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.
The women's 400 metres hurdles is an outdoor track event over a distance of 400 metres with ten hurdles at the height of 76.2 cm (30 inches). The world records of this women's event have been recognised by World Athletics since 1974. Every world record is fully automatically timed and undergoes a ratification process that includes doping control.
The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olympics, World Athletics Championships, Pan American Games, NACAC Championships, or an IAAF Continental Cup, the championships serve as a way of selecting the best athletes for those competitions.
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.
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. She set a world record time of 50.65 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 30, 2024. She is the first track athlete to break four world records in the same event: 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 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 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.
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 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.
Talitha LaNae Clark Diggs is an American track and field sprinter specializing in the 400 meters. Diggs won the 2022 U.S. national 400 m title.
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.
CJ Allen is an American track and field athlete who competes in the 400 meters hurdles. He is the US men's national record holder over 400m hurdles indoors.
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was took place in three rounds at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary from 21 to 24 August 2023. On 21 August, fourty-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.
Jasmine Jones is an American track and field athlete. She was runner-up in the 60 metres hurdles at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She finished third in the US Olympic trials in 2024 over 400 metres hurdles.
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 nations.
The women's 400 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics is scheduled to be held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, between 5 and 9 August 2024. This will be the sixteenth time that the women's 400 metres is contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 48 athletes will be able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.
The women's 100 metres hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympics is scheduled to be held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, between 7 and 10 August 2024. This will be the fourteenth time that the women's 100 metres hurdles is contested at the Summer Olympics.
The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympics is scheduled to be held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, from 5 to 9 August 2024. This will be 28th time that the men's 400 metres hurdles is contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 40 athletes will be able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.
