2022 World Athletics Championships – Women's 400 metres hurdles



The women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from 19 to 22 July 2022. It was won by Sydney McLaughlin in a world record time of 50.68 seconds. The winning margin was 1.59 seconds which as of 2024 stands as the greatest winning margin for the women's 400 metres hurdles at these championships.

Qualification
The standard to qualify automatically for entry was 55.40.

Round 1
The five heats of round 1 were held on 19 July, starting at 17:15 (UTC-7) in the afternoon. The first four athletes in each heat (Q) and the next four fastest athletes (q) qualify to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals
The three heats of the semi-finals were held on 20 July, starting at 18:15 (UTC-7). The first two athletes in each heat (Q) and the next two fastest athletes (q) qualify to the final.

Final
The final was held on 22 July, starting at 19:50 (UTC-7) in the evening.

There were high expectations for this final. The podium from the Olympics returned, who were the top three in history from that race, except that Sydney McLaughlin had improved upon her own world record at the American Championships on this track en route to qualifying for these Championships. She had already set that record in the US Olympic Trials and the Olympics. In most of those races, she was chased by the former record holder, defending champion Dalilah Muhammad, who set her last record in that race three years earlier, .07 ahead of McLaughlin who was then still a teenager. The Olympic bronze medalist Femke Bol is even younger than McLaughlin. Those three occupied the center of the track along with #5 all time Shamier Little. #22 Anna Ryzhykova and #24 Britton Wilson were on the outside lanes of the track.

From the gun, McLaughlin was out fast, making ups the stagger on the fast starting Muhammad before the fourth hurdle and opening a huge gap in front of Bol. Officially McLaughlin's split was 24.25 with her second 100 metres in 11.99. And McLaughlin kept going, 12.77 for the third 100m, splitting at 37.02. Behind her it was a battle for silver and Bol edged ahead of Muhammad. McLaughlin continued to charge, 13.66 for the final 100m, crossing the line 11 metres ahead of Bol with a new world record of 50.68. Bol's time of 52.27 equalled her own second best time, the #12 time in history (McLaughlin owns seven of them, Muhammad three). Five metres further back, Muhammad took bronze still three metres clear of Little and Wilson. McLaughlin's result would have beaten two finalists in the "flat" 400 metre run.

McLaughlin's 0.73 improvement on her own world record was called Beamonesque. Since 2019, when Yuliya Pechonkina's world record had stood for almost 16 years, first Muhammad and now McLaughlin have taken one and two thirds seconds off the former mark, with McLaughlin after this race 0.9, almost a full second clear of Muhammad.