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The women’s 400 metres emerged during the formative years of international women’s athletics, when sprint and middle-distance events were still developing under a mixture of national rules, unofficial meetings and limited international standardization. As with several other women’s events of the early twentieth century, the progression of the best performances reflects a period in which competitive opportunities were expanding rapidly, even before a universally accepted framework for record recognition had been established.

In the event’s early history, performances over 400 metres and 440 yards (402.34 m) were treated within a common record progression. The imperial distance remained especially important in Britain and other English-speaking countries, where many of the leading women’s races were contested over one lap of 440 yards rather than the metric equivalent. For that reason, the historical progression of the women’s 400 metres includes marks achieved at both distances until metric measurements became fully standardized in international athletics.

From 1922 to 1934, official world records in women’s athletics were recognized by the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI), the federation that oversaw women’s international competition before its authority and record lists were absorbed by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF). The transfer of record ratification to the IAAF in the 1930s created a single international framework for the event and marked the beginning of a fully unified world record progression.

The earliest performances show how uneven but fascinating the development of the event was before official standardization. Marks were recorded under different conditions and on both metric and imperial tracks, yet they already reveal the gradual transformation of the women’s long sprint from an experimental discipline into an established championship event.

The FSFI years were crucial in giving the event international legitimacy. During this period, athletes such as Mary Lines, Eileen Edwards, Kinue Hitomi, Nellie Halstead and others drove the record forward, helping to shape the early identity of the women’s one-lap event at a time when women’s athletics was still fighting for recognition within the broader international sporting landscape.

The later transition to IAAF governance coincided with the broader consolidation of women’s athletics and the eventual universal adoption of metric distances. As a result, the women’s 400 metres evolved from a mixed metric-imperial record history into one of the sport’s classic track events, while its early progression remains a valuable record of the era in which 400 metres and 440 yards coexisted at the highest level.

400m women World Record Progression

Performance	Athlete	Country	Date	Location	Competition	Notes
47.60	Marita Koch	GDR	6/10/1985	Canberra	IAAF World Cup
47.99	Jarmila Kratochvílová	TCH	10/8/1983	Helsinki	First World Championships
48.16	Marita Koch	GDR	8/9/1982	Athina	European Championships
48.60	Marita Koch	GDR	4/8/1979	Torino	European Cup, Final A
48.89	Marita Koch	GDR	29/7/1979	Potsdam	National Meeting
48.94	Marita Koch	GDR	31/8/1978	Praha	European Championships
49.03	Marita Koch	GDR	19/8/1978	Potsdam	EC Test
49.19	Marita Koch	GDR	2/7/1978	Leipzig	GDR Championships
49.29	Irena Kirszenstein-Szewińska	POL	29/7/1976	Montreal	The XXI Olympic Games	Since 01/01/1977 the electronic timing in 1/100 second is mandatory
49.75	Irena Kirszenstein-Szewińska	POL	22/6/1976	Bydgoszcz	Kucocinski Memorial
49.77	Christina Brehmer-Lathan	GDR	9/5/1976	Dresden	GDR Cup
50.14	Riitta Salin	FIN	4/9/1974	Roma	European Championships
52.2y	Debra Sepenter	USA	29/6/1974	Bakersfield	AAU Championships
49.9	Irena Kirszenstein-Szewińska	POL	22/6/1974	Warszawa	Kucocinski Memorial	Since 30/8/1974 separate world records lists for manually and electronically measures times were establisjed
52.2y	Kathy Hammond	USA	12/8/1972	Champaign	International Match USA-CAN
51.0	Monika Zehrt	GDR	4/7/1972	Colombes	International Match FRA-GDR
51.0	Marilyn Neufville	JAM	23/7/1970	Edinburgh	Commonwealth Games
51.7	Colette Besson	FRA	18/9/1969	Piraeus	European Championships
51.7	Nicole Duclos	FRA	18/9/1969	Piraeus	European Championships
52.4y	Judith (Judy) Amoore	AUS	27/2/1965	Perth	Australian Championships
53.3y	Betty Cutthebert	AUS	23/3/1963	Brisbane	Australian Championships
53.5y	Betty Cutthebert	AUS	11/3/1963	Melbourne	Moomba Carnival
51.9	Geum-Dan Sin	PRK	23/10/1962	Pyongyang	Meeting	(Sin Kim Dan)
53.4	Mariya Itkina	URS	14/9/1962	Beograd	European Athletics Championships
53.4/53.7y	Mariya Itkina	URS	12/9/1959	Krasnodar	National Meeting
55.6y	Molly Hiscox	GBR	2/8/1959	London	Int. Match GBR-Commowealth
54.3y	Betty Cutthebert	AUS	12/5/1959	Sydney	International Meeting
55.6y	Marise Chamberlain	NZL	14/3/1959	Sydney	New South Wales Championships
55.6	Betty Cutthebert	AUS	17/1/1959	Sydney	National Meeting
56.1y	Marise Chamberlain	NZL	8/3/1958	Christchurch	National Meeting
54.0	Mariya Itkina	URS	8/6/1957	Minsk	National Meeting
55.2	Polina Lazareva	URS	10/5/1957	Moskva	Track hopes Meet
56.3y	Nancy Boyle	AUS	24/2/1957	Sydney	National Meeting
57.0y	Marise Chamberlain	NZL	16/2/1957	Christchurch	National Meeting
57.0y	Marlene Mathews	AUS	6/1/1957	Sydney	National Meeting	later Willard. First record ratified by the IAAF
60.8	Eileen Edwards	GBR	16/7/1924	London	London Olympiades AC Championships
64.4	Mary Lines	GBR	18/8/1923	Bromley	WAAA Championships
64.4	Mary Lines	GBR	17/7/1922	London	London AC evening meeting

See also: [Men’s 200m WR Progression][Women’s 200m WR Progression]