400 metres hurdles
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The 400 m Hurdles are an Olympic track and field (athletics) discipline. On a standard outdoor track 400 meters 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, for each lane, spaced around the track. The hurdles are positioned so that they fall forward if bumped into to prevent injury to the runners. Although fallen hurdles don't count against them, runners like to clear them clean as touching them during the race slows runners down.
The best male athletes can run the 400 m Hurdles in a time of around 47 seconds (WR: 46.78 seconds), which is the equivalent of 8.51 meters per second or 30.63 kilometers per hour. The best female athletes achieve a time of around 53 seconds (WR: 52.34 seconds), or 7.54 meters per second and 27.16 kilometer per hour. Compared to the 400 Meters the hurdles race takes the men about 4 seconds longer and the women 5 seconds longer.
The 400 m Hurdles have been an Olympic discipline since 1900 and 1984 for men and women, respectively.
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History
The first awards in a 400 m Hurdles race were given in 1860 when a race was held in Oxforn, England, over a course of 440 yards (approx. 402 meters). While running the course, participants had to clear 12 massive, more than 100cm tall, wooden hurdles that had been spaced in even intervals.
To reduce the risk of injury, somewhat more lightweight constructions were introduced in 1895 that runners could push over. But until 1935 runners were disqualified if they pushed over more than 3 hurdles in a race and records were only officially accepted if the runner in question had cleared all hurdles clean and left them all standing.
At the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, the 400 m Hurdles became an Olympic event. At the same time, the race was standardized so that virtually identical races could be held and the finish times compared to each other. As a result, the official distance was fixed to 400 meters, or once around the stadium, and the number of hurdles was reduced to 10. The official height of the hurdles was set to 91.44 cm (3 feet) for men and, since 1974, to 76.20 cm (2-1/2 feet) for women. The hurdles were now placed on the course with a runup to the first hurdle of 45 meters, a distance between the hurdles of 35 meters each, and a home stretch from the last hurdle to the goal line of 40 meters.
The first documented 400 m Hurdles race for women took place in 1971.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) introduced the event officially as a discipline in 1974, although it was not run at the World Championships and the first female World Champion was not determined until the 1983 World Championships.
Milestones
Image:JO Atlanta 1996 - Stade.jpg
- Men
- First official IAAF world record: 55.0 seconds, Charles Bacon (USA), 1908
- First under 54 seconds: 53.8 seconds, Sten Pettersson (SWE), 1925
- First under 53 seconds: 52.6 seconds, John Gibson (USA), 1927
- First under 52 seconds: 51.7 seconds, Bob Tisdall (IRL), 1932
- First under 51 seconds: 50.6 seconds, Glenn Hardin (USA), 1934
- First under 50 seconds: 49.5 seconds, Glenn Davis (USA), 1956
- First under 49 seconds: 48.8 seconds, Geoff Vanderstock (USA), 1968
- First under 48 seconds: 47.82 seconds, John Akii-Bua (UGA), 1972
- First under 47 seconds: 46.78 seconds, Kevin Young (USA), 1992
- Women
- First official world record: 56.51 seconds, Krystyna Kacperczyk (POL), 1974
- First under 56 seconds: 55.74 seconds, Tatjana Storoschewa (USSR), 1977
- First under 55 seconds: 54.89 seconds, Tatjana Selenzowa (USSR), 1978
- First under 54 seconds: 53.58 seconds, Margarita Ponomarjowa (USSR), 1984
- First under 53 seconds: 52.94 seconds, Marina Stepanowa (USSR), 1986
Most successful athletes
- Two Olympic victories:
- Glenn Davis (USA), 1956 and 1960
- Edwin Moses (USA), 1976 and 1984 (also Bronze in 1988)
- Two World Championships:
- Edwin Moses (USA), 1983 and 1987
- Félix Sánchez (DOM), 2001 and 2003
- Nezha Bidouane (MAR), 1997 and 2001 (also Silver in 1999)
Most surprising rookie: Glenn Davis (USA), who ran his first race in April 1956 in 54.4 slow seconds. Two months later though, he ran a new world record with 49.5 seconds and later that year he won the 400 m Hurdles at the Olympics, and was also the first to repeat that feat in 1960.
Athlete who wrote the book on 400 m Hurdles: The American Edwin Moses won 122 races in a row between 1977 and 1987 plus two Gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal, and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow prevented his Gold-hat-trick but his career is nonetheless widely regarded as simply astonishing. He held the world record continuously from when he first broke it at the Olympics on July 25, 1976 (twice in one day) until it was finally broken at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
400 m Hurdles medalists at the Olympic games
Men
Women
| Year | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Nawal El Moutawakel (MAR) | Judi Brown (USA) | Cristeana Cojocaru (ROM) |
| 1988 | Debbie Flintoff-King (AUS) | Tatjana Ledowskaja (URS) | Ellen Fiedler (GDR) |
| 1992 | Sally Gunnell (GBR) | Sandra Farmer-Patrick (USA) | Janeene Vickers (USA) |
| 1996 | Deon Hemmings (JAM) | Kim Batten (USA) | Tonja Buford-Bailey (USA) |
| 2000 | Irina Anatoljewna Priwalowa (RUS) | Deon Hemmings (JAM) | Nezha Bidouane (MAR) |
| 2004 | Fani Halkia (GRE) | Ionela Tirlea-Manolache (ROM) | Tetiana Terestschuk-Antipowa (UKR) |
400 m Hurdles medalists at world championships
Men
| Year | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Edwin Moses (USA) | Harald Schmid (GER) | Alexander Karlow (URS) |
| 1987 | Edwin Moses (USA) | Danny Harris (USA) | Harald Schmid (GER) |
| 1991 | Samuel Matete (SAM) | Winthrop Graham (JAM) | Kriss Akabusi (GBR) |
| 1993 | Kevin Young (USA) | Samuel Matete (SAM) | Winthrop Graham (JAM) |
| 1995 | Derrick Adkins (USA) | Samuel Matete (SAM) | Stéphane Diagana (FRA) |
| 1997 | Stéphane Diagana (FRA) | Llewelyn Herbert (RSA) | Bryan Bronson (USA) |
| 1999 | Fabrizio Mori (ITA) | Stéphane Diagana (FRA) | Marcel Schelbert (CH) |
| 2001 | Felix Sanchez (DOM) | Fabrizio Mori (ITA) | Dai Tamesue (JAP) |
| 2003 | Felix Sanchez (DOM) | Joey Woody (USA) | Periklis Iakovakis (GRE) |
| 2005 | Bershawn Jackson (USA) | James Carter (USA) | Dai Tamesue (JPN) |
Women
| year | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Bärbel Broschat (GDR) | Ellen Neumann (GDR) | Petra Pfaff (GDR) |
| 1983 | Jekaterina Fesenko (URS) | Anna Ambrosiene (URS) | Ellen Fiedler (GDR) |
| 1987 | Sabine Busch (GDR) | Debbie Flintoff-King (AUS) | Cornelia Ullrich (GDR) |
| 1991 | Tatjana Ledowskaja (URS) | Sally Gunnell (GBR) | Janeene Vickers (USA) |
| 1993 | Sally Gunnell (GBR) | Sandra Farmer-Patrick (USA) | Margarita Ponomarjowa (RUS) |
| 1995 | Kim Batten (USA) | Tonya Buford (USA) | Deon Hemmings (JAM) |
| 1997 | Nezha Bidouane (MAR) | Deon Hemmings (JAM) | Kim Batten (USA) |
| 1999 | Daimi Pernia (CUB) | Nezha Bidouane (MAR) | Deon Hemmings (JAM) |
| 2001 | Nezha Bidouane (MAR) | Julia Nosowa (RUS) | Daimi Pernia (CUB) |
| 2003 | Jana Pittman (AUS) | Sandra Glover (USA) | Julia Petschonkina (RUS) |
| 2005 | Julia Petschonkina (RUS) | Lashinda Demus (USA) | Sandra Glover (USA) |
History of world records
Men
Women
| Time | Athlete | Nation | Date | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52.61 s | Kim Batten | USA | August 11 1995 | Gothenborg |
| 52.74 s | Sally Gunnell | GBR | August 19 1993 | Stuttgart |
| 52.94 s | Marina Stepanowa | URS | September 19 1986 | Tashkent |
| 53.32 s | Marina Stepanowa | URS | August 30 1986 | Stuttgart |
| 53.55 s | Sabine Busch | GDR | September 22 1985 | Berlin |
| 53.58 s | Margarita Ponomarewa | URS | June 22 1984 | Kiev |
| 54.02 s | Anna Ambrosiene | URS | June 11 1983 | Moscow |
| 54.28 s | Karin Roßley | GDR | May 17 1980 | Jena |
| 54.78 s | Marina Makejewa | URS | July 27 1979 | Moscow |
| 54.89 s | Tatjana Zelenzowa | URS | September 2 1978 | Prague |
| 55.31 s | Tatjana Zelenzowa | URS | August 19 1978 | Podolsk |
| 55.44 s | Krystyna Kacperczyk | POL | August 18 1978 | Berlin |
| 55.63 s | Karin Roßley | GDR | August 13 1977 | Helsinki |
| 55.74 s | Tatjana Storoshewa | URS | June 26 1977 | Chemnitz |
| 56.51 s | Krystyna Kacperczyk | POL | July 13 1974 | Augsburg |
All-time top ten
Men
A = time was achieved at high altitude
- 46.78 Kevin Young, USA, Barcelona, August 6 1992
- 47.02 Edwin Moses, USA, Koblenz, August 31 1983
- 47.03 Bryan Bronson, USA, New Orleans, June 21 1998
- 47.10 Samuel Matete, ZAM, Zürich, August 7 1991
- 47.19 Andre Phillips, USA, Seoul, September 25 1988
- 47.23 Amadou Dia Ba, SEN, Seoul, September 25 1988
- 47.24 Kerron Clement, USA, Carson CA, June 26 2005
- 47.25 Félix Sánchez, DOM, Paris, Saint-Denis, August 29 2003
- 47.30 Bershawn Jackson, USA, Helsinki, August 9 2005
- 47.37 Stéphane Diagana, FRA, Lausanne, July 5 1995
Women
A = time was achieved at high altitude
- 52.34 Julia Petschonkina, RUS, Tula, August 8 2003
- 52.61 Kim Batten, USA, Gothenburg, August 11 1995
- 52.62 Tonja Buford-Bailey, USA, Gothenburg, August 11 1995
- 52.74 Sally Gunnell, GBR, Stuttgart, August 19 1993
- 52.77 Fani Halkia, GRE, Athens, August 22 2004
- 52.79 Sandra Farmer-Patrick, USA, Stuttgart, August 19 1993
- 52.82 Deon Hemmings, JAM, Atlanta, July 31 1996
- 52.89 Daimí Pernía, CUB, Sevilla, August 25 1999
- 52.90 Nezha Bidouane, MAR, Sevilla, 25. August 1999
- 52.94 Marina Stepanowa, RUS, Tashkent, September 17 1986
See also
Reference
Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent German-language wikipedia article (retrieved February 4, 2006).
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