Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metres hurdles

Women's 400 metres hurdles
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
Venue Beijing National Stadium
Dates 17 August 2008 (heats)
18 August 2008 (semi-finals)
20 August 2008 (final)
Competitors 27 from 21 nations
Winning time 52.64 s OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Melaine Walker  Jamaica
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Sheena Tosta  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Tasha Danvers  Great Britain

The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 17–20 August at the Beijing National Stadium.

The qualifying standards were 55.60 s (A standard) and 56.50 s (B standard).

Schedule

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

Date Time Round
Sunday, August 17, 2008 20:10-20:42
Round 1
Monday, August 18, 2008 20:45-21:00
Semifinals
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 22:35-22:40 Final

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:

World record Yuliya Pechonkina (RUS) 52.34 Tula, Russia 8 August 2003
Olympic record  Fani Halkia (GRE) 52.77 Athens, Greece 22 August 2004

The following new Olympic record was set during this competition.

Date Event Name Nationality Time OR WR
20 August Final Melaine Walker  Jamaica 52.64 OR

Results

Round 1

The first three runners of each heat (Q) plus the next four overall fastest runners (q) qualified for the Semifinals.

Rank Heat Name Nationality Result Notes
1 3 Melaine Walker  Jamaica 54.46 Q
2 4 Ekaterina Bikert  Russia 55.15 Q
3 3 Anastasiya Rabchenyuk  Ukraine 55.18 Q
4 2 Tasha Danvers  Great Britain 55.19 Q, SB
5 3 Tsvetelina Kirilova  Bulgaria 55.22 Q, PB
6 2 Anastasiya Ott  Russia 55.34 Q
7 4 Anna Jesień  Poland 55.35 Q
8 1 Tiffany Ross-Williams  United States 55.51 Q
9 1 Irina Obedina  Russia 55.71 Q
10 2 Nickiesha Wilson  Jamaica 55.75 Q
11 1 Satomi Kubokura  Japan 55.82 Q, SB
12 4 Zuzana Hejnová  Czech Republic 55.91 Q
13 3 Queen Harrison  United States 55.96 q
14 2 Angela Moroșanu  Romania 56.07 q, SB
15 2 Sheena Tosta  United States 56.12 q
16 3 Aïssata Soulama  Burkina Faso 56.37 q
17 1 Shevon Stoddart  Jamaica 56.52
18 2 Nikolina Horvat  Croatia 56.65
19 4 Tatyana Azarova  Kazakhstan 56.88
20 4 Muna Jabir Adam  Sudan 57.16
21 1 Ieva Zunda  Latvia 57.43
22 1 Lucimar Teodoro  Brazil 57.68
23 4 Josanne Lucas  Trinidad and Tobago 57.76
24 3 Carole Kaboud Mebam  Cameroon 57.81
25 2 Michelle Carey  Ireland 57.99
26 4 Laia Forcadell  Spain 58.64
27 3 Galina Pedan  Kyrgyzstan 1:00.31

Semifinals

Qualification: First 4 in each heat (Q) advance to the Final.

Rank Heat Name Nationality Result Notes
1 1 Sheena Tosta  United States 54.07 Q
2 2 Melaine Walker  Jamaica 54.20 Q
3 1 Tasha Danvers  Great Britain 54.31 Q, SB
4 1 Anna Jesień  Poland 54.36 Q
5 1 Ekaterina Bikert  Russia 54.38 Q
6 2 Anastasiya Rabchenyuk  Ukraine 54.60 Q, PB
7 1 Nickiesha Wilson  Jamaica 54.67
8 1 Anastasiya Ott  Russia 54.74 PB
9 2 Tiffany Ross-Williams  United States 54.99 Q
10 2 Zuzana Hejnová  Czech Republic 55.17 Q
11 2 Aïssata Soulama  Burkina Faso 55.69 SB
12 2 Irina Obedina  Russia 55.69
13 2 Queen Harrison  United States 55.88
14 2 Tsvetelina Kirilova  Bulgaria 55.97
15 1 Satomi Kubokura  Japan 56.69
16 1 Angela Moroșanu  Romania 57.67

Final

Rank Lane Name Nationality Reaction Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 Melaine Walker  Jamaica 0.236 52.64 OR, NR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 Sheena Tosta  United States 0.191 53.70
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 Tasha Danvers  Great Britain 0.189 53.84 PB
4 4 Anastasiya Rabchenyuk  Ukraine 0.248 53.96 PB
5 9 Anna Jesień  Poland 0.206 54.29 SB
6 2 Ekaterina Bikert  Russia 0.193 54.96
7 3 Zuzana Hejnová  Czech Republic 0.195 54.97
8 8 Tiffany Ross-Williams  United States 0.184 57.55

(OR = Olympic record; NR = National Record; PB = Personal Best; SB = Season Best.)