2019 World Athletics Championships – Women's 400 metres hurdles

Women's 400 metres hurdles
at the 2019 World Athletics Championships
Photo of two athletes seen from the side while running on red athletics tracks and dipping at the finish line
Dalilah Muhammad (gold) and Sydney McLaughlin (silver) at the finish line during the final.
VenueKhalifa International Stadium
LocationDoha, Qatar
Dates1 October 2019 (round 1)
2 October 2019 (semi-final)
4 October 2019 (final)
Competitors39 from 27 nations
Winning time52.16 s WR
Medalists
gold medal    United States
silver medal    United States
bronze medal    Jamaica

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]

Global records before the 2019 World Athletics Championships[4]
Record Athlete (nation) Time Date Location
World record  Dalilah Muhammad (USA) 52.20 28 July 2019 Des Moines, United States
World leading
Championship record  Melaine Walker (JAM) 52.42 20 August 2009 Berlin, Germany
Area records before the 2019 World Athletics Championships[4]
Record Athlete (nation) Time Date Location
African record  Nezha Bidouane (MAR) 52.90 25 August 1999 Sevilla, Spain
Asian record  Han Qing (CHN) 53.96 9 September 1993 Beijing, China
 Song Yinglan (CHN) 17 November 2001 Guangzhou, China
European record  Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS) 52.34 8 August 2003 Tula, Russia
North, Central American and Caribbean record  Dalilah Muhammad (USA) 52.20 WR 28 July 2019 Des Moines, United States
South American record  Gianna Woodruff (PAN) 55.60 31 July 2018 Barranquilla, Colombia
Oceanian record  Debbie Flintoff-King (AUS) 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

Photo of four athletes, two while approaching their hurdles and two while jumping over their hurdles
Athletes jumping over hurdles in the fourth heat of round 1
Photo of Femke Bol seen from the front while jumping over a hurdle
Femke Bol of the Netherlands while setting her national under-20 record in round 1

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]

Results of round 1[9]
Rank Heat Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 1 8 Sydney McLaughlin  United States 54.45 Q
2 4 5 Amalie Iuel  Norway 54.72 Q, NR
3 3 5 Dalilah Muhammad  United States 54.87 Q
4 1 4 Léa Sprunger  Switzerland 54.98 Q, SB
5 2 2 Anna Ryzhykova  Ukraine 55.11 Q
6 4 7 Aminat Yusuf Jamal  Bahrain 55.13 Q, PB
7 4 6 Ayomide Folorunso  Italy 55.20 Q
8 1 9 Shiann Salmon  Jamaica 55.20 Q, PB
9 5 7 Rushell Clayton  Jamaica 55.23 Q
10 4 8 Ashley Spencer  United States 55.28 Q
11 4 3 Femke Bol  Netherlands 55.32 q, NU20R[10]
12 2 9 Zuzana Hejnová  Czech Republic 55.33 Q
13 3 4 Zurian Hechavarría  Cuba 55.36 Q
14 1 5 Vera Rudakova  Authorised Neutral Athletes 55.51 Q, SB
15 5 9 Sage Watson  Canada 55.57 Q
16 4 9 Hanne Claes  Belgium 55.68 q
17 2 4 Jessica Turner  Great Britain & N.I. 55.72 Q, PB
18 2 6 Yadisleidis Pedroso  Italy 55.78 Q, SB
19 2 3 Carolina Krafzik  Germany 55.93 q
20 3 7 Joanna Linkiewicz  Poland 55.97 Q
21 5 3 Meghan Beesley  Great Britain & N.I. 55.97 Q
22 1 3 Lauren Boden  Australia 56.00 q
23 3 3 Gianna Woodruff  Panama 56.07 Q
24 2 8 Ronda Whyte  Jamaica 56.37
25 5 4 Sarah Carli  Australia 56.37 Q
26 2 5 Melissa Gonzalez  Colombia 56.49
27 3 6 Valeriya Andreyeva  Authorised Neutral Athletes 56.79
28 5 6 Linda Olivieri  Italy 56.82
29 4 4 Sara Klein  Australia 56.97
30 4 2 Yanique Haye-Smith  Turks and Caicos Islands 56.98
31 5 8 Zenéy van der Walt  South Africa 57.11
32 3 8 Paulien Couckuyt  Belgium 57.15
33 1 2 Jessica Moreira  Brazil 57.37
34 5 5 Lamiae Lhabze  Morocco 57.66
35 5 2 Tia-Adana Belle  Barbados 58.44
36 1 7 Mariam Mamdouh Farid  Qatar 1:09.49 PB
2 7 Kori Carter  United States DNF
3 2 Sara Petersen  Denmark DQ 168.7(a)
1 6 Portia Bing  New Zealand DQ 168.7(a)

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]

Results of the semi-finals[11]
Rank Heat Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 5 Sydney McLaughlin  United States 53.81 Q
2 1 5 Dalilah Muhammad  United States 53.91 Q
3 2 7 Rushell Clayton  Jamaica 54.17 Q
4 1 4 Sage Watson  Canada 54.32 Q, NR
5 2 5 Zuzana Hejnová  Czech Republic 54.41 Q
6 2 8 Ashley Spencer  United States 54.42 q
7 1 6 Anna Ryzhykova  Ukraine 54.45 q, SB
8 3 6 Léa Sprunger  Switzerland 54.52 Q, SB
9 1 7 Zurian Hechavarría  Cuba 55.03
10 2 4 Amalie Iuel  Norway 55.03
11 3 7 Shiann Salmon  Jamaica 55.16 PB
12 1 3 Hanne Claes  Belgium 55.25 SB
13 2 6 Ayomide Folorunso  Italy 55.36
14 2 9 Joanna Linkiewicz  Poland 55.38 SB
15 3 8 Yadisleidis Pedroso  Italy 55.40 SB
16 2 2 Sarah Carli  Australia 55.43 PB
17 3 4 Aminat Yusuf Jamal  Bahrain 55.54
18 1 8 Vera Rudakova  Authorised Neutral Athletes 55.57
19 3 2 Gianna Woodruff  Panama 55.61 SB
20 3 9 Jessica Turner  Great Britain & N.I. 55.87
21 3 3 Lauren Boden  Australia 55.94
22 1 2 Femke Bol  Netherlands 56.37
23 2 3 Carolina Krafzik  Germany 56.41
24 1 9 Meghan Beesley  Great Britain & N.I. 56.89

Final

Photo of two athletes seen from the side while running on red athletics tracks
Dalilah Muhammad (right) and Sydney McLaughlin in the 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]

Results of the final[12]
Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 Dalilah Muhammad  United States 52.16 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 Sydney McLaughlin  United States 52.23 PB
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 Rushell Clayton  Jamaica 53.74 PB
4 9 Léa Sprunger  Switzerland 54.06 NR
5 8 Zuzana Hejnová  Czech Republic 54.23
6 2 Ashley Spencer  United States 54.45
7 3 Anna Ryzhykova  Ukraine 54.45 SB
8 7 Sage Watson  Canada 54.82

References

  1. ^ "400 Metres Hurdles", World Athletics. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  2. ^ Mark Butler (ed.), "Statistics Handbook", pp. 17, 32, IAAF, 20 September 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Khalifa International Stadium – Stats and Facts", IAAF, 1 October 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "400 metres hurdles Women − Records". IAAF. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Qualification System and Entry Standards", IAAF. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Qualification Standards for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019", IAAF. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Entry Lists by Event and Country", IAAF, 22 September 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Women's 400 metres hurdles − Timetable". IAAF. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Heats results" (PDF). IAAF. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ a b c "Semi-finals results" (PDF). IAAF. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d "400 Metres Hurdles Women − Final − Results" (PDF). IAAF. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.