400m hurdles champions and records
The dominance of the USA in yet another sprinting event is evident in the men’s 400m hurdles: of the top 20 fastest results of all time, 12 were recorded by US athletes, including Kevin Young’s world record of 46’’78, now showing the respectable age of 17 years. 8 other countries, as can be seen by the table below, share the field of the remaining top 20 times.
The USA also took all 3 medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics men’s event: the current Olympic Champion is Angelo Taylor, who’s also the most recent entrant in the top 20 list, with the time of 47’’25, run in Beijing.
All-time top 20 results: Men
(Updated June 16, 2009)
|
Pos
|
Time
|
Athlete
|
Country
|
Venue
|
Date
|
|
1.
|
46.78
|
Kevin Young
|
 United States |
Barcelona
|
August 6, 1992
|
|
2.
|
47.02
|
Edwin Moses
|
United States |
Koblenz
|
August 31, 1983
|
|
3.
|
47.03
|
Bryan Bronson
|
United States |
New Orleans
|
June 21, 1998
|
|
4.
|
47.10
|
Samuel Matete
|
 Zambia |
Zürich
|
August 7, 1991
|
|
5.
|
47.19
|
Andre Phillips
|
United States |
Seoul
|
September 25, 1988
|
|
6.
|
47.23
|
Amadou Dia Ba
|
 Senegal |
Seoul
|
September 25, 1988
|
|
7.
|
47.24
|
Kerron Clement
|
United States |
Carson, California
|
June 26, 2005
|
|
8.
|
47.25
|
Félix Sánchez
|
 Dominican Republic |
Paris, Saint-Denis
|
August 29, 2003
|
|
Angelo Taylor
|
United States |
Beijing
|
August 18, 2008
|
||
|
10.
|
47.30
|
Bershawn Jackson
|
United States |
Helsinki
|
August 9, 2005
|
|
11.
|
47.37
|
Stéphane Diagana
|
 France |
Lausanne
|
July 5, 1995
|
|
12.
|
47.38
|
Danny Harris
|
United States |
Lausanne
|
July 10, 1991
|
|
13.
|
47.43
|
James Carter
|
United States |
Helsinki
|
August 9, 2005
|
|
14.
|
47.48
|
Harald Schmid
|
 West Germany |
Athens
|
September 8, 1982
|
|
15.
|
47.53
|
Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily
|
 Saudi Arabia |
Sydney
|
September 27, 2000
|
|
16.
|
47.54
|
Derrick Adkins
|
United States |
Lausanne
|
July 5, 1995
|
|
Fabrizio Mori
|
 Italy |
Edmonton
|
August 10, 2001
|
||
|
18.
|
47.60
|
Winthrop Graham
|
 Jamaica |
Zürich
|
August 4, 1993
|
|
19.
|
47.67
|
Bennie Brazell
|
United States |
Sacramento
|
June 11, 2005
|
|
20.
|
47.75
|
David Patrick
|
United States |
Indianapolis
|
July 17, 1988
|
The story differs among the ladies, with more nations entering the fray: the country ranking of the top 20 times is as follows:
2. Russia and former Soviet Union: 4
3. Jamaica: 2
4. Australia: 2
5. Great Britain, Greece, Cuba, Morocco, France, E. Germany, Romania: 1
As can be seen in the table below, the current world record holder is the Russian Yuliya Pechonkina, with Melanie Walker of Jamaica winning Olympic gold in Beijing and recording the 5th fastest time ever. The 2nd and 3rd fastest ever times are held by American athletes, but this may soon change.
All-time top 20 results: Women
(Updated June 16, 2009)
|
Pos.
|
Time
|
Athlete
|
Country
|
Venue
|
Date
|
|
1.
|
52.34
|
Yuliya Pechonkina
|
 Russia |
Tula
|
August 8, 2003
|
|
2.
|
52.61
|
Kim Batten
|
United States |
Göteborg
|
August 11, 1995
|
|
3.
|
52.62
|
Tonja Buford-Bailey
|
United States |
Göteborg
|
August 11, 1995
|
|
4.
|
52.64
|
Melaine Walker
|
Jamaica |
Beijing
|
August 20, 2008
|
|
5.
|
52.74
|
Sally Gunnell
|
 United Kingdom |
Stuttgart
|
August 19, 1993
|
|
6.
|
52.77
|
Fani Halkia
|
 Greece |
Athens
|
August 22, 2004
|
|
7.
|
52.79
|
Sandra Farmer-Patrick
|
United States |
Stuttgart
|
August 19, 1993
|
|
8.
|
52.82
|
Deon Hemmings
|
Jamaica |
Atlanta
|
July 31, 1996
|
|
9.
|
52.89
|
Daimí Pernía
|
 Cuba |
Seville
|
August 25, 1999
|
|
10.
|
52.90
|
Nezha Bidouane
|
 Morocco |
Seville
|
August 25, 1999
|
|
11.
|
52.94
|
Marina Stepanova
|
 Soviet Union |
Tashkent
|
September 17, 1986
|
|
12.
|
52.95
|
Sheena Johnson
|
United States |
Sacramento
|
July 11, 2004
|
|
12.
|
53.02
|
Irina Privalova
|
Russia |
Sydney
|
September 27, 2000
|
|
Lashinda Demus
|
United States |
Athens
|
July 3, 2006
|
||
|
15.
|
53.11
|
Tatyana Ledovskaya
|
Soviet Union |
Tokyo
|
August 29, 1991
|
|
16.
|
53.17
|
Debbie Flintoff-King
|
 Australia |
Seoul
|
September 28, 1988
|
|
17.
|
53.21
|
Marie-José Pérec
|
France |
Zürich
|
August 16, 1995
|
|
18.
|
53.22
|
Jana Rawlinson
|
Australia |
Paris, Saint-Denis
|
August 28, 2003
|
|
19.
|
53.24
|
Sabine Busch
|
 East Germany |
Potsdam
|
August 21, 1987
|
|
20.
|
53.25
|
Ionela Târlea
|
 Romania |
Rome
|
July 7, 1999
|
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/400m_hurdles
1. USA: 5 times
