Women · World record

400 Metres

The current record and its documented progression: 26 ratified records from 1957 to 1985.

Current record

47.60

Marita KochGDRCanberra · 6 Oct 1985

40 years standing0.39 s improvementAll-time top 25 →

Record progression

Each step is a documented record; red marks the fully automatic timing era

1957 · 57.0 Marlene Mathews1957 · 57.0 Marise Chamberlain1957 · 56.3 Nancy Boyle1957 · 55.2 Polina Lazareva1957 · 54.0 Mariya Itkina1957 · 53.6 Mariya Itkina1959 · 53.4 Mariya Itkina1962 · 53.4 Mariya Itkina1962 · 51.9 Shin Geum-Dan1969 · 51.7 Nicole Duclos1969 · 51.7 Colette Besson1970 · 51.0 Marilyn Neufville1972 · 51.0 Monika Zehrt1974 · 49.9 Irena Szewińska1974 · 50.14 Riitta Salin1976 · 49.77 Christina Brehmer1976 · 49.75 Irena Szewińska1976 · 49.29 Irena Szewińska1978 · 49.19 Marita Koch1978 · 49.03 Marita Koch1978 · 48.94 Marita Koch1979 · 48.89 Marita Koch1979 · 48.60 Marita Koch1982 · 48.16 Marita Koch1983 · 47.99 Jarmila Kratochvílová1985 · 47.60 Marita Koch 47.6057.00

19571959 · Itkina 53.41974 · Szewińska 49.91978 · Koch 49.031985 · Koch 47.60

Documented records

26 ratified · most recent first · Wikipedia (EN) revision 1353984135, imported 2 Sep 2026

MarkAthleteNationVenueDateStood
49.9 Irena Szewińska POL Warsaw, Poland 22 Jun 1974 74 d
51.0 Monika Zehrt GDR Paris, France 4 Jul 1972 1 yr
51.0 Marilyn Neufville JAM Edinburgh, United Kingdom 23 Jul 1970 1 yr
51.7 Colette Besson FRA Athens, Greece 18 Sep 1969 308 d
51.7 Nicole Duclos FRA Athens, Greece 18 Sep 1969 0 d
51.9 Shin Geum-Dan PRK Pyongyang, North Korea 23 Oct 1962 6 yrs
53.4 Mariya Itkina URS Belgrade, Yugoslavia 14 Sep 1962 39 d
53.4 Mariya Itkina URS Krasnodar, Soviet Union 12 Sep 1959 3 yrs
53.6 Mariya Itkina URS Moscow, Soviet Union 6 Jul 1957 2 yrs
54.0 Mariya Itkina URS Minsk, Soviet Union 8 Jun 1957 28 d
55.2 Polina Lazareva URS Moscow, Soviet Union 10 May 1957 29 d
56.3 Nancy Boyle AUS Sydney, Australia 24 Feb 1957 75 d
57.0 Marise Chamberlain NZL Christchurch, New Zealand 16 Feb 1957 8 d
57.0 Marlene Mathews AUS Sydney, Australia 6 Jan 1957 41 d

Rows link to a profile only where the athlete appears on a published list. Struck marks were rescinded or never ratified, and A marks a performance at altitude; both come from the source article's own key and markers, and eras are kept as it lists them. Nothing is inferred.