4 × 400 metres relay at the World Athletics Championships Olympic track event
The 4 × 400 metres relay at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by both men and women since the inaugural edition in 1983. The competition features three formats in relation to gender: men, women, and mixed. The 2019 edition added in the mixed competition. The format utilizes one set of heats qualifying the top 8 into a final.
The United States holds all the championship records in this event. For both the men and women, the record has been held since 1993 with a time of 2:54.29 for the men and 3:16.71 for the women. In the mixed competition, a time of 3:09.34 was set in 2019 . For the men and the mixed records, they are also both world records .
Age records
Distinction
Male
Female
Athlete
Age
Date
Athlete
Age
Date
Youngest champion
Mark Richardson (GBR )
19 years, 37 days
1 Sep 1991
Sanya Richards (USA )
18 years, 186 days
31 Aug 2003
Youngest medalist
Kunle Adejuyigbe (NGR )
18 years, 5 days
13 Aug 1995
Sanya Richards (USA )
18 years, 186 days
31 Aug 2003
Youngest finalist
Renny Quow (TTO )
17 years, 354 days
14 Aug 2005
Doris Jacob (NGR )
15 years, 237 days
10 Aug 1997
Youngest participant
Masoud Al-Rahman (QAT )
16 years, 354 days
31 Aug 1991
Doris Jacob (NGR )
15 years, 236 days
9 Aug 1997
Oldest champion
Timothy Munnings (BAH )
35 years, 51 days
12 Aug 2001
Jearl Miles Clark (USA )
36 years, 361 days
31 Aug 2003
Oldest medalist
Timothy Munnings (BAH )
35 years, 51 days
12 Aug 2001
Jearl Miles Clark (USA )
36 years, 361 days
31 Aug 2003
Oldest finalist
Isaac Makwala (BOT )
35 years, 298 days
24 Jul 2022
Jearl Miles Clark (USA )
36 years, 361 days
31 Aug 2003
Oldest participant
Isaac Makwala (BOT )
35 years, 298 days
24 Jul 2022
Christine Amertil (BAH )
37 years, 359 days
12 Aug 2017
Mixed 4 x 400 relay
Distinction
Male
Female
Athlete
Age
Date
Athlete
Age
Date
Youngest champion
Wil London (USA )
22 years, 43 days
29 Sep 2019
Fiordaliza Cofil (DOM )
21 years, 261 days
15 Jul 2022
Youngest medalist
Moussa Ali Issa (BHR )
19 years, 34 days
29 Sep 2019
Salwa Eid Naser (BHR )
21 years, 129 days
29 Sep 2019
Youngest finalist
Moussa Ali Issa (BHR )
19 years, 34 days
29 Sep 2019
Imeobong Nse Uko (NGR )
18 years, 145 days
15 Jul 2022
Youngest participant
Moussa Ali Issa (BHR )
19 years, 33 days
28 Sep 2019
Saki Takashima (JPN )
17 years, 222 days
28 Sep 2019
Oldest champion
Michael Cherry (USA )
24 years, 190 days
29 Sep 2019
Allyson Felix (USA )
33 years, 239 days
29 Sep 2019
Oldest medalist
Javon Francis (JAM )
24 years, 289 days
29 Sep 2019
Allyson Felix (USA )
36 years, 315 days
15 Jul 2022
Oldest finalist
Rabah Yousif (GBR )
32 years, 292 days
29 Sep 2019
Geisa Coutinho (BRA )
39 years, 120 days
29 Sep 2019
Oldest participant
Rabah Yousif (GBR )
32 years, 292 days
29 Sep 2019
Geisa Coutinho (BRA )
39 years, 120 days
29 Sep 2019
Medalists
Men
Note : * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.
dq1 The United States team (Jerome Young , Antonio Pettigrew , Chris Jones and Tyree Washington ) originally won the 1997 World Championships in a time of 2:56.47 minutes, but was disqualified in 2009 after Pettigrew admitted to doping during the period.
dq2 The United States team (Jerome Davis , Antonio Pettigrew , Angelo Taylor and Michael Johnson ) originally won the 1999 World Championships, but was disqualified in 2009 after Pettigrew admitted to doping during the period.
dq3 The United States team (Leonard Byrd , Antonio Pettigrew , Derrick Brew and Angelo Taylor ) originally won the 2001 World Championships, but was disqualified in 2009 after Pettigrew admitted to doping during the period.
dq4 The United States team (Calvin Harrison , Tyree Washington , Derrick Brew and Jerome Young ) originally won the 2003 World Championships, but was disqualified in 2004 after Harrison and Young were found to have used performance-enhancing drugs.
dq5 The Russian team (Maksim Dyldin , Lev Mosin , Sergey Petukhov and Vladimir Krasnov ) originally finished third in the 2013 World Championships, but was disqualified after Dyldin was found to have used performance-enhancing drugs.
Medalists by country
Women
Note : * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.
Medalists by country
Mixed
Note : * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.
Championship record progression
Men
Men's 4 × 400 metres relay World Championships record progression[ 2]
Time
Nation
Location
Round
Date
Athletes
3.06.62
United States (USA)
Helsinki
Heat 1
Aug 13, 1983
Alonzo Babers , Willie Smith , Andre Phillips , Michael Franks
3.02.13
United States (USA)
Helsinki
Semifinals
Aug 13, 1983
Alonzo Babers , Sunder Nix , Willie Smith , Edwin Moses
3.00.79
Soviet Union (URS)
Helsinki
Final
Aug 14, 1983
Sergey Lovachov , Aleksandr Troshchilo , Nikolay Chernetskiy , Viktor Markin
2.59.06
United States (USA)
Rome
Heat 2
Sep 05, 1987
Danny Everett , Michael Franks , Raymond Pierre , Antonio McKay
2.57.29
United States (USA)
Rome
Final
Sep 06, 1987
Danny Everett , Roddie Haley , Antonio McKay , Butch Reynolds
2.54.29
United States (USA)
Stuttgart
Final
Aug 22, 1993
Andrew Valmon , Quincy Watts , Butch Reynolds , Michael Johnson
Women
Women's 4 × 400 metres relay World Championships record progression
Time
Nation
Location
Round
Date
Athletes
3.26.82
United States (USA)
Helsinki
Heats
Aug 13, 1983
Roberta Belle , Easter Gabriel , Rosalyn Bryant , Denean Howard
3:19.73
East Germany (GDR)
Helsinki
Finwal
Aug 14, 1983
Kerstin Walther , Sabine Busch , Marita Koch , Dagmar Rübsam
3:18.63
East Germany (GDR)
Rome
Final
Sep 6, 1987
Dagmar Neubauer , Kirsten Emmelmann , Petra Muller , Sabine Busch
3:18.43
Soviet Union (URS)
Tokyo
Final
Sep 1, 1991
Tatyana Ledovskaya , Lyudmila Dzhigalova , Olga Nazarova , Olha Bryzhina
3:16.71
United States (USA)
Stuttgart
Final
Aug 22, 1993
Gwen Torrence , Maicel Malone , Natasha Kaiser-Brown , Jearl Miles
Mixed
Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay World Championships record progression
Time
Nation
Location
Round
Date
Athletes
3:12.42
United States (USA)
Doha
Heats
28 Sep, 2019
Tyrell Richard , Jessica Beard , Jasmine Blocker , Obi Igbokwe
3:09.34
United States (USA)
Doha
Final
29 Sep, 2019
Wilbert London , Allyson Felix , Courtney Okolo , Michael Cherry
3:08.80
United States (USA)
Budapest
Final
Aug 19, 2023
Justin Robinson , Rosey Effiong , Matthew Boling , Alexis Holmes
Finishing times
Top ten fastest World Championship times
Fastest men's times at the World Championships[ 3]
Rank
Time (sec)
Nation
Athletes
Games
Round
Date
1
2:54.29
United States (USA)
Andrew Valmon , Quincy Watts , Harry Reynolds , Michael Johnson
1993
Final
22 August
2
2:55.56
United States (USA)
LaShawn Merritt , Angelo Taylor , Darold Williamson , Jeremy Wariner
2007
Final
2 September
3
2:56.17
United States (USA)
Elija Godwin , Michael Norman , Bryce Deadmon , Champion Allison
2022
Final
24 July
4
2:56.65
Great Britain (GBR)
Iwan Thomas , Roger Black , Jamie Baulch , Mark Richardson
1997
Final
10 August
5
2:56.69
United States (USA)
Fred Kerley , Michael Cherry , Wilbert London , Rai Benjamin
2019
Final
6 October
6
2:56.75
Jamaica (JAM)
Michael McDonald , Gregory Haughton , Danny McFarlane , Davian Clarke
1997
Final
14 August
7
2:56.91
United States (USA)
Andrew Rock , Derrick Brew , Darold Williamson , Jeremy Wariner
2005
Final
5 October
8
2:57.29
United States (USA)
Danny Everett , Roddie Haley , Dennis Mitchell , Leroy Burrell
1987
Final
6 September
9
2:57.31
United States (USA)
Quincy Hall , Vernon Norwood , Justin Robinson , Rai Benjamin
2023
Final
27 August
10
2:57.32
United States (USA)
Marlon Ramsey , Derek Mills , Harry Reynolds , Michael Johnson
1995
Final
13 August
Fastest women's times at the World Championships[ 4]
Rank
Time (sec)
Nation
Athletes
Games
Round
Date
1
3:16.71
United States (USA)
Gwen Torrence , Maicel Malone , Natasha Kaiser-Brown , Jearl Miles Clark
1993
Final
22 August
2
3:17.79
United States (USA)
Talitha Diggs , Abby Steiner , Britton Wilson , Sydney McLaughlin
2022
Final
24 July
3
3:17.83
United States (USA)
Debbie Dunn , Allyson Felix , Lashinda Demus , Sanya Richards
2009
Final
23 August
4
3:18.09
United States (USA)
Sanya Richards-Ross , Allyson Felix , Jessica Beard , Francena McCorory
2011
Final
3 September
5
3:18.38
Russia (RUS)
Yelena Ruzina , Tatyana Alekseyeva , Margarita Ponomaryova , Irina Privalova
1993
Final
22 August
6
3:18.43
Soviet Union (USSR)
Tatyana Ledovskaya , Lyudmila Dzhigalova , Olga Nazarova , Olga Bryzgina
1991
Final
1 September
7
3:18.55
United States (USA)
Dee Dee Trotter , Allyson Felix , Mary Wineberg , Sanya Richards
2007
Final
2 September
8
3:18.63
East Germany (GDR)
Dagmar Neubauer , Kirsten Emmelmann , Petra Schersing , Sabine Busch
1987
Final
6 September
9
3:18.71
Jamaica (JAM)
Rosemarie Whyte , Davita Prendergast , Novlene Williams-Mills , Shericka Williams
2011
Final
3 September
10
3:18.92
United States (USA)
Phyllis Francis , Sydney McLaughlin , Dalilah Muhammad , Wadeline Jonathas
2019
Final
6 October
Fastest mixed times at the World Championships[ 5]
Rank
Time (sec)
Nation
Athletes
Games
Round
Date
1
3:08.80
United States (USA)
Justin Robinson , Rosey Effiong , Matthew Boling , Alexis Holmes
2023
Final
19 August
2
3:09.34
United States (USA)
Wilbert London , Allyson Felix , Courtney Okolo , Michael Cherry
2019
Final
29 September
3
3:09.82
Dominican Republic (DOM)
Lidio Andrés Feliz , Marileidy Paulino , Alexander Ogando , Fiordaliza Cofil
2022
Final
15 July
4
3:09.90
Netherlands (NED)
Liemarvin Bonevacia , Lieke Klaver , Tony van Diepen , Femke Bol
2022
Final
15 July
5
3:10.16
United States (USA)
Elija Godwin , Allyson Felix , Vernon Norwood , Kennedy Simon
2022
Final
15 July
6
3:10.41
United States (USA)
Ryan Willie , Rosey Effiong , Justin Robinson , Alexis Holmes
2023
Heats
19 August
7
3:11.06
Great Britain (GBR)
Lewis Davey , Laviai Nielsen , Rio Mitcham , Yemi Mary John
2023
Final
19 August
8
3:11.19
Great Britain (GBR)
Joseph Brier , Laviai Nielsen , Rio Mitcham , Yemi Mary John
2023
Heats
19 August
9
3:11.75
United States (USA)
Elija Godwin , Kennedy Simon , Vernon Norwood , Wadeline Jonathas
2022
Heats
15 July
10
3:11.78
Jamaica (JAM)
Nathon Allen , Roneisha McGregor , Tiffany James , Javon Francis
2019
Final
29 September
References
External links
Men Women Mixed
1976
1980
1983
1987
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2022
2023