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. Not all
governing body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...
jurisdictions have adopted the rule change.
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. 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. Relay times are typically 2–3 seconds faster than the sum of best times of individual runners.
The
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
men and women historically dominated this event through the 20th century, winning Olympic gold medals and the most IAAF world championships.
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...
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
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n 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
The 2015 IAAF World Relays was the second edition of the biennial, global track and field relay competition between nations. As in the previous year, it was held in May in Nassau, Bahamas. Apart from contesting for the Golden Baton for the best t ...
, 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
Fully automatic time (abbreviated FAT) is a form of race timing in which the clock is automatically activated by the starting device, and the finish time is either automatically recorded, or timed by analysis of a photo finish. The system is c ...
10.06s 100m world record and more in line with the usual +0.25s-0.3s hand time to FAT conversion.
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.
According to the IAAF rules, world records in relays can only be set if all team members have the same nationality.
Continental records
''Updated 5 October 2019''
All-time top 10 by country
Key to tables:
X = annulled due to doping violation
Men
*Correct as of June 2022
Women
*Correct as of August 2021
All-time top 25
Men
*Updated July 2022
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.
* A UK team ran 37.51 in Tokyo in 2021 but the performance was annulled due to use of performance-enhancing drugs by
Chijindu Ujah
Women
*Correct as of July 2022
Olympic Games medalists
Men
Women
World Championships medalists
Men
Women
See also
*
Men's 4 × 100 metres relay world record progression
*
Women's 4 × 100 metres relay world record progression
*
Italy national relays team at the international athletics championships
*
List of fastest anchor legs
Notes and references
External links
IAAF list of 4x100-metres-relay records in XML
{{DEFAULTSORT:4 by 100 Metres Relay
Events in track and field
Track relay races
Summer Olympic disciplines in athletics