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WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS · TOKYO 2025 · TRACK

Women's 400 metres prize money

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women's 400 metres at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in 47.78 and took $70,000. Second was worth $35,000 and third $22,000, and the money ran eight deep, so the final paid $172,000 in all.

Eight athletes started the final, from eight countries. The championships put up $8,498,000 in Tokyo and spread it eight places deep in every event, which is deeper than any other meeting in athletics pays.

THE WINNER TOOK $70,000
THIS FINAL PAID $172,000
IN THE FINAL 8
COUNTRIES 8
PLACES PAID 8

The final

Tokyo, 13 to 21 September 2025

$172,000 paid
The women's 400 metres final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, with what each place paid.
POS ATHLETE COUNTRY MARK PRIZE
1 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone United States USA 47.78 $70,000
2 Marileidy Paulino Dominican Republic DOM 47.98 $35,000
3 Salwa Eid Naser Bahrain BRN 48.19 $22,000
4 Natalia Bukowiecka Poland POL 49.27 $16,000
5 Amber Anning Great Britain GBR 49.36 $11,000
6 Roxana Gómez Cuba CUB 49.48 $7,000
7 Henriette Jæger Norway NOR 49.74 $6,000
8 Nickisha Pryce Jamaica JAM 49.97 $5,000
8 finalists 8 countries — $172,000

The eight paid places came to $172,000.

What each place was worth

The ladder, and what this final actually handed over

$172,000 an event
The women's 400 metres prize ladder at the World Athletics Championships.
PLACE THE LADDER WHO TOOK IT PAID
1st $70,000 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone $70,000
2nd $35,000 Marileidy Paulino $35,000
3rd $22,000 Salwa Eid Naser $22,000
4th $16,000 Natalia Bukowiecka $16,000
5th $11,000 Amber Anning $11,000
6th $7,000 Roxana Gómez $7,000
7th $6,000 Henriette Jæger $6,000
8th $5,000 Nickisha Pryce $5,000
The event $172,000
eight paid $172,000
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone $70k Marileidy Paulino $35k Salwa Eid Naser $22k Natalia Bukowiecka $16k Amber Anning $11k Roxana Gómez $7,000 Henriette Jæger $6,000 Nickisha Pryce $5,000

The winner takes 41% of what the event pays out and the other seven places share the rest. That shape is the same in every individual event on the programme, so the chart is the championship's ladder rather than anything particular to the women's 400 metres.

What this field earns the rest of the year

The same athletes on the Diamond League money list

8 of 8
What the athletes paid in this final have earned across the Diamond League.
ATHLETE TOKYO BUDAPEST DL STARTS DL WINS DIAMOND LEAGUE
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone United States $70,000 — 1 0 $6,000
Marileidy Paulino Dominican Republic $35,000 $150,000 29 25 $420,500
Salwa Eid Naser Bahrain $22,000 — 18 9 $190,500
Natalia Bukowiecka Poland $16,000 — 12 0 $36,500
Amber Anning Great Britain $11,000 — 8 0 $27,500
Roxana Gómez Cuba $7,000 — 8 0 $18,000
Henriette Jæger Norway $6,000 $75,000 13 3 $116,500
Nickisha Pryce Jamaica $5,000 $40,000 9 2 $59,500

Nine days in Tokyo against careers of Diamond League meetings. The series runs fifteen times a summer and pays six places at a fraction of these rates, which is what makes a world title the biggest single cheque most of this field will ever collect. The Budapest column is the Ultimate Championship, the one meeting that pays more for a win.

Frequently asked questions

How much did the women's 400 metres pay at the 2025 World Championships?

$172,000, across eight paid places: $70,000 to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, $35,000 for second and $22,000 for third, down to $5,000 for 8th.

Who won the women's 400 metres in Tokyo?

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, in 47.78, for $70,000. Eight athletes started the final, from eight countries.

What did second and third pay?

$35,000 and $22,000. The same ladder covers every individual event at the championships, so this final paid exactly what every other one did.

How many places does the women's 400 metres pay?

Eight. The ladder runs $70,000, $35,000, $22,000, $16,000, $11,000, $7,000, $6,000, $5,000, which is $172,000 for the event, and below 8th it pays nothing. Across all 49 events that comes to the $8,498,000 World Athletics put up for Tokyo.

Where to next

The rest of the championships

World Championships prize money holds all 49 events, the 334 athletes who were paid and the $8,498,000 that was put up. Diamond League prize money is the series most of this field races all summer, and the Ultimate Championship is the one meeting that pays more for a win.

Every other event in Tokyo