Womens's 400m Finals LONDON SUMMER OLYMPICS 2012 (Shorter Video)
The basics
The 400m starts with a staggered bend, with athletes running a full circuit of the track.
Competition format
The
competition starts with heats. The number of heats and the number of
athletes progressing to the next round depends on the number of athletes
competing. In each heat the fastest athletes go through, as well as a
set number of the fastest losers across all the heats. The following
rounds run on the same format, until eight athletes are through to
compete in the final.
The draw to determine which heat
athletes run in is decided by their initial seedings (based on previous
performance) for the first round, and then their performances after
that. This ensures that the highest seeded athletes are not drawn in the
same heat.
In the first round, an athlete's lane
allocation is drawn by lot, and in subsequent rounds it is dependent on
their performance. The highest-seeded athletes are drawn in the centre
lanes.
Keys to success
In sprint races, the time
separating athletes can be as little as one hundredth of a second,
requiring a photo finish. A good start is crucial, as is technique while
running and the quality of the finish. The winning athletes must be
relaxed but perfectly focused on their race.
Breaking the rules
The
most dramatic error for spectators, and arguably the most cruel for
athletes, is the false start. Once in the set position on the blocks,
any athlete moves off the starting blocks either before the gun has
fired or within 0.10 sec of the gun firing is disqualified. Athletes can
also be penalised for running out of their lane or obstructing another
athlete.
Results:
1 United States of America RICHARDS-ROSS Sanya 49.55
2 Great Britain OHURUOGU Christine 49.70
3 United States of America TROTTER DeeDee 49.72
4 Botswana MONTSHO Amantle 49.75
5 Jamaica WILLIAMS-MILLS Novlene 50.11
6 Russian Federation KRIVOSHAPKA Antonina 50.17
7 United States of America MCCORORY Francena 50.33
8 Jamaica WHYTE Rosemarie 50.79
