| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Relay, Men

Date	26 – 27 July 1952
Status	Olympic
Location	Helsingin Olympiastadion, Helsinki
Participants	88 from 22 countries
Olympic Record	39.8 WR / Jesse Owens • Ralph Metcalfe • Foy Draper • Frank Wykoff USA / 9 August 1936 / Details

Though the US had the fastest sprinters, the USSR team had won the 1950 European Championships in this event and were known for teamwork and exact changeovers. In the Helksinki final, the Soviets started out in the lead, led by Boris Tokarev, and they maintained that until 100 metre champion Lindy Remigino caught them on the final turn. Andy Stanfield received the baton about equal with Vladimir Sukharev but ran away from him to win by two metres.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	–	United States	USA	40.3 (1 h1)	40.4 (1 h1)	40.1 (1)	Gold
		Dean Smith • Harrison Dillard • Lindy Remigino • Andy Stanfield • Thane Baker (DNS) • Art Bragg (DNS) • Jack Davis (DNS) • Jimmy Gathers (DNS)
2	–	Soviet Union	URS	41.3 (1 h4)	40.7 (2 h1)	40.3 (2)	Silver
		Boris Tokarev • Lev Kalyayev • Levan Sanadze • Vladimir Sukharev • Feodosiy Golubev (DNS) • Leonid Grigoryev (DNS) • Mikhail Kazantsev (DNS)
3	–	Hungary	HUN	41.0 (1 h3)	40.9 (1 h2)	40.5 (3)	Bronze
		László Zarándi • Géza Varasdi • György Csányi • Béla Goldoványi • Ágoston Dörnyei (DNS) • Péter Karádi (DNS)
4	–	Great Britain	GBR	41.2 (1 h2)	41.0 (3 h1)	40.6 (4)
		McDonald Bailey • Willie Jack • Jack Gregory • Brian Shenton • Peter Hildreth (DNS) • Alan Lillington (DNS) • Jack Parker (DNS) • Nick Stacey (DNS)
5	–	France	FRA	40.8 (2 h1)	40.9 (2 h2)	40.9 (5)
		Alain Porthault • Étienne Bally • Yves Camus • René Bonino • Jacques Derderian (DNS) • Henri Brault (DNS) • Marcel Gerdil (DNS) • Jean-Pierre Goudeau (DNS)
6	–	Czechoslovakia	TCH	41.5 (2 h3)	41.3 (3 h2)	41.2 (6)
		František Brož • Jiří David • Miroslav Horčic • Zdeněk Pospíšil • Václav Janeček (DNS)
4 h1 r2/3	–	Argentina	ARG	41.5 (3 h3)	41.4 (4 h1)	–
		Enrique Beckles • Mariano Acosta • Gerardo Bönnhoff • Romeo Galán • Ricardo Héber (DNS) • Estanislao Kocourek (DNS)
4 h2 r2/3	–	Cuba	CUB	41.9 (3 h2)	41.5 (4 h2)	–
		Evelio Planas • Samuel Andersón • Ángel García • Rafael Fortún • Raúl Mazorra (DNS)
5 h1 r2/3	–	Poland	POL	41.8 (3 h1)	41.8 (5 h1)	–
		Dominik Sucheński • Zygmunt Buhl • Zdobysław Stawczyk • Emil Kiszka • Roman Budzyński (DNS)
5 h2 r2/3	–	Nigeria	NGR	42.4 (2 h4)	41.9 (5 h2)	–
		Titus Erinle • Rafiu Oluwa • Karim Olowu • Muslim Arogundade • Edward Ajado (DNS)
6 h1 r2/3	–	Pakistan	PAK	42.8 (3 h4)	42.0 (6 h1)	–
		Sharif Butt • Muhammad Fazil • Abdul Aziz • Muhammad Aslam • Abdul Rehman (DNS)
2 h1 r1/3	–	Italy	ITA	41.5 (2 h2)	–	–
		Franco Leccese • Antonio Siddi • Giorgio Sobrero • Carlo Vittori • Aldo Penna (DNS) • Luigi Grossi (DNS) • Wolfango Montanari (DNS) • Lucio Sangermano (DNS)
4 h1 r1/3	–	Finland	FIN	42.0 (4 h1)	–	–
		Adolf Turakainen • Voitto Hellstén • Pauli Tavisalo • Issi Baran • Rolf Back (DNS) • Jaakko Suikkari (DNS)
4 h2 r1/3	–	Gold Coast	GHA	42.1 (4 h2)	–	–
		George Acquaah • Gabriel Laryea • John Owusu • Augustus Lawson • Bukari Bashiru (DNS) • K. K. Korsah (DNS)
4 h3 r1/3	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	41.5 (4 h3)	–	–
		Peter Kraus • Werner Zandt • Josef Heinen • Franz Happernagl • Leo Lickes (DNS) • Erich Fuchs (DNS) • Heinz Fütterer (DNS)
5 h1 r1/3	–	Canada	CAN	42.6 (5 h1)	–	–
		Gordon Crosby • Don McFarlane • Bob Hutchison • Pete Sutton • Jack Carroll (DNS) • Doug Clement (DNS) • James Lavery (DNS)
5 h2 r1/3	–	Australia	AUS	42.3 (5 h2)	–	–
		Morris Curotta • Edwin Carr, Jr. • Ray Weinberg • Ken Doubleday • Pat Leane (DNS) • John Treloar (DNS)
5 h3 r1/3	–	Switzerland	SUI	41.6 (5 h3)	–	–
		Willy Schneider • Willy Eichenberger • Ernst Mühlethaler • Hans Wehrli • Pierfrancesco Campana (DNS) • Fritz Griesser (DNS) • Hans Ernst Schneider (DNS)
6 h1 r1/3	–	Portugal	POR	42.8 (6 h1)	–	–
		Tomás Paquete • Fernando Casimiro • Eugénio Eleutério • Rui Maia • Álvaro Dias (DNS) • Fernando Fernandes (DNS) • Rui Ramos (DNS)
6 h2 r1/3	–	Thailand	THA	44.5 (6 h2)	–	–
		Adul Wanasatith • Arun Sankosik • Pongummart Ummarttayakul • Boonterm Pakpuang • Boonpak Kwancharoen (DNS) • Kamtorn Sanidwong (DNS) • Sompop Svadanandana (DNS)
7 h1 r1/3	–	Egypt	EGY	42.9 (7 h1)	–	–
		Emad Shafei • Fouad Yazgi • Fawzi Chaaban • Youssef Omar
AC h4 r1/3	–	Iceland	ISL	[43.25] (DQ h4)	–	–
		Ingi Þorsteinsson • Pétur Sigurðsson • Hörður Haraldsson • Ásmundur Bjarnason • Torfi Bryngeirsson (DNS) • Guðmundur Lárusson (DNS)
DNS	–	Brazil	BRA	–	–	–
		Wilson Gomes • José da Conceição • Geraldo de Oliveira • Ary Façanha
DNS	–	Greece	GRE	–	–	–
		Ioannis Kampadelis • Michail Michail • Theodosios Balafas • Rigas Efstathiadis • Vasilios Mavroidis • Stefanos Petrakis • Vasilios Sillis
DNS	–	Ireland	IRL	–	–	–
		Louis Crowe • Noel Flanagan • Lexie Tynan • Paul Dolan
DNS	–	Venezuela	VEN	–	–	–
		Téofilo Davis • Asnoldo Devonish • Paulino Ferrer • Guillermo Gutiérrez • Juan Leiva

Round One

Date	26 July 1952 — 15:30
Format	Top 3 in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (hand)	Time (automatic)
1	United States	USA	40.3	40.34	Q
2	France	FRA	40.8	40.98	Q
3	Hungary	HUN	41.0	41.15	Q
4	Great Britain	GBR	41.2	41.43	Q
5	Soviet Union	URS	41.3	41.45	Q
6	Czechoslovakia	TCH	41.5	41.49	Q
7	Argentina	ARG	41.5	41.56	Q
8	Unified Team of Germany	GER	41.5	41.63
9	Italy	ITA	41.5	41.73	Q
10	Switzerland	SUI	41.6	41.81
11	Poland	POL	41.8	42.00	Q
12	Cuba	CUB	41.9	42.14	Q
13	Finland	FIN	42.0	42.20
14	Gold Coast	GHA	42.1	42.27
15	Australia	AUS	42.3	42.38
16	Nigeria	NGR	42.4	42.63	Q
17	Canada	CAN	42.6	42.73
18	Pakistan	PAK	42.8	42.91	Q
19	Portugal	POR	42.8	43.01
20	Egypt	EGY	42.9	43.02
21	Thailand	THA	44.5	44.81
DQ	Iceland	ISL	–	[43.25]

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	3	United States	USA	40.3	40.34	Q
Lead-Off	982	Dean Smith		–	–
2nd Leg	1002	Harrison Dillard		–	–
3rd Leg	981	Lindy Remigino		–	–
Anchor	983	Andy Stanfield		–	–
2	5	France	FRA	40.8	40.98	Q
Lead-Off	597	Alain Porthault		–	–
2nd Leg	595	Étienne Bally		–	–
3rd Leg	600	Yves Camus		–	–
Anchor	596	René Bonino		–	–
3	6	Poland	POL	41.8	42.00	Q
Lead-Off	–	Dominik Sucheński		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Zygmunt Buhl		–	–
3rd Leg	565	Zdobysław Stawczyk		–	–
Anchor	562	Emil Kiszka		–	–
4	2	Finland	FIN	42.0	42.20
Lead-Off	774	Adolf Turakainen		–	–
2nd Leg	772	Voitto Hellstén		–	–
3rd Leg	773	Pauli Tavisalo		–	–
Anchor	771	Issi Baran		–	–
5	1	Canada	CAN	42.6	42.73
Lead-Off	355	Gordon Crosby		–	–
2nd Leg	346	Don McFarlane		–	–
3rd Leg	345	Bob Hutchison		–	–
Anchor	344	Pete Sutton		–	–
6	7	Portugal	POR	42.8	43.01
Lead-Off	553	Tomás Paquete		–	–
2nd Leg	555	Fernando Casimiro		–	–
3rd Leg	556	Eugénio Eleutério		–	–
Anchor	554	Rui Maia		–	–
7	4	Egypt	EGY	42.9	43.02
Lead-Off	92	Emad Shafei		–	–
2nd Leg	95	Fouad Yazgi		–	–
3rd Leg	90	Fawzi Chaaban		–	–
Anchor	91	Youssef Omar		–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	6	Great Britain	GBR	41.2	41.43	Q
Lead-Off	166	McDonald Bailey		–	–
2nd Leg	167	Willie Jack		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Jack Gregory		–	–
Anchor	169	Brian Shenton		–	–
2	5	Italy	ITA	41.5	41.73	Q
Lead-Off	240	Carlo Vittori		–	–
2nd Leg	246	Antonio Siddi		–	–
3rd Leg	245	Giorgio Sobrero		–	–
Anchor	242	Franco Leccese		–	–
3	2	Cuba	CUB	41.9	42.14	Q
Lead-Off	400	Evelio Planas		–	–
2nd Leg	401	Samuel Andersón		–	–
3rd Leg	399	Ángel García		–	–
Anchor	397	Rafael Fortún		–	–
4	4	Gold Coast	GHA	42.1	42.27
Lead-Off	389	George Acquaah		–	–
2nd Leg	388	Gabriel Laryea		–	–
3rd Leg	–	John Owusu		–	–
Anchor	–	Augustus Lawson		–	–
5	1	Australia	AUS	42.3	42.38
Lead-Off	17	Morris Curotta		–	–
2nd Leg	20	Edwin Carr, Jr.		–	–
3rd Leg	19	Ray Weinberg		–	–
Anchor	26	Ken Doubleday		–	–
6	3	Thailand	THA	44.5	44.81
Lead-Off	885	Adul Wanasatith		–	–
2nd Leg	887	Arun Sankosik		–	–
3rd Leg	891	Pongummart Ummarttayakul		–	–
Anchor	886	Boonterm Pakpuang		–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	4	Hungary	HUN	41.0	41.15	Q
Lead-Off	929	László Zarándi		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Géza Varasdi		–	–
3rd Leg	930	György Csányi		–	–
Anchor	931	Béla Goldoványi		–	–
2	5	Czechoslovakia	TCH	41.5	41.49	Q
Lead-Off	893	František Brož		–	–
2nd Leg	897	Jiří David		–	–
3rd Leg	894	Miroslav Horčic		–	–
Anchor	895	Zdeněk Pospíšil		–	–
3	2	Argentina	ARG	41.5	41.56	Q
Lead-Off	2	Enrique Beckles		–	–
2nd Leg	1	Mariano Acosta		–	–
3rd Leg	4	Gerardo Bönnhoff		–	–
Anchor	3	Romeo Galán		–	–
4	7	Unified Team of Germany	GER	41.5	41.63
Lead-Off	731	Peter Kraus		–	–
2nd Leg	727	Werner Zandt		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Josef Heinen		–	–
Anchor	–	Franz Happernagl		–	–
5	1	Switzerland	SUI	41.6	41.81
Lead-Off	841	Willy Schneider		–	–
2nd Leg	843	Willy Eichenberger		–	–
3rd Leg	844	Ernst Mühlethaler		–	–
Anchor	842	Hans Wehrli		–	–

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	5	Soviet Union	URS	41.3	41.45	Q
Lead-Off	–	Boris Tokarev		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Lev Kalyayev		–	–
3rd Leg	413	Levan Sanadze		–	–
Anchor	414	Vladimir Sukharev		–	–
2	6	Nigeria	NGR	42.4	42.63	Q
Lead-Off	496	Titus Erinle		–	–
2nd Leg	499	Rafiu Oluwa		–	–
3rd Leg	497	Karim Olowu		–	–
Anchor	498	Muslim Arogundade		–	–
3	3	Pakistan	PAK	42.8	42.91	Q
Lead-Off	525	Sharif Butt		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Muhammad Fazil		–	–
3rd Leg	524	Abdul Aziz		–	–
Anchor	523	Muhammad Aslam		–	–
DQ	2	Iceland	ISL	[43.25]	–
Lead-Off	159	Ingi Þorsteinsson		–	–
2nd Leg	156	Pétur Sigurðsson		–	–
3rd Leg	155	Hörður Haraldsson		–	–
Anchor	154	Ásmundur Bjarnason		–	–

Semi-Finals

Date	27 July 1952 — 15:30
Format	Top 3 in each heat advanced to the final round.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (hand)	Time (automatic)
1	United States	USA	40.4	40.51	Q
2	Hungary	HUN	40.9	40.99	Q
3	Soviet Union	URS	40.7	41.01	Q
4	France	FRA	40.9	41.02	Q
5	Great Britain	GBR	41.0	41.24	Q
6	Czechoslovakia	TCH	41.3	41.46	Q
7	Argentina	ARG	41.4	41.61
8	Cuba	CUB	41.5	41.67
9	Poland	POL	41.8	41.91
10	Nigeria	NGR	41.9	42.01
11	Pakistan	PAK	42.0	42.15

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	4	United States	USA	40.4	40.51	Q
Lead-Off	982	Dean Smith		–	–
2nd Leg	1002	Harrison Dillard		–	–
3rd Leg	981	Lindy Remigino		–	–
Anchor	983	Andy Stanfield		–	–
2	5	Soviet Union	URS	40.7	41.01	Q
Lead-Off	–	Boris Tokarev		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Lev Kalyayev		–	–
3rd Leg	413	Levan Sanadze		–	–
Anchor	414	Vladimir Sukharev		–	–
3	6	Great Britain	GBR	41.0	41.24	Q
Lead-Off	166	McDonald Bailey		–	–
2nd Leg	167	Willie Jack		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Jack Gregory		–	–
Anchor	169	Brian Shenton		–	–
4	1	Argentina	ARG	41.4	41.61
Lead-Off	2	Enrique Beckles		–	–
2nd Leg	1	Mariano Acosta		–	–
3rd Leg	4	Gerardo Bönnhoff		–	–
Anchor	3	Romeo Galán		–	–
5	3	Poland	POL	41.8	41.91
Lead-Off	–	Dominik Sucheński		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Zygmunt Buhl		–	–
3rd Leg	565	Zdobysław Stawczyk		–	–
Anchor	562	Emil Kiszka		–	–
6	2	Pakistan	PAK	42.0	42.15
Lead-Off	525	Sharif Butt		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Muhammad Fazil		–	–
3rd Leg	524	Abdul Aziz		–	–
Anchor	523	Muhammad Aslam		–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	5	Hungary	HUN	40.9	40.99	Q
Lead-Off	929	László Zarándi		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Géza Varasdi		–	–
3rd Leg	930	György Csányi		–	–
Anchor	931	Béla Goldoványi		–	–
2	6	France	FRA	40.9	41.02	Q
Lead-Off	597	Alain Porthault		–	–
2nd Leg	595	Étienne Bally		–	–
3rd Leg	600	Yves Camus		–	–
Anchor	596	René Bonino		–	–
3	4	Czechoslovakia	TCH	41.3	41.46	Q
Lead-Off	893	František Brož		–	–
2nd Leg	897	Jiří David		–	–
3rd Leg	894	Miroslav Horčic		–	–
Anchor	895	Zdeněk Pospíšil		–	–
4	1	Cuba	CUB	41.5	41.67
Lead-Off	400	Evelio Planas		–	–
2nd Leg	401	Samuel Andersón		–	–
3rd Leg	399	Ángel García		–	–
Anchor	397	Rafael Fortún		–	–
5	2	Nigeria	NGR	41.9	42.01
Lead-Off	496	Titus Erinle		–	–
2nd Leg	499	Rafiu Oluwa		–	–
3rd Leg	497	Karim Olowu		–	–
Anchor	498	Muslim Arogundade		–	–

Final Round

Date	27 July 1952 — 17:10

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	2	United States	USA	40.1	40.26
Lead-Off	982	Dean Smith		–	–
2nd Leg	1002	Harrison Dillard		–	–
3rd Leg	981	Lindy Remigino		–	–
Anchor	983	Andy Stanfield		–	–
2	3	Soviet Union	URS	40.3	40.58
Lead-Off	–	Boris Tokarev		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Lev Kalyayev		–	–
3rd Leg	413	Levan Sanadze		–	–
Anchor	414	Vladimir Sukharev		–	–
3	6	Hungary	HUN	40.5	40.83
Lead-Off	929	László Zarándi		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Géza Varasdi		–	–
3rd Leg	930	György Csányi		–	–
Anchor	931	Béla Goldoványi		–	–
4	1	Great Britain	GBR	40.6	40.85
Lead-Off	166	McDonald Bailey		–	–
2nd Leg	167	Willie Jack		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Jack Gregory		–	–
Anchor	169	Brian Shenton		–	–
5	5	France	FRA	40.9	41.10
Lead-Off	597	Alain Porthault		–	–
2nd Leg	595	Étienne Bally		–	–
3rd Leg	600	Yves Camus		–	–
Anchor	596	René Bonino		–	–
6	4	Czechoslovakia	TCH	41.2	41.41
Lead-Off	893	František Brož		–	–
2nd Leg	897	Jiří David		–	–
3rd Leg	894	Miroslav Horčic		–	–
Anchor	895	Zdeněk Pospíšil		–	–