What is a good 400m hurdle time in high school?

Roughly 55 to 60 seconds for a boy and 64 to 70 for a girl is competitive at the handful of US meets that contest the race. Those are our estimates, not published averages, because the event barely exists in American high school championship programs.

Do high schools run the 400m hurdles?

Mostly no. The NFHS championship event is the 300 meter hurdles. You will meet the 400mH in USATF club competition, at some national invitationals, and then immediately as a college freshman. The two races are set side by side on our 300m hurdles versus 400m hurdles comparison.

How tall are 400m hurdles?

36 in, 0.914 m, for men and boys, and 30 in, 0.762 m, for women and girls. Ten hurdles either way, 45 meters to the first, 35 meters between each, and a 40 meter run-in from the last barrier to the finish.

What is a good 400m hurdle time for college?

Division II published a 53.06 provisional standard for men and 1:01.87 for women in 2026. Division I is much faster: the national title has taken 47.2 to 48.7 for men and 52.5 to 54.7 for women over the last five years.

What Is a Good 400m Hurdle Time? Times by Level

What Is a Good 400m Hurdle Time?

Almost no American high schooler races the 400 hurdles. The NFHS event is the 300, so if you are asking this question you are usually one of two people: a college prospect working out what the next event looks like, or a high schooler entered in a rare 400mH at a club or national meet. Men clear ten 36 in barriers, women ten 30 in barriers, 35 meters apart in both races. Below is what a good time looks like at each level, built where possible on standards that somebody actually published.

The 400mH is the college race, the 300mH is the high school one

Every US state runs the 300 meter hurdles at the high school championship, and the 400mH shows up mainly in USATF club competition, where the 15-16 and 17-18 divisions contest it at 36 in for boys and 30 in for girls. College, USATF senior and international competition all run the 400. Benchmarks for the shorter race are in what is a good 300m hurdles time. The two events are set out beside each other in the 300 and 400 hurdles compared.

The numbers somebody actually published

NCAA Division II sets a provisional standard, and for 2026 it was 53.06 for men and 1:01.87 for women. Division I publishes no standard and selects off a descending order list, so the honest marker there is the final itself: 47.23 to 48.70 won the men's title from 2021 to 2025, and 52.46 to 54.68 won the women's. Age group by age group, with the barrier height stated on each row, the same event is laid out in average 400m hurdle time by age.

There is no honest 300 to 400 conversion

You will find calculators that promise one. Treat them as entertainment. The 400mH adds two barriers, 100 meters and a completely different back half, and athletes who are strong at one are routinely mediocre at the other. Run the race before you predict it, and plan the stride pattern first using 400m hurdles strategy.

See which hurdle broke your race

The 400mH rarely falls apart evenly. It goes at one specific barrier, usually seven or eight, when the stride pattern stretches and the lead leg has to switch. Film the back half from the side and AI tells you which clearance cost you the time.

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Sources: 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field provisional standards; NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships 400m hurdles winning times, 2021 to 2025; 2025 World Athletics Championships entry standards; Wikipedia's list of US high school national records; World Athletics record lists. The first-season, competitive high school, USATF 17-18, Division III and Division I conference rows are estimates, not published figures, because no governing body publishes an average for this event. Kennen Davis ran 49.20 in 2026 and that mark was still pending ratification when this page was written, so the older Fergusson time is shown as the standing record.
Level	Men / boys, 36 in	Women / girls, 30 in
First season over the barriers (estimate)	62.0 - 70.0	72.0 - 82.0
Competitive high school 400mH (estimate)	55.0 - 60.0	64.0 - 70.0
USATF 17-18 division qualifier (estimate)	53.0 - 56.0	62.0 - 66.0
NCAA Division III qualifier (estimate)	53.0 - 56.0	62.0 - 66.0
NCAA Division II provisional standard, 2026	53.06	61.87
NCAA Division I conference scorer (estimate)	50.0 - 52.0	57.0 - 60.0
NCAA Division I champion, 2021-2025	47.23 - 48.70	52.46 - 54.68
World Championships entry standard, 2025	48.50	54.65
US high school record	49.38 (Kenneth Fergusson, 2002)	53.82 (Sydney McLaughlin, 2017)
World record	45.94 (Karsten Warholm, 2021)	50.37 (Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, 2024)

Sources: 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field provisional standards; NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships 400m hurdles winning times, 2021 to 2025; 2025 World Athletics Championships entry standards; Wikipedia's list of US high school national records; World Athletics record lists. The first-season, competitive high school, USATF 17-18, Division III and Division I conference rows are estimates, not published figures, because no governing body publishes an average for this event. Kennen Davis ran 49.20 in 2026 and that mark was still pending ratification when this page was written, so the older Fergusson time is shown as the standing record.

Level

Men / boys, 36 in

Women / girls, 30 in

First season over the barriers (estimate)

62.0 - 70.0

72.0 - 82.0

Competitive high school 400mH (estimate)

55.0 - 60.0

64.0 - 70.0

USATF 17-18 division qualifier (estimate)

53.0 - 56.0

62.0 - 66.0

NCAA Division III qualifier (estimate)

53.0 - 56.0

62.0 - 66.0

NCAA Division II provisional standard, 2026

53.06

61.87

NCAA Division I conference scorer (estimate)

50.0 - 52.0

57.0 - 60.0

NCAA Division I champion, 2021-2025

47.23 - 48.70

52.46 - 54.68

World Championships entry standard, 2025

48.50

54.65

US high school record

49.38 (Kenneth Fergusson, 2002)

53.82 (Sydney McLaughlin, 2017)

World record

45.94 (Karsten Warholm, 2021)

50.37 (Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, 2024)

What Is a Good 400m Hurdle Time?

What a good 400m hurdle time is, level by level

The 400mH is the college race, the 300mH is the high school one

The numbers somebody actually published

There is no honest 300 to 400 conversion

See which hurdle broke your race

Good 400m hurdle times by level

What Is a Good 400m Hurdle Time? FAQ

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Find your slow hurdle.

What Is a Good 400m Hurdle Time?

The 400mH is the college race, the 300mH is the high school one

The numbers somebody actually published

There is no honest 300 to 400 conversion

See which hurdle broke your race

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Find your slow hurdle.