4 × 400 metres relay
The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. The first leg and the first bend of the second leg are run in lanes. Start lines are thus staggered over a greater distance than in an individual 400 metres race; the runners then typically move to the inside of the track. The slightly longer 4 × 440 yards relay, on an Imperial distance, was a formerly run British Commonwealth and American event, until metrication was completed in the 1970s.
Format
runners typically carry a relay baton which they must transfer between teammates. Runners have a 20 m box in which to transfer the baton. The first transfer is made within the staggered lane lines; for the second and third transfers, runners typically line up across the track despite the fact that runners are usually running in line on the inside of the track. This prevents confusion and collisions during transfer. Unlike the 4 × 100 m relay, runners in the 4 × 400 typically look back and grasp the baton from the incoming runner, due to the fatigue of the incoming runner, and the wider margins allowed by the longer distance of the race. Consequently, disqualification is rare.As runners have a running 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 Britain in the 1990s. The current men's Olympic champions are from the United States.
According to the IAAF rules, world records in relays can only be set if all team members have the same nationality.
Mixed
were introduced at the 2017 IAAF World Relays, with the IAAF first recognizing a world record in that event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. In March 2022 World Athletics Council decided a set order – man, woman, man, woman – at future championships. Eventually, the format was added to the Olympics, starting with the Athletics at the [2020 Summer Olympics – Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay|Tokyo Olympics] in 2021.Records
World Records
Note: The IAAF rescinded a time of 2:54.20 set at Uniondale on 22 July 1998 by the United States on 12 August 2008 after Pettigrew admitted to using human growth hormone and EPO between 1997 and 2003.Note: The above world record was bettered by three teams at the 2018 NCAA Division I Championship on 10 March 2018 at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, United States:
- 3:00.77 by the USC team of Zach Shinnick, Rai Benjamin, Ricky Morgan Jr., Michael Norman). This time was not record-eligible because Benjamin was a citizen of Antigua & Barbuda, and the others are United States citizens. Benjamin has since switched to represent the United States.
- 3:01.39 by the Texas A&M team of Ilolo Izu, Robert Grant, Devin Dixon and Mylik Kerley. All four runners represent the United States, and World Athletics currently lists this as the NACAC area record, but it has not been ratified as the world record.
- 3:01.43 by the Florida team of Kunle Fasasi, Grant Holloway, Chantz Sawyers, and Benjamin Lobo Vedel. This time was not record-eligible because Fasasi represents Nigeria, Holloway represents the United States, Sawyers represents Jamaica, and Vedel represents Denmark.
Continental Records
- Updated 10 August 2024.
All-time top 10 by country (outdoor)
Men
- Correct as of May 2025.
| Rank | Time | Team | Nation | Date | Place | Ref | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2:54.29 | Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Butch Reynolds, Michael Johnson |  United StatesWomen
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Soviet Union
Russia
England