The women's 400 metres was held over two rounds at the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary on 11 and 12 September 2026. It was the first time the World Ultimate Championship is held. Athletes qualified by wildcard or by their world ranking.
Background + Global records before the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship Record Athlete (nation) Location Date World record 47.60 Canberra, Australia 6 October 1985 World lead 48.48 Paris, France 28 June 2026
+ Area records before the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship Record Athlete (nation) Location Date African record 49.10 Atlanta, United States 29 July 1996 Asian record 48.14 Doha, Qatar 3 October 2019 European record 47.60 Canberra, Australia 6 October 1985 North, Central American,and Caribbean record 47.78 Tokyo, Japan 18 September 2025 Oceanian record 48.63 Atlanta, United States 29 July 1996 South American record 49.64 Barcelona, Spain 5 August 1992
Qualification For the 400 metres, sixteen athletes qualified, up to three by wildcard for winners of the event at the 2024 Summer Olympic, the 2025 World Athletics Championships, or the 2026 Diamond League final and the others by their position at the World Athletics Rankings for the event on 3 September 2026.
Results Semi-finals The semi-finals were held on 11 September at 19:38 (UTC+2). First 4 of each heat () qualified to the final.
Heat 1 Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 6 Marileidy Paulino 49.58 2 8 Salwa Eid Naser 49.67 3 7 Nickisha Pryce 49.72 4 5 Roxana Gómez 50.34 5 9 Yemi Mary John 50.38 6 4 Ella Onojuvwevwo 50.50 7 3 Sharlene Mawdsley 51.28 8 2 Alexis Holmes 51.60
Heat 2 Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 8 Henriette Jæger 49.64 2 4 Lieke Klaver 49.76 3 7 Aaliyah Butler 49.82 4 3 Martina Weil 50.32 , 5 5 Natalia Bukowiecka 50.40 6 6 Lurdes Gloria Manuel 50.43 7 9 Stacey-Ann Williams 50.52 8 2 Mercy Oketch 52.94
Final The final was held on 12 September at 18:08 (UTC+2).
Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes 7 Marileidy Paulino 49.07 2 8 Henriette Jæger 49.28 3 9 Nickisha Pryce 49.56 4 5 Lieke Klaver 49.91 5 3 Martina Weil 50.00 6 4 Aaliyah Butler 50.12 7 2 Roxana Gómez 50.21 8 6 Salwa Eid Naser 50.22
References