100 metres hurdles

Athletics
100 metres hurdles
A 100 m hurdles race at Atlanta 1996
World records
Women Tobi Amusan (NGR) 12.12 (2022)
Olympic records
Women Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PRI) 12.26 (2021)
World Championship records
Women Tobi Amusan (NGR) 12.12 (2022)

The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 centimetres (33 in) are placed along a straight course of 100 metres (109.36 yd). The first hurdle is placed after a run-up of 13 metres from the starting line. The next 9 hurdles are set at a distance of 8.5 metres from each other, and the home stretch from the last hurdle to the finish line is 10.5 metres long. The hurdles are set up so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner, but weighted so this is disadvantageous. Fallen hurdles do not count against runners provided that they do not run into them on purpose. Like the 100 metres sprint, the 100 m hurdles begins with athletes in starting blocks.

The fastest 100 m hurdlers run the distance in well under 13 seconds. The world record set by Tobi Amusan stands at 12.12 seconds.

History

Cornelia Oschkenat (nearest camera), Heike Theele, and Kerstin Knabe (1986)

The race started back in the 1830s in England where wooden barriers were placed along a 100-yard stretch. The hurdles event was included as part of the inaugural Women's World Games in 1922, and made its first appearance in the Olympic Games in 1932 as 80m hurdles.

Starting with the 1972 Summer Olympics, the women's race was lengthened to 100m hurdles.[1]

The hurdles sprint race has been run by women since the beginning of women's athletics, just after the end of World War I. The distances and hurdle heights varied widely in the beginning. While the men had zeroed in on the 110 m hurdles, the International Women's Sport Federation had registered records for eight different disciplines by 1926 (60 yards/75 cm height, 60 yards/61 cm, 65 yards/75 cm, 83 yards/75 cm, 100 yards/75 cm, 100 yards/61 cm, 120 yards/75 cm, 110 metres/75 cm). At the first Women's World Games in 1922, a 100 m hurdles race was run.

From 1926 until 1968, the distance was 80 metres: women had to clear eight hurdles placed at a distance of 8 metres from each other and a height of 76.2 centimetres (30 in).

Just like with the men's races, until 1935 no more than three hurdles could be knocked over, or the runner was disqualified, and records were only officially registered if the runner had cleared all her hurdles clean.

In 1935, this rule was abandoned, and L-shaped hurdles were introduced that fell over forward easily and greatly reduced the risk of injury to the runner. Hurdles are weighted, so when properly set for the height (for women, closer to the fulcrum of the "L"), they serve as a consistent disadvantage to making contact with the barrier.

Comparison of 80 m and 100 m hurdles
Distance Number
of hurdles
Height Distance made up of
Runup Intervals Home stretch
80 m 8 76.2 cm 12 m 8.0 m 12.0 m
100 m 10 83.8 cm 13 m 8.5 m 10.5 m

The 80 m hurdles was on the list of women's sports demanded by the International Women's Sport Federation for the Olympic Summer Games in 1928, but was not included as an Olympic discipline until 1932. Starting with 1949, the 80 m hurdles was one of the disciplines included in the women's pentathlon.

During the 1960s, some experimental races were run over a distance of 100 metres using hurdles with a height of 76.2 centimetres (30 in). During the 1968 Summer Olympics, a decision was made to introduce the 100 m hurdles from 1969, using hurdles with a height of 83.8 centimetres (33 in).

The first international event in the 100 m hurdles occurred at the European Athletics Championships, which were won by Karin Balzer of the GDR.

The modern 100 m race has an extra two hurdles compared to the 80 m race, which are higher and spaced slightly further apart. The home stretch is shorter by 1.5 m.

Currently, women run 110 m hurdles at the World Athletics Relays, a mixed team event, which was instituted in 2019.

Masters athletics

A version of the 100 metres hurdles is also used for 50- to 59-year-old men in Masters athletics. They run the same spacing as women, which coordinates with existing markings on most tracks, but run over 91.4 cm (36 in) hurdles. In the 60-69 age range, the spacings are changed. Women over age 40 and men over age 70 run 80 metre versions with different heights and spacings.[2][3]

Milestones

100 m hurdles:

  • First official time registered with hurdles of reduced height of 76.2 centimetres (30 in): Pamela Kilborn, AUS, 26 November 1961
  • First official time with hurdles of standard height of 83.8 centimetres (33 in): 15.1 seconds, Connie Pettersson, USA, 28 May 1966
  • First official world record: 13.3 seconds, Karin Balzer, GDR, 20 June 1969
  • First runner under 13 seconds: 12.9 seconds, Karin Balzer, GDR, 5 September 1969
  • First runner under 12.5 seconds:
    • 12.3 seconds, Annelie Ehrhardt GDR, 20 July 1973 (last hand timed world record; electronically timed at 12.68 seconds)
    • 12.48 seconds, Grażyna Rabsztyn, POL, 10 June 1978
  • First runner under 12.3 seconds: 12.29 seconds, Yordanka Donkova BUL, 17 August 1986
  • First runner under 12.2 seconds: 12.12 seconds, Tobi Amusan NGR, 24 July 2022. 12.06 seconds (wind aided) Tobi Amusan NGR, 24 July 2022.
  • First country to win gold, silver, and bronze in the women's 100 m hurdles in one Olympics: USA (Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin), 2016; this was also the first time American women achieved such a sweep in any Olympic event[4]

All-time top 25

Table shows data for two definitions of "Top 25" - the top 25 100m hurdles times and the top 25 athletes:
- denotes top performance for athletes in the top 25 100m hurdles times
- denotes lesser performances, still in the top 25 100m hurdles times, by repeat athletes
- denotes top performance (only) for other top 25 athletes who fall outside the top 25 100m hurdles times
  • Correct as of September 2025.[5]
Ath.# Perf.# Time (s) Wind (m/s) Reaction (s) Athlete Nation Date Place Ref.
1 1 12.12 +0.9 0.144 Tobi Amusan  Nigeria 24 July 2022 Eugene [6][7]
2 2 12.17 +2.0 Masai Russell  United States 2 May 2025 Miramar [8][9]
3 3 12.19 +2.0 Tia Jones  United States 2 May 2025 Miramar [8][9]
3 12.19 +1.4 0.150 Russell #2 16 August 2025 Chorzów [10]
4 5 12.20 +0.3 0.149 Kendra Harrison  United States 22 July 2016 London [11]
5 6 12.21 +0.7 Yordanka Donkova  Bulgaria 20 August 1988 Stara Zagora
+0.7 0.146 Grace Stark  United States 20 June 2025 Paris [12]
8 12.22 +0.7 Russell #3 2 August 2025 Eugene [13]
9 12.24 +0.9 Donkova #2 28 August 1988 Stara Zagora
+0.7 Harrison #2 28 May 2016 Eugene
+0.1 0.155 Harrison #3 22 August 2023 Budapest [14]
7 9 12.24 −0.4 0.153 Ackera Nugent  Jamaica 30 August 2024 Rome [15]
9 12.24 +0.7 0.131 Amusan #2 20 June 2025 Paris [12]
7 9 12.24 +1.4 0.129 Tonea Marshall  United States 16 August 2025 Chorzów [10]
−0.1 0.146 Ditaji Kambundji   Switzerland 15 September 2025 Tokyo [16]
10 16 12.25 +1.4 Ginka Zagorcheva  Bulgaria 8 August 1987 Drama
16 12.25 +0.7 Russell #4 30 June 2024 Eugene [17]
+1.5 Russell #5 2 August 2025 Eugene [18]
+1.4 0.156 Amusan #3 16 August 2025 Chorzów [10]
20 12.26 +1.5 Donkova #3 7 September 1986 Ljubljana
11 20 12.26 +1.7 Ludmila Narozhilenko  Russia 6 June 1992 Seville
+1.2 Brianna Rollins  United States 22 June 2013 Des Moines [19]
−0.2 0.172 Jasmine Camacho-Quinn  Puerto Rico 1 August 2021 Tokyo [20][21]
24 12.27 −1.2 Donkova #4 28 August 1988 Stara Zagora
+0.9 0.155 Harrison #4 24 July 2022 Eugene [6][22]
+0.1 0.166 Camacho-Quinn #2 2 September 2022 Brussels [23][24]
14 12.28 +1.1 0.145 Sally Pearson  Australia 3 September 2011 Daegu [25]
+1.1 0.148 Nadine Visser  Netherlands 16 August 2025 Chorzów [26]
16 12.30 +0.6 0.153 Nia Ali  United States 21 July 2023 Monaco [27]
17 12.31 +0.3 0.143 Britany Anderson  Jamaica 24 July 2022 Eugene [6][28]
+0.8 0.150 Cyréna Samba-Mayela  France 8 June 2024 Rome [29]
+0.7 Alaysha Johnson  United States 30 June 2024 Eugene [17]
+1.4 0.122 Danielle Williams  Jamaica 16 August 2025 Chorzów [10]
21 12.32 +1.4 0.149 Alia Armstrong  United States 16 August 2025 Chorzów [10]
22 12.33 −0.3 Gail Devers  United States 23 July 2000 Sacramento
23 12.34 +1.9 Sharika Nelvis  United States 26 June 2015 Eugene [30]
+0.1 Megan Tapper  Jamaica 29 June 2025 Kingston [31]
25 12.35 +0.9 Jasmin Stowers  United States 15 May 2015 Doha [32]

Assisted marks

Any performance with a following wind of more than 2.0 metres per second does not count for record purposes. Below is a list of all wind-assisted times equal or superior to 12.30:

  • Tobi Amusan (NGR) ran 12.06 (+2.5) in Eugene, Oregon on 24 July 2022.
  • Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR) ran 12.17 (+3.5) in Devonshire, Bermuda on 21 May 2023, 12.23 (+2.5) in Eugene, Oregon on 24 July 2022, and 12.27 (+2.4) on 8 August 2022 in Székesfehérvár.
  • Britany Anderson (JAM) ran 12.23 (+2.5) in Eugene, Oregon on 24 July 2022.
  • Cornelia Oschkenat (GDR) ran 12.28 (+2.7) in Berlin on 25 August 1987.
  • Yordanka Donkova (BUL) ran 12.29 (+3.5) in Lausanne on 24 June 1988.
  • Gail Devers (USA) ran 12.29 (+2.7) in Eugene, Oregon on 26 May 2002.
  • Lolo Jones (USA) ran 12.29 (+3.8) in Eugene, Oregon on 6 July 2008.
  • Kendra Harrison (USA) ran 12.29 (+2.8) in New York City on 24 June 2023
  • Brianna Rollins (USA) ran 12.30 (+2.8) in Des Moines, Iowa on 22 June 2013.
  • Alaysha Johnson (USA) ran 12.30 (+2.8) in New York City on 24 June 2023.

Most successful athletes

  • Shirley Strickland (AUS): two Olympic victories, 1952 and 1956 in the 80 m hurdles.
  • Ludmila Narozhilenko-Engquist (URS)/(RUS)/(SWE): Olympic victory, 1996, two World Championship victories, 1991 and 1997.
  • Gail Devers (USA): three World Championships, 1993, 1995, 1999, as well as runner-up at the 1991 and 2001 World Championships.[33]
  • Sally Pearson (AUS): Olympic victory in 2012, as well as runner-up in 2008.[34] World Championship victories in 2011 and 2017, as well as runner-up in 2013.[35]
  • Brianna Rollins (USA): Olympic victory in 2016, World Championships 2013.
  • Danielle Williams (JAM): Two World Championships victories, 2015 and 2023.

Olympic medalists

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1972 Munich
Annelie Ehrhardt
 East Germany
Valeria Bufanu
 Romania
Karin Balzer
 East Germany
1976 Montreal
Johanna Schaller
 East Germany
Tatyana Anisimova
 Soviet Union
Natalya Lebedeva
 Soviet Union
1980 Moscow
Vera Komisova
 Soviet Union
Johanna Klier
 East Germany
Lucyna Langer
 Poland
1984 Los Angeles
Benita Fitzgerald
 United States
Shirley Strong
 Great Britain
Michèle Chardonnet
 France
Kim Turner
 United States
1988 Seoul
Yordanka Donkova
 Bulgaria
Gloria Siebert
 East Germany
Claudia Zaczkiewicz
 West Germany
1992 Barcelona
Voula Patoulidou
 Greece
LaVonna Martin
 United States
Yordanka Donkova
 Bulgaria
1996 Atlanta
Ludmila Engquist
 Sweden
Brigita Bukovec
 Slovenia
Patricia Girard
 France
2000 Sydney
Olga Shishigina
 Kazakhstan
Glory Alozie
 Nigeria
Melissa Morrison
 United States
2004 Athens
Joanna Hayes
 United States
Olena Krasovska
 Ukraine
Melissa Morrison
 United States
2008 Beijing
Dawn Harper
 United States
Sally Pearson
 Australia
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep
 Canada
2012 London
Sally Pearson
 Australia
Dawn Harper
 United States
Kellie Wells
 United States
2016 Rio de Janeiro
Brianna Rollins
 United States
Nia Ali
 United States
Kristi Castlin
 United States
2020 Tokyo
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn
 Puerto Rico
Kendra Harrison
 United States
Megan Tapper
 Jamaica
2024 Paris
Masai Russell
 United States
Cyréna Samba-Mayela
 France
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn
 Puerto Rico

World Championships medalists

Championships Gold Silver Bronze
1983 Helsinki
 Bettine Jahn (GDR)  Kerstin Knabe (GDR)  Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL)
1987 Rome
 Ginka Zagorcheva (BUL)  Gloria Uibel (GDR)  Cornelia Oschkenat (GDR)
1991 Tokyo
 Ludmila Narozhilenko (URS)  Gail Devers (USA)  Nataliya Grygoryeva (URS)
1993 Stuttgart
 Gail Devers (USA)  Marina Azyabina (RUS)  Lynda Tolbert-Goode (USA)
1995 Gothenburg
 Gail Devers (USA)  Olga Shishigina (KAZ)  Yuliya Graudyn (RUS)
1997 Athens
 Ludmila Engquist (SWE)  Svetla Dimitrova (BUL)  Michelle Freeman (JAM)
1999 Seville
 Gail Devers (USA)  Glory Alozie (NGR)  Ludmila Engquist (SWE)
2001 Edmonton
 Anjanette Kirkland (USA)  Gail Devers (USA)  Olga Shishigina (KAZ)
2003 Saint-Denis
 Perdita Felicien (CAN)  Brigitte Foster-Hylton (JAM)  Miesha McKelvy (USA)
2005 Helsinki
 Michelle Perry (USA)  Delloreen Ennis-London (JAM)  Brigitte Foster-Hylton (JAM)
2007 Osaka
 Michelle Perry (USA)  Perdita Felicien (CAN)  Delloreen Ennis-London (JAM)
2009 Berlin
 Brigitte Foster-Hylton (JAM)  Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (CAN)  Delloreen Ennis-London (JAM)
2011 Daegu
 Sally Pearson (AUS)  Danielle Carruthers (USA)  Dawn Harper (USA)
2013 Moscow
 Brianna Rollins (USA)  Sally Pearson (AUS)  Tiffany Porter (GBR)
2015 Beijing
 Danielle Williams (JAM)  Cindy Roleder (GER)  Alina Talay (BLR)
2017 London
 Sally Pearson (AUS)  Dawn Harper-Nelson (USA)  Pamela Dutkiewicz (GER)
2019 Doha
 Nia Ali (USA)  Kendra Harrison (USA)  Danielle Williams (JAM)
2022 Eugene
 Tobi Amusan (NGR)  Britany Anderson (JAM)  Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR)
2023 Budapest
 Danielle Williams (JAM)  Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR)  Kendra Harrison (USA)
2025 Tokyo
 Ditaji Kambundji (CHE)  Tobi Amusan (NGR)  Grace Stark (USA)

World leading times

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Hurdles 101". www.trackinfo.org.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: US women sweep medals in 100m hurdles - BBC News". Bbc.com. 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  5. ^ "All-time women's best 100m hurdles". alltime-athletics.com. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
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  8. ^ a b "Grand Slam Miami - Stats and Standings". Grand Slam Track. 3 May 2025. Archived from the original on 2 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
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  34. ^ "Sally Pearson". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  35. ^ "Pearson, world champion and 2012 Olympic 100m hurdles gold medallist, retires| News". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved 13 August 2020.