The Women's 400 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on August 27, 28 and 29.

The defending champion was Sanya Richards-Ross and despite her poor form earlier in the season, she ran 49.66 seconds in London just three weeks before the championships. The only faster athlete that year was Russian champion Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, who had run a personal best of 49.35 sec. Three-time 200 m world champion, Allyson Felix, was also challenging for the 400 m title, while Amantle Montsho (ranked third that year) had five straight wins on the Diamond League circuit. Jamaica's Rosemarie Whyte, Novlene Williams-Mills and Shericka Williams were also contenders, as was 2009 third placer Antonina Krivoshapka.Johnson, Len (2011-08-23). Women's 400m - PREVIEW. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-08-23.

The event started in controversy when reigning Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu was disqualified in her preliminary race for a false start. 2011 was the first year of a new IAAF rule allowing no leniency for a false start.

In the final, Montsho was a clear leader off of the turn, with Felix closing fast at the end to make the race close. This was Felix's personal best. Not only was this Montsho's personal best, but also the national record for Botswana. For the bronze medal, Anastasia Kapachinskaya was faster down the final 80 metres to pull away from Francena McCorory, who had run her personal best in the semi-finals.

After the championships, Kapachinskaya was disqualified for a doping violation for having stanozol and turinabol in tests held during the 2008 Olympics. She received a lifetime ban."IOC strips Russia's 2008 4x400 silver medal in doping case". espn.com. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016. In 2017, McCorory was advanced to the bronze medal.

Medalists GoldSilverBronzeAmantle MontshoAllyson Felix Francena McCorory

Records Prior to the competition, the records were as follows:

World record47.60Canberra, Australia 6 October 1985Championship record47.99Helsinki, Finland10 August 1983World Leading49.35Cheboksary, Russia22 July 2011African Record49.10Atlanta, GA, United States29 July 1996Asian Record49.81Beijing, China11 September 1993North, Central American and Caribbean record48.70Athens, Greece16 September 2006South American record49.64Barcelona, Spain5 August 1992European Record47.60Canberra, Australia6 October 1985Oceanian record48.63Atlanta, GA, United States29 July 1996

Qualification standards A timeB time 51.50 52.30

Schedule Date Time RoundAugust 27, 2011 20:05 HeatsAugust 28, 2011 18:55 SemifinalsAugust 29, 2011 21:05 Final

Results KEY:qFastest non-qualifiersQQualifiedNRNational recordPBPersonal bestSBSeasonal best

Heats Qualification: First 4 in each heat (Q) and the next 4 fastest (q) advance to the semifinals.

Rank Heat Name Nationality Time Notes 1 4 Amantle Montsho 50.95 Q 2 1 Novlene Williams-Mills 51.30 Q 3 2 Antonina Yefremova 51.35 Q 4 5 Sanya Richards-Ross 51.37 Q 5 3 Rosemarie Whyte 51.38 Q 6 2 Anastasiya Kapachinskaya 51.43 Q 7 1 Allyson Felix 51.45 Q 8 3 Antonina Krivoshapka 51.52 Q 9 5 Shericka Williams 51.66 Q 10 3 Nataliya Pyhyda 51.67 Q 11 1 Joanne Cuddihy 51.82 Q, SB 12 1 Marta Milani 51.94 Q, SB 13 1 Geisa Coutinho 52.15 q 14 4 Francena McCorory 52.18 Q 15 2 Ndeye Fatou Soumah 52.23 Q 15 3 Fantu Magiso 52.23 Q 17 5 Moa Hjelmer 52.26 Q 18 2 Jessica Beard 52.40 Q 19 5 Denisa Rosolová 52.51 Q 20 5 Nicola Sanders 52.65 q 21 4 Lee McConnell 52.75 Q 22 4 Maris Mägi 52.93 Q 23 4 Norma González 53.35 q 24 3 Racheal Nachula 53.49 q, SB 25 1 Pınar Saka 53.59 25 2 Aliann Pompey 53.59 27 4 Aymée Martínez 53.67 28 3 Daisurami Bonne 53.69 29 2 Tjipekapora Herunga 54.08 30 5 Kseniya Karandyuk 54.10 31 4 Ambwene Simukonda 54.81 32 2 Alaa Hikmat Al-Qaysi 55.62 33 5 Betty Burua 56.98 34 1 Graciela Martins 58.22 PB 35 1 Sandrine Thiébaud-Kangni 59.68 36 3 Evodie Lydie Saramandji SB 3 Christine Ohuruogu

Semifinals Qualification: First 2 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advance to the final.

Rank Heat Name Nationality Time Notes 1 3 Amantle Montsho 50.13 Q 2 2 Francena McCorory 50.24 Q, PB 3 1 Allyson Felix 50.36 Q 4 3 Anastasiya Kapachinskaya 50.41 Q 5 2 Shericka Williams 50.46 Q, SB 6 1 Novlene Williams-Mills 50.48 Q 7 1 Antonina Krivoshapka 50.55 q 8 2 Sanya Richards-Ross 50.66 q 9 2 Antonina Yefremova 50.88 10 3 Rosemarie Whyte 50.90 11 3 Jessica Beard 51.27 12 1 Nataliya Pyhyda 51.61 13 2 Marta Milani 51.86 PB 14 2 Geisa Coutinho 51.87 15 2 Lee McConnell 51.97 16 3 Ndeye Fatou Soumah 52.10 17 2 Norma González 52.29 18 1 Moa Hjelmer 52.35 19 1 Nicola Sanders 52.47 20 3 Denisa Rosolová 52.53 21 1 Maris Mägi 53.27 22 3 Racheal Nachula 53.30 SB 23 1 Fantu Magiso 53.41 3 Joanne Cuddihy

Final Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes 4 Amantle Montsho 49.56 NR 3 Allyson Felix 49.59 PB 5 Francena McCorory 50.45 4 2 Antonina Krivoshapka 50.66 5 7 Shericka Williams 50.79 6 1 Sanya Richards-Ross 51.32 7 8 Novlene Williams-Mills 52.89 — 6 Anastasiya Kapachinskaya 50.24 DSQ

References

External links 400 metres results at IAAF website