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]
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The 440 yard race distance used imperial measurements, which have been replaced by metric-distance races.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]
