4×400 metres relay at the Olympics
| 4 × 400 metres relay at the Olympic Games |
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The 2008 Olympic men's 4×400 m relay final
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| Overview | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men: 1912 – 2012 Women: 1972 – 2012 |
| Olympic record | |
| Men | 2:55.39  United States (USA) (2008) |
| Women | 3:15.17  Soviet Union (URS) (1988) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  Bahamas (BAH) |
| Women | United States (USA) |
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. 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]
The competition has two parts: a first round and an eight-team final. Historically, there has been a semi-final round, but this has been eliminated as selection is now determined by time – 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 minutes for men, set by the United States in 2008, and 3:15.17 minutes for women, set by the Soviet Union in 1988. 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 dominant nation in the event. The country has won the men's race 16 times and the women's race on six occasions. The American have finished in the top two at all but three Olympics (fourth in 1920, non-starters in 1972, and boycotted in 1980). The team won the 2000 Olympic gold medals, but were stripped of these due to doping bans for Antonio Pettigrew and Jerome Young.[3] The American women have accrued five straight victories, remaining unbeaten since the 1992 Olympics. As of 2012, no other country has won more than two golds in the event. Great Britain (two wins, thirteen medals) and Jamaica (one win, eight medals) and the Soviet Union (three wins, four medals) are the next most successful nations.[4][5]
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). Marion Jones was stripped of her Olympic medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but the American result was allowed to stand and the remainder of the team are still listed as gold medallists.[6] Another American runner, Crystal Cox, was stripped of her 2004 Olympic title for doping offences, but again the American team remain champions.[7] Sanya Richards-Ross is the most successful athlete in the event, having three straight wins from 2004 to 2012. Americans Steve Lewis and Jeremy Wariner are the only men to win the title twice and Chris Brown of the Bahamas is the only man to reach the podium three times.
Contents
Medal summary
Men
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 |
| 3 | Chris Brown | Bahamas (BAH) |
2000–2012 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 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) |
16 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| 2 | Great Britain (GBR) |
2 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| 3 |  Jamaica (JAM) |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Bahamas (BAH) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 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= |  Poland (POL) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  South Africa (RSA) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | West Germany (FRG) |
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 17= |  Canada (CAN) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 17= |  Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 19= |  British West Indies (BWI) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 19= |  Italy (ITA) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 19= |  Russia (RUS) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
- nb The German total includes teams both competing as Germany and the Unified Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.
Women
Note: * Indicates athletes who ran in preliminary rounds and also received medals.
Note: Marion Jones was stripped of all her Olympic medals in 2000. Crystal Cox was stripped of her Olympic medal in 2004, both being found guilty of doping violations.
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanya Richards-Ross | United States (USA) |
2004–2012 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Jearl Miles-Clark | United States (USA) |
1992–2000 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3= | Olga Nazarova | Soviet Union (URS) Unified Team (EUN) |
1988–1992 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Olga Bryzgina | Soviet Union (URS) Unified Team (EUN) |
1988–1992 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Lyudmila Dzhigalova | Soviet Union (URS) Unified Team (EUN) |
1988–1992 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Monique Hennagan | United States (USA) |
2000–2004 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Monique Henderson | United States (USA) |
2004–2008 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | DeeDee Trotter | United States (USA) |
2004–2012 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3= | Allyson Felix | United States (USA) |
2008–2012 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Denean Howard-Hill | United States (USA) |
1984–1992 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 11= | Lillie Leatherwood | United States (USA) |
1984–1988 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11= | Sherri Howard | United States (USA) |
1984–1988 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11= | Valerie Brisco-Hooks | United States (USA) |
1984–1988 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11= | Diane Dixon | United States (USA) |
1984–1988 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11= | Rochelle Stevens | United States (USA) |
1992–1996 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 | Tatyana Firova | Russia (RUS) |
2004–2012 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 17= | Natalya Antyukh | Russia (RUS) |
2004–2012 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 17= | Yuliya Gushchina | Russia (RUS) |
2008–2012 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 17= | Anastasiya Kapachinskaya | Russia (RUS) |
2008–2012 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 20= | Sandie Richards | Jamaica (JAM) |
2000–2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20= | Natalya Nazarova | Russia (RUS) |
2000–2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20= | Olesya Zykina | Russia (RUS) |
2000–2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20= | Michelle Burgher | Jamaica (JAM) |
2000–2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 24 | Novlene Williams-Mills | Jamaica (JAM) |
2004–2012 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 25= | Grit Breuer | East Germany (GDR) Germany (GER) |
1988–1996 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 25= | Shericka Williams | Jamaica (JAM) |
2008–2012 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 25= | Shereefa Lloyd | Jamaica (JAM) |
2008–2012 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 25= | Rosemarie Whyte | Jamaica (JAM) |
2008–2012 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (USA) |
6 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| 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 | Russia (RUS) |
0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Jamaica (JAM) |
0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 7= | Canada (CAN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7= | Nigeria (NGR) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9= | Great Britain (GBR) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 9= | West Germany (FRG) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 | Germany (GER) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1908 Olympic medley relay
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 London |
 United States (USA)William Hamilton Nate Cartmell John Taylor Mel Sheppard |
 Germany (GER)Arthur Hoffmann Hans Eicke Otto Trieloff Hanns Braun |
 Hungary (HUN)Pál Simon Frigyes Wiesner József Nagy Ödön Bodor |
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.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ American runner Crystal Cox stripped of 2004 relay gold. USA Today (2012-07-21). Retrieved on 2014-06-22.
External links
- IAAF 4×400 metres relay homepage
- Official Olympics website
- Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News
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