Fastest 400m Hurdles Performances of All Time

August 24, 2026

Fastest 400m Hurdles Performances of All Time

One-lap hurdling has produced some of track field’s most dramatic progressions in the modern era. This data-led review gathers the verified fastest single-race performances in the 400 metres hurdles — men and women — and explains how to read all-time lists, what the times mean across eras, and which performances matter most for records, championships and bettors who follow athletics markets. The headline world records as of this article are Karsten Warholm’s 45.94 (men) and Sydney McLaughlin‑Levrone’s 50.37 (women). (assets.aws.worldathletics.org)

Scope, sources and methodology

• Scope: Outdoor senior-level performances (single-race fastest times). This article lists the top single-race times in the history of the event, not “best performers” by career averages or seasonal rankings.
• Primary sources: World Athletics official competition/records documentation (event technical PDFs and all‑time world lists) and verified historical top‑lists maintained by athletics statisticians. Where World Athletics publishes competition PDFs and all‑time tables we rely on those; for compact ranked tables we also reference the long‑running all‑time aggregator Apulanta which collates official marks and dates. (assets.aws.worldathletics.org)
• Why single-race lists All‑time single‑race lists are the easiest, most transparent way to compare peaks across different eras. They reflect wind-neutral events (400H isn’t wind‑assisted in the way sprints are) and are recorded using full automatic timing (FAT) at international level. Where athletes have multiple entries in the same list those are shown as separate performances (the tables below show single-race fastest marks, not “best by athlete” rankings unless explicitly noted).
• Limitations: national records, meet conditions (altitude, temperature) and track surface can influence times. Championship races are tactical; sometimes slightly slower than paced invitational performances. We flag notable context where it affects interpretation.

Key definitions

• World record (WR): fastest mark ratified by the sport’s governing body (World Athletics) for the event.
• Championship or competition record (CR): fastest mark set at a specific championship (Olympics, World Championships, etc.).
• PB/SB: personal best / season best for an athlete (used in event reports).
• All‑time list: ranked collection of fastest single race times, regardless of how many times a single athlete appears on the list.