The men's

4 × 100 metres relay 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 individu ...

event at the 1936 Olympic Games took place on August 9. 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 territorie ...

team of

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

Ralph Metcalfe Ralph Harold Metcalfe Sr. (May 29, 1910 – October 10, 1978) was an American track and field sprinter and politician. He jointly held the world record in the 100-meter dash and placed second in that event in two Olympics, first to Eddie Tola ...

Foy Draper Foy Draper (November 26, 1911 – February 1, 1943) was an American track and field athlete who won a gold medal in 4 × 100 m relay at the 1936 Summer Olympics. As a University of Southern California student, Draper won the IC4A championships ...

and

Frank Wykoff Frank Clifford Wykoff (October 29, 1909 – January 1, 1980) was an American athlete, triple gold medal winner in 4 × 100 m relay at the Olympic Games. Career Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Frank Wykoff has a place in track and field h ...

won in a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

time of 39.8.

Marty Glickman Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Glickman w ...

and

Sam Stoller Sam Stoller (August 8, 1915 – May 29, 1985) was an American athlete who specialized in sprinting and long jumping. He tied the world record in the 60-yard dash in 1936. Stoller is best known for his exclusion from the American 4 × 10 ...

were originally slated to compete in the American relay team but were replaced by Owens and Metcalfe prior to the start of the race. There were speculations that their Jewish heritage contributed to the decision "not to embarrass the German hosts"; however, given that African-Americans were also heavily disliked by the Nazis, Glickman and Stoller's replacement with black American athletes Owens and Metcalfe does not support this theory. Others state that Owens and Metcalfe were in a better physical condition, and that was the main reason behind the replacement.

Results

Heats

The fastest two teams in each of the three heats advanced to the final round.

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Final

Key: DSQ = Disqualified, WR = World record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1936 Summer Olympics - Men's 4x100 Metres Relay Men's 4x100 metres relay Relay foot races at the Olympics Men's events at the 1936 Summer Olympics