# 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 4 × 400 metres relay

The women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 22 and August 23.

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| United States (USA) Debbie Dunn Allyson Felix Lashinda Demus Sanya Richards Natasha Hastings* Jessica Beard* | Jamaica (JAM) Rosemarie Whyte Novlene Williams-Mills Shereefa Lloyd Shericka Williams Kaliese Spencer* | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) Lee McConnell Christine Ohuruogu Vicki Barr Nicola Sanders Jenny Meadows* |
* Runners who participated in the heats only and received medals.
**Original medalists Russia forfeited results and medals as a result of disqualification of Kapachinskaya.

## Records

Prior to the competition, the following records were as follows.
| World record | Soviet Union (URS) Tatyana Ledovskaya, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina, Olga Bryzgina | 3:15.17 | Seoul, South Korea | 1 October 1988 |
| Championship record | United States (USA) Gwen Torrence, Jearl Miles Clark, Natasha Kaiser-Brown, Maicel Malone-Wallace | 3:16.71 | Stuttgart, Germany | 22 August 1993 |
| World Leading | United States (USA) Monica Hargrove, Natasha Hastings, Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards | 3:23.08 | Philadelphia, United States | 25 April 2009 |
| African Record | Nigeria (NGR) Falilat Ogunkoya, Fatima Yusuf, Olabisi Afolabi, Charity Opara | 3:21.04 | Atlanta, United States | 3 August 1996 |
| Asian Record | China (CHN) An Xiaohong, Bai Xiaoyun, Cao Chunying, Ma Yuqin | 3:24.28 | Beijing, China | 13 September 1993 |
| North American Record | United States (USA) Denean Howard-Hill, Diane Dixon, Valerie Brisco-Hooks, Florence Griffith Joyner | 3:15.51 | Seoul, South Korea | 1 October 1988 |
| South American record | Brazil (BRA) Lucimar Teodoro, Geisa Aparecida Coutinho, Maria Laura Almirão, Josiane Tito | 3:26.82 | Helsinki, Finland | 13 August 2005 |
| European Record | Soviet Union (URS) Tatyana Ledovskaya, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina, Olga Bryzgina | 3:15.17 | Seoul, South Korea | 1 October 1988 |
| Oceanian Record | Australia (AUS) Cathy Freeman, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, Tamsyn Lewis, Nova Peris | 3:23.81 | Sydney, Australia | 30 September 2000 |
No new world or championship record was set during this competition.

## Qualification standards

* Standard
* 3:31.00

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| August 22, 2009 | 20:15 | Heats |
| August 23, 2009 | 17:50 | Final |

## Results
### Heats

Qualification: First 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) advance to the final.
| Rank | Heat | Nation | Athletes | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Russia (RUS) | Natalya Nazarova, Tatyana Firova, Natalya Antyukh, Lyudmila Litvinova | 3:23.80 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 2 | Jamaica (JAM) | Kaliese Spencer, Shereefa Lloyd, Rosemarie Whyte, Novlene Williams-Mills | 3:24.72 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Germany (GER) | Fabienne Kohlmann, Sorina Nwachukwu, Esther Cremer, Claudia Hoffmann | 3:25.08 | Q, SB |
| 4 | 2 | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | Nicola Sanders, Vicki Barr, Jenny Meadows, Lee McConnell | 3:25.23 | q, SB |
| 5 | 2 | Cuba (CUB) | Susana A. Clement, Daisurami Bonne, Zulia Calatayud, Indira Terrero | 3:27.36 | q, SB |
| 6 | 2 | Canada (CAN) | Esther Akinsulie, Adrienne Power, Jenna Martin, Carline Muir | 3:29.17 | SB |
| 7 | 1 | United States (USA) | Debbie Dunn, Natasha Hastings, Jessica Beard, Sanya Richards | 3:29.31 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | Nigeria (NGR) | Endurance Abinuwa, Muizat Ajoke Odumosu, Josephine Ehigie, Folashade Abugan | 3:29.60 | Q, SB |
| 8 | 1 | France (FRA) | Virginie Michanol, Aurélie Kamga, Symphora Béhi, Solen Désert-Mariller | 3:29.60 | Q, SB |
| 10 | 2 | Ukraine (UKR) | Yuliya Baraley, Tetiana Petlyuk, Anastasiya Rabchenyuk, Antonina Yefremova | 3:30.76 | |
| 11 | 1 | Australia (AUS) | Pirrenee Steinert, Madeleine Pape, Caitlin Willis-Pincott, Tamsyn Lewis | 3:30.80 | |
| 12 | 1 | Italy (ITA) | Marta Milani, Daniela Reina, Maria Enrica Spacca, Libania Grenot | 3:31.05 | |
| 13 | 1 | Brazil (BRA) | Geisa Aparecida Coutinho, Emmilly Pinheiro, Sheila Ferreira, Jailma de Lima | 3:31.42 | |
| 14 | 2 | Japan (JPN) | Sayaka Aoki, Asami Tanno, Mayu Sato, Satomi Kubokura | 3:34.46 | |
| 15 | 1 | Mexico (MEX) | Alejandra Cherizola, Nallely Vela, Ruth Grajeda, Karla Dueñas | 3:40.03 | |
| | 1 | Bahamas (BAH) | Sasha Rolle, Shakeitha Henfield, Rashan Brown, Katrina Seymour | | DQ |
Key: DQ = Disqualified, Q = qualification by place in heat, q = qualification by overall place, SB = Seasonal best

### Final

| Rank | Nation | Athletes | Time | Notes |
| | United States (USA) | Debbie Dunn, Allyson Felix, Lashinda Demus, Sanya Richards | 3:17.83 | WL |
| | Jamaica (JAM) | Rosemarie Whyte, Novlene Williams-Mills, Shereefa Lloyd, Shericka Williams | 3:21.15 | SB |
| 3 | Russia (RUS) | Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, Tatyana Firova, Lyudmila Litvinova, Antonina Krivoshapka | 3:21.64 | Doping |
| | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | Lee McConnell, Christine Ohuruogu, Vicki Barr, Nicola Sanders | 3:25.16 | SB |
| 4 | Germany (GER) | Fabienne Kohlmann, Sorina Nwachukwu, Esther Cremer, Claudia Hoffmann | 3:27.61 | |
| 5 | Nigeria (NGR) | Endurance Abinuwa, Muizat Ajoke Odumosu, Josephine Ehigie, Folasade Abugan | 3:28.55 | SB |
| 6 | France (FRA) | Virginie Michanol, Aurélie Kamga, Symphora Béhi, Solen Désert-Mariller | 3:30.16 | |
| 7 | Cuba (CUB) | Diosmely Peña, Daisurami Bonne, Zulia Calatayud, Indira Terrero | 3:36.99 | |
Key: SB = Seasonal best, WL = World leading (in a given season)