The 400 metres hurdles at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by women since 1980 and by men since 1983.

Karsten Warholm is the most successful athlete in the history of the event, winning three medals between 2017 and 2023. Félix Sánchez is the second most successful athlete, winning two gold medals and one silver medal between 2001 and 2007. Nezha Bidouane has the same medal tally as Sanchez and is the most successful female athlete, winning two golds and one silver between 1997 and 2001. Yuliya Pechonkina, Lashinda Demus and Dalilah Muhammad have won the most medals in the event, with four total; all won one gold, two silver and one bronze.

The United States is the most successful nation in the discipline, winning 7 gold medals in the men's discipline, 5 gold medals in the women's discipline and 39 medals in total. Great Britain is the only other nation that has won gold in both the men's and the women's event, winning gold in the women's event in 1993 and gold in the men's event in 2011.

The championship records for the event are 46.29 for men, set by Alison dos Santos in 2022, and 50.68 s for women, set by Sydney McLaughlin, also in 2022. The women's world record has been broken four times at the World Championships: by Sally Gunnell in 1993, Kim Batten in 1995, Dalilah Muhammad in 2019, and Sydney McLaughlin in 2022. The men's world record has never been broken at the competition.

• All information from World Athletics.^[1]

Distinction	Male			Female
	Athlete	Age	Date	Athlete	Age	Date
Youngest champion	Karsten Warholm (NOR)	21 years, 165 days	9 Aug 2017	Jana Pittman (AUS)	20 years, 292 days	15 Aug 2003
Youngest medalist	Llewellyn Herbert (RSA)	20 years, 14 days	4 Aug 1997	Petra Pfaff (GDR)	19 years, 305 days	16 Aug 1980
Youngest finalist	Jehue Gordon (TTO)	17 years, 246 days	18 Aug 2009	Esther Mahr (USA)	19 years, 137 days	16 Aug 1980
Youngest participant	Jehue Gordon (TTO)	17 years, 243 days	15 Aug 2009	Mirenda Francourt (SEY)	16 years, 99 days	26 Aug 1991
Oldest champion	Edwin Moses (USA)	32 years, 1 day	1 Sep 1987	Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	31 years, 324 days	8 Aug 2001
Oldest medalist	Kriss Akabusi (GBR)	32 years, 272 days	27 Aug 1991	Sandra Glover (USA)	36 years, 226 days	13 Aug 2005
Oldest finalist	Danny McFarlane (JAM)	37 years, 185 days	18 Aug 2009	Sandra Glover (USA)	36 years, 226 days	13 Aug 2005
Oldest participant	Mahau Suguimati (BRA)	37 years, 245 days	16 July 2022	Tetyana Tereshchuk-Antipova (UKR)	37 years, 321 days	28 Aug 2007

Championships	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1983 Helsinki details	Edwin Moses (USA)	Harald Schmid (FRG)	Aleksandr Kharlov (URS)
1987 Rome details	Edwin Moses (USA)	Danny Harris (USA)	Harald Schmid (FRG)
1991 Tokyo details	Samuel Matete (ZAM)	Winthrop Graham (JAM)	Kriss Akabusi (GBR)
1993 Stuttgart details	Kevin Young (USA)	Samuel Matete (ZAM)	Winthrop Graham (JAM)
1995 Gothenburg details	Derrick Adkins (USA)	Samuel Matete (ZAM)	Stéphane Diagana (FRA)
1997 Athens details	Stéphane Diagana (FRA)	Llewellyn Herbert (RSA)	Bryan Bronson (USA)
1999 Seville details	Fabrizio Mori (ITA)	Stéphane Diagana (FRA)	Marcel Schelbert (SUI)
2001 Edmonton details	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Fabrizio Mori (ITA)	Dai Tamesue (JPN)
2003 Saint-Denis details	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Joey Woody (USA)	Periklis Iakovakis (GRE)
2005 Helsinki details	Bershawn Jackson (USA)	James Carter (USA)	Dai Tamesue (JPN)
2007 Osaka details	Kerron Clement (USA)	Félix Sánchez (DOM)	Marek Plawgo (POL)
2009 Berlin details	Kerron Clement (USA)	Javier Culson (PUR)	Bershawn Jackson (USA)
2011 Daegu details	Dai Greene (GBR)	Javier Culson (PUR)	L. J. van Zyl (RSA)
2013 Moscow details	Jehue Gordon (TRI)	Michael Tinsley (USA)	Emir Bekrić (SRB)
2015 Beijing details	Nicholas Bett (KEN)	Denis Kudryavtsev (RUS)	Jeffery Gibson (BAH)
2017 London details	Karsten Warholm (NOR)	Yasmani Copello (TUR)	Kerron Clement (USA)
2019 Doha details	Karsten Warholm (NOR)	Rai Benjamin (USA)	Abderrahman Samba (QAT)
2022 Eugene details	Alison dos Santos (BRA)	Rai Benjamin (USA)	Trevor Bassitt (USA)
2023 Budapest details	Karsten Warholm (NOR)	Kyron McMaster (BVI)	Rai Benjamin (USA)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	7	6	5	18
2	Norway (NOR)	3	0	0	3
3	Dominican Republic (DOM)	2	1	0	3
4	Zambia (ZAM)	1	2	0	3
5	France (FRA)	1	1	1	3
6	Italy (ITA)	1	1	0	2
7	Great Britain (GBR)	1	0	1	2
8	Brazil (BRA)	1	0	0	1
	Kenya (KEN)	1	0	0	1
	Trinidad and Tobago (TTO)	1	0	0	1
11	Puerto Rico (PUR)	0	2	0	2
12	Germany (GER)	0	1	1	2
	Jamaica (JAM)	0	1	1	2
	South Africa (RSA)	0	1	1	2
15	British Virgin Islands (BVI)	0	1	0	1
	Russia (RUS)	0	1	0	1
	Turkey (TUR)	0	1	0	1
18	Japan (JPN)	0	0	2	2
19	Bahamas (BAH)	0	0	1	1
	Greece (GRE)	0	0	1	1
	Poland (POL)	0	0	1	1
	Qatar (QAT)	0	0	1	1
	Serbia (SRB)	0	0	1	1
	Soviet Union (URS)	0	0	1	1
	Switzerland (SUI)	0	0	1	1
Totals (25 entries)		19	19	19	57

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Period	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Karsten Warholm	Norway (NOR)	2017–2023	3	0	0	3
2	Félix Sánchez	Dominican Republic (DOM)	2001–2007	2	1	0	3
3	Edwin Moses	United States (USA)	1983–1987	2	0	0	2
	Kerron Clement	United States (USA)	2007–2009	2	0	0	2
5	Samuel Matete	Zambia (ZAM)	1991–1995	1	2	0	3
6	Stéphane Diagana	France (FRA)	1995–1999	1	1	1	3
7	Fabrizio Mori	Italy (ITA)	1999–2001	1	1	0	2
8	Bershawn Jackson	United States (USA)	2005–2009	1	0	1	2
9	Rai Benjamin	United States (USA)	2019-2023	0	2	1	3
10	Javier Culson	Puerto Rico (PUR)	2009–2011	0	2	0	2
11	Harald Schmid	West Germany (FRG)	1983–1987	0	1	1	2
	Winthrop Graham	Jamaica (JAM)	1991–1993	0	1	1	2
13	Dai Tamesue	Japan (JPN)	2001–2005	0	0	2	2

Championships	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1980 Sittard details	Bärbel Broschat (GDR)	Ellen Neumann (GDR)	Petra Pfaff (GDR)
1983 Helsinki details	Yekaterina Fesenko (URS)	Ana Ambrazienė (URS)	Ellen Neumann-Fiedler (GDR)
1987 Rome details	Sabine Busch (GDR)	Debbie Flintoff (AUS)	Cornelia Feuerbach (GDR)
1991 Tokyo details	Tatyana Ledovskaya (URS)	Sally Gunnell (GBR)	Janeene Vickers (USA)
1993 Stuttgart details	Sally Gunnell (GBR)	Sandra Farmer-Patrick (USA)	Margarita Ponomaryova (RUS)
1995 Gothenburg details	Kim Batten (USA)	Tonja Buford (USA)	Deon Hemmings (JAM)
1997 Athens details	Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	Deon Hemmings (JAM)	Kim Batten (USA)
1999 Seville details	Daimí Pernía (CUB)	Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	Deon Hemmings (JAM)
2001 Edmonton details	Nezha Bidouane (MAR)	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)	Daimí Pernía (CUB)
2003 Saint-Denis details	Jana Pittman (AUS)	Sandra Glover (USA)	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)
2005 Helsinki details	Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS)	Lashinda Demus (USA)	Sandra Glover (USA)
2007 Osaka details	Jana Rawlinson (AUS)	Yuliya Pechenkina (RUS)	Anna Jesień (POL)
2009 Berlin details	Melaine Walker (JAM)	Lashinda Demus (USA)	Josanne Lucas (TRI)
2011 Daegu details	Lashinda Demus (USA)	Melaine Walker (JAM)	Natalya Antyukh (RUS)
2013 Moscow details	Zuzana Hejnová (CZE)	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)	Lashinda Demus (USA)
2015 Beijing details	Zuzana Hejnová (CZE)	Shamier Little (USA)	Cassandra Tate (USA)
2017 London details	Kori Carter (USA)	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)	Ristananna Tracey (JAM)
2019 Doha details	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)	Sydney McLaughlin (USA)	Rushell Clayton (JAM)
2022 Eugene details	Sydney McLaughlin (USA)	Femke Bol (NED)	Dalilah Muhammad (USA)
2023 Budapest details	Femke Bol (NED)	Shamier Little (USA)	Rushell Clayton (JAM)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	5	10	6	21
2	Germany (GER)	2	1	4	7
3	East Germany (GDR)	2	1	3	6
4	Australia (AUS)	2	1	0	3
	Morocco (MAR)	2	1	0	3
	Soviet Union (URS)	2	1	0	3
7	Czech Republic (CZE)	2	0	0	2
8	Jamaica (JAM)	1	2	4	7
9	Russia (RUS)	1	2	3	6
10	Great Britain (GBR)	1	1	0	2
	Netherlands (NED)	1	1	0	2
12	Cuba (CUB)	1	0	1	2
13	Denmark (DEN)	1	0	0	1
14	Spain (ESP)	0	1	0	1
	Turkey (TUR)	0	1	0	1
16	Poland (POL)	0	0	1	1
	Trinidad and Tobago (TTO)	0	0	1	1

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Period	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Nezha Bidouane	Morocco (MAR)	1997–2001	2	1	0	3
2	Jana Pittman	Australia (AUS)	2003–2007	2	0	0	2
	Zuzana Hejnová	Czech Republic (CZE)	2013–2015	2	0	0	2
4	Yuliya Pechonkina	Russia (RUS)	2001–2007	1	2	1	4
	Lashinda Demus	United States (USA)	2005–2013	1	2	1	4
	Dalilah Muhammad	United States (USA)	2013–2022	1	2	1	4
7	Sally Gunnell	Great Britain (GBR)	1991–1993	1	1	0	2
	Melaine Walker	Jamaica (JAM)	2009–2011	1	1	0	2
	Sydney McLaughlin	United States (USA)	2019-2022	1	1	0	2
	Femke Bol	Netherlands (NED)	2022-2023	1	1	0	2
11	Kim Batten	United States (USA)	1995–1997	1	0	1	2
	Daimí Pernía	Cuba (CUB)	1999–2001	1	0	1	2
13	Shamier Little	United States (USA)	2015-2023	0	2	0	2
14	Deon Hemmings	Jamaica (JAM)	1995–1999	0	1	2	3
15	Ellen Fiedler	East Germany (GDR)	1980–1983	0	1	1	2
	Sandra Glover	United States (USA)	2003–2005	0	1	1	2
17	Rushell Clayton	Jamaica (JAM)	2019-2023	0	0	2	2

Men's 400 metres hurdles World Championships record progression^[2]

Time	Athlete	Nation	Year	Round	Date
50.44	Andre Philips	United States (USA)	1983	Heats	1983-08-07
50.12	Aleksandr Kharlov	Soviet Union (URS)	1983	Heats	1983-08-07
49.54	Edwin Moses	United States (USA)	1983	Heats	1983-08-07
48.11	Edwin Moses	United States (USA)	1983	Semi-finals	1983-08-08
47.50	Edwin Moses	United States (USA)	1983	Final	1983-08-09
47.46	Edwin Moses	United States (USA)	1987	Final	1987-09-01
47.18	Kevin Young	United States (USA)	1993	Final	1993-08-19
46.29	Alison dos Santos	Brazil (BRA)	2022	Final	2022-07-19

Women's 400 metres hurdles World Championships record progression^[3]

Time	Athlete	Nation	Year	Round	Date
56.43	Yekaterina Fesenko	Soviet Union (URS)	1983	Heats	1983-08-08
56.30	Anna Ambraziene	Soviet Union (URS)	1983	Heats	1983-08-08
55.77	Petra Pfaff	East Germany (GDR)	1983	Semi-finals	1983-08-09
55.18	Anna Ambraziene	Soviet Union (URS)	1983	Semi-finals	1983-08-09
54.14	Yekaterina Fesenko	Soviet Union (URS)	1983	Final	1983-08-10
53.62	Sabine Busch	East Germany (GDR)	1987	Final	1987-09-03
53.11	Tatyana Ledovskaya	Soviet Union (URS)	1991	Final	1991-08-29
52.74 WR	Sally Gunnell	Great Britain (GBR)	1993	Final	1993-08-19
52.61 WR	Kim Batten	United States (USA)	1995	Final	1995-08-11
52.42	Melaine Walker	Jamaica (JAM)	2009	Final	2009-08-20
52.16 WR	Dalilah Muhammad	United States (USA)	2019	Final	2019-10-04
50.68 WR	Sydney McLaughlin	United States (USA)	2022	Final	2022-07-22

Fastest men's times at the World Championships[4] Rank Time (sec) Athlete Nation Year Date 1 46.29 Alison dos Santos  Brazil 2022 2022-07-19 2 46.89 Rai Benjamin  United States 2022 2022-07-19 Karsten Warholm  Norway 2023 2023-08-23 4 47.09 Karsten Warholm  Norway 2023SF 2023-08-21 5 47.18 Kevin Young  United States 1993 1993-08-19 6 47.24 Rai Benjamin  United States 2023SF 2023-08-21 7 47.25 Felix Sanchez  Dominican Republic 2003 2003-08-29 8 47.30 Bershawn Jackson  United States 2005 2005-08-09 9 47.34 Roshawn Clarke  Jamaica 2023SF 2023-08-21 Kyron McMaster  British Virgin Islands 2023 2023-08-23

Fastest women's times at the World Championships[5] Rank Time (sec) Athlete Nation Year Date 1 50.68 Sydney McLaughlin  United States 2022 2022-07-22 2 51.70 Femke Bol  Netherlands 2023 2023-08-24 3 52.16 Dalilah Muhammad  United States 2019 2019-10-04 4 52.17 Sydney McLaughlin  United States 2022SF 2022-07-20 5 52.23 Sydney McLaughlin  United States 2019 2019-10-04 6 52.27 Femke Bol  Netherlands 2022 2022-07-22 7 52.42 Melaine Walker  Jamaica 2009 2009-10-20 8 52.47 Lashinda Demus  United States 2011 2011-09-01 9 52.61 Kim Batten  United States 1995 1995-08-11 10 52.62 Tonja Buford-Bailey  United States 1995 1995-08-11

• 400 metres hurdles
• 400 metres hurdles at the Olympics

• Official IAAF website