Men · Sprints · All-Time
400 Metres
43.03
Best mark
World record
43.87
Top 25 cutoff
25 rows
43.65
Median
Of the 25 best-by-athlete marks
9
Countries
USA 15 · RSA 2 · 7 others
Performance distribution
25 athletes from 43.03 to 43.87 · median 43.65
Top 25 cutoff through history
How fast an athlete needed to be to make the list each year
Season lists are not yet published for this event. This chart fills in as they are imported from a permitted source.
World all-time top 25
Best by athlete · updated 1 Sep 2026 · Wikipedia (English) revision of 1 Sep 2026 · methodology
25 rows
| # | Athlete | Country | Mark | Date | Venue | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayde van Niekerk WR | RSA | 43.03 | 14 Aug 2016 | Rio de Janeiro | 24 |
| 2 | Michael Johnson | USA | 43.18 | 26 Aug 1999 | Seville | 31 |
| 3 | Butch Reynolds | USA | 43.29 | 17 Aug 1988 | Zürich | 24 |
| 4 | Samuel Ogazi | NGR | 43.38 | 12 Jun 2026 | Eugene | 20 |
| 5 | Quincy Hall | USA | 43.40 | 7 Aug 2024 | Saint-Denis | 26 |
| 6 | Matthew Hudson-Smith | GBR | 43.44 | 7 Aug 2024 | Saint-Denis | 29 |
| 6 | Collen Kebinatshipi | BOT | 43.44 | 10 Jul 2026 | Monaco | 22 |
| 8 | Jeremy Wariner | USA | 43.45 | 31 Aug 2007 | Osaka | 23 |
| 8 | Michael Norman | USA | 43.45 | 20 Apr 2019 | Torrance | 21 |
| 10 | Steven Gardiner | BAH | 43.48 | 4 Oct 2019 | Doha | 24 |
| 11 | Quincy Watts | USA | 43.50 | 5 Aug 1992 | Barcelona | 22 |
| 12 | Fred Kerley | USA | 43.64 | 27 Jul 2019 | Des Moines | 24 |
| 13 | LaShawn Merritt | USA | 43.65 | 26 Aug 2015 | Beijing | 29 |
| 14 | Champion Allison | USA | 43.70 | 25 Jun 2022 | Eugene | 23 |
| 15 | Isaac Makwala | BOT | 43.72 | 5 Jul 2015 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 29 |
| 15 | Jereem Richards | TTO | 43.72 | 18 Sep 2025 | Tokyo | 31 |
| 17 | Kirani James | GRN | 43.74 | 3 Jul 2014 | Lausanne | 21 |
| 17 | Muzala Samukonga | ZAM | 43.74 | 7 Aug 2024 | Saint-Denis | 21 |
| 19 | Zakithi Nene | RSA | 43.76 | 31 May 2025 | Nairobi | 27 |
| 20 | Danny Everett | USA | 43.81 | 26 Jun 1992 | New Orleans | 25 |
| 21 | Rai Benjamin | USA | 43.83 | 23 Aug 2026 | Chorzów | 29 |
| 22 | Randolph Ross | USA | 43.85 | 11 Jun 2021 | Eugene | |
| 22 | Jacory Patterson | USA | 43.85 | 28 Aug 2025 | Zurich | 25 |
| 24 | Lee Evans | USA | 43.86 | 18 Oct 1968 | Mexico City | 21 |
| 25 | Steve Lewis | USA | 43.87 | 28 Sep 1988 | Seoul | 19 |