# Britton Wilson

Britton Wilson (born 13 November 2000) is an American track and field athlete specializing in the 400 meters hurdles and 400 meters. She finished fifth in the 400 m hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, her major championship debut. Wilson became the North American indoor record holder for the 400 m dash with a time of 49.48 seconds, set on March 11, 2023, in Albuquerque.
She was the first North American woman to break the 50-second barrier and now the third woman ever under 49.50 s in the indoor 400 m. At the same meet in March 2023, she was part of the mixed nationality women's team that set the fastest indoor performance in history in the 4 × 400 m relay with 3:21.75. At the time, her split of 49.19 s was the fastest indoor split in world history. Wilson is a two-time individual NCAA Division I champion.

## Career
### 2021–2022

Initially a student at the University of Tennessee, Wilson switched to University of Arkansas in 2021 after suffering mental health issues. The change to Arkansas proved a catalyst to her most successful season as she won the 400 meters hurdles at the NCAA Division I Outdoors in June 2022 representing the Arkansas Razorbacks in a time of 53.86, finishing nearly a whole second ahead of second-placed Anna Hall. Prior to this Wilson had won both the 400 m hurdles and 400 m dash at the SEC Championships as well as helped the Razorbacks to third in the 4 x 400 m relay with a split time of 48.60, the fastest ever single lap in collegiate history.
She finished second in the 400 m hurdles to world record holder Sydney McLaughlin at the 2022 USATF Championships as McLaughlin broke her own world record. Wilson ran a personal best time of 53.08 as runner up. She was named in the American squad for the 2022 World Athletics Championships, where she placed fifth in the final in a time of 54.02 s.

### 2023–present

Wilson's 2023 indoor season started with a collegiate indoor record in the 600 m with a time of 1:25.16, beating Athing Mu's previous best set in 2021. On March 11 at the NCCA Division I Indoors in Albuquerque, New Mexico (at altitude), she broke the North American indoor 400 m record by over half a second with the second-fastest mark on the respective world all-time list of 49.48 seconds, a time that would have been a world indoor record before February 19 when Femke Bol achieved 49.26 s. It was the fastest ever run by a collegian indoors or out as Wilson's mark bettered Mu's NCAA outdoor record (49.57). She added title for the 4 x 400 m relay with a 49.19 s anchor, the fastest indoor split in world history.
Britton showed no mercy to the collegiate record book about a month later again and eventually broke Mu's outdoor record too, clocking 49.51 s at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida. She lowered her record to 49.13 seconds at the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a further month later, on May 13, to move up to fourth / eighth / 17th on the U.S. / NACAC / world all-time lists respectively. The 22-year-old won also the 400 m hurdles in 53.28 s just an hour later to achieve the best ever one-day such double.
Competing at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in Eugene, Oregon, she finished second in the final of the 400m. A few days later on July 10, Wilson announced she would forego the rest of her NCAA eligibility and had signed a professional contract with Adidas. She was selected for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August 2023.

## Achievements
### Personal bests

| Event | Time | Venue | Date | Notes |
| 400 m hurdles | 53.08 | Eugene, OR, United States | June 25, 2022 | |
| 400 meters | 49.13 | Baton Rouge, LA, United States | May 13, 2023 | CR, 4th U.S. all time |
| 4 × 400 m relay split | 48.60 | Oxford, MS, United States | May 14, 2022 | fourth leg, 1st collegiate all time |
| 400 meters indoor | 49.48 i | Albuquerque, NM, United States | March 11, 2023 | A CR North American record, 2nd all time |
| 4 × 400 m relay indoor split | 49.19 i | Albuquerque, NM, United States | March 11, 2023 | A, fourth leg, 1st all time |
| 600 meters indoor | 1:25.16 i | Fayetteville, AR, United States | January 13, 2023 | CR |
| 800 meters indoor | 2:02.13 i | Fayetteville, AR, United States | February 17, 2023 | |

### International competitions

Representing the  United States :
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
| 2019 | Pan American U20 Championships | San José, Costa Rica | 5th | 400 m hurdles | 58.19 | |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 5th | 400 m hurdles | 54.02 | (sf: 53.72) |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:17.79 | WL (49.39 split) |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 46th (h) | 400 m | 53.87 |

### National championships

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
| Representing Central Virginia T&F Club / Mills E. Godwin High School |||||||
| 2016 | NSAF Indoor Nationals | New York City | 5th | 400 m | 57.02 | SB |
| 2016 | NSAF Nationals | Greensboro, North Carolina | 1st | 400 m | 54.30 | SB |
| 2017 | NSAF Indoor Nationals | New York City | 3rd | 400 m | 53.25 | PB |
| 2017 | NSAF Nationals | Greensboro, North Carolina | 7th | 400 m | 53.77 | |
| 2017 | NSAF Nationals | Greensboro, North Carolina | 25th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 48.18 | |
| 2017 | NSAF Nationals | Greensboro, North Carolina | 1st | 4 × 200 m relay | 1:39.58 | |
| 2018 | NSAF Indoor Nationals | New York City | 6th | 400 m | 54.70 | (h: SB) |
| 2018 | USATF U20 Championships | Bloomington, Indiana | 5th | 400 m hurdles | 57.95 | SB |
| 2019 | NSAF Indoor Nationals | New York City | 2nd | 400 m | 52.72 | PB |
| 2019 | NSAF Nationals | Greensboro, North Carolina | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 56.77 | PB |
| 2019 | NSAF Nationals | Greensboro, North Carolina | 31st | 4 × 200 m relay | 1:42.73 | |
| 2019 | USATF U20 Championships | Miramar, Florida | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 56.36 | PB |
| Representing Tennessee Volunteers |||||||
| 2021 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | Fayetteville, Arkansas | 12th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:36.60 | |
| 2021 | US Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 25th (h) | 400 m hurdles | 59.95 | |
| Representing Arkansas Razorbacks |||||||
| 2022 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | Birmingham, Alabama | 6th | 400 m | 51.52 | |
| 2022 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | Birmingham, Alabama | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:27.23 | |
| 2022 | NCAA Division I Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 53.86 | |
| 2022 | NCAA Division I Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:23.69 | |
| 2022 | USATF Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 53.08 | PB |
| 2023 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 1st | 400 m | 49.48 | A CR AR |
| 2023 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:21.75 | A CR (49.19 split) |
| 2023 | NCAA Division I Championships | Austin, Texas | 7th | 400 m hurdles | 55.92 | |
| 2023 | NCAA Division I Championships | Austin, Texas | 2nd | 400 m | 49.64 | |
| 2023 | USATF Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 2nd | 400 m | 49.79 | |
| Representing Adidas |||||||
Sources: