AthleticsAthletics world record
4 × 100 m relay, women
40.82 s
- Holder
- Tianna Madison Allyson Felix Bianca Knight Carmelita Jeter
- Date
- Place
- London
- Standing since
- 2012 (14 years)
How the record evolved
The last record set in each decade, up to the current record (highlighted).
| Year | Record | Holder |
|---|---|---|
| 40.82 s | Tianna Madison Allyson Felix Bianca Knight Carmelita Jeter | |
| 41.37 s | ||
| 42.09 s | ||
| 42.6 s | ||
| 42.8 s | ||
| 44.5 s | ||
| 46.4 s | ||
| 49.0 s |
Put them in order
Sort these records from the oldest to the most recent.
- 40.82 sTianna Madison Allyson Felix Bianca Knight Carmelita Jeter
- 49.0 s
- 44.5 s
- 42.09 s
What to remember
One lap of the track, four runners, one baton: at the London Olympics on August 10, 2012, the American team ran the 4 × 100 m in 40.82 s, an average of 35.28 km/h. Tianna Madison led off, followed by Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter. Fourth in the individual 100 m at those Games, Madison won her first Olympic gold with this relay.
Baton passing is part of the event too. Before 2018 the baton had to change hands within a 20 m box, preceded by a 10 m acceleration zone; a rule effective November 1, 2017 merged them into a single 30 m zone. The outgoing runner may not touch the baton until it has entered that zone.
The record stood at 49.0 s in 1929, dropped to 46.4 s in 1936 and 44.5 s in 1956, and reached 41.37 s in 1985. The current record, 40.82 s, dates from 2012. Over 83 years the time fell by 16.7%.
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Sources and licences
- Value, holder and date: Wikipedia article “List of world records in athletics” (revision used 1378411308). Data from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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