WCH Tokyo 25 facts and figures: women's 400m hurdles

Last three sets of World Athletics Championships medallists

2023: 1 Femke Bol (NED) – 51.70, 2 Shamier Little (USA) – 52.80, 3 Rushell Clayton (JAM) – 52.81
2022: 1 Sydney McLaughlin (USA) – 50.68, 2 Femke Bol (NED) – 52.27, 3 Dalilah Muhammad (USA) – 53.13
2019: 1 Dalilah Muhammad (USA) – 52.16, 2 Sydney McLaughlin (USA) – 52.23, 3 Rushell Clayton (JAM) – 53.74

Last two sets of Olympic medallists

Fastest winning times in World Athletics Championships history

50.68 – Sydney McLaughlin (USA), 2022
51.70 – Femke Bol (NED), 2023
52.16 – Dalilah Muhammad (USA), 2019

Slowest winning time in World Athletics Championships history

54.14 – Yekaterina Fesenko (URS/RUS), 1983

Best marks on Japanese soil

51.46 1 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) - Tokyo (Olympics) 04.08.2021
51.58 2 Dalilah Muhammad (USA) - Tokyo (Olympics) 04.08.2021
52.03 3 Femke Bol (NED) - Tokyo (Olympics) 04.08.2021

Best marks on Asian soil

51.46 1 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) - Tokyo (Olympics) 04.08.2021
51.58 2 Dalilah Muhammad (USA) - Tokyo (Olympics) 04.08.2021
52.03 3 Femke Bol (NED) - Tokyo (Olympics) 04.08.2021

Biggest winning margins

1.59s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) – 50.68, Femke Bol (NED) – 52.27 – 2022
1.26s Zuzana Hejnová (CZE) – 52.83, Dalilah Muhammad (USA) – 54.09 – 2013
1.10s Femke Bol (NED) – 51.70, Shamier Little (USA) – 52.80 – 2023

​​Smallest winning margins

0.01s Yekaterina Fesenko (URS/RUS) – 54.14, Anna Ambraziené (URS/LTU) – 54.15 – 1983
0.01s Kim Batten (USA) – 52.61, Tonja Bulford (USA) – 52.62 – 1995
0.01s Daimí Pernía (CUB) – 52.89, Nezha Bidouane (MAR) – 52.90 – 1999

Best mark by round

Heat — 53.39 Femke Bol (NED), 2023
Semifinal — 52.17 Sydney McLaughlin (USA), 2022
Final — 50.68 Sydney McLaughlin (USA), 2022

Multiple winners

1997/01 - Nezha Bidouane (MAR)
2003/07 - Jana Pittman (AUS)
2013/15 - Zuzana Hejnová (CZE)

Winners by country

5 - United States
2 - Soviet Union
2 - Morocco
2 - Australia
2 - Czechia
1 - German Democratic Republic
1 - Great Britain
1 - Cuba
1 - Russia
1 - Jamaica
1 - Netherlands

Five historic facts

• World records have been set in four of the 19 world 400m hurdles finals: 52.74 Sally Gunnell (GBR) in 1993; 52.61 Kim Batten (USA) in 1995; 52.16 Dalilah Muhammad (USA) in 2019; 50.68 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrine (USA) in 2022
• The six fastest times in the 400m hurdles have been set at the last three editions of the World Championships 
• The last four global 400m hurdles finals have been won with sub-52 second winning times
• As a triumvirate, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA), Femke Bol (NED) and Dalilah Muhammad (USA) hold 29 of the 30 fastest times in history. Bol also holds 9 of the 20 fastest times in history, including the European record with 50.95
• The United States have won three of the last four titles: Kori Carter in 2017, Muhammad in 2019 and McLaughlin-Levrone in 2022

Potential storylines

• Can Femke Bol (NED) become just the second woman to win back-to-back world titles in the 400m hurdles?
• Can Dalilah Muhammad (USA) win a record fifth medal in the 400m hurdles in what might be the final race of her career? She is currently tied on four medals alongside Lashinda Demus (USA) and Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)
• Can Savannah Sutherland (CAN) win Canada’s first ever medal in the women’s 400m hurdles at the World Championships 
• Can Emma Zapletalova (SVK) become just the second Slovakian woman to win a medal in World Championships history? 
• Seven of the eight finalists from Paris 2024 will be competing, the exception being McLaughlin-Levrone who is focusing on the 400m flat