The women's 400 metres hurdles

400 metres hurdles

The 400 metres hurdles is an Olympic athletics event in track and field. On a standard outdoor track 400 metres is the length of the inside lane once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lane the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly...

was one of 23 track events of the athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...

, in 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...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. It was contested at the Athens Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium (Athens)

The Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" , is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spiros Louis.-History:...

, from August 21 to August 25, by a total of 34 athletes from 25 nations.

In the first round, the first two runners from each of the five heats, together with the six fastest losing runners from all heats (5×2+6=16), automatically qualified for the semifinals. In the semifinals, these 16 runners competed in two heats, with the first four from each heat advancing to the final (2×4=8).

Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 sprinter Fani Halkia

Faní Halkiá

Fani Chalkia is a Greek hurdler.Chalkia won the gold medal in the women's 400m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. During the semifinals Halkia set an Olympic record of 52.77 seconds....

 was the surprising winner despite having broken the Olympic record in her semifinal heat (52.77 seconds).

Medalists

Qualification

The Olympic qualification period for the athletics ran from January 1, 2003 to August 9, 2004. For this event, each National Olympic Committee

National Olympic Committee

National Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...

 (NOC) was permitted to enter up to three athletes, provided they had run below 55.60 seconds during this period in IAAF

International Association of Athletics Federations

The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded in 1912 at its first congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation...

-sanctioned meetings or tournaments. If a NOC had no athletes qualified under this standard, it could enter up to one athlete that had run below 56.25 seconds.

Records

These are the standing world and Olympic records.

World Record	52.34	Yuliya Pechenkina	Tula Tula, Russia Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...  (RUS Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... )	8 August 2003
Olympic Record	52.77	Fani Chalkia	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...  (GRE Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... )	25 August 2004

Results

All times shown are in seconds. The following abbreviations are used:

• Q denotes qualification by place
• q denotes qualification by time
• DNS denotes "did not start"
• OR denotes "Olympic record"
• NR denotes "national record"
• PB denotes "personal best"
• SB denotes "season best"

First round

The first round was held on August 21. The first two runners of each heat plus the six fastest losing runners qualified for the semifinals.

Heat	Athlete	Nation	Time	Rank
1			53.57	SB	1	Q
1			54.63		4	Q
1			55.15	SB	13	q
1			55.57		17
1			56.19		22
1			56.40		25
1			57.60	PB	30
2			54.83		10	Q
2			54.95		11	Q
2			55.22	SB	16	q
2			56.21		23
2			56.28		24
2			56.49		26
3			54.41		3	Q
3			54.72		6	Q
3			55.69		18
3			56.03		21
3			56.61		28
3			60.00		33
3
4			53.85	NR	2	Q
4			54.66		5	Q
4			55.16		14	q
4			55.21	SB	15	q
4			55.84		19
4			57.25		29
4			59.72		32
5			54.75	PB	7	Q
5			54.81		8	Q
5			54.81	PB	8	q
5			55.02		12	q
5			55.91		20
5			56.49		26
5			59.02		31

Semifinals

The semifinals were held on August 22. The first four runners of each heat qualified for the final.

Heat	Athlete	Nation	Time	Rank
1			53.31	SB	2	Q
1			54.05		6	Q
1			54.32		7	Q
1			55.02		11	Q
1			55.08	SB	12
1			55.24		13
1			56.44		15
1			65.72		16
2			52.72	OR	1	Q
2			53.32	SB	3	Q
2			53.37	NR	4	Q
2			53.79		5	Q
2			54.32		8
2			54.98		9
2			54.99	SB	10
2			55.53		14

Final

The final was held on August 25.

Rank	Athlete	Time
		52.82
		53.38
		53.44
4		53.83
5		53.92
6		54.18
7		54.97
8		55.79