The women's 4 × 100 metres relay competition at the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

took place on 9–10 August at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

. The victorious United States team broke the world record by over half a second. The previous record had been set 27 years previously by

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. The Jamaican team, 6 metres back, missed the previous world record by 0.04, but set a new national record. Another 7 metres back, Ukraine took the bronze, also setting a new national record.

Records

, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows. The following records were established during the competition:

Results

Round 1

Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.

Heat 1

Heat 2

*France originally finished in seventh place with a time of 43.77, but were disqualified due to a lane infringement.

Final

The American team had an often repeated history of relay failures, so most of the pre-race discussion focused on whether it could successfully get the baton around the track. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing, both the men's and women's 4 × 100 metres teams had dropped the baton, leading one reporter to call it the "nadir in US relay history". On the first leg of the final,

Tianna Madison Tianna Bartoletta née Madison (born August 30, 1985) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the long jump and short sprinting events. She is a two-time Olympian with three gold medals. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she placed ...

was able to hold her own against the double 100-metre gold medalist

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Order of Distinction, OD, Order of Jamaica , OJ (née Fraser; born December 27, 1986) is a Jamaican track and field Sprint (running), sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 60 metres, 100 metres, 100 m and 200 m ...

Allyson Felix Allyson Michelle Felix (born November 18, 1985) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 me ...

put the USA into the lead, extended by

Bianca Knight Bianca Knight (born January 2, 1989) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 100 and 200 meters. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she won a team event gold medal in the 4x100 metres relay team. In the final, the quartet of ...

around the turn. At the final handoff to individual 100-metre silver medalist

Carmelita Jeter Carmelita Jeter ( , born November 24, 1979) is a retired American sprinter, who competed in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. For over a decade, between 2009 and 2021, Jeter held the title as "Fastest woman alive" after running a 100 m personal be ...

, the team enjoyed a 3-metre lead. Secure in the handoffs, Jeter sped to the finish, noticing the time and pointing at the clock before the finish line. *Trinidad and Tobago failed to finish as Michelle-Lee Ahye could not pass the baton to Kelly-Ann Baptiste in time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics - Women's 4 by 100 metres relay Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics Relay foot races at the Olympics

Olympics 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

2012 in women's athletics Women's events at the 2012 Summer Olympics