Men's 4 × 100 metres relay world record progression

The first world record in the 4 x 100 metres relay for men (athletics) was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912.

To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 35 world records in the event.[1]

The following table shows the world record progression in the men's 4 x 100 metre relay, as ratified by the IAAF. "y" denotes time for 4 x 110 yards (402.34 m), ratified as a record for this event.

Records 1912-1976

Time Auto Team Nationality Location of race Date
42.3 Germany  Germany Stockholm, Sweden 1912-07-08
42.2 United States  United States Antwerp, Belgium 1920-08-22
42.0 Great Britain  United Kingdom Paris, France 1924-07-12
42.0 Netherlands  Netherlands Paris, France 1924-07-12
41.0 United States  United States Paris, France 1924-07-13
41.0y Newark A.C. (Johnny Gibson)  United States Lincoln, Nebraska, USA 1927-07-04
41.0 Eintracht Frankfurt  Germany Halle, Germany 1928-06-10
41.0 United States  United States Amsterdam, Netherlands 1928-08-05
41.0 Germany  Germany Berlin, Germany 1928-09-02
40.8 S.C. Charlottenburg  Germany Breslau, Germany 1929-07-22
40.8y University of Southern California  United States Fresno, USA 1931-05-09
40.6 Germany  Germany Kassel, Germany 1932-06-14
40.0 40.10 United States  United States Los Angeles, USA 1932-08-07
39.8 United States  United States Berlin, Germany 1936-08-09
39.5 39.60 United States  United States Melbourne, Australia 1956-12-01
39.5 Federal Republic of Germany  Germany Cologne, Germany 1958-08-29
39.5 39.61 Unified Team of Germany  Germany Rome, Italy 1960-09-07
39.5 39.66 Unified Team of Germany  Germany Rome, Italy 1960-09-08
39.1 United States  United States Moscow, USSR 1961-07-15
39.0 39.06 United States  United States Tokyo, Japan 1964-10-21
38.6y University of Southern California  United States Provo, USA 1967-06-17
38.6 38.65 Jamaica  Jamaica Mexico City, Mexico 1968-10-19
38.3 38.39 Jamaica  Jamaica Mexico City, Mexico 1968-10-19
38.2 38.24 United States  United States Mexico City, Mexico 1968-10-20
38.2 38.19 United States  United States Munich, Germany 1972-09-10

Records since 1977

From 1975 onwards, the IAAF accepted separate automatically electronically timed records for events up to 400 metres. Starting January 1, 1977, the IAAF required fully automatic timing to the hundredth of a second for these events.[1]

The United States relay team's 1972 Olympic gold medal victory time of 38.19 was the fastest recorded result to that time.

Time Team Nationality Location Date Ref Event Participants
38.19 United States  United States Munich, Germany 1972-09-10 1972 Munich Summer Olympics Final Larry Black; Robert Taylor; Gerald Tinker; Eddie Hart
38.03 United States  United States Düsseldorf, Germany 1977-09-03 1977 IAAF World Cup Bill Collins; Steve Riddick; Cliff Wiley; Steve Williams
37.86 United States  United States Helsinki, Finland 1983-08-10 [2] 1983 World Championships Final Emmit King, Willie Gault, Calvin Smith, Carl Lewis
37.83 United States  United States Los Angeles, USA 1984-08-11 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Final Sam Graddy; Ron Brown; Calvin Smith; Carl Lewis
37.79 France  France Split, Yugoslavia (now Croatia) 1990-09-01 1990 European Championships Max Morinière; Daniel Sangouma; Jean-Charles Trouabal; Bruno Marie-Rose
37.79 Santa Monica Track Club  United States Monte Carlo, Monaco 1991-08-03 Michael Marsh; Leroy Burrell; Floyd Heard; Carl Lewis
37.67 United States 1  United States Zürich, Switzerland 1991-08-07 1991 Weltklasse Zurich meet Michael Marsh; Leroy Burrell; Dennis Mitchell; Carl Lewis
37.50 United States  United States Tokyo, Japan 1991-09-01 [3] 1991 World Championships Final Andre Cason; Leroy Burrell; Dennis Mitchell; Carl Lewis
37.40 United States  United States Barcelona, Spain 1992-08-08 1992 Barcelona Olympics Michael Marsh; Leroy Burrell; Dennis Mitchell; Carl Lewis
37.40 United States  United States Stuttgart, Germany 1993-08-21 1993 World Championships Semi-Final Jon Drummond; Andre Cason; Dennis Mitchell; Leroy Burrell
37.10 Jamaica  Jamaica Beijing, China 2008-08-22 [4] 2008 Olympics Final Nesta Carter; Michael Frater; Usain Bolt; Asafa Powell
37.04 Jamaica  Jamaica Daegu, Korea 2011-09-04 [5] 2011 World Championships Final Nesta Carter; Michael Frater; Yohan Blake; Usain Bolt
36.84 Jamaica  Jamaica London, United Kingdom 2012-08-11 [6] 2012 Olympics Final Nesta Carter; Michael Frater; Yohan Blake; Usain Bolt

T42-T46 Class

The T42-T46 4x100m relay is run by athletes with a disability.

Time Team Nationality Location Date Ref Event Participants
41.78 South Africa  South Africa London, England 2012-09-5 [7] 2012 Paralympics Oscar Pistorius; Arnu Fourie; Zivan Smith; Samkelo Radebe
42.50 South Africa  South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa 2012-03-17 [8] Yellow Pages Series Oscar Pistorius; Arnu Fourie; Zivan Smith; Samkelo Radebe

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009." (pdf). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 561–2. Archived from the original on November 23, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  2. ↑ "4x100 Metres Results". IAAF. 10 August 1983. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "4x100 Metres Results". 1 September 1991. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  4. ↑ "4x100 Metres Results". IAAF. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "4x100 Metres Results". IAAF. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "Usain Bolt golden again in 4x100 relay in world record time". USA TODAY. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Paralympics 100m: Oscar Pistorius says past experience vital, BBC Sport, 21 May 2012, retrieved 21 September 2012
  8. ↑ Relay team eye world record at Nedbank Champs, 27 March 2012, retrieved 21 September 2012