The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

). For the race, ten

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

of a height of are placed along a straight course of . 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 The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

sprint, the 100 m hurdles begins with athletes in

starting blocks Starting blocks are a device used in the sport of track and field by Sprint (running), sprint athletes to brace their feet against at the start of a race so they do not slip as they stride forward at the sound of the starter's pistol. The blocks ...

. The fastest 100 m hurdlers run the distance in a time of around 12.5 seconds. The

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

set by Tobi Amusan stands at 12.12 seconds.

History

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 The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in 1932 as 80m hurdles. Starting with the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, the women's race was lengthened to 100m hurdles. 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 The Women's World Games were the first international women's sports events in track and field. The games were held four times between 1922 and 1934. They were established by Alice Milliat and the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale ...

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 . 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. 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 The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

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 The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day (formerly two days). The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with t ...

. During the 1960s, some experimental races were run over a distance of 100 metres using hurdles with a height of . During the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

, a decision was made to introduce the 100 m hurdles from 1969, using hurdles with a height of . The first international event in the 100 m hurdles occurred at the European Athletics Championships, which were won by

Karin Balzer Karin Balzer (''née'' Richert; 5 June 1938 – 17 December 2019) was an East German hurdler who competed in the 80 m hurdles event at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics, and in the 100 m hurdles in 1972. She won a gold medal in 1964 and a bronz ...

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 The World Athletics Relays, known as the ''IAAF World Relays'' until 2019, is an international biennial track and field sporting event held by World Athletics where teams from around the world compete in relay races, some of which are not part ...

, a mixed team event, which was instituted in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Masters athletics

A version of the 100 metres hurdles is also used for 50- to 59-year-old men in

Masters athletics Masters Athletics managed by World Masters Athletics is a class of the sport of athletics (sport), athletics for athletes of 35 years of age and over organized by World Masters Athletics. The events include track and field, road running and cross ...

. They run the same spacing as women, which coordinates with existing markings on most tracks, but run over 36-inch (0.914 m) 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.

Milestones

100 m hurdles: *First official time registered with hurdles of reduced height of : Pamela Kilborn, AUS, 26 November 1961 *First official time with hurdles of standard height of : 15.1 seconds, Connie Pettersson, USA, 28 May 1966 *First official world record: 13.3 seconds,

, GDR, 20 June 1969 *First runner under 13 seconds: 12.9 seconds,

, 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 Yordanka Lyubchova Donkova (; born 28 September 1961) is a Bulgarian former hurdling athlete, notable for winning an Olympic gold medal and bronze medal as well as nine medals at European indoor and outdoor championships. Donkova set fou ...

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

All-time top 25

* Correct as of May 2025.

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 12.31: * 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. *

(BUL) ran 12.29 (+3.5) in Lausanne on 24 June 1988. *

Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers ( ; born November 19, 1966) is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 metres, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles. One of the greatest and most decorated female sprinters of all time, she was ...

(USA) ran 12.29 (+2.7) in Eugene, Oregon on 26 May 2002. *

Lolo Jones Lori Susan "Lolo" Jones (born August 5, 1982) is an American hurdler and Bobsleigh, bobsledder who specializes in the 60 metre hurdles, 60-meter and 100-meter hurdles. She won three NCAA titles and garnered 11 All-American honors while at Louisi ...

(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. * Alia Armstrong (USA) ran 12.31 (+2.5) in Eugene, Oregon on 24 July 2022.

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. *

(USA): three World Championships, 1993, 1995, 1999, as well as runner-up at the 1991 and 2001 World Championships. * Sally Pearson (AUS): Olympic victory in 2012, as well as runner-up in 2008. World Championship victories in 2011 and 2017, as well as runner-up in 2013. * Brianna Rollins (USA): Olympic victory in 2016, World Championships 2013. * Danielle Williams (JAM): Two World Championships victories, 2015 and 2023.

Olympic medalists

World Championships medalists

Season's bests

External links

IAAF list of 100-metres-hurdles records in XML

References

{{Portal bar, Athletics Events in track and field Women's athletics Hurdling Summer Olympic disciplines in athletics Articles containing video clips Sprint hurdles 100 (number)