| | Event type
4 x 400 metres Relay, Men
| Date | 7 – 8 August 1992 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Estadio Olímpico de Montjuïc, Barcelona |
| Participants | 102 from 24 countries |
The US team was led by Steve Lewis and Quincy Watts, who had won the 400 gold medals in 1988 and 1992 respectively. But their best runner was probably Michael Johnson who would eventually be considered the greatest one-lap runner ever. Led by those three, the question was the same as in 1988 – not if the US would win but by how much and how fast? The answer was 40 metres and in a world record time of 2:55.74. The mark eliminated from the record books the final world record set at the 1968 Olympics, where many of the records were assisted by altitude.
Round One (7 August 1992)
Top two in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the final.
Heat One (20:00)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Trinidad and Tobago |  TTO | 3:01.05 | |||||||||
| Patrick Delice • Alvin Daniel • Neil de Silva • Ian Morris | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:01.20 | |||||||||
| Mark Richardson • Kriss Akabusi • Roger Black • Du'aine Ladejo | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Japan |  JPN | 3:01.35 | |||||||||
| Masayoshi Kan • Susumu Takano • Yoshihiko Saito • Takahiro Watanabe | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | France |  FRA | 3:04.25 | |||||||||
| Jean-Louis Rapnouil • Yann Quentrec • Stéphane Caristan • Stéphane Diagana | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Canada |  CAN | 3:04.69 | |||||||||
| Mark Jackson • Anthony Wilson • Mark Graham • Freddie Williams | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Thailand |  THA | 3:08.00 | |||||||||
| Athiaporn Koonjarthong • Yuthana Thonglek • Sarapong Kumsup • Aktawat Sakoolchan | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | Portugal |  POR | 3:10.11 | |||||||||
| José Mendes • Pedro Rodrigues • Álvaro Silva • Paulo Curvelo | |||||||||||||
| 8 | – | Zaire |  COD | 3:21.91 | |||||||||
| Ilunga Kafila • Luasa Batungile • Kaleka Mutoke • Shintu Kibambe | |||||||||||||
Heat Two (20:10)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Cuba |  CUB | 2:59.13 | |||||||||
| Lázaro Martínez • Héctor Herrera • Norberto Téllez • Roberto Hernández | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | United States |  USA | 2:59.14 | |||||||||
| Darnell Hall • Michael Johnson • Chip Jenkins • Quincy Watts | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Kenya |  KEN | 2:59.63 | |||||||||
| David Kitur • Samson Kitur • Simeon Kipkemboi • Simon Kemboi | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Nigeria |  NGR | 3:00.39 | |||||||||
| Udeme Ekpenyong • Emmanuel Okoli • Hassan Bosso • Sunday Bada | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Unified Team |  EUN | 3:05.59 | |||||||||
| Dmitry Kosov • Dmitry Kliger • Dmitry Golovastov • Oleg Tverdokhleb | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Mexico |  MEX | 3:05.75 | |||||||||
| Raymundo Escalante • Eduardo Nava • Luis Toledo • Juan Jesús Gutiérrez | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |  VIN | 3:10.21 | |||||||||
| Lenford O'Garro • Michael Williams • Eversley Linley • Eswort Coombs | |||||||||||||
| – | Barbados |  BAR | – | ||||||||||
| Seibert Straughn • Roger Jordan • Edsel Chase • Stevon Roberts | |||||||||||||
Heat Three (20:20)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Brazil |  BRA | 3:01.38 | |||||||||
| Eronildes Araújo • Ediélson Tenório • Sérgio de Menezes • Sidney de Souza | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Italy |  ITA | 3:02.09 | |||||||||
| Alessandro Aimar • Marco Vaccari • Fabio Grossi • Andrea Nuti | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Morocco |  MAR | 3:02.28 | |||||||||
| Abdel Ali Kasbane • Abdel Ghani Guériguer • Bouchaib Bel Kaïd • Lahlou Ben Younès | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Spain |  ESP | 3:04.60 | |||||||||
| Antonio Sánchez • Gaietà Cornet • Manuel Moreno • Ángel de las Heras | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Qatar |  QAT | 3:07.26 | |||||||||
| Sami Al-Abdullah • Masoud Abdul Khamis • Ibrahim Ismail • Fareh Ibrahim Ali | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Papua New Guinea |  PNG | 3:13.35 | |||||||||
| Baobo Neuendorf • Kaminiel Selot • Bernard Manana • Subul Babo | |||||||||||||
| – | Germany |  GER | – | ||||||||||
| Ralph Pfersich • Rico Lieder • Jörg Vaihinger • Thomas Schönlebe | |||||||||||||
| – | Jamaica |  JAM | [3:01.20] | ||||||||||
| Dennis Blake • Devon Morris • Howard Davis • Patrick O'Connor | |||||||||||||
Final (8 August 1992 — 21:40)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | Split (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States | USA | 2:55.74 | ||||
| 1775 | Andrew Valmon | 44.60 | 44.60 (1) | |||||
| 1779 | Quincy Watts | 43.00 | 1:27.60 (1) | |||||
| 1720 | Michael Johnson | 44.73 | 2:12.33 (1) | |||||
| 1730 | Steve Lewis | 43.41 | 2:55.74 (1) | |||||
| 2 | – | Cuba | CUB | 2:59.51 | ||||
| 356 | Lázaro Martínez | 45.50 | 45.50 (4) | |||||
| 347 | Héctor Herrera | 44.45 | 1:29.95 (3) | |||||
| 369 | Norberto Téllez | 45.04 | 2:14.99 (=2) | |||||
| 346 | Roberto Hernández | 44.52 | 2:59.51 (2) | |||||
| 3 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 2:59.73 | ||||
| 690 | Roger Black | 45.20 | 45.20 (2) | |||||
| 714 | David Grindley | 44.65 | 1:29.85 (2) | |||||
| 684 | Kriss Akabusi | 45.14 | 2:14.99 (=2) | |||||
| 750 | John Regis | 44.74 | 2:59.73 (3) | |||||
| 4 | – | Brazil | BRA | 3:01.61 | ||||
| 138 | Robson da Silva | 45.38 | 45.38 (3) | |||||
| 154 | Ediélson Tenório | 45.81 | 1:31.19 (4) | |||||
| 144 | Sérgio de Menezes | 45.54 | 2:16.73 (4) | |||||
| 160 | Sidney de Souza | 44.88 | 3:01.61 (4) | |||||
| 5 | – | Nigeria | NGR | 3:01.71 | ||||
| 1298 | Udeme Ekpenyong | 45.70 | 45.70 (5) | |||||
| 1304 | Emmanuel Okoli | 45.75 | 1:31.45 (5) | |||||
| 1296 | Hassan Bosso | 45.62 | 2:17.07 (5) | |||||
| 1295 | Sunday Bada | 44.64 | 3:01.71 (5) | |||||
| 6 | – | Italy | ITA | 3:02.18 | ||||
| 985 | Alessandro Aimar | 46.50 | 46.50 (7) | |||||
| 1034 | Marco Vaccari | 45.24 | 1:31.74 (6) | |||||
| 1008 | Fabio Grossi | 45.69 | 2:17.43 (6) | |||||
| 1017 | Andrea Nuti | 44.75 | 3:02.18 (6) | |||||
| 7 | – | Trinidad and Tobago | TTO | 3:03.31 | ||||
| 1644 | Alvin Daniel | 46.3 | 46.3 (6) | |||||
| 1646 | Patrick Delice | 46.4 | 1:32.7 (7) | |||||
| 1645 | Neil de Silva | 45.2 | 2:17.9 (7) | |||||
| 1648 | Ian Morris | 45.4 | 3:03.3 (7) | |||||
| – | Kenya | KEN | – | |||||
| 1126 | Samson Kitur | – | – (–) | |||||
| 1131 | Abednego Matilu | – | – (–) | |||||
| 1120 | Simeon Kipkemboi | – | – (–) | |||||
| 1115 | Simon Kemboi | – | – (–) |