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 men's 200 metres hurdles was a hurdling event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 16, 1900. 11 athletes from five nations competed in the middle of the three hurdling events. The event was won by Alvin Kraenzlein of the United States, earning his fourth individual gold in athletics in one Games—a record that still stands as of the 2016 Games. The silver medal went to Norman Pritchard of India, while another American earned bronze.
The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women. For the race, ten hurdles of a height of 33 inches (83.8 cm) are placed along a straight course of 100 metres (109.36 yd). The first hurdle is placed after a run-up of 13 metres from the starting line. The next 9 hurdles are set at a distance of 8.5 metres from each other, and the home stretch from the last hurdle to the finish line is 10.5 metres long. The hurdles are set up so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner, but weighted so this is disadvantageous. Fallen hurdles do not count against runners provided that they do not run into them on purpose. Like the 100 metres sprint, the 100 m hurdles begins with athletes in starting blocks.
The men's 110 metres hurdles was the only hurdling event on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The preliminary heats were the first track event of the day on 7 April. Eight competitors ran in two heats of four runners each. Only the fastest two runners in each heat advanced to the final. The event was won by Thomas Curtis of the United States.
Sabine Busch is a retired East German athlete, who specialised in the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles. In 1987, she became the World Champion at 400 m hurdles and the World Indoor Champion at 400 m.
The men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 43 competitors from 31 nations, with six qualifying heats, four second-round races (32) and two semifinals (16) before the final (8) took place on Monday September 26, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Roger Kingdom of the United States, the second man to successfully defend Olympic gold in the event. It was the nation's 17th title in the event. Colin Jackson's silver was Great Britain's first medal in the event since 1936.
The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 38 competitors, with five qualifying heats and two semifinals (16) before the final (8) took place on Sunday September 25, 1988. One athlete did not start, so there were 37 competitors from 28 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Andre Phillips of the United States, the nation's second consecutive and 14th overall victory in the event. Amadou Dia Ba earned Senegal's first medal in the event with his silver. Dia Ba broke up a potential American sweep, as 1976 and 1984 champion Edwin Moses took bronze and Kevin Young placed fourth. Moses was the second man to earn three medals in the event.
The men's 110 metres hurdles event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California took place on 5 and 6 August 1984. Twenty-six athletes from 17 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Roger Kingdom of the United States, the nation's first championship since 1972 and 16th title in the event overall. Arto Bryggare's bronze was Finland's first medal in the men's high hurdles.
The men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had an entry list of 23 competitors from 16 nations, with three qualifying heats and two semifinals (16) before the final (8) took place on Sunday 27 July 1980. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Thomas Munkelt of East Germany, the first medal by a German runner in the event. Alejandro Casañas of Cuba took silver for the second Games in a row, making him the eighth man with two medals in the event. Aleksandr Puchkov's bronze was the Soviet Union's second medal in the event and first since 1964.
The men's 110 metres hurdles event at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games took place on August 5 and August 6. Thirty-one athletes from 20 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Forrest Towns. It was the second of nine consecutive American victories, and the eighth overall gold medal for the United States in the 110 metres hurdles. Don Finlay of Great Britain became the second man to win two medals in the event.
Isabelle Pedersen is a Norwegian hurdling athlete. At the 2010 World Junior Championships, she won a gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles.
The men's 110 metres hurdling event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between September 3 and September 5. Thirty-six athletes from 21 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Lee Calhoun of the United States, the first man to successfully defend Olympic gold in the 110 metres hurdles. It was the sixth of nine consecutive American victories, and the 12th overall gold medal for the United States in the 110 metres hurdles. It was also the fourth of four consecutive American podium sweeps, and the eighth overall sweep by the United States in the event.
The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California had an entry list of 45 competitors from 30 nations, with six qualifying heats and two semifinals (16) before the final (8) took place on Sunday August 5, 1984. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. American Edwin Moses won his second Olympic gold medal after 1976, while his 18-year-old teammate Danny Harris took the silver medal. Moses' gold was the United States' 13th victory in the event. Moses was the sixth man to win multiple medals in the event, and the second to win multiple golds. Harald Schmid of West Germany took bronze, giving that nation its first medal in the 400 metres hurdles since 1968.
The men's 110 metres hurdles event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich was held from 3–7 September. Thirty-nine athletes from 27 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Rod Milburn of the United States, the nation's ninth of nine consecutive victories and the 15th overall gold medal in the event for the Americans. Guy Drut's silver was France's first medal in the event and the best result by a non-American since 1936.
Lauren Boden is an Australian athletics competitor. Her events are the 400 metre hurdles, 400 metres and long jump. She was the youngest woman to win the 400 metres hurdle event at the Australian national championships. She has competed in the long jump event and the 400 metres hurdle event at the World University Games. She has competed at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics in the 400 metre hurdles event.
Cindy Roleder is a German track and field athlete, specializing in 100 metres hurdles. She won the silver medal at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. Roleder claimed three medals at the European Athletics Championships, becoming the first German winner of the European 100 m hurdles title since reunification in 2016. She also won the 60 m hurdles title at the 2017 European Indoor Championships.
Bodjiho Rosvitha Okou is an Ivorian hurdler. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's 100 metres hurdles without reaching the semifinals. In addition, she won a silver medal at the 2014 African Championships. Until 2012 she represented France.
The men's 110 metres hurdles competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico was held at the University Olympic Stadium on October 16–17. Thirty-three athletes from 24 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Willie Davenport of the United States, the nation's eighth of nine consecutive victories and the 14th overall gold medal in the event for the Americans. Eddy Ottoz's bronze was Italy's first medal in the event.
Éder Antônio Souza is a Brazilian hurdler. He competed in the 110 metres hurdles at the 2007 and 2015 World Championships without qualifying for the semifinals. His personal bests are 13.46 seconds in the 110 metres hurdles and 7.72 seconds in the 60 meters hurdles.
Ulrike Denk is a German former athlete who competed in the sprint hurdles. In 1983, she broke the world junior record in the 60 metres hurdles with 8.06, which was only broken in 2015 by Dior Hall. Denk represented West Germany at the 1984 Summer Olympics, finishing seventh, and 1983 World Championships, reaching the semifinals.
West Germany 
