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FastestThings

Men's 400 Meters

Butch Reynolds

American athlete. men's 400 m mark of 43.29 seconds at Zürich on August 17, 1988, the personal best on the World Athletics all-time list.

Butch Reynolds's race time is 43.29 s, an official figure.

Also known as Harry Reynolds
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Race time

43.29s

men's 400 m, Zürich. One personal best per athlete.

OfficialWorld Athletics (opens source in a new tab)

Quick answers

People also ask

What is Butch Reynolds's race time?

Butch Reynolds's race time is 43.29 s, an official figure.

Is that figure claimed or verified?

Butch Reynolds is labeled Official. Ratified by a governing body such as the FIA, World Athletics or Guinness World Records.

What is the source?

The figure cites World Athletics, “400 metres men, senior, outdoor all-time list.”

Where does Butch Reynolds rank?

Butch Reynolds is 3rd of 9 on Fastest Men's 400 m.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

Butch Reynolds's mark is a men's 400 meters of 43.29 seconds at Zürich on August 17, 1988. That is one lap. Dividing 400 meters by the official time is about 20.7 mph. No 200-meter split is given, so the pace inside the lap is not described here.

Time
43.29 s
Average
about 20.7 mph
Place
Zürich
Date
August 17, 1988

  1. One lap, one clock

    Butch Reynolds's 43.29 is the time from the gun to the finish of a full lap at Zürich on August 17, 1988. A 400 is long enough that how the effort is divided matters, and this entry does not keep the split that would show it. What counts is the official time only.

  2. 20.7 mph across the lap

    400 meters in 43.29 seconds is about 20.7 mph for the whole lap. That is much slower than a 100-meter average because the distance is four times as long. Butch Reynolds's figure is the personal best on the all-time list, not a radar peak on the back straight.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 43.29sRanked figure

    men's 400 m, Zürich. One personal best per athlete.

    Official
    World Athletics (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Country
United States
Event
men's 400 m
Mark
43.29 s
Venue
Zürich

Context

Background

Butch Reynolds's ranked men's 400 m time is 43.29 seconds at Zürich on August 17, 1988. World Athletics, Athletic Stats (refreshed October 5, 2026) and Track & Field News say that time and date.

The list is one event. A mark from another distance is a different page, with its own slug. Wind above +4.5 mph (+2.0 m/s) is not legal. Lower is faster.

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