400 metres hurdles at the Olympics
The 400 metres hurdles at the Summer Olympics is the longest hurdling event held at the multi-sport event. The men's 400 m hurdles has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900, with a sole gap at the 1912 Summer Olympics. The women's event was added to the programme over eighty years later, at the 1984 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 400 m hurdles race at elite level.
| 400 metres hurdles at the Olympic Games | |
|---|---|
 The 2012 Olympic men's 400 m hurdles semi-final | |
| Overview | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men: 1900 – 1908, 1920 – 2016 Women: 1984 – 2016 |
| Olympic record | |
| Men | 46.78 Kevin Young (1992) |
| Women | 52.64 Melaine Walker (2008) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  |
| Women | |
The Olympic records for the event are 46.78 seconds for men, set by Kevin Young in 1992, and 52.64 seconds for women, set by Melaine Walker in 2008. Young's time remains the men's world record for the event. That record has been broken at the Olympics on seven occasions: 1908 (the first official IAAF record), 1920, 1932, 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1992. The women's world record has never been broken in Olympic competition.[1]
Edwin Moses is the most successful athlete in the event, having won two gold and one bronze medal. Glenn Davis, Angelo Taylor and Felix Sanchez have also won two Olympic 400 m hurdles titles. Morgan Taylor is the only other athlete beside Moses that has won three medals in the event. Deon Hemmings is the most successful woman, with her 1996 gold and 2000 silver medals, and is the only female athlete to win multiple medals. It is relatively common for 400 m hurdles athletes to also be part of their nation's team for the 4×400 metres relay at the Olympics.
The United States is by far the most successful nation in the men's event with 18 gold medals and 40 medals overall—more than half the medals available. American men have swept the medals on five occasions. The American women have the highest medal total, with nine, but the nation managed to achieve its first victory only in 2016, when Dalilah Muhammad won the event. Russia and Jamaica are the only nations to win multiple women's gold medals, with two each. Great Britain is the first nation to have won a gold medal in both the men's and women's event, having three champions in total. In 2016, the United States became the second.
Medal summary
Men
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Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edwin Moses | | 1976–1988 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2= | Glenn Davis | | 1956–1960 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2= | Angelo Taylor | | 2000–2008 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2= | Felix Sanchez |  | 2004–2012 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5= | Harry Hillman | | 1904–1908 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5= | Glenn Hardin | | 1932–1936 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Morgan Taylor | | 1924–1932 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | David Hemery |  | 1968–1972 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Medals by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 18 | 12 | 10 | 40 |
| 2 | | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 3 | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4= |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4= |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4= |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 |  | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 |  | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9= |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9= |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9= |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12= |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17= |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 17= |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 17= |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 17= |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 17= |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 17= |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women
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Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deon Hemmings | | 1996–2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 |  | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| 4= | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4= |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6= |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6= |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9= |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9= | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11= |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 11= | | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 11= |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
References
- Participation and athlete data
- Athletics Men's 400 metres Hurdles Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Athletics Women's 400 metres Hurdles Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Olympic record progressions
- Mallon, Bill (2012). TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Specific
- "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 554, 664. Archived from the original (pdf) on June 29, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
External links
- IAAF 400 metres hurdles homepage
- Official Olympics website
- Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News
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