The 400 metres hurdles is an Olympic athletics event in track and field. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lanes the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly spaced around the track. The hurdles are positioned so that they fall forward if bumped into, to prevent injury to the runners. Although there is no penalty for knocking hurdles over, runners prefer to clear them cleanly, as touching them during the race slows runners down.
The best male athletes can run the 400 m hurdles in a time of around 47 seconds, while the best female athletes achieve a time of around 53 seconds. The current men's and women's world record holders are Kevin Young with 46.78 seconds and Yuliya Pechonkina with 52.34 seconds. Compared to the 400 metres run, the hurdles race takes the men about three seconds longer and the women four seconds longer.
The 400 m hurdles have been an Olympic discipline since 1900 and 1984 for men and women, respectively.
Read more about 400 Metres Hurdles: History, Hurdling Technique, Most Successful Athletes
Famous quotes containing the word hurdles:
“It’s not like I was out there running and not knowing what’s going on in the country. I knew what was going on, but I felt this is not something that is going to bog me down and not let me participate. The only way I was going to make a difference for myself or any other black person is to say the hurdles were there and do what I had to do.”
—Wyomia Tyus (b. 1945)