400 metres
Encyclopedia
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field
competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 (1964 for women). On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly 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) - also referred to as the 'quarter-mile' - instead of the 400 m, though this distance is now obsolete. An athlete who competes in the 400 m may still be referred to as 'quarter-miler'.
Maximum sprint speed capability is a significant contributing factor to success in the event, but athletes also require substantial endurance to sustain a fast speed over a whole lap. The 400 m is often considered to be one of the more difficult sprinting events because of this.
The United States men have historically dominated this event. The current men's world record is held by American Michael Johnson
, with a time of 43.18 seconds. The world indoor record holder is Kerron Clement
, in 44.57 seconds. The current women's world record is held by Marita Koch
, with a time of 47.60 seconds. Kirani James
and Amantle Montsho
are the reigning men's and women's world champions respectively, while LaShawn Merritt
and Christine Ohuruogu
hold the men's and women's Olympic titles respectively. The men's Paralympic world record of 45.07 seconds is held by Oscar Pistorius
. Michael Johnson has run the fastest 4×400 metres relay split—a 42.93 in the 1993 World Championships
. see the video
An Olympic double of 200 metres
and 400 m was first achieved by Valerie Brisco-Hooks
in 1984, and later by Michael Johnson
from the United States
and Marie-José Pérec
of France
both in 1996. Alberto Juantorena
of Cuba
at the 1976 Summer Olympics
became the first and so far the only athlete to win both the 400 m and 800 m
Olympic titles.
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 (1964 for women). On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly 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
Yard
A yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...
dash (402.336 m) - also referred to as the 'quarter-mile' - instead of the 400 m, though this distance is now obsolete. An athlete who competes in the 400 m may still be referred to as 'quarter-miler'.
Maximum sprint speed capability is a significant contributing factor to success in the event, but athletes also require substantial endurance to sustain a fast speed over a whole lap. The 400 m is often considered to be one of the more difficult sprinting events because of this.
The United States men have historically dominated this event. The current men's world record is held by American Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson (athlete)
Michael Duane Johnson is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals. Johnson currently holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 m and 4 x 400 meters relay. He formerly held the world and Olympic record in the 200 m, and the world...
, with a time of 43.18 seconds. The world indoor record holder is Kerron Clement
Kerron Clement
Kerron Stephon Clement is Trinidadian-born track and field athlete who represents the United States and specializes in the 400-meter hurdles...
, in 44.57 seconds. The current women's world record is held by Marita Koch
Marita Koch
Marita Koch , is a former sprint track and field athlete...
, with a time of 47.60 seconds. Kirani James
Kirani James
Kirani James is a Grenadian sprinter who specializes in the 200 and 400 metres. He is the reigning 400 metres world champion.Prodigious from a young age, he ran the fastest 400 m times ever by a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old...
and Amantle Montsho
Amantle Montsho
Amantle Montsho is a female sprinter from Botswana who specializes in the 400 metres. She represented her country at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, reaching the final at the latter edition...
are the reigning men's and women's world champions respectively, while LaShawn Merritt
LaShawn Merritt
LaShawn Merritt is an American track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 meters. He is the reigning Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.75 seconds makes him the fifth fastest of all time...
and Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu MBE is an English athlete, who specialises in the 400 metres; the event for which she is the current Olympic and former World and Commonwealth Champion...
hold the men's and women's Olympic titles respectively. The men's Paralympic world record of 45.07 seconds is held by Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius is a South African sprint runner. Known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs", Pistorius, who has a double amputation, is the world record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 metres events and runs with the aid of Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre transtibial...
. Michael Johnson has run the fastest 4×400 metres relay split—a 42.93 in the 1993 World Championships
1993 World Championships in Athletics
The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany between August 13 and August 22 with the participation of 187 nations....
. see the video
An Olympic double of 200 metres
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
and 400 m was first achieved by Valerie Brisco-Hooks
Valerie Brisco-Hooks
Valerie Ann Brisco-Hooks won three gold medals as an Olympic track and field athlete at the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles, California, making her the first Olympian to win gold medals in both the 200- and 400-meter races at a single Olympics. She also won a gold medal for the 4x400 m...
in 1984, and later by Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson (athlete)
Michael Duane Johnson is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals. Johnson currently holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 m and 4 x 400 meters relay. He formerly held the world and Olympic record in the 200 m, and the world...
from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Marie-José Pérec
Marie-José Pérec
Marie-José Pérec is a French athlete, specialised in the 200 and 400 m, and a triple Olympic champion....
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
both in 1996. Alberto Juantorena
Alberto Juantorena
Alberto Juantorena Danger is a Cuban former track athlete. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, he became the first and so far only athlete to win both the 400 and 800 m Olympic titles....
of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
at the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
became the first and so far the only athlete to win both the 400 m and 800 m
800 metres
The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...
Olympic titles.
Men
- Updated April 2010
| Rank | Time | Athlete | Nation | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 43.18 | Michael Johnson Michael Johnson (athlete) Michael Duane Johnson is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals. Johnson currently holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 m and 4 x 400 meters relay. He formerly held the world and Olympic record in the 200 m, and the world... |
26 August 1999 | Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level... |
|
| 2. | 43.29 | Harry 'Butch' Reynolds Butch Reynolds Harry "Butch" Reynolds is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 meter dash. He held the world record for the event for eleven years with his personal best time of 43.29 seconds set in 1988. That year he was the silver medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and a... |
17 August 1988 | Zürich Zürich Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich... |
|
| 3. | 43.45 | Jeremy Wariner Jeremy Wariner Jeremy Mathew Wariner is an American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals and six World Championships medals... |
31 August 2007 | Osaka Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe... |
|
| 4. | 43.50 | Quincy Watts Quincy Watts Quincy D. Watts is a former American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics.Born in Detroit, Michigan, Quincy Watts attended the University of Southern California where he excelled not only as an athlete but also as a wide receiver on the college football team... |
5 August 1992 | Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... |
|
| 5. | 43.75 | LaShawn Merritt LaShawn Merritt LaShawn Merritt is an American track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 meters. He is the reigning Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.75 seconds makes him the fifth fastest of all time... |
21 August 2008 | Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... |
|
| 6. | 43.81 | Danny Everett Danny Everett Daniel Joseph Everett is a 400 metre runner from the United States. As a 21-year-old he participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the individual event and a gold medal with the United States 4x400 m relay... |
26 June 1992 | New Orleans | |
| 7. | 43.86 | Lee Evans Lee Evans (athlete) Lee Edward Evans is a former American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics.... |
18 October 1968 | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
|
| 8. | 43.87 | Steve Lewis | 28 September 1988 | Seoul Seoul Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world... |
|
| 9. | 43.97 | Larry James Larry James George Lawrence "Larry" James was an American track athlete.-Biography:James was born on November 6, 1947, in Mount Pleasant, New York, and took up track in seventh grade... |
18 October 1968 | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
|
| 10. | 44.05 | Angelo Taylor Angelo Taylor Angelo F. Taylor is an American athlete, winner of 400 m hurdles at the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics.... |
23 June 2007 | Indianapolis Indianapolis Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S... |
Women
- Updated April 2010
| Rank | Time | Athlete | Nation | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 47.60 | Marita Koch Marita Koch Marita Koch , is a former sprint track and field athlete... |
6 October 1985 | Canberra Canberra Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne... |
|
| 2. | 47.99 | Jarmila Kratochvílová Jarmila Kratochvílová Jarmila Kratochvílová is a Czech former sprinter and middle distance runner. In 1983, she set world record times for both the 400 metres and 800 metres, and won gold medals in both distances at the World Championships.... |
10 August 1983 | Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... |
|
| 3. | 48.25 | Marie-José Pérec Marie-José Pérec Marie-José Pérec is a French athlete, specialised in the 200 and 400 m, and a triple Olympic champion.... |
29 July 1996 | Atlanta | |
| 4. | 48.27 | Olga Vladykina-Bryzgina | 6 October 1985 | Canberra Canberra Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne... |
|
| 5. | 48.59 | Taťána Kocembová Tatána Kocembová Taťána Kocembová is a retired 400 metres runner who represented Czechoslovakia. Her greatest achievement was the 1983 World Championship silver medal in a personal best time of 48.59s. That time still ranks as the number 10 time and number 5 individual ever... |
10 August 1983 | Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... |
|
| 6. | 48.63 | Cathy Freeman Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM is former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal... |
29 July 1996 | Atlanta | |
| 7. | 48.70 | Sanya Richards Sanya Richards Sanya Richards-Ross is a track and field athlete who competes internationally for the United States. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 4×400 meters relay at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, an individual bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics for the 400 m, and a gold medal in the 2009... |
16 September 2006 | Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... |
|
| 8. | 48.83 | Valerie Brisco-Hooks Valerie Brisco-Hooks Valerie Ann Brisco-Hooks won three gold medals as an Olympic track and field athlete at the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles, California, making her the first Olympian to win gold medals in both the 200- and 400-meter races at a single Olympics. She also won a gold medal for the 4x400 m... |
6 August 1984 | Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
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| 9. | 48.89 | Ana Guevara Ana Guevara Ana Gabriela Guevara Espinoza is a now-retired Mexican track and field athlete, specialized in the 400 meters. Her career began in 1996 carrying out diverse tours, participating in her first international competences... |
27 August 2003 | Paris Saint-Denis | |
| 10. | 49.05 | Chandra Cheeseborough Chandra Cheeseborough Chandra Danette Cheeseborough is an American track and field athlete. Cheeseborough broke onto the international track scene at age 16 by winning two gold medals at the 1975 Pan American Games, taking the 200 m in an American record time of 22.77 seconds... |
6 August 1984 | Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
- Allyson FelixAllyson FelixAllyson Felix is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for the United States, primarily in the 200 meters. She also competes at the 100 meters and the 400 meters distances...
ran a 48 second split during a 4x400m relay in the 2007 Athletics World Championships in Osaka, Japan.