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The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race. Each runner carries a relay baton. Before 2018, the baton had to be passed within a 20 m changeover box, preceded by a 10-metre acceleration zone. With a rule change effective November 1, 2017, that zone was modified to include the acceleration zone as part of the passing zone, making the entire zone 30 metres in length. The outgoing runner cannot touch the baton until it has entered the zone, and the incoming runner cannot touch it after it has left the zone. The zone is usually marked in yellow, frequently using lines, triangles or chevrons. While the rule book specifies the exact positioning of the marks, the colours and style are only "recommended". While most legacy tracks will still have the older markings, the rule change still uses existing marks.[1] Not all governing body jurisdictions have adopted the rule change.
| Athletics 4 × 100 metres relay | |
|---|---|
 The finish at the Rio 2016 Olympics | |
| World records | |
| Men |  Jamaica (Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt) 36.84 (2012) |
| Women |  United States (Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter) 40.82 (2012) |
| Olympic records | |
| Men | Jamaica (Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt) 36.84 (2012) |
| Women | United States (Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter) 40.82 (2012) |
| World Championship records | |
| Men | Jamaica (Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt) 37.04 (2011) |
| Women | United States (Tamari Davis, Twanisha Terry, Gabrielle Thomas, Sha'Carri Richardson) 41.03 (2023) |
The transfer of the baton in this race is typically blind. The outgoing runner reaches a straight arm backwards when entering the changeover box or when the incoming runner makes a verbal signal. The outgoing runner does not look back, and it is the responsibility of the incoming runner to thrust the baton into the outstretched hand and not let go until the outgoing runner takes hold of it without crossing the changeover box and stops after the baton is exchanged.[2][3] Runners on the first and third legs typically run on the inside of the lane with the baton in their right hand, while runners on the second and fourth legs take the baton in their left. Polished handovers can compensate for lack of basic speed to some extent, and disqualification for dropping the baton or failing to transfer it within the box is common, even at the highest level.[4] Relay times are typically 2–3 seconds faster than the sum of best times of individual runners.
The United States men and women historically dominated this event through the 20th century, winning Olympic gold medals and the most IAAF/World Athletics championships. Carl Lewis ran the anchor leg on U.S. relay teams that set six world records from 1983 to 1992, including the first team to break 38 seconds.
The current men's world record stands at 36.84, set by the Jamaican team at the final of the 2012 London Olympic Games on 11 August 2012. As the only team to break 37 seconds to date, Jamaica has been the dominant team in the sport, winning two consecutive Olympic Gold Medals and four consecutive World Championships. The Jamaican team also set the previous record of 37.04 seconds at the 2011 World Championships.
The fastest electronically timed anchor leg run is 8.65 seconds by Usain Bolt at the 2015 IAAF World Relays,[5] while Bob Hayes was hand-timed as running 8.7 seconds on a cinder track in the 1964 Tokyo Games Final. The Tokyo Games also had electronic timing. High-speed modern video analysis shows his time to be a more realistic 8.95-9.0 seconds in the final, a much more consistent time relative to his Fully Automatic Timing 10.06s 100m world record and more in line with the usual +0.25s-0.3s hand time to FAT conversion.[6]
The women's world record stands at 40.82 seconds, set by the United States in 2012 at the London Olympics. The fastest anchor leg run by a woman was run by Christine Arron of France, timed unofficially at 9.67s.[7]
According to the IAAF rules, world records in relays can only be set if all team members have the same nationality.
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From the beginnings to the first official world record
If on the European continent the metric system is the one almost exclusively used (4 × 100 metres, or a lap of 400 m), where the imperial system is still used (UK, USA and Australia, mainly) this relay was rather ran over the distance of 4 × 110 yards, a total of 402.34 m, and that, until the late 1960s. The runway at Hayward Field was shortened to 400 m only in 1987.
Paradoxically, the first race recognized as certain, without however being an official world record, dates back to 1897, shortly after the creation, on 8 May, of the Česká amatérská atletická unie (ČAAU). On June 26 of that year, during Sparta's 5th match in Prague, the organizing team, AC Sparta Praha, defeated MAC Budapest, in 48 1/5 seconds.
Unlike the "long" 4×400 m relay, whose origins are clearly American, because it derives from the 4×440 yards, the 4×100 m relay is therefore of European origin. The Scandinavians, in particular, have introduced this new specialty into their programmes, in the hope of being able to play a decisive role in it.
Before World War I, this foundation period of the relay was gradually enhanced by various German or Swedish teams (such as AIK Stockholm), until the semi-finals of the Stockholm Olympic Games (1912) where this event made its Olympic appearance:
- in the 1st semi-final, the Great Britain team (consisting of David Jacobs, Henry Macintosh, Victor d'Arcy, and William Applegarth) reached 43 seconds 0 tenths (43 s) for the first time, behind the Americans who had finished in 42 seconds 5 , but who were disqualified for passing the baton out of the area;
- in the second semifinal, the Swedish team (Ivan Möller, Charles Luther, Ture Person and Knut Lindberg) took this record to 42 s 5, ahead of Hungary in 42 s 9.
These two runs have not been recognized by the IAAF as the first world records, despite their official nature. The first officially recognized world record for the fast relay is that of the German team, which on 8 July 1912, during the 3rd semifinal, runs in 42 seconds 3 tenths. The team consisted of Otto Röhr, Max Herrmann, Erwin Kern, and Richard Rau. In the final Great Britain, despite having finished second again, behind the favorites and the new world record holders, still won the gold medal, due to the loss of the German baton. Sweden is second in 42 s 6. The bronze medal is not awarded, because the Americans, still clumsy in passing the baton, were also downgraded. The German record in the semifinal (42"3) will remain the best result of the year. In 1913 it will be recognized by the newly formed IAAF as the first official world record of the specialty.[8]
After this first Olympic event, in addition to the 4×400 m relay, the 4×100 m relay established itself as a classic Olympic event and will always remain on the programme, first for men, then extended to women. The two relays undergo little transformation over time. However, since 1926, the baton bearer has to remain in the baton transmission area, which is 20 m long. It wasn't until 1963 that the rules were relaxed: a 10m run-up zone, before this zone, allowed him to better tackle the run-up.
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- Updated 16 August 2024.[9]
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Key to tables:
Not ratified or later rescinded
X = annulled due to doping violation
Men
Women
Men
Note:
- A USA team ran 37.04 in London in 2012 but the performance was annulled due to use of performance-enhancing drugs by Tyson Gay
- A Jamaican team ran 37.10 in Beijing in 2008 but the performance was annulled due to use of performance-enhancing drugs by Nesta Carter
- A USA team ran 37.38 in the heats in London in 2012 but the performance was retrospectively disqualified following drug test failure by Tyson Gay, even though Gay only ran in the final and not the heat.
Women
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Men
Note: * Indicates athletes who ran in preliminary rounds and also received medals.
Women
Note: * Indicates athletes who ran in preliminary rounds and also received medals.
- nb Note: Marion Jones was stripped of all her Olympic medals.
- In 2008 the Russian team of Evgeniya Polyakova, Aleksandra Fedoriva, Yulia Gushchina, and Yuliya Chermoshanskaya were initially awarded the gold medals. However, the medals were rescinded in 2016 following disqualification of Chermoshanskaya for use of performance-enhancing drugs.[49]
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Men
Note * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.
- 4x100m dq1 The Nigerian team of Innocent Asonze, Francis Obikwelu, Daniel Effiong and Deji Aliu originally finished third in the 1999 World Championship, but were disqualified after Asonze was found to have used performance-enhancing drugs.
- 4x100m dq2 The United States team of Mickey Grimes, Bernard Williams, Dennis Mitchell and Tim Montgomery originally won the 2001 World Championship in a time of 37.96 seconds, but were disqualified after Montgomery admitted to drug use as a result of the BALCO scandal in 2005.
- 4x100m dq3 The British team of Christian Malcolm, Darren Campbell, Marlon Devonish and Dwain Chambers originally finished second in the 2003 World Championship, but were disqualified after Chambers was found to have used performance-enhancing drugs.
Medals by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Jamaica (JAM) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 |  Canada (CAN) | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 5 |  France (FRA) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 |  South Africa (RSA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 |  Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 |  Italy (ITA) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 |  Australia (AUS) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 12 |  Nigeria (NGR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 China (CHN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 |  Japan (JPN) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 15 |  Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women
Note * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.
- dq1 The United States team of Kelli White, Chryste Gaines, Inger Miller, and Marion Jones originally won the 2001 World Championship in a time of 41.71 seconds, but were disqualified after Jones and White were found to have used performance-enhancing drugs.
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Men
Women
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