440-yard dash

For the motorsport acceleration test, see Dragstrip.

The 440-yard dash, or quarter-mile race, is a sprint race in track and field competitions.

In many countries, athletes compete in the 440 yard dash (402.336 m) – which corresponds to a quarter mile. Many athletic tracks are 440 yards per lap. In the 19th century it was thought of as a middle distance race.^[1]

History

World-record holder Lon Meyers (1858–1899) was the first person to run the 440 in under 50 seconds.^[1][2] In 1947, Herb McKenley of Jamaica set a world record in the event with a time of 46.3 seconds, which he lowered the following year to a new world record of 46.0 seconds.^[3] Adolph Plummer took the record under 45 seconds with a 44.9 on May 25, 1963. In 1971, John Smith lowered the world record to 44.5 seconds, which remains the world record.^[4]

The 440 yard race distance used imperial measurements, which have been replaced by metric-distance races. The 400 metres (400 meter or 400 m race) is the successor to the 440 yard dash.^[5] An athlete who competes in the 400 m may still be referred to as 'quarter-miler' though this rounded, metric distance is 2 1/3 meters shorter than a full 440-yard (quarter mile) race.^[6]

References

1. Robert Crego (2003). Sports and games of the 18th and 19th centuries. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 121. Retrieved November 12, 2011. 440 yard dash sprint race.
2. "Lon Myers". Jewishsports.net. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
3. Litsky, Frank (November 28, 2007). "Herb McKenley, 85, Top Jamaican Runner, Is Dead". New York Times. Jamaica. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
4. Crumpacker, John (May 5, 2006). "Modesto 400 field - a blast from the past?". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
5. "400 m Introduction". IAAF. Archived from the original on May 23, 2008.
6. Gonzales, Jermaine (February 8, 2012). "Jermaine Gonzales: life at the Racers Track club is tougher than ever". The Guardian. London.