# 4 × 100 metres relay at the Olympics

The 4 × 100 metres relay at the Summer Olympics is the shortest track relay event held at the multi-sport event. The men's relay has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912 and the women's event has been continuously held since the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. It is the most prestigious 4×100 m relay race at elite level.
The competition has two parts: a first round and an eight-team final. Historically, there has been a semi-final round, but this has been eliminated as selection is now determined by time – the sixteen fastest nations during a pre-Olympic qualification period are entered. Since 1988, teams may enter up to six athletes for the event. Larger nations typically have two reserves runners in the first round in order to preserve the fitness of their top runners for the final. Heat runners of medal-winning teams receive medals even if they did not run in the final.
The Olympic records for the event were both set at the 2012 Olympic Games in London: the Jamaican men's team ran 36.84 seconds and the American women's team won with 40.82 seconds, both of them world records. The men's world record has been broken and equalled at the Olympics on numerous occasions. The record was set at six consecutive editions from 1912 to 1936, then five straight editions from 1956 to 1972. Since then, the men's Olympic final has been won in a world record time in 1984, 1992, and 2012. The women's world record has been similarly linked to the Olympics: the record was broken on the first three occasions it was contested as an Olympic event (1928 to 1936). It was then improved at six successive Olympics from 1952 to 1972. The women's world record at the 2012 Olympic Games ended the forty-year absence of such a feat.
The United States is by far the most successful nation in the event. The country has won the men's race 15 times and the women's race on 12 occasions. The American men were dominant historically, accruing eight straight wins from 1920 to 1956, but have also logged numerous disqualifications (chiefly due to baton pass failures), including five straight from 2008 to 2024 (also in 1912, 1960, and 1988). The American women took four consecutive gold medals from 1984 to 1996. As of 2016, no other country has won more than three golds in the men's or women's event. Jamaica (four wins, nine medals), Canada (three wins, ten medals), Great Britain (two wins, fifteen medals) and the Soviet Union (two wins, eleven medals) are the next most successful nations.
Participants in this event are often competitors in the 100 metres and 200 metres individual Olympic events (and, less commonly, the sprint hurdles). Frank Wykoff and Evelyn Ashford are the most successful athletes in the event, having each won three gold medals. In terms of total career medals, the most successful is Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown with four (one gold and three silvers). Only eight other athletes have won three medals in the event: Marlies Göhr (twice champion), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (once champion), Aaron Brown (once champion), Brendon Rodney (once champion), Andre De Grasse (once champion), Lyudmila Zharkova, Dina Asher-Smith, and Daryll Neita.

## Medal summary
### Men

| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
Note: * Indicates athletes who ran in preliminary rounds and also received medals.

#### Multiple medalists

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Frank Wykoff | United States (USA) | 1928–1936 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Loren Murchison | United States (USA) | 1920-1924 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Harrison Dillard | United States (USA) | 1948–1952 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Vladimir Muravyov | Soviet Union (URS) | 1980–1988 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Carl Lewis | United States (USA) | 1984–1992 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Usain Bolt | Jamaica (JAM) | 2008–2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Kemar Bailey-Cole | Jamaica (JAM) | 2012–2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Yohan Blake | Jamaica (JAM) | 2012–2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Aaron Brown | Canada (CAN) | 2016–2024 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Andre De Grasse | Canada (CAN) | 2016–2024 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Brendon Rodney | Canada (CAN) | 2016–2024 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | Michael Marsh | United States (USA) | 1992–1996 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Dennis Mitchell | United States (USA) | 1992–1996 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Jon Drummond | United States (USA) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Tim Montgomery | United States (USA) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Maurice Greene | United States (USA) | 2000–2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Keston Bledman | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Marc Burns | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Emmanuel Callender | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Richard Thomson | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 2008–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Jerome Blake | Canada (CAN) | 2020–2024 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Aleksandr Aksinin | Soviet Union (URS) | 1976–1980 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 23 | Helmut Körnig | Germany (GER) | 1928–1932 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Vladimir Sukharev | Soviet Union (URS) | 1952–1956 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Boris Tokarev | Soviet Union (URS) | 1952–1956 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Leonid Bartenev | Soviet Union (URS) | 1956–1960 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Yuriy Konovalov | Soviet Union (URS) | 1956–1960 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Darvis Patton | United States (USA) | 2004–2012 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Walter Rangeley | Great Britain (GBR) | 1924–1928 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | Erich Borchmeyer | Germany (GER) | 1932–1936 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | Valeriy Borzov | Soviet Union (URS) | 1972–1976 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | Juris Silovs | Soviet Union (URS) | 1972–1976 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | Edson Ribeiro | Brazil (BRA) | 1996–2000 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | André da Silva | Brazil (BRA) | 1996–2000 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | Vicente de Lima | Brazil (BRA) | 2000–2008 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 36 | Jocelyn Delecour | France (FRA) | 1964–1968 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 36 | Claude Piquemal | France (FRA) | 1964–1968 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |

#### Medals by country

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 15 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | Soviet Union (URS) | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | Great Britain (GBR) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Canada (CAN) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Jamaica (JAM) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Germany (GER) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Italy (ITA) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Poland (POL) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Japan (JPN) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 12 | Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 14 | Nigeria (NGR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | South Africa (RSA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | China (CHN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
* $^{nb}$ The German total includes teams both competing as Germany and the United Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.

### Women

| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
Note: * Indicates athletes who ran in preliminary rounds and also received medals.
* $^{nb}$ Note: Marion Jones was stripped of all her Olympic medals.
* In 2008 the Russian team of Evgeniya Polyakova, Aleksandra Fedoriva, Yulia Gushchina, and Yuliya Chermoshanskaya were initially awarded the gold medals. However, the medals were rescinded in 2016 following disqualification of Chermoshanskaya for use of performance-enhancing drugs.

#### Multiple medalists

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Evelyn Ashford | United States (USA) | 1984–1992 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Marlies Göhr | East Germany (GDR) | 1976–1988 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Annette Rogers | United States (USA) | 1932–1936 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Alice Brown | United States (USA) | 1984–1988 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Carlette Guidry | United States (USA) | 1992–1996 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Gwen Torrence | United States (USA) | 1992–1996 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Tianna Bartoletta | United States (USA) | 2012–2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Allyson Felix | United States (USA) | 2012–2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Veronica Campbell-Brown | Jamaica (JAM) | 2000–2016 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce | Jamaica (JAM) | 2012–2020 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | Shirley Strickland | Australia (AUS) | 1948–1956 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Wyomia Tyus | United States (USA) | 1964–1968 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Annegret Richter | West Germany (FRG) | 1972–1976 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Renate Stecher | East Germany (GDR) | 1972–1976 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Ingrid Auerswald | East Germany (GDR) | 1980–1988 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Eldece Clarke-Lewis | Bahamas (BAH) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Pauline Davis-Thompson | Bahamas (BAH) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Debbie Ferguson | Bahamas (BAH) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Savatheda Fynes | Bahamas (BAH) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Chandra Sturrup | Bahamas (BAH) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Tayna Lawrence | Jamaica (JAM) | 2000–2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Beverly McDonald | Jamaica (JAM) | 2000–2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Sherone Simpson | Jamaica (JAM) | 2004–2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Elaine Thompson-Herah | Jamaica (JAM) | 2016-2020 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Gabrielle Thomas | United States (USA) | 2020-2024 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 26 | Mae Faggs | United States (USA) | 1952–1956 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Teresa Ciepły | Poland (POL) | 1956–1960 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Halina Górecka | Poland (POL) | 1956–1960 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Wilma Rudolph | United States (USA) | 1956–1960 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Chryste Gaines | United States (USA) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 31 | Lyudmila Zharkova | Soviet Union (URS) | 1968–1980 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 31 | Dina Asher-Smith | Great Britain (GBR) | 2016–2024 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 31 | Daryll Neita | Great Britain (GBR) | 2016–2024 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 34 | Eileen Hiscock | Great Britain (GBR) | 1932–1936 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | June Foulds | Great Britain (GBR) | 1952–1956 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Marlene Elejarde | Cuba (CUB) | 1968–1972 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Fulgencia Romay | Cuba (CUB) | 1968–1972 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Vera Anisimova | Soviet Union (URS) | 1976–1980 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Galina Malchugina | Soviet Union (URS) Unified Team (EUN) | 1988–1992 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Merlene Ottey | Jamaica (JAM) | 1996–2000 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Desirèe Henry | Great Britain (GBR) | 2016–2024 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Imani Lansiquot | Great Britain (GBR) | 2020–2024 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 43 | Beverley Goddard | Great Britain (GBR) | 1980–1984 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 43 | Heather Oakes | Great Britain (GBR) | 1980–1984 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 43 | Kathy Smallwood-Cook | Great Britain (GBR) | 1980–1984 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 43 | Asha Philip | Great Britain (GBR) | 2016–2020 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |

#### Medals by country

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 12 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| 2 | Jamaica (JAM) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | East Germany (GDR) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Canada (CAN) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Australia (AUS) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Bahamas (BAH) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | West Germany (FRG) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Poland (POL) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Belgium (BEL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Netherlands (NED) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 12 | Germany (GER) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 13 | Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | Nigeria (NGR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | Russia (RUS) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Unified Team (EUN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
* $^{nb}$ The German total includes teams both competing as Germany and the Unified Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.

## Finishing times
### Top ten fastest Olympic times

Fastest men's times at the Olympics :
| Rank | Time (sec) | Nation | Athletes | Games | Round | Date |
| 1 | 36.84 (WR) | Jamaica (JAM) | Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt | 2012 | Final | 11 August |
| 2 | 37.27 | Jamaica (JAM) | Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake, Nickel Ashmeade, Usain Bolt | 2016 | Final | 19 August |
| 3 | 37.39 | Jamaica (JAM) | Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Kemar Bailey-Cole | 2012 | Heats | 10 August |
| 4 | 37.40 | United States (USA) | Michael Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Carl Lewis | 1992 | Final | 8 August |
| 5 | 37.47 | United States (USA) | Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley, Kyree King, Courtney Lindsey | 2024 | Heats | 8 August |
| 6= | 37.50 | Italy (ITA) | Lorenzo Patta, Marcell Jacobs, Eseosa Desalu, Filippo Tortu | 2020 | Final | 6 August |
| 6= | 37.50 | Canada (CAN) | Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney, Andre De Grasse | 2024 | Final | 9 August |
| 8 | 37.57 | South Africa (RSA) | Bayanda Walaza, Shaun Maswanganyi, Bradley Nkoana, Akani Simbine | 2024 | Final | 9 August |
| 9 | 37.60 | Japan (JPN) | Ryota Yamagata, Shota Iizuka, Yoshihide Kiryu, Asuka Cambridge | 2016 | Final | 19 August |
| 10= | 37.61 | United States (USA) | Jon Drummond, Bernard Williams, Brian Lewis, Maurice Greene | 2000 | Final | 30 September |
| 10= | 37.61 | Great Britain (GBR) | Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchliffe, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Zharnel Hughes | 2024 | Final | 9 August |
Fastest women's times at the Olympics :
| Rank | Time (sec) | Nation | Athletes | Games | Round | Date |
| 1 | 40.82 (WR) | United States (USA) | Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter | 2012 | Final | 11 August |
| 2 | 41.01 | United States (USA) | Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, English Gardner, Tori Bowie | 2016 | Final | 19 August |
| 3 | 41.02 | Jamaica (JAM) | Briana Williams, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson | 2020 | Final | 6 August |
| 4 | 41.36 | Jamaica (JAM) | Christania Williams, Elaine Thompson, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce | 2016 | Final | 19 August |
| 5 | 41.41 | Jamaica (JAM) | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart | 2012 | Final | 11 August |
| 6 | 41.45 | United States (USA) | Javianne Oliver, Teahna Daniels, Jenna Prandini, Gabrielle Thomas | 2020 | Final | 6 August |
| 7 | 41.55 | Great Britain (GBR) | Asha Philip, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita | 2020 | Heats | 5 August |
| 8 | 41.60 | East Germany (GDR) | Romy Müller, Bärbel Wöckel, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr | 1980 | Final | 1 August |
| 9 | 41.64 | United States (USA) | Tianna Madison, Jeneba Tarmoh, Bianca Knight, Lauryn Williams | 2012 | Heats | 10 August |
| 10 | 41.65 | United States (USA) | Alice Brown, Jeanette Bolden, Chandra Cheeseborough, Evelyn Ashford | 1984 | Final | 11 August |