Ο δρόμος 400 μέτρων είναι «αγώνας παρατεταμένης ταχύτητας» και αποτελεί ένα από τα πιο ενδιαφέροντα αγωνίσματα του στίβου των Ολυμπιάδων. Τα 400 μέτρα είναι ένα κλασικό αγώνισμα καθώς πρόκειται για ένα από τα 12 αγωνίσματα του στίβου που βρίσκονται συνεχώς στο πρόγραμμα των αγώνων από την Α΄ Ολυμπιάδα του 1896 της Αθήνας.Το αντίστοιχο γυναικείο αγώνισμα διεξάγεται από την Ολυμπιάδα του 1964 στο Τόκιο. (el)
The 400 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 400 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896 but nearly seventy years passed before the introduction of the women's 400 m, which has been held continuously since the 1964 Games. It is the most prestigious 400 m race at elite level. The competition format typically has two qualifying rounds leading to a final race between eight athletes. The Olympic record for the men's race was set in 2016, and the record for the women's race was set in 1996. Wayde van Niekerk holds the men's record of 43.03 seconds, breaking world and Olympic records that had been held by Michael Johnson since 1999 and 1996 respectively. Marie-José Pérec is the women's record holder at 48.25 seconds. The men's world record has been broken several times at the Olympics: in 1912, 1932, 1960, 1968, and 2016. Irena Szewińska is the only person to break the women's world record at the competition, doing so in 1976. Only three athletes have won the event twice: Marie-José Pérec became the first to defend the title in 1996, then Michael Johnson followed with victories in 1996 and 2000, and Shaunae Miller-Uibo successfully defended her 2016 title at Tokyo 2020. No athlete has won more than three medals. Several medalists in the event have also had success in the 200 metres at the Olympics: Johnson, Perec, Szewińska and Valerie Brisco-Hooks have all won titles at both distances. Athletes chosen for the event almost always form part of their nation's team for the 4×400 metres relay at the Olympics. The United States is the most successful nation in the event, with 21 gold medals and 44 medals in total. The next most successful nation is Great Britain. The 1908 men's 400 metres saw the only walkover in Olympic history, as the American finalists refused to compete in the final in protest of the officiating. (en)
Le 400 mètres masculin figure au programme des Jeux olympiques depuis la première édition, en 1896 à Athènes. Les femmes participent à cette épreuve depuis les Jeux de 1964, à Tokyo. Avec deux titres olympiques remportés, l'Américain Michael Johnson est l'athlète masculin le plus couronné dans cette épreuve. Chez les femmes, la Française Marie-José Pérec et la Bahaméenne Shaunae Miller sont les plus couronnées avec deux médailles d'or chacune. Les records olympiques de la discipline sont actuellement détenus par le Sud-africain Wayde van Niekerk, auteur d'un nouveau record du monde en 43 s 03, établi en finale des Jeux olympiques de 2016 à Rio de Janeiro, et par Marie-José Pérec, créditée de 48 s 25 en finale des Jeux olympiques de 1996, à Atlanta. (fr)