2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's 400 metres
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The women's 400 metres at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships took place on the short track of the Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena Toruń in Toruń, Poland, on 20 and 21 March 2026. This was the 22nd time the event was contested at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. Athletes could qualify by achieving the entry standard or by their World Athletics Ranking in the event.
| Women's 400 metres at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena Toruń | |||||||||
| Location | Toruń, Poland | |||||||||
| Dates | 20 March (round 1 & semi-finals) 21 March (final) | |||||||||
| Winning time | 50.76 | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Background
The women's 400 metres was contested 21 times before 2026, at every previous edition of the World Athletics Indoor Championships.
| Record | Athlete (nation) | Time (s) | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World record[1] |  Femke Bol (NED) |
49.17 | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 2 March 2024 |
| Championship record[2] | ||||
| 2026 World Lead[3] |  Ella Onojuvwevwo (NGR) |
50.28 | Fayetteville, United States | 13 March 2026 |
Qualification
For the women's 400 metres, the qualification period ran from 1 November 2025 until 8 March 2026.[4] Athletes could qualify by achieving the entry standard of 51.75 s.[4] Athletes could also qualify by virtue of their World Athletics Ranking for the event or by virtue of their World Athletics Indoor Tour wildcard.[4] There is a target number of 30 athletes.[4]
Results
Round 1
Round 1 scheduled to be held on 20 March, starting at 11:08 (UTC+1) in the morning.[5] First 2 of each heat (Q) plus 2 fastest times (q) qualify to Semi-Final.[6]
Heat 1
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Lieke Klaver | Netherlands |
51.48 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Bassant Hemida |  Egypt |
52.13 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Alessandra Bonora |  Italy |
52.20 | PB |
| 4 | 6 | Yemi Mary John |  Great Britain |
52.28 | |
| [7] | |||||
Heat 2
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Sofia Lavreshina |  Portugal |
51.87 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 5 | Myrte van der Schoot | Netherlands |
51.97 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Rosey Effiong |  United States |
52.13 | |
| 4 | 4 | Annalies Kalma |  New Zealand |
53.03 | |
| [7] | |||||
Heat 3
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Blanca Hervás |  Spain |
52.15 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Zoe Sherar |  Canada |
52.16 [.153] | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Lada Vondrová |  Czech Republic |
52.16 [.155] | |
| 4 | 4 | Louisa Stoney | Great Britain |
52.24 | |
| [7] | |||||
Heat 4
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Natalia Bukowiecka |  Poland |
51.60 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Paula Sevilla | Spain |
51.86 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Bailey Lear | United States |
51.87 | q |
| 4 | 4 | Veronika Drljačić |  Croatia |
52.53 | |
| [7] | |||||
Heat 5
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Mette Baas |  Finland |
51.42 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 5 | Emma Zapletalová |  Slovakia |
51.70 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Wadeline Venlogh |  Haiti |
51.80 | q |
| 4 | 3 | Emma Cannon | Canada |
52.57 | |
| 5 | 2 | De Cassia Ferreira |  Brazil |
55.50 | PB |
| [7] | |||||
Heat 6
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Lurdes Gloria Manuel | Czech Republic |
51.08 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Mercy Oketch |  Kenya |
51.57 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Justyna Święty-Ersetic | Poland |
52.15 | |
| 4 | 4 | Daniela Ledecká | Slovakia |
53.13 | |
| [7] | |||||
Heat 7
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Henriette Jæger |  Norway |
52.29 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Amandine Brossier |  France |
52.30 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Helena Ponette |  Belgium |
52.34 | |
| 4 | 2 | Caitlyn Bobb |  Bermuda |
54.15 | SB |
| 5 | 4 | Julia Ribeiro | Brazil |
54.35 | PB |
| [7] | |||||
Semi-finals
The semi-finals are scheduled to be held on 20 March, starting at 19:42 (UTC+1) in the evening.[5] First 1 of each heat (Q) plus 4 fastest times (q) qualify to Final.
Heat 1
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Lurdes Gloria Manuel | Czech Republic |
50.96 | Q, PB |
| 2 | 5 | Mercy Oketch | Kenya |
51.90 | q |
| 3 | 4 | Bailey Lear | United States |
52.07 | |
| 3 | Emma Zapletalová | Slovakia |
DNS | ||
| [8] | |||||
Heat 2
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Natalia Bukowiecka | Poland |
51.41 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Zoe Sherar | Canada |
51.61 | q |
| 3 | 4 | Myrte van der Schoot | Netherlands |
52.15 | |
| 4 | 6 | Sofia Lavreshina | Portugal |
52.20 | |
| [8] | |||||
Heat 3
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Lieke Klaver | Netherlands |
51.23 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Blanca Hervás | Spain |
51.58 | q |
| 3 | 3 | Amandine Brossier | France |
52.71 | |
| 4 | 4 | Bassant Hemida | Egypt |
53.14 | |
| [8] | |||||
Heat 4
| Place | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Henriette Jæger | Norway |
50.95 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Wadeline Venlogh | Haiti |
52.04 | q |
| 3 | 4 | Paula Sevilla | Spain |
52.19 | |
| 4 | 6 | Mette Baas | Finland |
52.36 | |
| [8] | |||||
Final
The final is scheduled to be held on 21 March, starting at 20:40 (UTC+1) in the evening.[5]
| Place | Heat | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
2 | 5 | Lurdes Gloria Manuel | Czech Republic |
50.76 | PB |
 |
1 | 5 | Natalia Bukowiecka | Poland |
50.83 | NR |
 |
1 | 6 | Lieke Klaver | Netherlands |
51.02 | |
| 4 | 2 | 3 | Wadeline Venlogh | Haiti |
51.07 | NR |
| 5 | 2 | 4 | Mercy Oketch | Kenya |
51.25 | NR |
| 6 | 1 | 4 | Blanca Hervás | Spain |
51.43 | PB |
| 7 | 2 | 6 | Henriette Jæger | Norway |
51.50 | |
| 8 | 1 | 3 | Zoe Sherar | Canada |
51.74 | |
| [9] | ||||||