4 × 400 metres relay at the Olympics
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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 mixed 4 × 400 metres relay was held at the 2020 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 4 × 400 m relay race at the 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]
United States (Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, Rai Benjamin) 2:54.43 (2024)| 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: 1912–2024 Women: 1972–2024 Mixed: 2020–2024 |
| Olympic record | |
| Men | United States (Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, Rai Benjamin) 2:54.43 (2024) |
| Women |  Soviet Union (Tatyana Ledovskaya, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina, Olga Bryzgina) 3:15.17 (1988) |
| Mixed |  United States (Vernon Norwood (M), Shamier Little (F), Bryce Deadmon (M), Kaylyn Brown (F)) 3:07.41 (2024) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men | United States (Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, Rai Benjamin) |
| Women | United States (Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, Alexis Holmes, Quanera Hayes*, Aaliyah Butler*, Kaylyn Brown*) |
| Mixed |  Netherlands (Eugene Omalla, Lieke Klaver, Isaya Klein Ikkink, Femke Bol, Cathelijn Peeters*)*Indicates the athlete only competed in the preliminary heats. |
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 eight athletes for the event. Larger nations typically have up to four reserve 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 2:54.43 for men, set by the United States in 2024; 3:15.17 for women, set by the Soviet Union in 1988 and 3:07.41 in mixed relay, set by the United States in 2024. 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 18 times and the women's race seven times. As of 2024, 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, Jeremy Wariner, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin 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
Note: * Indicates athletes who ran in preliminary rounds and also received medals.
The world record is World Athletics Relays Records 2:57.25 T. Robinson Stadium, Nassau (BAB)
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Steve Lewis | United States | 1988–1992 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1= | Jeremy Wariner | United States | 2004–2008 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1= | LaShawn Merritt | United States | 2008, 2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1= | Rai Benjamin | United States | 2021–2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1= | Bryce Deadmon | United States | 2021–2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Chris Brown |  Bahamas | 2000, 2008–2016 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Michael Mathieu | Bahamas | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8= | Godfrey Rampling |  Great Britain | 1932–1936 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8= | Mal Whitfield | United States | 1948–1952 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8= | Charles Asati |  Kenya | 1968–1972 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8= | Munyoro Nyamau | Kenya | 1968–1972 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8= | Ramon Miller | Bahamas | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8= | Angelo Taylor | United States | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 14= | Guy Butler | Great Britain | 1920–1924 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 14= | Enefiok Udo-Obong |  Nigeria | 2000–2004 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16= | Mark Richardson | Great Britain | 1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16= | Roger Black | Great Britain | 1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16= | Du'aine Ladejo | Great Britain | 1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16= | Avard Moncur | Bahamas | 2000–2008 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16= | Bayapo Ndori |  Botswana | 2020–2024 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medals by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 19 | 3 | 0 | 22 |
| 2 | Great Britain | 2 | 5 | 6 | 13 |
| 3 |  Jamaica | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Bahamas | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Kenya | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Nigeria | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Soviet Union | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8= |  France | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 8= |  Germany[nb] | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 10 |  Australia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11= |  Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11= | Botswana | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13= |  Cuba | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13= |  East Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13= | Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13= |  Poland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13= |  South Africa | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | West Germany | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 19= |  Canada | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 19= |  Trinidad and Tobago | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 21= |  British West Indies | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 21= |  Italy | 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 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 13 |
| 2 | East Germany | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Soviet Union | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 |  Unified Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Jamaica | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 |  Russia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7= | Canada | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7= | Nigeria | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7= | Poland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7= | Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 12 | West Germany | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 13= | Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13= |  Ukraine | 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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 | United States | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 |  Dominican Republic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
