4 × 400 metres relay at the Olympics
The 4 × 400 metres relay at the Summer Olympics is the longest track relay event held at the multi-sport event. The men's relay has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912 and the women's event has been continuously held since the 1972 Olympics. The inaugural and so far the only mixed 4 × 400 metres relay was held at the 2020 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 4×400 m relay race at elite level. At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a precursor to this event was held – the 1600 m medley relay. This event, with two legs of 200 m, one of 400 m, and a final leg of 800 m, was the first track relay in Olympic history.[1]
| 4 × 400 metres relay at the Olympic Games | |
|---|---|
 The 2008 Olympic men's 4 × 400 m relay final | |
| Overview | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Gender | Men, Women and Mixed |
| Years held | Men: 1912 – 2020 Women: 1972 – 2020 Mixed: 2020 |
| Olympic record | |
| Men | 2:55.39  United States (USA) (2008) |
| Women | 3:15.17  Soviet Union (URS) (1988) |
| Mixed | 3:09.87  Poland (POL) (2020) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men | United States (USA) |
| Women | United States (USA) |
| Mixed | Poland (POL) |
The competition has two parts: a first round and an eight-team final. Historically, there was a semi-final round, but this has been eliminated as selection is now determined by time, with the sixteen fastest nations during a pre-Olympic qualification period are entered.
Since 1984, teams may enter up to six athletes for the event. Larger nations typically have two reserves runners in the first round in order to preserve the fitness of their top runners for the final. Heat runners of medal-winning teams receive medals even if they did not run in the final.
The Olympic records for the event are 2:55.39 for men, set by the United States in 2008; 3:15.17 for women, set by the Soviet Union in 1988 and 3:09.87 in mixed relay, set by Poland in 2020. The women's record is also the world record for the 4 × 400 metres relay. The first two women's Olympic finals (1972 and 1976) resulted in new world records for the winning East German teams. The men's world record has been profoundly shaped by Olympic competition with ten records set (1912, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1952, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1988, and 1992): the record has only been broken twice in a 4 × 400 m relay race outside of the multi-sport event.[2]
The United States is by far the most successful nation in the event. The country has won the men's race 17 times and the women's race seven times. As of 2016, no other country has won more than three golds in the event. Great Britain (two wins, thirteen medals), Jamaica (one win, eight medals) and the Soviet Union (three wins, four medals) are the next most successful nations.[3][4]
Participants in this event are often competitors in the 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles individual Olympic events (and, less commonly, the 800 metres and 200 metres).
Allyson Felix is the most successful athlete in the event, having four straight wins from 2008 to 2020. Steve Lewis and Jeremy Wariner are the only men to win the title twice, and Chris Brown is the only man to reach the podium three times.
Medal summary
Men
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Note: * Indicates athletes who ran in preliminary rounds and also received medals.
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Steve Lewis | United States (USA) | 1988–1992 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1= | Jeremy Wariner | United States (USA) | 2004–2008 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1= | LaShawn Merritt | United States (USA) | 2008, 2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4= | Godfrey Rampling |  Great Britain (GBR) | 1932–1936 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4= | Mal Whitfield | United States (USA) | 1948–1952 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4= | Charles Asati |  Kenya (KEN) | 1968–1972 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4= | Munyoro Nyamau | Kenya (KEN) | 1968–1972 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4= | Michael Mathieu |  Bahamas (BAH) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4= | Ramon Miller | Bahamas (BAH) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4= | Andrae Williams | Bahamas (BAH) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4= | Angelo Taylor | United States (USA) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11= | Guy Butler | Great Britain (GBR) | 1920–1924 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 11= | Enefiok Udo-Obong |  Nigeria (NGR) | 2000–2004 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 13= | Mark Richardson | Great Britain (GBR) | 1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13= | Roger Black | Great Britain (GBR) | 1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13= | Du'aine Ladejo | Great Britain (GBR) | 1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13= | Avard Moncur | Bahamas (BAH) | 2000–2008 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medals by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (USA) | 18 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| 2 | Great Britain (GBR) | 2 | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| 3 |  Jamaica (JAM) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Bahamas (BAH) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Kenya (KEN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Nigeria (NGR) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Soviet Union (URS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8= |  France (FRA) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 8= |  Germany (GER)[nb] | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 10 |  Australia (AUS) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 |  Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12= |  Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  Netherlands (NED) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= | Poland (POL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  South Africa (RSA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 18= | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada (CAN) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 18= |  Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 20= |  Botswana (BOT) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20= | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} British West Indies (BWI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20= |  Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
- nb The German total includes teams both competing as Germany and the United Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.
Women
Note: * Indicates athletes who ran in preliminary rounds and also received medals.
- nb1 Marion Jones was stripped of her Olympic medal in 2000.
- nb2 Crystal Cox was stripped of her Olympic medal in 2004.
- nb3 Dominique Blake was accidentally given her Olympic medal and she returned it in 2017.[5]
- a Original silver medalists, Russia, and 4th place finishers, Belarus, were stripped of their results for doping offenses. Following reallocation, Jamaica were promoted to the silver medal, and Great Britain to the bronze.[6]
- b Original silver medalists, Russia, were stripped of their medal for doping offenses. Following reallocation, Jamaica will be promoted to the silver medal, and Ukraine to the bronze.[7]
Multiple medalists
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (USA) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | East Germany (GDR) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Soviet Union (URS) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 |  Unified Team (EUN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Jamaica (JAM) | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 |  Russia (RUS) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7= | Canada (CAN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7= | Nigeria (NGR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7= | Poland (POL) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 11 | West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | Germany (GER) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Mixed
Note * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland (POL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 |  Dominican Republic (DOM) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | United States (USA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1908 Olympic medley relay
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 London |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} United States (USA)William Hamilton Nate Cartmell John Taylor Mel Sheppard |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Germany (GER)Arthur Hoffmann Hans Eicke Otto Trieloff Hanns Braun |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Hungary (HUN)Pál Simon Frigyes Wiesner József Nagy Ödön Bodor |
Top ten fastest Olympic times
References
- Participation and athlete data
- Athletics Men's 4 × 400 metres Relay Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Athletics Women's 4 × 400 metres Relay Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Athletics Men's 1,600 metres Medley Relay Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Olympic record progressions
- Mallon, Bill (2012). TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Specific
- Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's 1,600 metres Medley Relay. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-08.
- "13th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Daegu 2011. (Part 5 of 5)". Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2011. pp. 546, 562, 705. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
- Athletics Men's 4 × 400 metres Relay Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Athletics Women's 4 × 400 metres Relay Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- "Track and Field Olympians to be Recognized". University Park, Pennsylvania. October 4, 2012. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
Blake, a member of Penn State's NCAA Champion 4x400 in 2008, also had a successful London experience, earning a bronze medal as a member of Jamaica's 4x400 relay pool.
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-doping-russia/russia-stripped-of-beijing-2008-4x400m-womens-silver-medal-idUSKCN10U242
- https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/38825752
- "Men's 4 × 400 m".
- "Women's 4 × 400 m".
External links
- IAAF 4×400 metres relay homepage
- Official Olympics website
- Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News
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