Deon Marie Hemmings tops the list of most successful female 400m hurdlers at the Summer Olympics

The 400 metres hurdle is among the track and field events in the multi-disciplined athletics program at the Summer Olympics.

While the men's 400m hurdle race has been a part of the Olympics since 1900 (the race did not take place at the 1912 Games), the women's 400m hurdle event was introduced only as recently as 1984.

With the Tokyo Olympics a few months away, let's take a look at the history of the 400m female hurdle winners at the Summer Games.

In the 9 editions of the race held so far, only 1 female hurdler — Deon Marie Hemmings — has managed to win more than one medal in this event at the Summer Olympics.

The Jamaican won the 400m hurdles gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games, clocking 52.82 seconds. She also added the silver medal to her illustrious resume at the 2000 Sydney Games by finishing in 53.45s. Besides these 2 medals, the Jamaican has a 4x400m women's relay silver from the 2000 Olympics as well.

With that, let's also take a brief look at the other hurdlers who have won the gold medal in this event at the Olympics.

---

A look at the other female 400m hurdle gold medal winners at the Summer Olympics

Moroccan hurdler Nawal El Moutawakel after winning the women's 400 metres hurdles at the 1984 Olympics

Nawal El Moutawakel won the inaugural 400m hurdles event at the 1984 Games, clocking a time of 54.61s. El Moutawakel’s win was a landmark as it made her the first woman from an Islamic nation to win a medal at the Summer Olympics. She was also the first Moroccan athlete ever to win a gold medal at the Games.

At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Australia's Debbie Flintoff-King clinched the gold medal in 53.17s.

Sally Gunnell stood on top of the podium at the 1992 Barcelona Games by clocking 53.23s. The Brit also has a bronze as a part of the 4x400m relay women's team from the 1992 Games.

After Hemmings' win in 1996, it was the turn of Russia's Irina Privalova to triumph at the 2000 Sydney Games with a timing of 53.02s. Privalova outran Hemmings, who clinched the silver that year. The Russian has 4 Olympic medals in total from her Olympic career.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece's Fani Khalkia won the gold in front of her home fans with a timing of 52.82s.

Four years later at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Jamaica's Melanie Walker finished in 52.64s to take the yellow metal.

Natalya Antyukh bagged the gold at the 2012 London Games, clocking a time of 52.70s. The Russian also has a bronze and a silver in athletics from the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Most recently, Dalilah Muhammad won this event at the Summer Olympics in Rio, by finishing in 53.13s. The American is the current world record holder with a time of 52.16s.

(With inputs from the official Olympic website)