Sprinters race over a series of evenly spaced barriers, clearing each one without breaking rhythm. That event is the hurdles. It combines pure speed with precise jumping technique.

Standard outdoor distances are 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women in the sprint hurdles, plus the 400-meter intermediate hurdles for both. Each athlete must stay in lane and clear ten hurdles. Hitting a hurdle does not bring disqualification unless it interferes with another runner, yet it costs time and balance.

Technique emphasizes a fast lead-leg snap and quick trail-leg recovery so that speed between hurdles remains high. Training blends sprint work with repeated hurdle clearances and rhythm drills. The best hurdlers make the barriers seem almost incidental to their forward speed.

A clean flight of hurdles at maximum velocity is one of track’s most technical sprints.