| | Event type
4 x 100 metres Relay, Women
| Date | 30 – 31 July 1976 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Stade olympique, Parc olympique, Montréal, Québec |
| Participants | 40 from 10 countries |
As in 1972, the final again came down to a close match race between the two German teams. East Germany had Renate Stecher, who had won the 100 and 200 in 1972 and was the silver medalist in the 1976 100, while West Germany was led by Annegret Richter, who won the 1976 100 gold medal. But neither ran the anchor leg, as Stecher ran the second leg and Richter the third leg for their teams. The GDR anchor runner was Bärbel Eckert, who had won the 200 title in Montréal. At the final exchange, the FRG had a small lead, but Eckert overcame their anchor runner, Annegret Kroniger, to win by ½-metre.
BER
GHA
ITA
POL
TPERound One (30 July 1976 — 16:40)
Top three in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | West Germany |  FRG | 42.61 | |||||||||
| Elvira Poßekel • Inge Helten • Annegret Richter • Anne Kroniger | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Soviet Union |  URS | 43.33 | |||||||||
| Tatyana Prorochenko • Lyudmila Maslakova • Nadezhda Besfamilnaya • Vera Anisimova | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 43.44 | |||||||||
| Wendy Clarke • Denise Ramsden • Sharon Colyear • Andrea Lynch | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Australia |  AUS | 43.67 | |||||||||
| Barbara Wilson • Debbie Wells • Denise Robertson • Raelene Boyle | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | France |  FRA | 43.95 | |||||||||
| Emma Sulter • Catherine Delachanal • Chantal Réga • Sylviane Telliez | |||||||||||||
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | East Germany |  GDR | 43.00 | |||||||||
| Marlies Oelsner • Renate Stecher • Carla Bodendorf • Bärbel Eckert | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | United States |  USA | 43.46 | |||||||||
| Martha Rae Watson • Evelyn Ashford • Debra Armstrong • Chandra Cheeseborough | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Canada |  CAN | 43.53 | |||||||||
| Margaret Howe • Patty Loverock • Joanne McTaggart • Marjorie Bailey | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Jamaica |  JAM | 43.88 | |||||||||
| Rosie Allwood • Jackie Pusey • Carol Cummings • Lelieth Hodges | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Cuba |  CUB | 44.29 | |||||||||
| Isabel Taylor • Carmen Valdés • Fulgencia Romay • Silvia Chivás | |||||||||||||
Final (31 July 1976 — 18:30)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | East Germany | GDR | 42.55 | |||||||||
| Marlies Oelsner • Renate Stecher • Carla Bodendorf • Bärbel Eckert | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | West Germany | FRG | 42.59 | |||||||||
| Elvira Poßekel • Inge Helten • Annegret Richter • Anne Kroniger | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Soviet Union | URS | 43.09 | |||||||||
| Tatyana Prorochenko • Lyudmila Maslakova • Nadezhda Besfamilnaya • Vera Anisimova | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Canada | CAN | 43.17 | |||||||||
| Margaret Howe • Patty Loverock • Joanne McTaggart • Marjorie Bailey | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Australia | AUS | 43.18 | |||||||||
| Barbara Wilson • Debbie Wells • Denise Robertson • Raelene Boyle | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Jamaica | JAM | 43.24 | |||||||||
| Lelieth Hodges • Rosie Allwood • Carol Cummings • Jackie Pusey | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | United States | USA | 43.35 | |||||||||
| Martha Rae Watson • Evelyn Ashford • Debra Armstrong • Chandra Cheeseborough | |||||||||||||
| 8 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 43.79 | |||||||||
| Wendy Clarke • Denise Ramsden • Sharon Colyear • Andrea Lynch | |||||||||||||