The 4 ÃÂ 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. The first leg and the first bend of the second leg are run in lanes. Start lines are thus staggered over a greater distance than in an individual 400 metres race; the runners then typically move to the inside of the track. The slightly longer 4 ÃÂ 440 yards relay, on an Imperial distance, was a formerly run British Commonwealth and American event, until metrication was completed in the 1970s.
Relay race runners typically carry a relay baton which they must transfer between teammates. Runners have a 20 m box (usually marked with blue lines) in which to transfer the baton. The first transfer is made within the staggered lane lines; for the second and third transfers, runners typically line up across the track despite the fact that runners are usually running in line on the inside of the track. This prevents confusion and collisions during transfer. Unlike the 4 ÃÂ 100 m relay, runners in the 4 ÃÂ 400 typically look back and grasp the baton from the incoming runner, due to the fatigue of the incoming runner, and the wider margins allowed by the longer distance of the race. Consequently, disqualification is rare.
As runners have a running start, split times cannot be compared to individual 400 m performances. Internationally, the U.S. men's team has dominated the event, but have been challenged by Jamaica in the 1950s and Britain in the 1990s. The current men's Olympic champions are from the United States.
According to the IAAF rules, world records in relays can only be set if all team members have the same nationality.
Mixed-sex 4 à400 metres relays were introduced at the 2017 IAAF World Relays, with the IAAF first recognizing a world record in that event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. In March 2022 World Athletics Council decided a set order â man, woman, man, woman â at future championships. Eventually, the format was added to the Olympics, starting with the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Note: The IAAF rescinded a time of 2:54.20 set at Uniondale on 22 July 1998 by the United States (Jerome Young, Antonio Pettigrew, Tyree Washington, Michael Johnson) on 12 August 2008 after Pettigrew admitted to using human growth hormone and EPO between 1997 and 2003.
Note: The above world record was bettered by three teams at the 2018 NCAA Division I Championship on 10 March 2018 at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, United States:
Note: The above world record was bettered in a time of 3:21.75 by the University of Arkansas team of Amber Anning, Joanne Reid, Rosey Effiong, and Britton Wilson at the 2023 NCAA Division I Indoor Championship on 11 March 2023 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. This time was not record-eligible because Anning was a citizen of Great Britain, Reid was a citizen of Jamaica, and Effiong and Wilson were United States citizens.
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<small>Note: * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.</small>
<small>Note: * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.</small>