4 x 400 metres relay

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The 4 x 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams comprise four runners who each complete 400 metres or 1 lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events the first 500 metres is run in lanes, so start lines are staggered by more than in a 400 metres race. Runners have a 20 m box (usually marked with blue lines) to hand over the baton, which is the responsibility of the outgoing runner due to the fatigue of the incoming runner. Disqualification is rare.

The event is often exciting because a psychological advantage for a chasing runner means that the race lead can change hands frequently. As runners have a rolling start, split times cannot be compared to individual 400 m performances. Internationally, the U.S. men's team has dominated the event, but have been challenged by Jamaica in the 1950s and Great Britain in the 1990s.

Men's Outdoor World Record: USA (Jerome Young, Antonio Pettigrew, Tyree Washington, Michael Johnson) Uniondale, NY 22 July 1998 2:54.20

Men's Indoor World Record: USA (Andre Morris, Dameon Johnson, Deon Minor, Milton Campbell) Maebashi, Japan 7 March 1999 3:02.83 (A time of 3:01.96 (USA) was rejected because no EPO analysis was performed)

Women's Outdoor World Record: USSR (Tatyana Ledovskaya (BLR), Olga Nazarova II (RUS), Mariya Pinigina (UKR), Olga Bryzgina (UKR)) Seoul, Korea 1 October 1988 3:15.17

Women's Indoor World Record Russia (Yuliya Gushchina, Olga Kotlyarova, Olga Zaytseva, Olesya Krasnomovets) Glasgow, Scotland 27 January 2006 3:23.37

[edit] Notable performances

• Herb McKenley (Jamaica) ran a 44.6 split in the Helsinki Olympic final.
• Ron Freeman (USA) ran a 43.2 split in the Mexico Olympic final.
• Julius Sang (Kenya) ran a 43.6 split in the Munich Olympic final.
• Michael Johnson (USA) ran a 42.9 s split in the Stuttgart World Championship final.
• Jarmila Kratochvilova ran a 47.8 split in the 1983 Helsinki World Championship final.
• Olga Nazarova and Olga Bryzgina (USSR) both ran a 47.8 split in the Seoul Olympic final.

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