The women's 400 metres event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

took place between 13–15 August at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

Summary

Shaunae Miller Shaunae Miller-Uibo (born 15 April 1994) is a Bahamian track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres. She is a two-time Olympic champion after winning the women's 400 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics and again at the 2020 Tokyo ...

of Bahamas was the world leading runner for 2016, followed by 2015 World Champion

Allyson Felix Allyson Michelle Felix (born November 18, 1985) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 me ...

. 2012 Olympic champion

Sanya Richards-Ross Sanya Richards-Ross (née Richards; born February 26, 1985) is a retired Jamaican-American track and field athlete, who competed internationally for the United States in the 400-meter sprint. Her notable accolades in this event include being th ...

had failed to make the American team due to a hamstring injury during the American trials. In qualifying, 2 athletes ran under 51 seconds, American

Phyllis Francis Phyllis Chanez Francis (born May 4, 1992) is an American track and field athlete. She won the gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in the 400 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay events. Prep Francis was a student at Catherine McAuley High Sc ...

and Oluwakemi Adekoya, who ran a Bahraini record. Another Nigerian born Bahraini, 18-year-old

Salwa Eid Naser Salwa Eid Naser (née Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu, born 23 May 1998) is a Nigerian-born Bahraini Sprint (running), sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She was the 2019 World Championships in Athletics, 2019 World champion with the 400 metres# ...

, won her heat in a personal best. In the final, Natasha Hastings made up most of the stagger on one of the favorites,

and held the lead to the halfway point. Miller made up the stagger on

Stephenie Ann McPherson Stephenie Ann McPherson (born 25 November 1988) is a Jamaican track and field athlete, who specializes in the 400 metres. She has won a bronze medal in the event at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, 2013 World Championships, and then p ...

in lane 8 to her outside. Starting about 150 metres into the race, Miller accelerated, passing Hastings before the halfway point in the far turn. In lane 4,

ran an even pace which saw her separate from the athletes inside of her and catching

Shericka Jackson Shericka Jackson, OD (born 16 July 1994) is a Jamaican Sprint (running), sprinter competing in the 100 metres, 100 m, 200 metres, 200 m, and 400 metres, 400 metres. She is the fastest woman alive and second fastest woman of all time in ...

late in the second turn. Coming off the turn, Miller held a clear 2 metre advantage over Hastings, with Felix gaining on Hastings and Jackson more than a metre behind Felix. Hastings was passed by Felix who continued to gain on Miller. In the last few metres as Felix gained on her, Miller started to lean forward trying to get to the finish line. As Felix looked to pass her in the final step, Miller made a last desperate headlong dive across the line. The

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

revealed her shoulders had crossed the line seven hundredths of a second ahead of Felix. Jamaican

finished 3 metres back for bronze. Felix's silver became her seventh Olympic medal. She would later earn two more Olympic gold medals as part of the winning 4x100 meters and 4x400 meters teams, tying her with Merlene Ottey as the most decorated woman in track and field history, with nine Olympic medals.

Records

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

Schedule

All times are

Brasilia Time Time in Brazil is calculated using standard time, and the country (including its offshore islands) is divided into four standard time zones: UTC−02:00, UTC−03:00, UTC−04:00 and UTC−05:00. Time zones Fernando de Noronha time (UTC−02 ...

( UTC-3)

Results

Heats

Qualification rule: First 2 in each heat (Q) and the next 8 fastest (q) advance to the Semifinals

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Heat 5

Heat 6

Heat 7

Heat 8

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Semifinal 3

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics - Women's 400 metres Women's 400 metres

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2016 in women's athletics Women's events at the 2016 Summer Olympics