4 × 400 metres relay at the World Championships in Athletics
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.
| 4 × 400 metres relay at the World Championships in Athletics | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men: 1983 – 2019 Women: 1983 – 2019 |
| Championship record | |
| Men | 2:54.29 United States (1993) |
| Women | 3:09.34 United States (1993) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  |
| Women | |
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.
Medalists
Men
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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 were disqualified in 2009 after Pettigrew admitted to doping during the period.
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 10 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 |  | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 3 |  | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 |  | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 |  | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| 9 |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | .svg.png){kind=small} | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women
Note * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 8 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
| 2 |  | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 |  | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Mixed
Note * Indicates athletes who ran only in the preliminary round and also received medals.
Championship record progression
Men
| Time | Nation | Location | Round | Date | Athletes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.06.62 | | Helsinki | Heat 1 | Aug 13, 1983 | Babers, W.Smith, Phillips, Franks |
| 3.02.13 | | Helsinki | Semifinals | Aug 13, 1983 | Babers, Nix, W.Smith, Moses |
| 3.00.79 | | Helsinki | Final | Aug 14, 1983 | Lovachev, Troshchilo, Chernyetskiy, Markin |
| 2.59.06 | | Rome | Heat 2 | Sep 05, 1987 | Everett, Franks, Pierre, McKay |
| 2.57.29 | | Rome | Final | Sep 06, 1987 | Everett, Haley, McKay, Reynolds |
| 2.54.29 | | Stuttgart | Final | Aug 22, 1993 | Valmon, Watts, Reynolds, M.Johnson |
References
- "Men, 4 x 400 m Relay - World Championships Records Progression". trackfield.brinkster.net.