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The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is 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)—which is a quarter of a mile (1,760 yards) and was referred to as the "quarter-mile"—instead of the 400 m (437.445 yards), though this distance is now obsolete.
Like other sprint disciplines, the 400 m involves the use of starting blocks. The runners take up position in the blocks on the "ready" command, adopt a more efficient starting posture which isometrically preloads their muscles on the "set" command, and stride forwards from the blocks upon hearing the starter's pistol. The blocks allow the runners to begin more powerfully and thereby contribute to their overall sprint speed capability. Maximum sprint speed capability is a significant contributing factor to success in the event, but athletes also require substantial speed endurance and the ability to cope well with high amounts of lactic acid to sustain a fast speed over a whole lap. While considered to be predominantly an anaerobic event, there is some aerobic involvement and the degree of aerobic training required for 400-metre athletes is open to debate.
The current men's world record and Olympic record is held by Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa; his time of 43.03 seconds is the fastest 400 m ever run, in either an open 400 m or a relay. While Michael Johnson holds the fastest 400 m relay split with a time of 42.94, relay splits are typically faster because athletes have a running start and do not need to react to the gun if they are not the leadoff leg. Considering van Niekerk's reaction time of 0.181 seconds in his run of 43.03, van Niekerk covered the 400-metre distance itself in 42.85 seconds, therefore being 0.09 s faster than Johnson's relay split.
The current women's world record is held by Marita Koch, with a time of 47.60 seconds. Marileidy Paulino is the current women's world champion and women’s Olympic champion, and holds the Olympic record in a time of 48.17 seconds. Femke Bol holds the women's world indoor record at 49.17 (2024). The men's T43 Paralympic world record of 45.07 seconds is held by Oscar Pistorius.
An Olympic double of 200 metres and 400 m was first achieved by Valerie Brisco-Hooks in 1984, and later by Marie-José Pérec of France and Michael Johnson from the United States on the same evening 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. Pérec became the first to defend the Olympic title in 1996, Johnson became the first and only man to do so in 2000. From 31 appearances in the Olympic Games, the men's gold medalist came from the US 19 times (as of 2019).
"Men's 400m Results" (PDF). Rio 2016 official website. 14 August 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
"4x400 Metres Relay Icons". Retrieved 10 June 2018. Jeremy Wariner: The two-time world 400m champion was a key member of the USA 4x400m squad in the 2000s, picking up two Olympic relay golds and three world titles. He also boasts the second-fastest relay split in history with his 42.93 from the 2007 World Championships.
The closing stages of a men's 400 m race
Wayde van Niekerk (RSA) 43.03 (2016)
Marita Koch (GDR) 47.60 (1985)
Kerron Clement (USA) 44.57 (2005)
Femke Bol (NED) 49.17 (2024)
Marileidy Paulino (DOM) 48.17 (2024)
Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) 47.99 (1983)
Grit Breuer (GER) 49.42 (1991)
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