The first world record in the 400 m for women (athletics) was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the World Athletics, in 1957.
To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 27 world records in the event. Their 2009 record progression list, however, lists 26 records.
Indoor Indoor records are run over two laps of a shorter 200 metres track. "y" indicates marks were set over the imperial distance, and an asterisk indicates a record was repeated. All records since Kratochvílová's 49.59 in 1982 were ratified by the IAAF.
+ Women's indoor 400 metres world record progression Time Athlete Nationality Location of race Date Manual timing 59.2 Nadezhda Smirnova Leningrad, Soviet Union 17 March 1951 58.6 Polina Solopova Leningrad, Soviet Union 1 March 1953 58.1 Helga Henning Stuttgart, West Germany 11 March 1961 56.5* Margarete Buscher West Berlin 9 March 1963 56.5 Helga Henning West Berlin 9 March 1963 55.8y Judith Pollock San Francisco, United States 9 January 1965 55.6y Judith Pollock Boston, United States 16 January 1965 55.6y Judith Pollock New York City, United States 28 January 1965 54.0 Janell Smith West Berlin 7 April 1965 54.0* Colette Besson Belgrade, Yugoslavia 8 March 1969 Automatic timing 55.29 Natalia Pechonkina Madrid, Spain 9 March 1968 53.01 Marylin Neufville Vienna, Austria 14 March 1970 52.44 Nadezhda Ilyina Gothenburg, Sweden 10 March 1974 52.28 Rita Wilden Dortmund, West Germany 7 February 1976 52.26 Rita Wilden Munich, West Germany 22 February 1976 51.80 Marita Koch Milan, Italy 24 February 1977 51.57 Marita Koch Milan, Italy 24 February 1977 51.14 Marita Koch San Sebastián, Spain 13 March 1977 49.64 Jarmila Kratochvílová Vienna, Austria 28 January 1981 49.59 Jarmila Kratochvílová Milan, Italy 7 March 1982 49.26 Femke Bol Apeldoorn, Netherlands 19 February 2023 49.24 Femke Bol Apeldoorn, Netherlands 18 February 2024 49.17 Femke Bol Glasgow, United Kingdom 2 March 2024
Outdoor Record progression 1957–1974
Time Auto Athlete Nationality Location of race Date57.0Marlene Mathews Sydney, Australia6 January 195757.0Marise ChamberlainChristchurch, New Zealand16 February 195756.3Nancy BoyleSydney, Australia24 February 195755.2Polina LazarevaMoscow, Soviet Union10 May 195754.0Mariya ItkinaMinsk, Soviet Union8 June 195753.6Mariya ItkinaMoscow, Soviet Union6 July 195753.4Mariya ItkinaKrasnodar, Soviet Union12 September 195953.4Mariya ItkinaBelgrade, Yugoslavia14 September 196251.9Shin Geum-DanPyongyang, North Korea23 October 196251.751.72Nicole DuclosAthens, Greece18 September 196951.751.74Colette BessonAthens, Greece18 September 196951.051.02Marilyn NeufvilleEdinburgh, United Kingdom23 July 197051.051.08Monika ZehrtParis, France4 July 197249.9Irena SzewińskaWarsaw, Poland22 June 1974
(y) indicates time for 440 yards (402.34 metres), ratified as a record for this event (+) plus sign denotes en route time during longer race
The "Time" column indicates the ratified mark; the "Auto" column indicates a fully automatic time that was also recorded in the event when hand-timed marks were used for official records, or which was the basis for the official mark, rounded to the 10th of a second, depending on the rules then in place.
Record progression from 1975
From 1975, the IAAF accepted separate automatically electronically timed records for events up to 400 metres. Starting January 1, 1977, the IAAF required fully automatic timing to the hundredth of a second for these events.
Riitta Salin's 50.14 from 1974 was the fastest recorded result to that time.
Time Athlete Nationality Location of race DateDuration of record50.14Riitta SalinRome, Italy4 September 197449.77Christina BrehmerDresden, East Germany9 May 197649.75Irena SzewińskaBydgoszcz, Poland22 June 197649.29Irena SzewińskaMontreal, Canada29 July 197649.19Marita KochLeipzig, East Germany2 July 197849.03Marita KochPotsdam, East Germany19 August 197848.94Marita KochPrague, Czechoslovakia31 August 197848.89Marita KochPotsdam, East Germany29 July 197948.60Marita KochTurin, Italy4 August 197948.16Marita KochAthens, Greece8 September 198247.99Jarmila KratochvílováHelsinki, Finland10 August 198347.60*Marita KochCanberra, Australia6 October 1985 *Koch's record of 47.60 still stands as the fastest 400m ever run by a woman, although this is controversial. As Yahoo! Sports summarized in 2025, leaked documents from East Germany "specified dosages and dates for Koch's alleged use of the steroid Oral-Turinabol. Despite that, Koch has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, telling the BBC in 2014 that she has 'a clear conscience.' ... Track and field's governing body can't remove Koch's record because she never tested positive for banned substances and because the World Anti-Doping Association's 10-year statute of limitations has long expired." Had Koch's record previously been removed or if she were to admit to using PEDs, which would allow for the record to be retroactively revoked, the new record in the women's 400m would be held by American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, a former hurdler, who recorded a 47.78 on 18 September 2025 at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo.
References