Merlene Joyce Ottey is a Jamaican-Slovenian former track and field sprinter. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978, and continued to do so for 24 years, before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012. She is ranked fourth on the all-time list over 60 metres (indoor), eighth on the all-time list over 100 metres and sixth on the all-time list over 200 metres. She is the current world indoor record holder for 200 metres with 21.87 seconds, set in 1993. She was named Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year 13 times between 1979 and 1995.
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.
Alvin Leonardo Harrison is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. He won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at both the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Angela Williams is an American athlete. Williams attended the University of Southern California, graduating in 2002. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female track and field competitor in 2002, which qualified her as a nominee for the Honda-Broderick Cup, awarded to the best overall female collegiate athlete in 12 sports. She was named the winner of that award also in 2002.
Ma Yuqin is a Chinese sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres.
Sherri Frances Howard is a former American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She is the older sister of 1988 relay teammate Denean Howard.
Chryste Dionne Gaines is an American Olympic athlete who competed mainly in the sprints.
Deborah Elaine "Debra" Sapenter, later Speight-Christopher, is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 meters. She was born in Prairie View, Texas. In 1975 she was rated as the number one 400 meter women's sprinter in the United States. She competed for United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics, held in Montreal, in the 4 × 400 metres relay where she won the silver medal with her teammates Sheila Ingram, Pamela Jiles and Rosalyn Bryant.
James Sanford is a retired track and field sprinter from the United States.
Alisa Harvey is a middle distance runner from the United States. She set her personal best in the women's 1,500 meters 4:08.32 on June 26, 1992, at the US Olympic Trials in New Orleans and in the 800 meters 1:59.72 in 1995. She was ranked in the U.S. top ten in the 1500 meters 8 years in a row from 1986 to 1993, achieving number 1 in 1993. After taking 1994 off for maternity, she returned to the list in 1998 and 1999. She also made the U.S. list in the 800 metres six times between 1988 and 1996. In 1998 she became the 24th American woman to break 4:30 for a mile. She is still an active masters competitor, holding several world records and pursuing more as she moves into a new age division.
The sprint medley relay (SMR) is a track and field event in which teams of four athletes compete over sprinting distances as part of a relay race. Unlike most track relays, each member of the team runs a different distance. The sprint medley is rather uncommon, run most frequently at non-championship track meets which are focused on relays. Since these are not championship events, specific criteria for the event are not in common rulebooks. This leads to localized variations.
William Collins is an American sprinter, originally running for Mount Vernon High School in Westchester County, New York, where he won four state titles and later at Texas Christian University where he achieved "All-American" status.
Floria Gueï is a French sprint athlete of Ivorian origin specialising in the 400 metres. A 2016 European Championships silver medallist and a 2017 European Indoor Championships gold medallist, she also won as a member of women's 4x400 m relays a bronze at the 2013 World Championships and medals at several other international competitions.
Anna Kiełbasińska is a Polish sprinter who competed occasionally also in hurdling events. She won the bronze medal in the 400 metres as well as silver medals in the 4 x 100 m and 4 x 400 m relays at the 2022 European Championships. Kiełbasińska earned bronze for the 400 m at the 2023 European Indoor Championships. She won several major medals as part of Polish 4 x 400 m relay teams and also individual medals at European Under-20 and U23 Championships.
Maria Benedicta Chigbolu is an Italian sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in 4 × 400 m relay.
Irene Romona Obera is an American track and field athlete, specializing in sprinting events. Over an extended career, she has set numerous world records and has won numerous world championships. She is currently a member of the W70 world record holding 4x100 metres relay team. She also holds the current American record in the W60 and W75 100 metres and the W75 200 metres.
Elaine Sandra-Lee Thompson-Herah OD is a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres. Regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, she is a five-time Olympic champion, the fastest woman alive in the 100 m, and the second fastest alive in the 200 m.
Marie Lande Mathieu is a Puerto Rican track and field athlete specializing in sprinting events. She competed in the 400 metres at the 1984 Olympics. Marie qualified for the semi-final round but did not qualify for the finals, finishing seventh in her semi-final race. Later she joined her younger sister Evelyn Mathieu in the 4 × 400 metres relay, Evelyn running the lead off leg and Marie running the anchor leg in the qualifying round. The team qualified for the finals, but did not start.
Raevyn Rogers is an American middle-distance athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the fourth fastest woman in U.S. history in the event. At the 2019 World Championships, Rogers came from seventh with 100m remaining in the race to place silver over USA teammate Ajeé Wilson in bronze. She earned a world indoor title as a member of national 4x400 m relay squad that took gold at the 2018 World Indoor Championships.
Maya Bruney is a British-born sprinter with dual nationality who competes for Italy since 2021. She won the gold medal in the 200 metres and bronze medals for the 4 × 100 and 4 × 400 metres relays at the 2017 European Under-20 Championships.
