400 metres at the Olympics
400 metres at the Olympic Games | |
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Overview | |
Sport | Athletics |
Gender | Men and women |
Years held | Men: 1896 – 2020 Women: 1964 – 2020 |
Olympic record | |
Men | 43.03 Wayde van Niekerk (2016) |
Women | 48.25 Marie-José Pérec (1996) |
Reigning champion | |
Men | Steven Gardiner (BAH) |
Women | Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) |
The
The Olympic record for the men's race was set in 2016, and the record for the women's race was set in 1996. Wayde van Niekerk holds the men's record of 43.03 seconds, breaking world and Olympic records that had been held by Michael Johnson since 1999 and 1996 respectively. Marie-José Pérec is the women's record holder at 48.25 seconds. The men's world record has been broken several times at the Olympics: in 1912, 1932, 1960, 1968, and 2016. Irena Szewińska is the only person to break the women's world record at the competition, doing so in 1976.
Only three athletes have won the event twice:
The
Medal summary
Men
Multiple medalists
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Michael Johnson | United States (USA) | 1996–2000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2 | Kirani James | Grenada (GRN) | 2012–2021 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
3 | Steve Lewis | United States (USA) | 1988–1992 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
3 | Jeremy Wariner | United States (USA) | 2004–2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
5 | LaShawn Merritt | United States (USA) | 2008–2016 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
6 | Herb McKenley | Jamaica (JAM) | 1948–1952 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
7 | Guy Butler | Great Britain (GBR) | 1920–1924 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medals by country
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States (USA) | 19 | 13 | 11 | 38 |
2 | Great Britain (GBR) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
3 | Jamaica (JAM) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
4 | South Africa (RSA) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
5 | Grenada (GRN) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
6 | Soviet Union (URS) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
7= | Bahamas (BAH) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
7= | Cuba (CUB) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
9 | Germany (GER)[nb] | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
10= | Canada (CAN) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
10= | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
12= | Australia (AUS) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
12= | Colombia (COL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
12= | Dominican Republic (DOM) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
12= | Ivory Coast (CIV) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
16 | Kenya (KEN) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
17= | Denmark (DEN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
17= | East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
17= | Finland (FIN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
17= | Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
17= | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
17= | Uganda (UGA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
- United Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.
Women
Multiple medalists
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1= | Marie-José Pérec | France (FRA) | 1992–1996 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
1= | Shaunae Miller-Uibo | Bahamas (BAH) | 2016–2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2= | Olga Bryzgina |
Soviet Union (URS) Unified Team (EUN) |
1988–1992 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
2= | Cathy Freeman | Australia (AUS) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
2= | Christine Ohuruogu | Great Britain (GBR) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
6 | Sanya Richards-Ross | United States (USA) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
7= | Christina Lathan | East Germany (GDR) | 1976–1980 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
7= | Allyson Felix | United States (USA) | 2016–2020 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medalists by country
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1= | Bahamas (BAH) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
1= | France (FRA) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
3 | East Germany (GDR) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
4 | United States (USA) | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
5 | Australia (AUS) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
6 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
7 | Soviet Union (URS) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
8 | Poland (POL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
9 | Jamaica (JAM) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
10= | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10= | Dominican Republic (DOM) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10= | Mexico (MEX) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10= | Unified Team (EUN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10= | West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
15= | Colombia (COL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
15= | Nigeria (NGR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
15= | Russia (RUS) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Olympic record progression
Men
Women
Time | Athlete | Nation | Games | Round | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
54.4 | Antónia Munkácsi | Hungary (HUN) | 1964 | Heat 1 | |
53.1 | Ann Packer | Great Britain (GBR) | 1964 | Heat 3 | |
52.7 | Ann Packer | Great Britain (GBR) | 1964 | Semifinal 1 | |
52.0 | Betty Cuthbert | Australia (AUS) | 1964 | Final | |
52.03 | Colette Besson | France (FRA) | 1968 | Final | |
51.94 | Charlene Rendina | Australia (AUS) | 1972 | Heat 1 | |
51.71 | Györgyi Balogh | Hungary (HUN) | 1972 | Quarterfinal 3 | |
51.68 | Helga Seidler | East Germany (GDR) | 1972 | Semifinal 1 | |
51.47 | Monika Zehrt | East Germany (GDR) | 1972 | Semifinal 2 | |
51.08 | Monika Zehrt | East Germany (GDR) | 1972 | Final | |
50.48 | Irena Szewińska | Poland (POL) | 1976 | Semifinal 1 | |
49.28 WR | Irena Szewińska | Poland (POL) | 1976 | Final | |
48.88 | Marita Koch | East Germany (GDR) | 1980 | Final | |
48.83 | Valerie Brisco-Hooks | United States (USA) | 1984 | Final | |
48.65 | Olha Bryzhina | Soviet Union (URS) | 1988 | Final | |
48.25 | Marie-José Pérec | France (FRA) | 1996 | Final |
Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens and at the time were officially recognised as part of the Olympic Games series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally-held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon.[2]
At this event a men's 400 m was held and
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
1906 Athens
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USA )
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GBR )
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AUS )
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Non-canonical Olympic events
In addition to the main
Two professionals-only events were also held in 1900. The 400 metres world record holder Edgar Bredin won with a time of 53.2 seconds, ahead of Legrain of France (possibly Paul Legrain) and his compatriot Jules Bouchoux. A handicap professional race was also held but the results have not been located.[5][6]
A handicap 440-yard dash (402.3 m) competition was held at 1904 Summer Olympics after the 1904 Olympic men's 400 m race. An American, F. Darcy, won the race with a time of 50.8 (12-yard start). George Underwood, also of the United States, came second with no handicap and James Peck of Canada came third off a six-yard headstart.[5]
These events are no longer considered part of the official Olympic history of the 400 metres or the athletics programme in general. Consequently, medals from these competitions have not been assigned to nations on the all-time medal tables.[5]
Finishing times
Top ten fastest Olympic times
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References
- Participation and athlete data
- Athletics Men's 400 metres Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Athletics Women's 400 metres 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
- ^ London 1908 Olympic Games. Britannica. Retrieved on 2014-05-25.
- ^ 1906 Athina Summer Games. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
- ^ Athletics at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's 400 metres. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
- ^ Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 400 metres, Handicap. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-06-28.
- ^ a b c d Handicap Olympic Athletics Events. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-04-18.
- ^ Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 400 metres, Professionals. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-06-28.
- ^ "Men's 400m".
- ^ "Women's 400m".
External links
- IAAF 400 metres homepage
- Official Olympics website
- Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News