PARIS, France — Watching world-class athletes run at unbelievable speeds is one of the more impressive things to see at the Paris Olympics.
Watching them run at those same speeds while also clearing hurdles without breaking stride is nothing short of incredible.
It also has many people wondering how tall these obstacles are.
How tall are the hurdles at Olympic races?
There are two distances of Olympic hurdles races for both men and women: the 110m and 400m race for men and the 100m and 400m race for women.
The hurdles are a slightly different height for each race, according to the International Association of Athletics Federation:
- 110m men's race: 1.067 meter or 3.5 feet
- 100m women's race: 0.838 meters or 2.75 feet
- 400m men's race: 0.914 meters or 2.99 feet
- 400m women's race: 0.762 meters or 2.5 feet
Each of the hurdles is between 46.5 and 47.25 inches wide.
During the hurdle events, runners have to stay in their lanes (which are 4 feet wide) and will be disqualified if they step outside.
An athlete whose foot or leg is below the "horizontal plane of the top of any hurdle at the instant of clearance" is also disqualified from the race, according to NBCOlympics.
