| Landmarks |
First under 2:20: 2:19.6 Lina
Radke GER 1928
First under 2:10: 2:08.5 Nina Pletneva URS 1952
First under 2:00: 1:59.1 Sin Kim Dan PRK 1963
First under 1:55: 1:54.9 Tatyana Kazankina URS 1976Subsequent
record progression:
1:54.9 Nadezhda Olizarenko URS 1980
1:53.43 Nadezhda Olizarenko 1980
1:53.28 Jarmila Kratochvílová TCH 1983
Most durable world record: 1:53.28 Kratochvílová 1983 (17
years)
Most times under 1:56: Maria Mutola MOZ 6 (as at 24 Aug 2000) |
| Superlatives |
Most Olympic titles: 1 by 11
women
Most World titles: 2 Ana Fidelia Quirot CUB 1995/1997
Youngest Olympic/World champion:Maria Mutola MOZ 1993 (20)
Oldest: Jarmila Kratochvílová 1983 (32) |
| Three all time greats |
| Sin Kim Dan (PRK):
Years ahead of her time she ran 1:58.0 a few weeks before the 1964 Olympics, from which
she was barred, a time that would not be beaten until 1973. |
 Jarmila
Kratochvílová (TCH): With laps of 56.1 and 57.2 the powerfully builtCzech set
the current world record in 1983, two weeks before becoming the first to break 48 sec for
400m. |
 Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB):
Winner of 39 consecutive finals between 1987 and1990, she nearly lost her life when
dreadfully burned in 1993 ... yet made a stunning return to win the 1995 and 1997 world
titles. |
