Distance medley relay (1200, 400, 800 and 1600 m), men

What to remember

Eugene, April 19, 2024: at the Oregon Relays, the American quartet of Brannon Kidder, Brandon Miller, Isaiah Harris and Henry Wynne finished the distance medley relay in 9 min 14.58 s. Over the 4000 m of the race, that is an average of 25.966 km/h.

Each runner covers a different distance, in a set order: 1200 m, 400 m, 800 m, then 1600 m. Only the 400 m is a sprint; the other legs are middle-distance runs. Before going metric, the format strung together 440 yards, 880 yards, 1320 yards and a mile. The IAAF made it an official world record event in 2015, when it joined the World Relays.

Brannon Kidder knew top-level relays well: he had won the 4 × 800 m at the 2017 World Relays in Nassau. An 800 m specialist, he ran that event at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, and finished runner-up over 800 m at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships for Penn State.