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The 400 metres event comes under the Athletics category at the Summer Olympics.
While the men's 400m event has been part of the Summer Olympics since the first edition in 1896, the women's 400m event was introduced in 1964.
With the Tokyo Olympics fast approaching, let's look at the most successful female 400m runners at the Summer Olympics.
We shall see where legendary Frenchwoman Marie-Jose Perec and Australian icon Cathy Freeman feature on this list.
(Note: Ranking is based on gold medal count. If athletes have equal number of gold medals, the number of silver medals followed by bronze medals has been used as the deciding factors for the rankings)
(*: Total Medals won here refers to total medals won by the respective athlete only in the individual 400m Olympic event)
#5 - Sanya Richards-Ross (USA)
Total Medals Won*: 2 (G - 1, S - 0, B - 1)
2008: Bronze, 2012: Gold
The Jamaican-born American Sanya Richards-Ross won bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with a timing of 49.93 seconds.
Richards-Ross went on to win the gold medal at the 2012 London Games with an effort of 49.55s.
Richards-Ross has also won 3 gold medals in the 4x400 relay event (2004, 2008 and 2012 Games) and is the only female athlete in Olympics history to win the 4x400m relay at three consecutive Summer Games.
#2 - Olga Bryzgina (USSR)
Total Medals Won: 2 (G - 1, S - 1, B - 0)
1988: Gold, 1992: Silver
Olga Bryzgina is one of three women tied at No. 2 on this list, with all of them having won 1 gold and 1 silver each in the 400m individual event.
Bryzgina struck gold at the 1988 Summer Olympics with a timing of 48.65s and won a silver medal four years later at Barcelona with a timing of 49.05s.
Bryzgina has also won gold medals at both those Games as part of the 4x400m relay team.
#2 - Christine Ohuruogu (Great Britain)
Total Medals Won: 2 (G - 1, S - 1, B - 0)
2008: Gold, 2012: Silver
Great Britain's Christine Ohuruogu is also tied at the No. 2 position on this list.
Ohuruogu won gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with a timing of 49.62s. Four years later in London, the American's timing of 49.70s garnered her the silver medal.
Ohuruogu has also won two medals as part of the Great Britain 4x400m relay team.
#2 - Cathy Freeman (Australia)
Total Medals Won: 2 (G - 1, S - 1, B - 0)
1996: Silver, 2000: Gold
Australia's Cathy Freeman picked up a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta with a timing of 48.63s to become the first Aborigine to earn an Olympic medal in an individual event.
Freeman went on to win the gold in front of her home crowd at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney with an effort of 49.11s.
#1 - Marie Jose-Perec (France)
Total Medals Won: 2 (G - 2, S - 0, B - 0)
1992: Gold, 1996: Gold
France's Marie Jose-Perec won gold in the 400m at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics with timings of 48.83s and 48.25s respectively. Her timing of 48.25s remains an Olympic record in the 400m till date.
Jose-Perec also won the gold in the 200m event at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Notable Mention
Shaunae Miller, of the Bahamas, won the 400m gold medal at the Rio Olympics with a timing of 49.44s in an incredible finish over American Allyson Felix that created quite a stir back then.
At the Tokyo Games, Shaunae Miller-Uibo will be focusing on the 200m event and remains uncertain about running the 400m event due to scheduling conflicts.
(With inputs from the official Olympic website)
Also Read: Top 5 most successful American female sprinters at Summer Olympics
