# 2023 World Athletics Championships – Women's 400 metres hurdles

The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships took place in three rounds at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, from 21 to 24 August 2023. Athletes could qualify by archieving the entry standard.
Forty-one athletes of thirty nations participated in the five heats of the first round on 21 August. Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain set an Asian record of 53.56 seconds. Twenty-four athletes competed in the three heats of the semifinals on 22 August. Adekoya improved her Asian record to 53.39 seconds and Ayomide Folorunso of Italy set a national record of 53.89 seconds.
Eight athletes competed in the final on 24 August. The gold medal was won by Femke Bol of the Netherlands in 51.70 seconds, silver by Shamier Little of the United States in 52.80 seconds and bronze by Rushell Clayton of Jamaica in 52.81 seconds. Outside the medals, Adekoya again broke her Asian record in 53.09 seconds.

## Background

In the absence of the 2022 world champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the overwhelming favorite for the world title was the 2022 European Champion and #2 of all time Femke Bol. In 2023, the 23-year-old Dutch woman broke the world indoor record over 400 metres flat, as well as her own European record over the 400 metres hurdles. Bol remained unbeaten in all her hurdles races since the 2022 final and her world-leading time of 51.45 s was almost 2 seconds faster than anyone else had run this year. After 2019 champion and #3 all time Dalilah Muhammad failed to qualify for the final, Bol's biggest opponent seemed to be the 2015 silver medalist and #5 all time Shamier Little, who posted the fastest qualifying time in the semi-finals. Other medal hopefuls were Bahraini Kemi Adekoya, who set Asian records in both the preliminary heats and semi-finals, and 2019 bronze medalist Rushell Clayton from Jamaica, who set a personal best in the semi-finals.
Records before the 2023 World Athletics Championships :
| Record | Athlete (nation) | Time | Location | Date |
| World record | Sydney McLaughlin (USA) | 50.68 | Eugene, United States | 22 July 2022 |
| Championship record | Sydney McLaughlin (USA) | 50.68 | Eugene, United States | 22 July 2022 |
| World Leading | Femke Bol (NED) | 51.45 | London, United Kingdom | 23 July 2023 |
| African Record | Nezha Bidouane (MAR) | 52.90 | Seville, Spain | 25 August 1999 |
| Asian Record | Han Qing (CHN) | 53.96 | Beijing, China | 9 September 1993 |
| Asian Record | Song Yinglan (CHN) | 53.96 | Guangzhou, China | 17 November 2001 |
| North, Central American and Caribbean record | Sydney McLaughlin (USA) | 50.68 | Eugene, United States | 22 July 2022 |
| South American Record | Gianna Woodruff (PAN) | 53.69 | Eugene, United States | 20 July 2022 |
| European Record | Femke Bol (NED) | 51.45 | London, United Kingdom | 23 July 2023 |
| Oceanian record | Debbie Flintoff-King (AUS) | 53.17 | Seoul, South Korea | 28 September 1988 |

## Qualification

The qualification period for the 400 metres hurdles was from 31 July 2022 to 30 July 2023. Athletes could qualify by achieving the entry standard of 54.90 seconds.

## Results
### Round 1

The five heats of the first round were held on 21 August, starting at 18:50 (UTC+2). The first four athletes in each heat (Q) and the next four fastest (q) qualified for the semi-finals. Kemi Adekoya set an Asian record (AR) of 53.56 seconds, and two other athletes set a personal best (PB).
Results of round 1 :
| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Femke Bol | Netherlands (NED) | 53.39 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Kemi Adekoya | Bahrain (BHR) | 53.56 | Q, AR |
| 3 | 1 | Rushell Clayton | Jamaica (JAM) | 53.97 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Andrenette Knight | Jamaica (JAM) | 54.21 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | Dalilah Muhammad | United States (USA) | 54.21 | Q |
| 6 | 5 | Jessie Knight | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 54.27 | Q |
| 7 | 3 | Ayomide Folorunso | Italy (ITA) | 54.30 | Q |
| 8 | 5 | Shamier Little | United States (USA) | 54.40 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | Carolina Krafzik | Germany (GER) | 54.53 | Q |
| 10 | 2 | Janieve Russell | Jamaica (JAM) | 54.53 | Q |
| 11 | 1 | Viivi Lehikoinen | Finland (FIN) | 54.65 | Q |
| 12 | 2 | Anna Cockrell | United States (USA) | 54.68 | Q |
| 13 | 5 | Anna Ryzhykova | Ukraine (UKR) | 54.70 | Q |
| 14 | 1 | Rebecca Sartori | Italy (ITA) | 54.82 | q, PB |
| 15 | 3 | Cathelijn Peeters | Netherlands (NED) | 54.95 | Q |
| 16 | 4 | Viktoriya Tkachuk | Ukraine (UKR) | 55.05 | Q |
| 17 | 5 | Nikoleta Jíchová | Czech Republic (CZE) | 55.10 | Q |
| 18 | 4 | Hanne Claes | Belgium (BEL) | 55.13 | Q |
| 19 | 5 | Noura Ennadi | Morocco (MAR) | 55.21 | q |
| 20 | 3 | Zenéy van der Walt | South Africa (RSA) | 55.21 | q |
| 21 | 4 | Line Kloster | Norway (NOR) | 55.23 | Q |
| 22 | 4 | Eileen Demes | Germany (GER) | 55.29 | q, PB |
| 23 | 2 | Gianna Woodruff | Panama (PAN) | 55.31 | Q |
| 24 | 4 | Sarah Carli | Australia (AUS) | 55.76 | |
| 25 | 2 | Savannah Sutherland | Canada (CAN) | 55.85 | Q |
| 26 | 4 | Fatoumata Binta Diallo | Portugal (POR) | 56.03 | |
| 27 | 1 | Yasmin Giger | Switzerland (SUI) | 56.16 | |
| 28 | 5 | Dimitra Gnafaki | Greece (GRE) | 56.18 | SB |
| 29 | 5 | Brooke Overholt | Canada (CAN) | 56.20 | |
| 30 | 1 | Janka Molnár | Hungary (HUN) | 56.21 | |
| 31 | 2 | Chayenne da Silva | Brazil (BRA) | 56.25 | |
| 32 | 2 | Eleonora Marchiando | Italy (ITA) | 56.27 | |
| 33 | 3 | Zuran Hechavarría | Cuba (CUB) | 56.43 | |
| 34 | 3 | Moa Granat | Sweden (SWE) | 56.61 | |
| 35 | 2 | Robyn Brown | Philippines (PHI) | 56.83 | |
| 36 | 5 | Agata Zupin | Slovenia (SLO) | 57.62 | |
| 37 | 2 | Ami Yamamoto | Japan (JPN) | 57.76 | |
| 38 | 3 | Lena Pressler | Austria (AUT) | 57.90 | |
| 39 | 4 | Eri Utsunomiya | Japan (JPN) | 57.98 | |
| 40 | 4 | Yanique Haye-Smith | Turks and Caicos Islands (TKS) | 1:00.08 | |
| 41 | 1 | Portia Bing | New Zealand (NZL) | 1:06.97 | |

### Semi-finals

The three heats of the semi-finals were held on 22 August, starting at 20:25 (UTC+2). The first 2 athletes in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) qualify to the final. Kemi Adekoya set a second Asian record (AR) of 53.39 seconds, Ayomide Folorunso set an Italian record (NR) of 53.89 seconds, and two more athletes set a personal best (PB).
Results of the semi-finals :
| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Shamier Little | United States (USA) | 52.81 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 2 | Femke Bol | Netherlands (NED) | 52.95 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Rushell Clayton | Jamaica (JAM) | 53.30 | Q, PB |
| 4 | 3 | Kemi Adekoya | Bahrain (BHR) | 53.39 | Q, AR |
| 5 | 1 | Anna Cockrell | United States (USA) | 53.63 | Q, PB |
| 6 | 3 | Janieve Russell | Jamaica (JAM) | 53.69 | q |
| 7 | 2 | Andrenette Knight | Jamaica (JAM) | 53.72 | Q |
| 8 | 3 | Ayomide Folorunso | Italy (ITA) | 53.89 | q, NR |
| 9 | 2 | Dalilah Muhammad | United States (USA) | 54.19 | |
| 10 | 2 | Anna Ryzhykova | Ukraine (UKR) | 54.42 | SB |
| 11 | 1 | Viivi Lehikoinen | Finland (FIN) | 54.48 | |
| 12 | 1 | Jessie Knight | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 54.51 | |
| 13 | 2 | Carolina Krafzik | Germany (GER) | 54.58 | |
| 14 | 3 | Cathelijn Peeters | Netherlands (NED) | 54.63 | |
| 15 | 1 | Gianna Woodruff | Panama (PAN) | 54.71 | |
| 16 | 3 | Savannah Sutherland | Canada (CAN) | 54.99 | |
| 17 | 2 | Nikoleta Jíchová | Czech Republic (CZE) | 55.01 | |
| 18 | 1 | Noura Ennadi | Morocco (MAR) | 55.15 | |
| 19 | 1 | Viktoriya Tkachuk | Ukraine (UKR) | 55.43 | |
| 20 | 2 | Line Kloster | Norway (NOR) | 55.43 | |
| 21 | 2 | Zenéy van der Walt | South Africa (RSA) | 55.49 | |
| 22 | 1 | Rebecca Sartori | Italy (ITA) | 55.98 | |
| 23 | 3 | Hanne Claes | Belgium (BEL) | 56.06 | |
| 24 | 3 | Eileen Demes | Germany (GER) | 56.71 | |

### Final

The final was held on 24 August, starting at 21:49 (UTC+2). Femke Bol of the Netherlands won the gold medal in 51.70 seconds, Shamier Little of the United States won the silver medal finishing 1.10 seconds later in 52.80 seconds, and Rushell Clayton won the bronze medal finishing in a personal best time of 52.81 seconds. Kemi Adekoya set a third Asian record of 53.09 seconds and Anna Cockrell set a personal best of 53.34 seconds.
Results of the final :
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| | 6 | Femke Bol | Netherlands (NED) | 51.70 | |
| | 5 | Shamier Little | United States (USA) | 52.80 | SB |
| | 8 | Rushell Clayton | Jamaica (JAM) | 52.81 | PB |
| 4 | 7 | Kemi Adekoya | Bahrain (BHR) | 53.09 | AR |
| 5 | 9 | Anna Cockrell | United States (USA) | 53.34 | PB |
| 6 | 2 | Ayomide Folorunso | Italy (ITA) | 54.19 | |
| 7 | 3 | Janieve Russell | Jamaica (JAM) | 54.28 | |
| 8 | 4 | Andrenette Knight | Jamaica (JAM) | 55.20 | |