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.
David Gillick is an Irish international track and field athlete. He began his education in Our Lady's Boys School and attended St Benildus College secondary school in Kilmacud. He studied at Dublin Institute of Technology before moving to Loughborough University in the United Kingdom to train as a full-time athlete with coach Nick Dakin. Gillick specialises in the 400 metres and he won the European Indoor Championship in 2005 and 2007, as well as the Irish National Outdoor Championship in 2006 and 2007. He set the Irish Indoor record of 45.52 seconds in the 2007 final. The time also beat the Irish outdoor record of 45.58 and was within the Olympic 'A' qualifying standard for the 2008 Games. On 4 July 2009 he ran 44.77 seconds in a race in Madrid to set a new national record. He is also the 2009 Irish national 200 m champion.
Eilidh Doyle is a retired British track and field athlete. Originally running as Eilidh Child, she specialised in the 400 metres hurdles outdoors, and the 400 metres flat indoors, as well as the 4 x 400 metres relay on both surfaces. She represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. Individually, she is the 2014 European Champion and a three-time Commonwealth silver medalist in the 400 metres hurdles.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo is a Bahamian track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres. She is a two-time Olympic champion after winning the women's 400 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics and again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Emily Diamond is a British track and field athlete, who competes in the 200 metres and 400 metres. Diamond came to prominence in her breakout season of 2016 when, following her first win at the British Championships over the 400 metres distance, she collected a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2016 European Athletics Championships as part of the Great Britain team, followed by a bronze in the same discipline at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Liemarvin Bonevacia is a Dutch sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. He won bronze medals in the event at the 2016 and 2024 European Athletics Championships, and the 2017 and 2021 European Indoor Championships. Bonevacia also earned five major medals for the 4 × 400 m relays, either men's or mixed, including silver medal in the men's relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Geraldina Rachel Asher-Smith is a British sprinter internationally active since 2011. In 2019 she was the first British woman to win a World title in a sprint event.
Matthew Hudson-Smith is a British track and field sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres and is the 5th fastest athlete of all-time over the distance. As of September 2024 he is ranked as the number one 400m runner in the world and has won six British titles, five Diamond League events, two individual European titles, an individual Olympic silver medal, World Championships silver and bronze individual medals and an individual Commonwealth silver medal. He has also won a number of relay titles including an Olympic bronze medal, World Championships bronze medal, two European gold medals, one European silver medal, one European bronze medal and a Commonwealth Games gold medal. Hudson-Smith also holds the European and British 4x400m records (2:55.83) along with the GB Team who ran in the final of the men's 4x400m event in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Dylan Borlée is a Belgian sprinter who competes in the 400 metres. He is a member of the Borlée family.
Steven Gardiner is a Bahamian track and field sprinter competing in the 400 metres and 200 metres. He is the 2020 Olympic and 2019 world champion in the 400 m, and also won the silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in that event. His winning time of 43.48 s from the 2019 World Championships is the Bahamian record and makes him the eighth‑fastest man in the history of the event. Gardiner also owns the Bahamian records in the outdoor 300 m and 200 m, with times of 31.83 s and 19.75 s respectively, and the world best in the indoor 300 m at 31.56 s.
Laviai Nielsen is a British sprinter specialising in the 400 metres.
Fredrick Lee Kerley is an American track and field sprinter. He was the Olympic silver medalist over 100 m at the 2020 Olympics and bronze medalist at the 2024 Olympics in the same event. Kerley has earned an additional six medals at the World Championships, most notably 100m gold at the 2022 edition. He has also medalled in the 400m, 4 x 100m relay, and 4 × 400 m relay and won eleven Diamond League races, including two Diamond League finals - the 400m in 2018 and the 100m in 2021.
Christopher O'Donnell is an Irish track and field athlete competing in sprinting events. He was part of the Irish Mixed 4x400m team who won a gold medal at the 2024 European Athletics Championships. He represented Ireland at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the Mixed 4 × 400 m relay, where he was part of the first ever Irish team to run in an Olympic final, and competed in the same event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. He was also part of the team who reached the final of the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. He is the current Irish U20 record holder in the 400m, his personal best of 45.26 seconds sits joint-2nd on the Irish all-time list and he is a 5-time National 400m champion.
Rhasidat Adeleke is an Irish sprinter.
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.
Jona Efoloko is a British sprinter. A former European youth (U18) and World Junior (U20) champion in 200 metres, In 2022, he was part of the Great Britain relay team that won European and Commonwealth gold, and World Championship bronze, in the men's 4 x 100 metres relay.
Alex Haydock-Wilson is a British athletics athlete. In 2023, he became British 400 metres champion. He achieved a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the mixed 4 x 400 m relay.
Hannah Kelly is a British track and field athlete.
Samuel Reardon is a British athletics athlete who competes over 400m and 800m. In 2023, he became the British indoor champion over 400 metres. He won bronze medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the mixed 4 x 400 metres and men's 4 x 400 metres relay.
Emily Newnham is a track and field athlete who competes internationally for Great Britain as a sprinter and a hurdler.
