| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Relay, Men

Date	6 – 7 August 1948
Status	Olympic
Location	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London
Participants	60 from 15 countries

The US team was originally to have had Ed Conwell but he had to withdraw with asthma, and was replaced by Lorenzo Wright, who had medaled in the long jump. The US won the final quite comfortably, but were initially disqualified for a faulty exchange between Barney Ewell and Wright. On reviewing film of the race, it could be seen that the exchange had occurred within the legal zone, and the DQ was reversed, giving the United States the gold medal. However, the final decision did not become official for three days.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	–	United States	USA	41.1 (1 h1)	40.6 (1)	Gold
		Barney Ewell • Lorenzo Wright • Harrison Dillard • Mel Patton • Ed Conwell (DNS) • Cliff Bourland (DNS) • Bill Porter (DNS) • Clyde Scott (DNS)
2	–	Great Britain	GBR	41.4 (1 h2)	41.3 (2)	Silver
		Jack Archer • Jack Gregory • Alastair McCorquodale • Ken Jones • Ken Anderson (DNS) • Allan Watt (DNS) • John Fairgrieve (DNS) • Paul Vallé (DNS)
3	–	Italy	ITA	41.3 (2 h1)	41.5 (3)	Bronze
		Enrico Perucconi • Antonio Siddi • Carlo Monti • Michele Tito • Piero Bassetti (DNS) • Giuseppe Guzzi (DNS)
4	–	Hungary	HUN	41.4 (2 h2)	41.6 (4)
		Ferenc Tima • László Bartha • György Csányi • Béla Goldoványi • Ferenc Bánhalmi (DNS)
5	–	Canada	CAN	42.3 (2 h3)	41.9 (5)
		Don McFarlane • Jimmy O'Brien • Don Pettie • Ted Haggis • Jack Parry (DNS) • Ezra Henniger (DNS) • Ernie McCullough (DNS) • Bob McFarlane (DNS)
6	–	Netherlands	NED	41.7 (1 h3)	41.9 (6)
		Jan Lammers • Jan Meijer • Gabe Scholten • Jo Zwaan • Jan Kleyn (DNS)
3 h1 r1/2	–	Brazil	BRA	42.4 (3 h1)	–
		Rosalvo Ramos • Hélio da Silva • Haroldo da Silva • Ivan Hausen • Alexandre Pereira Neto (DNS) • Geraldo de Oliveira (DNS)
3 h2 r1/2	–	Australia	AUS	41.5 (3 h2)	–
		Bill Bruce • John Bartram • Morris Curotta • John Treloar • Peter Gardner (DNS) • Charles Green (DNS) • Ray Weinberg (DNS)
3 h3 r1/2	–	Argentina	ARG	42.4 (3 h3)	–
		Gerardo Bönnhoff • Alberto Biderman • Carlos Isaack • Fernando Lapuente • Rodolfo Carrera (DNS) • Guillermo Geary (DNS) • Enrique Kistenmacher (DNS) • Alberto Triulzi (DNS)
4 h2 r1/2	–	Uruguay	URU	42.8 (4 h2)	–
		Mario Fayos • Juan López • Walter Pérez • Hércules Azcune
4 h3 r1/2	–	Iceland	ISL	42.9 (4 h3)	–
		Ásmundur Bjarnason • Finnbjörn Þorvaldsson • Trausti Eyjólfsson • Haukur Clausen • Örn Clausen (DNS)
5 h2 r1/2	–	Bermuda	BER	45.4 (5 h2)	–
		Hazzard Dill • Perry Johnson • Stanley Lines • Frank Mahoney
AC h1 r1/2	–	Turkey	TUR	– (DQ h1)	–
		Kemal Aksur • Erdal Barkay • Raşit Öztaş • Ruhi Sarıalp • Doğan Acarbay (DNS)
AC h2 r1/2	–	Belgium	BEL	– (DNF h2)	–
		Fernand Bourgaux • Pol Braekman • Fernand Linssen • Isidoor Van De Wiele • Hector Gosset (DNS)
AC h3 r1/2	–	France	FRA	– (DNF h3)	–
		Alain Porthault • Marc Litaudon • Julien Le Bas • René Valmy • Christian Brac (DNS) • Étienne Bally (DNS) • Marcel Gerdil (DNS) • Joseph Stéphan (DNS)
DNS	–	Jamaica	JAM	–	–
		Les Laing • Herb McKenley • Basil McKenzie • George Rhoden • Arthur Wint

Round One

Date	6 August 1948 — 16:00
Format	Top two in each heat advanced to the final.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (hand / automatic)	Time (hand)
1	United States	USA	41.20	41.1	Q
2	Italy	ITA	41.31	41.3	Q
3	Great Britain	GBR	41.4	41.4	Q
4	Hungary	HUN	41.4	–	Q
5	Australia	AUS	41.5	–
6	Netherlands	NED	41.7	–	Q
7	Canada	CAN	42.3	–	Q
=8	Brazil	BRA	42.4	–
=8	Argentina	ARG	42.4	–
10	Uruguay	URU	42.8	–
11	Iceland	ISL	42.9	–
12	Bermuda	BER	45.4	–
DNF	Belgium	BEL	–	–
DNF	France	FRA	–	–
DQ	Turkey	TUR	–	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	United States	USA	41.1	41.20	Q
Lead-Off	70	Barney Ewell		–	–
2nd Leg	450	Lorenzo Wright		–	–
3rd Leg	69	Harrison Dillard		–	–
Anchor	71	Mel Patton		–	–
2	–	Italy	ITA	41.3	41.31	Q
Lead-Off	638	Michele Tito		–	–
2nd Leg	635	Enrico Perucconi		–	–
3rd Leg	637	Carlo Monti		–	–
Anchor	636	Antonio Siddi		–	–
3	–	Brazil	BRA	42.4	–
Lead-Off	80	Rosalvo Ramos		–	–
2nd Leg	13	Hélio da Silva		–	–
3rd Leg	14	Haroldo da Silva		–	–
Anchor	15	Ivan Hausen		–	–
DQ	–	Turkey	TUR	–	–
Lead-Off	67	Kemal Aksur		–	–
2nd Leg	316	Erdal Barkay		–	–
3rd Leg	68	Raşit Öztaş		–	–
Anchor	468	Ruhi Sarıalp		–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	Great Britain	GBR	41.4	41.4	Q
Lead-Off	628	Jack Archer		–	–
2nd Leg	629	Jack Gregory		–	–
3rd Leg	36	Alastair McCorquodale		–	–
Anchor	34	Ken Jones		–	–
2	–	Hungary	HUN	41.4	–	Q
Lead-Off	89	Ferenc Tima		–	–
2nd Leg	42	László Bartha		–	–
3rd Leg	43	György Csányi		–	–
Anchor	44	Béla Goldoványi		–	–
3	–	Australia	AUS	41.5	–
Lead-Off	404	Bill Bruce		–	–
2nd Leg	4	John Bartram		–	–
3rd Leg	5	Morris Curotta		–	–
Anchor	6	John Treloar		–	–
4	–	Uruguay	URU	42.8	–
Lead-Off	74	Mario Fayos		–	–
2nd Leg	72	Juan López		–	–
3rd Leg	73	Walter Pérez		–	–
Anchor	430	Hércules Azcune		–	–
5	–	Bermuda	BER	45.4	–
Lead-Off	79	Hazzard Dill		–	–
2nd Leg	10	Perry Johnson		–	–
3rd Leg	11	Stanley Lines		–	–
Anchor	12	Frank Mahoney		–	–
DNF	–	Belgium	BEL	–	–
Lead-Off	77	Fernand Bourgaux		–	–
2nd Leg	7	Pol Braekman		–	–
3rd Leg	78	Fernand Linssen		–	–
Anchor	9	Isidoor Van De Wiele		–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)
1	–	Netherlands	NED	41.7	Q
Lead-Off	87	Jan Lammers		–
2nd Leg	41	Jan Meijer		–
3rd Leg	88	Gabe Scholten		–
Anchor	39	Jo Zwaan		–
2	–	Canada	CAN	42.3	Q
Lead-Off	99	Don McFarlane		–
2nd Leg	19	Jimmy O'Brien		–
3rd Leg	81	Don Pettie		–
Anchor	18	Ted Haggis		–
3	–	Argentina	ARG	42.4
Lead-Off	1	Gerardo Bönnhoff		–
2nd Leg	75	Alberto Biderman		–
3rd Leg	2	Carlos Isaack		–
Anchor	3	Fernando Lapuente		–
4	–	Iceland	ISL	42.9
Lead-Off	631	Ásmundur Bjarnason		–
2nd Leg	47	Finnbjörn Þorvaldsson		–
3rd Leg	632	Trausti Eyjólfsson		–
Anchor	45	Haukur Clausen		–
DNF	–	France	FRA	–
Lead-Off	626	Alain Porthault		–
2nd Leg	625	Marc Litaudon		–
3rd Leg	84	Julien Le Bas		–
Anchor	32	René Valmy		–

Final Round

Date	7 August 1948 — 15:30

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	United States	USA	40.6	40.70
Lead-Off	70	Barney Ewell		–	–
2nd Leg	450	Lorenzo Wright		–	–
3rd Leg	69	Harrison Dillard		–	–
Anchor	71	Mel Patton		–	–
2	–	Great Britain	GBR	41.3	41.41
Lead-Off	628	Jack Archer		–	–
2nd Leg	629	Jack Gregory		–	–
3rd Leg	36	Alastair McCorquodale		–	–
Anchor	34	Ken Jones		–	–
3	–	Italy	ITA	41.5	41.71
Lead-Off	635	Enrico Perucconi		–	–
2nd Leg	636	Antonio Siddi		–	–
3rd Leg	637	Carlo Monti		–	–
Anchor	638	Michele Tito		–	–
4	–	Hungary	HUN	41.6	41.90
Lead-Off	89	Ferenc Tima		–	–
2nd Leg	42	László Bartha		–	–
3rd Leg	43	György Csányi		–	–
Anchor	44	Béla Goldoványi		–	–
5	–	Canada	CAN	41.9	41.92
Lead-Off	99	Don McFarlane		–	–
2nd Leg	19	Jimmy O'Brien		–	–
3rd Leg	81	Don Pettie		–	–
Anchor	18	Ted Haggis		–	–
6	–	Netherlands	NED	41.9	41.97
Lead-Off	87	Jan Lammers		–	–
2nd Leg	41	Jan Meijer		–	–
3rd Leg	88	Gabe Scholten		–	–
Anchor	39	Jo Zwaan		–	–