Dalilah Muhammad
American hurdler (born 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dalilah Muhammad (born February 7, 1990)[1] is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 400 meters hurdles. She is the 2016 Rio Olympic champion and 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, becoming at the latter the then-second-fastest woman of all time in the event with her personal best of 51.58 seconds.[2]
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Muhammad was second at both the 2013 and 2017 World Championships before taking her first World Championship gold in 2019, setting the former world record of 52.16 s. She also won a bronze medal in 2022. She was the second female 400 m hurdler in history, after Sally Gunnell, to have won the Olympic, World titles and broken the world record. At both the 2019 World Championships and Tokyo Games, she also took gold as part of women's 4 × 400 metres relay team. In 2019, she was named the Female Athlete of the Year by World Athletics.
Muhammad won the 400 m hurdles at the 2007 World Youth Championships, and placed second in the event at the 2009 Pan American Junior Championships. Collegiately, she ran for the USC Trojans, for whom she was a four-time All-American at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She also won the American title in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2025 whilst also becoming the Diamond League champion in 2017 and 2018. She first broke the 400 m hurdles world record at the 2019 US Championships with a time of 52.20 s, before surpassing that time by running 52.16 s later that year.
Early life
Dalilah Muhammad was born February 7, 1990, in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, to parents Nadirah and Askia Muhammad.[3][4]
Athletic career
High school and college track
Dalilah Muhammad competed in various track and field events at high school, including the hurdles, sprints, and high jump. While at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens, she won the 2008 New York State and Nike Outdoor Nationals titles in the 400 m hurdles.[5] During that period, she also gained her first international experience. At the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics, she took the 400 m hurdles gold medal.[6] Muhammad earned 2007 Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year for New York State.[7]
In 2008, she enrolled at the University of Southern California on a sports scholarship, majoring in business. Joining the USC Trojans track team, she competed extensively in her first season. At the Pacific-10 Conference meet, she was runner-up in the 400 m hurdles, fourth in the 4 × 400-meter relay, and also set a personal record of 13.79 seconds as a finalist in the 100-meter hurdles.[8] The NCAA Outdoor Championship saw her set a 400 m hurdles best of 56.49 seconds and finish in third place in the final. She won the national junior title that year and was the silver medallist at the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships.[9] In her second year at USC, she was a runner-up at the Pac-10 championships but narrowly missed out on the NCAA final. The 2011 outdoor season saw her repeat her Pac-10-second place, and a personal record of 56.04 seconds in the NCAA semi-finals led to a sixth-place finish in the 400 m hurdles final.[5]
In 2012, she set personal records in the sprint hurdles events, running 8.23 seconds for the 60-meter hurdles and 13.33 seconds for the 100 m hurdles. She ranked fifth in the latter event at the Pac-12 meet, where she placed third in the 400 m hurdles. She was again an NCAA finalist in her speciality, coming in fifth, and she also participated in the heats at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials.[8] She ended her career as a USC Trojan athlete as the school's third fastest ever 400 m hurdler and a four-time NCAA All-American.[5]
Professional
2013: US 400mH champion and world silver medallist
After graduating from USC, Muhammad chose to compete professionally in the 400 m hurdles. In March of that year, she improved her personal best to 55.97 s in winning the Pasadena Games in California.[10] She further improved her personal best by over a second at the Irvine Steve Scott Invitational, running 54.94 s on 28 April. She made her Diamond League debut on 18 May, finishing fourth in Shanghai, in another personal best of 54.74 s.[11] She finished third at the Bislett Games on 13 June, further improving her personal best to 54.33.[12]
At the USA Championships, Muhammad improved her personal best by half a second with a run of 53.83 in the final to win her first national title in the 400 m hurdles.[13] In August, at the World Championships held in Moscow, she won the silver medal, running a time of 54.09 s to finish behind Zuzana Hejnova and claim her first senior global medal.[14]
2014-2017: Olympic champion
After not competing frequently in 2014 and 2015 due to consistent injuries,[15] Muhammad made a comeback in 2016. On 5 June 2016, she finished fourth at the Birmingham Diamond League, running a time of 54.75 s.[16] On 7 June, she won at the Montreuil International in a time of 54.37.[1] At the 2016 US Olympic Trials, Muhammad won in a major personal best of 52.88, making her the 5th fastest American ever in the event and 12th fastest overall.[17] Her time was also a US Championship record.[18] At the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Muhammad won gold in the 400 m hurdles, becoming the first American woman to do so.[19][20] She ended her season by winning the Lausanne Diamond League in a time of 53.78 s.[21]
The following year, Muhammad ran a new personal best of 52.64 s to win at the US Championships, her time was a new North American all-comers record.[22] At the World Championships in London, she won the silver medal behind her American compatriot Kori Carter. Carter's win over Muhammad was widely seen as an upset win, especially as Carter was racing from the unfavourable lane 9.[23][24]
2018-2019: World champion and world record holder
On 12 May, Muhammad competed in her first Diamond League of the season, winning in Shanghai, in a time of 53.77 s.[25] She finished second at the Prefontaine Classic, running 54.09 s to narrowly finish behind Janieve Russell, who ran 54.06 s.[26] She returned to winning ways on 7 June, as she won at the Bislett Games in a season's best of 53.65 s.[27] On 9 July, Muhammad finished second at the Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern in 53.79, behind Russell who ran a meeting record of 53.63 s.[28] At the Diamond League Final in Zurich, she won the Diamond League title in 53.88 s.[29]
In 2019, Muhammad ran her first 400 m hurdles race on 3 May, winning at the Doha Diamond League in 53.61 s.[30] She also won at the Rome Diamond League on 6 June, running 53.67 s.[31] On 16 June, she set a major personal best over the flat 400 m, running a time of 50.60 s, to take over a second off of her previous personal best of 51.62 s.[32][1] Muhammad broke the 400-meter hurdles world record at the US Championships with a time of 52.20 seconds, improving Yuliya Pechonkina's 16-year-old record of 52.34 (2003).[33][34] Muhammad was only the second woman in the history of the 400 m hurdles, after Sally Gunnell, to have won the Olympic title and broken the world record. In September, the IAAF ratified Muhammad's time as the official world record.[35] On 29 August, in her first race as world record holder, she finished third at the Diamond League Final, running 54.13 s as Sydney McLaughlin took the win in 52.85 s.[36]
She won the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships, improving her time by 0.04 seconds, setting the new world record with a time of 52.16 seconds with McLaughlin finishing second in 52.23 s.[37][38] She went onto win another gold medal as part of the USA's 4×400 m relay.[39] At the end of the season, she won numerous awards for her season, including the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award awarded by the U.S.A. Track and Field Federation,[40] World Women's Athlete of the Year, awarded by Track and Field News having been selected first choice by 24 of the publication's 36-member panel,[41] and Female World Athlete of the Year by World Athletics.[42]
2020-2022: Olympic silver medal and world bronze medal
In 2021, Muhammad finished second at the US Olympic trials, in 52.42 s, her third fastest time. She finished second behind Sydney McLaughlin who broke Muhammad's world record of 52.16 s by running 51.90 s.[43] At the Olympics held in Tokyo, she won the silver medal behind McLaughlin, running a big new personal best of 51.58 s to go under McLaughlin's previous world record.[44] She went onto win a gold medal in the 4×400 m relay, her second career Olympic gold.[45][46] On 21 August, she won at the Prefontaine Classic, running a meeting record of 52.77 s to finish over a second ahead of second-placed Shamier Little (53.79 s).[47] She ended her season with a fourth-placed finish at the Lausanne Diamond League, running 54.50 s.[48]
The following year, on 21 May, Muhammad won her first Diamond League of the year, running 54.54 s to win in Birmingham.[49] After a hamstring injury forced her to miss the US Championships,[50] she next competed at the World Championships in Eugene, where she won the bronze medal in 53.13 s.[51] On 4 September, she took the win at the Meeting Città di Padova, clocking a time of 53.84 s.[52] At the Diamond League Final on 8 September, Muhammad finished fourth in 53.83 s.[53]
2023-present: Later career
At the US Championships, Muhammad finished second over 400 m hurdles, running a time of 53.53 s.[54] In August, competing at the World Championships in Budapest, she ran 54.19 s in her semi-final and did not qualify for the final.[55] At the Championships, she stated that she had been "nursing an injury over the past few weeks".[56] In 2024, she finished sixth in the final of the 400 m hurdles at the US Olympic trials, running 54.27 s.[57]
"I've had a lot of good moments. I think I've ticked every single box there is to tick in this sport. At 35, I'm definitely happy with the year, especially with all the injuries I've had leading up to this point. I'm proud of all my accomplishments, really."
The following year, she opened her season outdoors at the Kingston Grand Slam, where she finished third in the long hurdles category, having run 54.59 s over 400 m hurdles and 52.21 s over the flat 400 m.[59] On 12 April, she won at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in Gaborone. She clocked a time of 53.81 s, her fastest in two years.[60] At the Oslo Diamond League on 12 June, Muhammad won over 400 m hurdles, clocking a season's best of 53.34 s, it was her first Diamond League win since May 2022.[61] On 11 July, she finished second behind Femke Bol at the Monaco Diamond League, improving her season's best to 52.58 s.[62]
At the US Championships, Muhammad won her fifth US title, running a time of 52.65 s to triumph over second-placed Anna Cockrell (52.89).[63] In September, at the World Championships in Tokyo, she made the final of the 400 m hurdles, where she finished seventh.[64][65] She retired from the sport following the Championships.[66]
Track statistics
Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[1]
Personal bests
| Event | Time (s) | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 m hurdles | 51.58 | N/a | Tokyo, Japan | August 4, 2021 | Third-fastest woman of all time[2] |
| 400 m dash | 50.60 | N/a | Chorzów, Poland | June 16, 2019 | |
| 4 × 400 m relay split | 48.94 | N/a | Tokyo, Japan | August 7, 2021 | third leg[67] |
| 200 m dash | 23.35 | -0.1 | Palo Alto, CA, United States | March 30, 2019 | |
| 100 m hurdles | 13.33 | +1.9 | Austin, TX, United States | May 26, 2012 | |
| 100 m dash | 11.42 | +1.7 | Los Angeles, CA, United States | May 4, 2013 | |
| 60 m hurdles indoor | 8.23 | N/a | Fayetteville, AR, United States | March 2, 2012 |
International championships
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | World Youth Championships | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 57.25 | |
| 1st | Medley relay | 2:08.38 | [n 1] | |||
| 2009 | Pan American Junior Championships | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 58.42 | |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 54.09 | |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 53.13 | |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 53.50 | |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 52.16 | WR |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:18.92 | ||||
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 51.58 | PB |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:16.85 | ||||
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 53.13 | SB |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 9th (sf) | 400 m hurdles | 54.19 | |
| 2025 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 7th | 400 m hurdles | 54.82 |
Circuit performances
| Grand Slam Track results[70] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slam | Race group | Event | Pl. | Time | Prize money |
| 2025 Kingston Slam | Long hurdles | 400 m hurdles | 2nd | 54.59 | US$50,000 |
| 400 m | 3rd | 52.21 | |||
| 2025 Philadelphia Slam | Long hurdles | 400 m hurdles | 4th | 54.88 | US$20,000 |
| 400 m | 5th | 53.29 | |||
Wins and titles
National championships
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing the USC Trojans (2009–2012) and Nike (2013–present) | ||||||
| 2009 | NCAA Division I Championships | Fayetteville, Arkansas | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 56.65 | |
| U.S. Junior Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 57.32[73] | ||
| 2010 | NCAA Division I Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 9th | 400 m hurdles | 57.85 | |
| 17th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:39.90 | ||||
| 2011 | NCAA Division I Championships | Des Moines, Iowa | 6th | 400 m hurdles | 57.88 | |
| 2012 | NCAA Division I Championships | Des Moines, Iowa | 5th | 400 m hurdles | 56.71 | |
| U.S. Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 20th | 400 m hurdles | 58.46[74] | ||
| 2013 | U.S. Championships | Des Moines, Iowa | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 53.83[75] | |
| 2015 | U.S. Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 11th | 400 m hurdles | 57.33[76] | |
| 2016 | U.S. Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 52.88 | |
| 2017 | U.S. Championships | Sacramento, California | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 52.64 | |
| 2019 | U.S. Championships | Des Moines, Iowa | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 52.20 | |
| 2021 | U.S. Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 52.42 | |
| 2024 | U.S. Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 6th | 400 m hurdles | 54.27 | |
| 2025 | U.S. Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 52.65 | |
- NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.[77]
