| | Event type
4 × 100 metres Relay, Women
| Date | 19 – 20 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Ciudad de México |
| Participants | 60 from 15 countries |
In the rarified air of Ciudad de México, the United States and the Netherlands broke the world record in the heats with 43.4. But the Americans had the fastest runners, led by anchor runner Wyomia Tyus, who had earlier defended her 100 metre gold medal. Despite mediocre exchanges the US won the gold medal with Tyus crossing the line five metres ahead.
SWERound One
| Date | 19 October 1968 — 15:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top four in each heat advanced to the final. |
Heat #1
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 43.4 | 43.50 | ||
| Lead-Off | 93 | Barbara Ferrell | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 84 | Margaret Bailes | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 100 | Mildrette Netter | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 105 | Wyomia Tyus | – | – | |||
| 2 | – | Australia |  AUS | 43.7 | 43.77 | ||
| Lead-Off | 38 | Jennifer Lamy | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 32 | Joyce Bennett | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 33 | Raelene Boyle | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 35 | Dianne Bowering-Burge | – | – | |||
| 3 | – | West Germany |  FRG | 44.1 | 44.18 | ||
| Lead-Off | 9 | Renate Meyer | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 14 | Jutta Stöck | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 7 | Rita Jahn-Wilden | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 1 | Ingrid Mickler-Becker | – | – | |||
| 4 | – | France |  FRA | 44.3 | 44.32 | ||
| Lead-Off | 114 | Michèle Alayrangues | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 120 | Gabrielle Meyer | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 121 | Nicole Montandon | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 123 | Sylviane Telliez | – | – | |||
| 5 | – | Canada |  CAN | 44.7 | 44.73 | ||
| Lead-Off | 60 | Debbie Miller | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 53 | Stephanie Berto | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 57 | Joan Hendry | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 61 | Irene Piotrowski | – | – | |||
| 6 | – | Nigeria |  NGR | 45.2 | 45.23 | ||
| Lead-Off | 193 | Olajumoke Bodunrin | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 197 | Janet Omorogbe | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 194 | Mairo Jinadu | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 192 | Oyeronke Akindele | – | – | |||
| 7 | – | Mexico |  MEX | 47.0 | 47.09 | ||
| Lead-Off | 189 | Alma Rosa Martínez | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 190 | Mercedes Román | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 185 | Enriqueta Basilio | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 187 | Esperanza Girón | – | – | |||
| – | Jamaica |  JAM | [44.8] | [44.82] | |||
| Lead-Off | 178 | Adlin Mair-Clarke | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 182 | Carmen Smith | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 180 | Una Morris | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 177 | Vilma Charlton | – | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Netherlands |  NED | 43.4 | 43.49 | ||
| Lead-Off | 153 | Wilma van Gool-van den Berg | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 152 | Mieke Sterk | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 149 | Truus Hennipman-Cruiming | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 146 | Corrie Bakker | – | – | |||
| 2 | – | Soviet Union |  URS | 43.6 | 43.67 | ||
| Lead-Off | 250 | Lyudmila Zharkova-Maslakova | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 227 | Galina Bukharina | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 239 | Vera Popkova | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 242 | Lyudmila Ignatyeva-Samotyosova | – | – | |||
| 3 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 43.9 | 43.98 | ||
| Lead-Off | 132 | Anita Neil | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 143 | Maureen Tranter | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 141 | Janet Simpson | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 126 | Lillian Board | – | – | |||
| 4 | – | Cuba |  CUB | 44.1 | 44.15 | ||
| Lead-Off | 66 | Marlene Elejalde | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 71 | Fulgencia Romay | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 70 | Violeta Quesada | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 65 | Miguelina Cobián | – | – | |||
| 5 | – | Hungary |  HUN | 44.6 | 44.65 | ||
| Lead-Off | 159 | Etelka Kispál | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 165 | Margit Markó-Nemesházi | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 157 | Györgyi Balogh-Szomov | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 170 | Annamária Kovács-Tóth | – | – | |||
| 6 | – | Taiwan |  TPE | 47.2 | 47.24 | ||
| Lead-Off | 223 | Chi Cheng | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 226 | Yeh Chu-Mei | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 224 | Lin Chun-Yu | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 225 | Tien Ah-Mei | – | – | |||
| 7 | – | Poland |  POL | 53.0 | 53.02 | ||
| Lead-Off | 205 | Danuta Straszyńska | – | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 204 | Mirosława Sarna | – | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 202 | Urszula Jóźwik | – | – | |||
| Anchor | 207 | Irena Kirszenstein-Szewińska | – | – |
Final
| Date | 20 October 1968 — 16:30 |
|---|