# 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's 4 × 400 metres relay

The women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships took place in one round in the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, on 5 March 2023. This was the twelfth time the women's 4 × 400 metres relay was contested at the European Athletics Indoor Championships. Six national teams qualified based on their outdoor results from 2022 or the team's cumulative individual 400 metres indoor results from 2023.
The race was lead by the team of the Netherlands from the first leg onwards, who won in a championship record and Dutch national record of 3:25.66 minutes, successfully defending their 2021 title, followed by the team of Italy in an Italian national record of 3:28.61 minutes in second place and the team of Poland in a time of 3:29.31 minutes in third place.

## Background

The women's 4 × 400 metres relay was introduced at the 2000 edition of the European Athletics Indoor Championships and had been contested eleven times before 2023. The 2023 edition was held at the Ataköy Athletics Arena, an indoor track and field arena in the Ataköy quarter in Bakırköy, Istanbul, Turkey.
At the start of these championships, the world and European record was 3:23.37 min set by Russia's team in 2006. The championship record was 3:27.15 min set by the Dutch team in 2021, making them the defending champions. The 2023 world leading time was 3:26.40 min set by the team of the Arkansas Razorbacks and the 2023 European leading time was 3:37.11 min set by the Hungarian national team.
Records before the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships :
| Record | Team | Time | Location | Date |
| World record | Russia | 3:23.37 | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 28 January 2006 |
| European record | Russia | 3:23.37 | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 28 January 2006 |
| Championship record | Netherlands | 3:27.15 | Toruń, Poland | 7 March 2021 |
| World leading | Arkansas Razorbacks | 3:26.40 | Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States | 28 January 2023 |
| European leading | Hungary | 3:37.11 | Nyíregyháza, Hungary | 28 January 2023 |

## Qualification

For the women's 4 × 400 metres relay, a maximum of six teams could participate. The team of the host country was offered a place, but Turkey did not participate in this relay. Three teams were placed based on their 2022 outdoor results in this event. The remaining three teams were placed based on the team's cumulative 2023 indoor results in the 400 metres from the 2023 indoor season until 20 February 2023. A final entry list with thirty-one athletes of six nations was published on 23 February 2023.

## Race

The first and final race was held on 5 March 2023 at 19:25 (UTC+3) in the evening. After 200 metres, individual 400 m silver medalist Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands was in the lead, followed by individual bronze medalist Anna Kiełbasińska of Poland and Alice Mangione of Italy, until they handed their batons over to Eveline Saalberg of the Netherlands, Marika Popowicz-Drapała of Poland, and Ayomide Folorunso of Italy, who maintained the running order during the second leg. Third-leg runner Cathelijn Peeters of the Netherlands kept her nation in the lead, but just metres before the last hand-over Anna Polinari of Italy passed Alicja Wrona-Kutrzepa of Poland. In the anchor leg, individual gold medalist Femke Bol of the Netherlands, Eleonora Marchiando of Italy, and Anna Pałys of Poland ran their laps in that order. The gold medal was won by the team of the Netherlands, who lead the race from the first runner onwards, breaking their championship record (CR) and national record (NR) in a time of 3:25.66 min and successfully defending their 2021 title. Almost three seconds later, they were followed by the silver medal-winning team of Italy in a national record (NR) of 3:28.61 min and the bronze medal-winning team of Poland in a season best (SB) of 3:29.31 min.
Results of the final :
| Rank | Nation | Athletes | Time | Note |
| | Netherlands | Lieke Klaver Eveline Saalberg Cathelijn Peeters Femke Bol | 3:25.66 | CR NR |
| | Italy | Alice Mangione Ayomide Folorunso Anna Polinari Eleonora Marchiando | 3:28.61 | NR |
| | Poland | Anna Kiełbasińska Marika Popowicz-Drapała Alicja Wrona-Kutrzepa Anna Pałys | 3:29.31 | SB |
| 4 | Czech Republic | Tereza Petržilková Marcela Píriková Nikola Bendová Lada Vondrová | 3:31.26 | SB |
| 5 | Ireland | Sophie Becker Sharlene Mawdsley Cliodhna Manning Phil Healy | 3:32.61 | SB |
| 6 | Great Britain | Hanna Kelly Catys McAulay Nicole Kendall Mary Abichi | 3:32.65 | SB |