2019 World Athletics Championships – Women's 400 metres hurdles
| Women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2019 World Athletics Championships | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Dalilah Muhammad (gold) and Sydney McLaughlin (silver) at the finish line during the final. | ||||||||||
| Venue | Khalifa International Stadium | |||||||||
| Location | Doha, Qatar | |||||||||
| Dates | 1 October 2019 (round 1) 2 October 2019 (semi-final) 4 October 2019 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 39 from 27 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 52.16 s WR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held over three rounds at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, from 1 to 4 October 2019. It was the eighteenth time this event was contested at the World Athletics Championships. Athletes could qualify by running the entry standard of 56.00 seconds, by winning selected competitions, or by their position on the IAAF top performance list.
Thirty-nine athletes from twenty-four nations competed in round 1, where twenty-four athletes advanced to the semi-finals, Amalie Iuel of Norway set a national record of 54.72 s, and Portia Bing of New Zealand and Sara Petersen of Denmark were disqualified. In the semi-finals, eight athletes advanced to the final and Sage Watson of Canada set a national record of 54.32 s.
The final was won by Dalilah Muhammad of the United States in a world record of 52.16 s, followed by Sydney McLaughlin of the United States in second place in 52.23 s and Rushell Clayton of Jamaica in third place in 53.74 s. Outside the medals, Léa Sprunger of Switzerland set a national record of 54.06 s.
Background
In the 400 metres hurdles, athletes run one lap on a 400-metre athletics track while jumping over ten hurdles.[1] The women's world championship was introduced in 1980 and contested seventeen times at the World Athletics Championships before 2019.[2] The 2019 edition was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, which had a capacity of 40,000 seats.[3]
Before the competition records were as follows:[4]
| Record | Athlete (nation) | Time | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World record | 52.20 | 28 July 2019 | Des Moines, United States | |
| World leading | ||||
| Championship record | 52.42 | 20 August 2009 | Berlin, Germany |
| Record | Athlete (nation) | Time | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| African record | 52.90 | 25 August 1999 | Sevilla, Spain | |
| Asian record | 53.96 | 9 September 1993 | Beijing, China | |
| 17 November 2001 | Guangzhou, China | |||
| European record | 52.34 | 8 August 2003 | Tula, Russia | |
| North, Central American and Caribbean record | 52.20 WR | 28 July 2019 | Des Moines, United States | |
| South American record | 55.60 | 31 July 2018 | Barranquilla, Colombia | |
| Oceanian record | 53.17 | 27 September 1988 | Seoul, South Korea |
Qualification
During the qualification period from 7 September 2018 to 6 September 2019, athletes could qualify by running the entry standard of 56.00 s or faster, by winning the area championships of their continent, by wild card for the 2017 World Champion and the 2019 Diamond League champion, or by their position on the IAAF top performance list.[5][6] There was a target number of forty athletes.[5] A final entry list with forty-two athletes from twenty-seven nations was issued on 22 September 2019.[7]
Results
Round 1
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Thirty-nine athletes from twenty-seven nations competed in the five heats of the first round on 1 October in the afternoon, starting at 17:30 (UTC+3).[8] The first four athletes in each heat (Q) and the next four fastest athletes overall (q) qualified for the semifinal. In the first heat, Shiann Salmon of Jamaica and Mariam Mamdouh Farid of Qatar ran personal bests (PB) and Portia Bing of New Zealand was disqualified (DQ) for failing to clear the height of the hurdles (168.7(a)). In the second heat, Jessica Turner of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ran a personal best and Kori Carter of the United States did not finish (DNF) the race. In the third heat, Sara Petersen of Denmark was disqualified for failing to clear the height of the hurdles. In the fourth heat, Amalie Iuel of Norway set a national record (NR) of 54.72 s, Aminat Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain ran a personal best, and 19-year-old Femke Bol of the Netherlands set a national under-20 record (NU20R) of 55.32 s.[9][10]
Semi-finals
Twenty-four athletes from eighteen nations competed in the three heats of the semi-finals on 2 October in the evening, starting at 21:05 (UTC+3).[8] The first two athletes in each heat (Q) and the next two fastest athletes overall (q) qualified for the final. In the first heat, Sage Watson of Canada set a national record (NR) of 54.32 s. In the second heat, Sarah Carli of Australia ran a personal best (PB). In the third heat, Shiann Salmon of Jamaica ran a personal best as well.[11]
Final

Eight athletes from six nations competed in the final on 4 October at 21:30 (UTC+3).[12] The race was won by Dalilah Muhammad of the United States in a world record (WR) of 52.16 s, improving her own world record from earlier that year with 0.04 s.[11][12] She was followed by Sydney McLaughlin in second place in a personal best time of 52.23 s and by Rushell Clayton of Jamaica in third place in a personal best time of 53.74 s. Outside the medals, Léa Sprunger of Switzerland set a national record of 54.06 s.[12]
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Dalilah Muhammad | 52.16 | WR | ||
| 4 | Sydney McLaughlin | 52.23 | PB | ||
| 5 | Rushell Clayton | 53.74 | PB | ||
| 4 | 9 | Léa Sprunger | 54.06 | NR | |
| 5 | 8 | Zuzana Hejnová | 54.23 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Ashley Spencer | 54.45 | ||
| 7 | 3 | Anna Ryzhykova | 54.45 | SB | |
| 8 | 7 | Sage Watson | 54.82 |
References
- ^ "400 Metres Hurdles", World Athletics. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ Mark Butler (ed.), "Statistics Handbook", pp. 17, 32, IAAF, 20 September 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ "Khalifa International Stadium – Stats and Facts", IAAF, 1 October 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ a b c "400 metres hurdles Women − Records". IAAF. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Qualification System and Entry Standards", IAAF. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ "Qualification Standards for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019", IAAF. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ "Entry Lists by Event and Country", IAAF, 22 September 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Women's 400 metres hurdles − Timetable". IAAF. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Heats results" (PDF). IAAF. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ a b Jon Mulkeen and Bob Ramsak, "Crouser throws 22.91m, Bol breaks Dutch 400m hurdles record", World Athletics, 19 July 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ a b c "Semi-finals results" (PDF). IAAF. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d "400 Metres Hurdles Women − Final − Results" (PDF). IAAF. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.

