The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

. With its inclusion in the

IAAF World Relays The World Athletics Relays, known as the ''IAAF World Relays'' until 2019, is an international biennial track and field sporting event held by World Athletics where teams from around the world compete in relay races, some of which are not part of ...

program, the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event. Unlike most track relays, each member of the team runs a different distance. A distance medley relay is made up of a 1200-meter leg (three laps on a standard 400 meter track), a 400-meter leg (one lap), an 800-meter leg (two laps), and a 1600-meter leg (four laps) in that order. The total distance run is 4000 meters, or nearly 2.5 miles. Aside from the 400 meter segment, which is a sprint, all legs are a middle distance run. Prior to going metric, the distance medley relay consisted of a 440-yard leg, an 880-yard leg, a 1320-yard leg and a one-mile leg. The total distance for the old distance medley relay was 4400 yards and the total distance for the current metric distance medley relay is 4374.45 yards - slightly over 25 yards shorter than the old race.

World best

Men

The United States currently holds world record in the men's DMR with a time of 9:15.50, set on May 3, 2015. This was set during 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 ...

at Thomas Robinson Stadium, located in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

. The team consisted of

Kyle Merber Kyle Merber (born November 19, 1990) is a former American mid-distance runner who specialized in the mile and the 1500 metres. He was sponsored by Hoka One One and competed for the New Jersey New York Track Club before retiring from the sport in ...

2:53.56 (1200m), Brycen Spratling 45.95 (400m), Brandon Johnson 1:44.75 (800m), and

Ben Blankenship Ben Blankenship (born December 15, 1988) is an American middle distance runner. He is a world record holder as a member of the 2015 USA Distance medley relay team, of which he ran the 1600-meter anchor leg. Running career Elementary school Bla ...

3:51.24 (1600m). They shaved off 0.06s from Kenya's previous world record time set in 2006. The Kenyan team of 2006 ran the DMR in 9:15.56, currently the second fastest time ever run. At the time of the IAAF announcement of world record status, this mark became the ratified world record. Elkanah Angwenyi in 2:50.8 (1,200 meters), Thomas Musembi in 45.8 (400), Alfred Yego in 1:46.2 (800) and

Alex Kipchirchir Alex Kipchirchir Rono (born 26 November 1984 in Sergoit, Uasin Gishu District) is a middle distance runner from Kenya. Career He graduated from Litein High School. He played football and basketball when still at school and did not take up a ...

in 3:52.8 (1,600). This mark was set on April 29, 2006, at the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. The Oregon Track and Field team of Cole Hocker in 2:49.89 (1,200 meters), Luis Peralta in 47.29 (400), Charlie Hunter in 1:47.65 (800), and Cooper Teare in 3:54.61 (1,600) currently hold the indoor world best in a time of 9:19.42. The mark was set on January 29, 2021 at the Razorback Invitational in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until ...

Women

At the same

, the women's world record was set by the American team of Treniere Moser 3:18.38 (1200m),

Sanya Richards-Ross Sanya Richards-Ross (née Richards; born February 26, 1985) is a retired Jamaican-American track and field athlete, who competed internationally for the United States in the 400-meter sprint. Her notable accolades in this event include being th ...

(50.12) (400m), Ajee' Wilson 2:00.08 (800m), and

Shannon Rowbury Shannon Rowbury (born September 19, 1984) is an American middle-distance runner from San Francisco, California. After competing collegiately for Duke University, she turned professional in 2007. Rowbury has represented the United States at the ...

4:27.92 (1600m) running 10:36.50. They beat the outdoor record of 10:48.38 set by a team from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

of Kathy Franey (1200m), Michelle Bennett (400m), Celeste Halliday (800m), and Vicki Huber (1600m) at the

in April 1988 in

, Pennsylvania 27 years earlier. The United States women's team of Sarah Brown, Mahagony Jones, Megan Krumpoch, and

Brenda Martinez Brenda Martinez (born September 8, 1987) is an American middle-distance runner and Olympian. Born in Upland, California, she won a silver medal in the 800 meters at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow and finished first in the ...

set the first indoor world record for the event with a time of 10:42.57 at

New Balance Indoor Grand Prix The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as the Boston Indoor Games, is an annual indoor track and field meet which is held in late January or early February at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. It was first held in Roxbury, a ...

in 2015. At the time of the IAAF announcement, this time, superior to the best time outdoors, became the ratified world record even though it was set on an indoor banked track. On April 15, 2022 an American team consisting of Heather MacLean, Kendall Ellis,

Roisin Willis Roisin Willis (born August 6, 2004) is an American middle-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 800 meters at the 2022 World Under-20 Championships, adding second title for the women's 4x400 m relay. Willis is a two-time NCAA ch ...

and

Elle Purrier St. Pierre Elinor "Elle" Purrier St. Pierre (born February 20, 1995) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in middle-distance running and long-distance running. In 2022, she earned her first global medal, winning silver in the women's 300 ...

set the current best indoor time of 10:33.85 at The TRACK in Boston. Nevertheless the distance medley relay is only a world record discipline outdoors it is a subject to usual ratification procedure to become an outright world record because their time bettered the outdoor mark of 10:36.50.

All-time top 25

Men

*Updated April 2022.

Women

*Updated May 2022.

References

Track relay races {{athletics-stub

World best

Men

Women

All-time top 25

Men

Women

See also

References