaughlin (USA) | 51.46 | Tokyo, Japan | 04 August 2021 |
The following national records were set during this competition:
Nation | Athlete | Round | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belgium | Paulien Couckuyt | Heat 2 | 54.90 | |
Semifinals | 54.47 | |||
Colombia | Melissa Gonzalez | Heat 1 | 55.32 | |
Netherlands | Femke Bol | Final | 52.03 | AR |
Panama | Gianna Woodruff | Semifinals | 54.22 | AR |
United States | Sydney McLaughlin | Final | 51.46 | WR, OR, AR |
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
The women's 400 metres hurdles took place over three separate days. [1]
Date | Time | Round |
---|---|---|
Saturday, 31 July 2021 | 9:00 | Round 1 |
Monday, 2 August 2021 | 19:00 | Semifinals |
Wednesday, 4 August 2021 | 9:00 | Final |
Qualification Rules: First 4 in each heat (Q) and the next 4 fastest (q) advance to the semifinals.
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Viktoriya Tkachuck | Ukraine | 0.256 | 54.80 | Q |
2 | 3 | Melissa Gonzalez | Colombia | 0.146 | 55.32 | Q, NR |
3 | 7 | Anna Cockrell | United States | 0.213 | 55.37 | Q |
4 | 8 | Sage Watson | Canada | 0.176 | 55.54 | Q |
5 | 6 | Yadisleidis Pedroso | Italy | 0.186 | 55.57 | q, SB |
6 | 5 | Amalie Iuel | Norway | 0.129 | 55.65 | q |
7 | 2 | Aminat Yusuf Jamal | Bahrain | 0.208 | 55.90 | SB |
8 | 4 | Hanne Claes | Belgium | 0.174 | 56.38 | SB |
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Anna Ryzhykova | Ukraine | 0.191 | 54.56 | Q |
2 | 7 | Janieve Russell | Jamaica | 0.159 | 54.81 | Q |
3 | 9 | Paulien Couckuyt | Belgium | 0.182 | 54.90 | Q, NR |
4 | 8 | Linda Olivieri | Italy | 0.130 | 55.54 | Q, =PB |
5 | 6 | Viivi Lehikoinen | Finland | 0.155 | 55.67 | |
6 | 3 | Noelle Montcalm | Canada | 0.197 | 55.85 | SB |
7 | 5 | Meghan Beesley | Great Britain | 0.165 | 55.91 | |
8 | 4 | Chayenne da Silva | Brazil | 0.165 | 57.55 |
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Sydney McLaughlin | United States | 0.180 | 54.65 | Q |
2 | 7 | Gianna Woodruff | Panama | 0.268 | 55.49 | Q |
3 | 9 | Sara Slott Petersen | Denmark | 0.161 | 55.52 | Q |
4 | 8 | Quách Thị Lan | Vietnam | 0.150 | 55.71 | Q, SB |
5 | 3 | Eleonora Marchiando | Italy | 0.166 | 56.82 | |
6 | 4 | Mariya Mykolenko | Ukraine | 0.200 | 57.86 | TR 16.5.3 |
— | 6 | Leah Nugent | Jamaica | 0.240 | DQ | TR 17.3.1 |
_ | 2 | Jessie Knight | Great Britain | 0.160 | DNF |
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | Femke Bol | Netherlands | 0.194 | 54.43 | Q |
2 | 7 | Tia-Adana Belle | Barbados | 0.166 | 55.69 | Q, SB |
3 | 3 | Wenda Nel | South Africa | 0.194 | 56.06 | Q |
4 | 5 | Jessica Turner | Great Britain | 0.186 | 56.83 | Q |
5 | 6 | Sarah Carli | Australia | 0.167 | 56.93 | SB |
6 | 9 | Yasmin Giger | Switzerland | 0.165 | 57.03 | |
— | 2 | Ronda Whyte | Jamaica | — | DQ | TR 16.8 |
— | 4 | Sparkle McKnight | Trinidad and Tobago | — | DNS | — |
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | Dalilah Muhammad | United States | 53.97 | Q | |
2 | 5 | Carolina Krafzik | Germany | 0.189 | 54.72 | Q, PB |
3 | 9 | Lea Sprunger | Switzerland | 0.186 | 54.74 | Q, SB |
4 | 8 | Joanna Linkiewicz | Poland | 0.130 | 54.93 | Q, PB |
5 | 6 | Zurian Hechavarría | Cuba | 0.181 | 54.99 | q, PB |
6 | 7 | Emma Zapletalová | Slovakia | 0.166 | 55.00 | q |
7 | 2 | Line Kloster | Norway | 0.151 | 56.45 | |
8 | 4 | Loubna Benhadja | Algeria | 0.200 | 57.19 | PB |
Qualification Rules: First 2 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advance to the Final
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | Dalilah Muhammad | United States | 0.186 | 53.30 | Q |
2 | 6 | Janieve Russell | Jamaica | 0.151 | 54.10 | Q |
3 | 5 | Paulien Couckuyt | Belgium | 0.164 | 54.47 | NR |
4 | 4 | Carolina Krafzik | Germany | 0.172 | 54.96 | |
5 | 8 | Sage Watson | Canada | 0.163 | 55.51 | |
6 | 3 | Quách Thị Lan | Vietnam | 0.188 | 56.78 | |
7 | 9 | Linda Olivieri | Italy | 0.120 | 57.03 | |
8 | 2 | Amalie Iuel | Norway | 0.121 | 57.61 |
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Sydney McLaughlin | United States | 0.204 | 53.03 | Q |
2 | 4 | Gianna Woodruff | Panama | 0.207 | 54.22 | Q, AR |
3 | 6 | Anna Ryzhykova | Ukraine | 0.162 | 54.23 | q |
4 | 3 | Zurian Hechavarría | Cuba | 0.167 | 55.21 | |
5 | 9 | Joanna Linkiewicz | Poland | 0.157 | 55.67 | |
6 | 2 | Emma Zapletalová | Slovakia | 0.136 | 55.79 | |
7 | 8 | Wenda Nel | South Africa | 0.189 | 56.35 | |
8 | 7 | Tia-Adana Belle | Barbados | 0.146 | 59.26 |
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Femke Bol | Netherlands | 0.215 | 53.91 | Q |
2 | 8 | Anna Cockrell | United States | 0.174 | 54.17 | Q |
3 | 7 | Viktoriya Tkachuk | Ukraine | 0.224 | 54.25 | q |
4 | 6 | Lea Sprunger | Switzerland | 0.140 | 55.12 | |
5 | 2 | Yadisleidis Pedroso | Italy | 0.181 | 55.80 | |
6 | 4 | Melissa Gonzalez | Colombia | 0.191 | 57.47 | |
7 | 3 | Jessica Turner | Great Britain | 0.185 | 1:00.36 | |
— | 9 | Sara Slott Petersen | Denmark | 0.165 | DQ | TR 22.6 |
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Sydney McLaughlin | United States | 0.163 | 51.46 | WR | |
7 | Dalilah Muhammad | United States | 0.200 | 51.58 | PB | |
5 | Femke Bol | Netherlands | 0.165 | 52.03 | AR | |
4 | 6 | Janieve Russell | Jamaica | 0.136 | 53.08 | PB |
5 | 2 | Anna Ryzhykova | Ukraine | 0.177 | 53.48 | |
6 | 3 | Viktoriya Tkachuk | Ukraine | 0.206 | 53.79 | PB |
7 | 9 | Gianna Woodruff | Panama | 0.235 | 55.84 | |
— | 8 | Anna Cockrell | United States | 0.167 | DQ | TR 17.3.1 |
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.
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 400 metres hurdles at the Summer Olympics is the longest hurdling event held at the multi-sport event. The men's 400 m hurdles has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900, with a sole gap at the 1912 Summer Olympics. The women's event was added to the programme over eighty years later, at the 1984 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 400 m hurdles race at elite level.
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.
The 400 metres hurdles at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by women since 1980 and by men since 1983.
For the athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics competitions, the following qualification systems were in place. Qualification ended on 29 June 2021, but for marathon and 50 km race walking, it ended on 31 May 2021. Some 1900 athletes, from 196 countries, competed. 103 countries qualified also through Universality places.
The women's 400 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 3 to 6 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 45 athletes from 34 nations competed. Shaunae Miller-Uibo won the gold medal by 0.84 seconds in a personal best of 48.36 secs, a time which ranks her sixth on the world all-time list. In successfully defending her title, Miller-Uibo joined Marie-Jose Perec as the only women to win two Olympic 400 metres titles.
The men's 800 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 31 July to 4 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. In total 48 athletes were to start, but only 47 actually did. Emmanuel Korir of Kenya won the event by 0.17 seconds, with his countryman Ferguson Rotich taking silver. It was the fourth consecutive victory in the men's 800 metres for Kenya. Patryk Dobek earned bronze, giving Poland its first medal in the event.
The men's 110 metres hurdles event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place between 3 and 5 August 2021 at the Olympic Stadium. Approximately forty athletes were expected to compete; the exact number was dependent on how many nations used universality places to enter athletes in addition to the 40 qualifying through time or ranking. 40 athletes from 29 nations competed. Hansle Parchment of Jamaica won the gold medal, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event. His countryman Ronald Levy took bronze. American Grant Holloway earned silver, placing the United States back on the podium in the event after the nation missed the medals for the first time in Rio 2016.
The women's 100 metres hurdles event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place between 31 July and 2 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 40 athletes from 28 nations competed. In the semifinals, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico broke the Olympic record, running 12.26 secs, to go equal fourth on the world all-time list. The following day in the final, she won the gold medal with a time of 12.37 secs. American world record holder Keni Harrison finished second to clinch silver and the bronze to Jamaica's Megan Tapper.
The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place between 30 July and 3 August 2021 at the Olympic Stadium. 36 athletes from 26 nations competed.
The women's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 5 and 6 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. There were 16 competing relay teams, with each team having 5 members from which 4 were selected in each round.
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 6 and 7 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. There were 16 competing relay teams, with each team having up to 8 members from which 4 were selected in each round.
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 mixed 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 30 and 31 July 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. There were 16 competing relay teams, with each team having four members. It was the first mixed-gender relay in athletics held at the Olympic Games, as part of a larger focus on gender equality by the International Olympic Committee.
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 and the 2024 Olympic Champion with the Dutch mixed team.
Anna Cockrell is an American track and field athlete competing in sprinting and hurdling. She is a two-time medalist at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and won the silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in 400 m hurdles event.
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 women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships took place in three rounds at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary from 21 to 24 August 2023. On 21 August, forty-one athletes of thirty nations participated in the five heats of round 1. On 22 August, twenty-four athletes competed in the three heats of the semifinals. On 24 August, eight athletes competed in the final, which was won by Femke Bol of the Netherlands in 51.70 seconds, ahead Shamier Little of the United States in 52.80 seconds and Rushell Clayton of Jamaica in 52.81 seconds.
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, from 4 to 8 August 2024. This was the eleventh time that the women's 400 metres hurdles was contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 40 athletes were able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.