Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay

The men's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 22 and 23 August at the Beijing National Stadium.[1]

Men's 4 × 400 metres relay
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
Athletics at the Olympics 4x400 relay race
VenueBeijing National Stadium
DatesAugust 22
August 23 (final)
Teams16
Winning time2:55.39 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) LaShawn Merritt
Angelo Taylor
David Neville
Jeremy Wariner
Kerron Clement*
Reggie Witherspoon*
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Andretti Bain
Michael Mathieu
Andrae Williams
Chris Brown
Avard Moncur*
Ramon Miller*
 Bahamas
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Martyn Rooney
Andrew Steele
Robert Tobin
Michael Bingham
 Great Britain
← 2004
2012 →

There were 16 NOCs competing at this event. These 16 NOCs were selected by the average of the two best marks at the qualifying period. The final was won by the United States in the new Olympic record time 2:55.39.

Summary

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Having swept the 400 metres and winning the World Championships as part of their qualifying process, defending champion USA came in as an overwhelming favorite.

USA put their Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt on the leadoff leg with the intent to break the race wide open from the start. The strategy worked, Merritt ran 44.01 out of the blocks. 400 hurdles champion Angelo Taylor hit the break line with an 8 metre lead over Belgium, who also front loaded their order with brothers Kévin Borlée and Jonathan Borlée. Jonathan closed down on Taylor down the backstretch, with Bahamas Michael Mathieu working his way through traffic to move into third. Down the home stretch, Taylor re-opened the lead to 8 metres before handing off to bronze medalist David Neville. A 45 second runner, Belgium's Cédric Van Branteghem was no match as Neville pulled away while Bahamas Andrae Williams closed in from behind. USA handed off to their silver medalist Jeremy Wariner, who was also the defending 400 champion coming into these Olympics. Belgium's 47 second anchor Arnaud Ghislain was caught by Bahamas 4th place, 44 second anchor Chris Brown halfway through the turn. Wariner continued to open the gap all the way to a 25 metre victory. Brown was in the sights of Russia's Denis Alekseyev through the final turn until he opened up a clear second place down the home stretch. Taking the baton in 6th place, Great Britain's 400 metre finalist Martyn Rooney worked his way past Jamaica and Belgium, almost catching Alekseyev at the line.

Eight years later, Alekseyev was found guilty of doping. He and the Russian team were disqualified, elevating Great Britain to the bronze medal.

Records

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Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record   United States
Andrew Valmon
Quincy Watts
Butch Reynolds
Michael Johnson
2:54.29 Stuttgart, Germany 22 August 1993
Olympic record   United States (USA)
Andrew Valmon
Quincy Watts
Michael Johnson
Steve Lewis
2:55.74 Barcelona, Spain 8 August 1992

The following Olympic record was set during this competition.

Date Event Name Nationality Time OR WR
23 August Final LaShawn Merritt
Angelo Taylor
David Neville
Jeremy Wariner
  United States 2:55.39 OR

Qualification summary

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Pos NOC 2 races 1 2
Total Average
1   United States 5:54.74 2:57.37 2:55.56 2:59.18
2   Bahamas 5:59.55 2:59.78 2:59.18 3:00.37
3   Jamaica 6:01.20 3:00.60 3:00.44 3:00.76
4   Poland 6:01.75 3:00.87 3:00.05 3:01.70
5   Russia 6:02.69 3:01.34 3:01.07 3:01.62
6   Great Britain 6:03.14 3:01.57 3:01.22 3:01.92
7   Germany 6:03.98 3:01.99 3:01.77 3:02.21
8   Australia 6:04.05 3:02.03 3:01.52 3:02.53
9   Belgium 6:04.64 3:02.32 3:02.13 3:02.51
10   Dominican Republic 6:04.97 3:02.48 3:02.48 3:02.49
11   Japan 6:05.20 3:02.60 3:02.44 3:02.76
12   Cuba 6:05.32 3:02.66 3:02.10 3:03.22
13   France 6:05.98 3:02.99 3:02.33 3:03.65
14   Trinidad and Tobago 6:06.52 3:03.26 3:02.92 3:03.60
15   Greece 6:07.86 3:03.93 3:02.21 3:05.65
16   South Africa 6:08.24 3:04.12 3:03.58 3:04.66
Reserves
17   Italy 6:08.77 3:04.38 3:03.66 3:05.11
18   Botswana 6:09.12 3:04.56 3:03.16 3:05.96
19   Ireland 6:09.14 3:04.57 3:04.43 3:04.71
20   Brazil 6:09.51 3:04.76 3:04.36 3:05.15

Results

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All times shown are in seconds.

  • Q denotes automatic qualification.
  • q denotes fastest losers.
  • DNS denotes did not start.
  • DNF denotes did not finish.
  • DQ denotes disqualified
  • AR denotes area record.
  • NR denotes national record.
  • PB denotes personal best.
  • SB denotes season's best.

Round 1

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First 3 in each heat(Q) and the next 2 fastest(q) advance to the Final.

Rank Heat Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes
1 2 5   Great Britain Andrew Steele, Robert Tobin, Michael Bingham, Martyn Rooney 2:59.33 Q, SB
2 2 3   Bahamas Michael Mathieu, Avard Moncur, Ramon Miller, Andrae Williams 2:59.88 Q, SB
3 1 3   United States David Neville, Kerron Clement, Reggie Witherspoon, Angelo Taylor 2:59.98 Q
4 2 7   Jamaica Michael Blackwood, Allodin Fothergill, Sanjay Ayre, Ricardo Chambers 3:00.09 Q, SB
5 1 6   Belgium Cédric Van Branteghem, Jonathan Borlée, Arnaud Ghislain, Kévin Borlée 3:00.67 Q, NR
6 1 8   Australia Joel Milburn, Mark Ormrod, John Steffensen, Clinton Hill 3:00.68 q, SB
7 1 7   Poland Marek Plawgo, Piotr Klimczak, Piotr Kędzia, Rafał Wieruszewski 3:00.74 q, SB
8 1 5   South Africa Pieter Smith, Ofentse Mogawane, Alwyn Myburgh, L.J. van Zyl 3:01.26 SB
9 1 4   Cuba Yunier Perez, Yunior Díaz, William Collazo, Omar Cisneros 3:02.24
10 1 2   France Teddy Venel, Ydrissa Mbarke, Brice Panel, Richard Maunier 3:03.19
11 2 6   Germany Simon Kirch, Kamghe Gaba, Ruwen Faller, Bastian Swillims 3:03.49
12 2 2   Trinidad and Tobago Ato Modibo, Jovon Toppin, Cowin Mills, Stann Waithe 3:04.12 SB
13 2 4   Japan Mitsuhiro Abiko, Dai Tamesue, Yoshihiro Horigome, Kenji Narisako 3:04.18 SB
14 2 9   Greece Stylianos Dimotsios, Dimitrios Gravalos, Pantelis Melachroinoudis, Konstantinos Anastasiou 3:04.30 SB
15 2 8   Dominican Republic Carlos Yohelin Santa, Arismendy Peguero, Pedro Mejía, Yoel Tapia 3:04.31 SB
DSQ 1 9   Russia Maksim Dyldin, Vladislav Frolov, Anton Kokorin, Denis Alekseyev Q

Final

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Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes
  7   United States LaShawn Merritt, Angelo Taylor, David Neville, Jeremy Wariner 2:55.39 OR
  5   Bahamas Andretti Bain, Michael Mathieu, Andrae Williams, Chris Brown 2:58.03 SB
  6   Great Britain * Andrew Steele, Robert Tobin, Michael Bingham, Martyn Rooney 2:58.81 SB
4 8   Belgium Kévin Borlée, Jonathan Borlée, Cédric Van Branteghem, Arnaud Ghislain 2:59.37 NR
5 2   Australia Sean Wroe, John Steffensen, Clinton Hill, Joel Milburn 3:00.02 SB
6 3   Poland Rafał Wieruszewski, Piotr Klimczak, Piotr Kędzia, Marek Plawgo 3:00.32 SB
7 9   Jamaica Michael Blackwood, Ricardo Chambers, Sanjay Ayre, Lanceford Spence 3:01.45
DQ 4   Russia Maksim Dyldin, Vladislav Frolov, Anton Kokorin, Denis Alekseyev DQ[2]

* On 14 September 2016, IOC officially stripped Russia of the bronze medal for positive doping test of Denis Alekseyev. Reallocation to Great Britain was confirmed on 21 June 2017.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Olympic Athletics Competition Schedule". IAAF. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  2. ^ "IOC sanctions four athletes for failing anti-doping tests at Beijing 2008 and London 2012". olympic.org. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Beijing 2008 relay quartet to be awarded Olympic bronze". teamgb.com. Retrieved 18 April 2018.