The Olympic track inside the Stade De France might be the fastest track for running one-lap races in the world. After we saw five men dip under 44 seconds in the men’s final Wednesday night and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shatter her own 400m hurdles world record last night, we knew we were in store for something special with a historically deep field in the flat women’s 400m. Needless to say the elite octet delivered. Marileidy Paulino claimed gold in a new Olympic record of 48.17, Salwa Eid Naser fully completed her comeback with an Olympic silver in 48.53, and Natalia Kaczmarek came through for bronze in 48.98.

Here’s what you need to know:

- This race has been blazing fast all year, and the semifinals definitely reflected that. Six women dipped under 50 seconds, led by Eid Naser who cruised to 49.08, her fastest time since her iconic race in Doha at the 2019 World Championships.

- The final was a two-woman race almost from the gun, as Paulino and Eid Naser got out hard, were one-two by the 100m mark, and never looked back. By 150m Paulino was in the lead and widened the gap at each of the next four 50m splits.

- Paulino crossed the line in 48.17, shaving .08 seconds off Marie-José Pérec’s Olympic record with the French legend in attendance. Despite Paulino running the sixth-fastest time in history, it wasn’t quite a runaway, as Eid Naser came through in 48.53, the 14th-fastest time ever.

- Kaczmarek, the silver medalist from Budapest behind Paulino, had dropped into fourth behind Rhasidat Adeleke, but closed over the final 100m in 13.32 to Adeleke’s 13.77, coming away with bronze and her third clocking in the 48.9’s this year.

By the numbers:

- In addition to the Olympic record, Paulino also broke the NACAC record in the event, previously set by Shaunae Miller-Uibo at the Tokyo Olympics. The only women ahead of Paulino on the all-time list are Eid Naser, Jarmila Kratochvilova, and world record holder Marita Koch.

- Eid Naser is the first Bahraini athlete to ever win an Olympic medal in a non-distance event.

- This race is the first in history to see three women dip under 49 seconds. Kaczmarek became the fastest third-place finisher ever at 48.98. The previous fastest mark was 49.10 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the same race where Perec set her Olympic record. Kaczmarek’s medal is only the second in this event ever by a Polish athlete, the first being earned by Irena Szewińska in 1976.

- Adeleke finished fourth in 49.28, equalling the fastest fourth-place time ever. Amber Anning finished only .01 seconds behind her in 49.29, breaking the British national record. This is the fastest fifth-place finishing time ever, and the same is true for the sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-place finishers. This was the first time seven women have ever broken 50 seconds in the same race, and therefore also the first time eight women have ever done so.

Full results:

1. Marileidy Paulino - 48.17 OR

2. Salwa Eid Naser - 48.53

3. Natalia Kaczmarek - 48.98

4. Rhasidat Adeleke - 49.28

5. Amber Anning - 49.29 NR

6. Alexis Holmes - 49.77

7. Sada Williams - 49.83

8. Henriette Jæger - 49.96

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