| | Event type

4 × 400 metres Relay, Men

Date	6 – 7 August 2021
Status	Olympic
Location	Japan National Stadium, Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo
Participants	71 from 16 countries

The United States was favored as they had the fastest set of one-lap runners, Track & Field News noting that they had “too much firepower.” Other contenders were expected to be Jamaica and Belgium, the latter led by the Borlée brothers. As the last men’s race of the Olympics, the USA had some incentive to win as they had not won an individual running event at Tokyo, the first time that had ever happened at the Olympics.

The heats were extremely fast as all eight qualifiers bettered 3 minutes, the first time that had ever happened at a major meet. In the final Michael Cherry led off for the USA but Botswana’s Isaac Makwala led at the end of the first lap, recording a 43.9 leg, with Cherry and the United States second, and Trinidad & Tobago’s Deon Lendore third.

Michael Norman ran the second leg for the USA, and pulled ahead on the final curve, opening up a three-metre lead on the baton pass to Bryce Deadmon. Deadmon ran the fastest third leg, 44.01, and gave the USA a safe six-metre lead as he passed to 400 hurdler Rai Benjamin for the anchor. Benjamin had no challenges but still ran 43.40, the fastest leg of the race, as the United States won gold in 2:55.70, the fourth fastest mark all-time.

Behind the USA the times were also fast, and a close battle brought the Netherlands home for the silver medal with a national record 2:57.18, with Botswana taking bronze, and Belgium ran a national record 2:57.88 to finish fourth. Botswana had run 2:57.27, both a national and African record.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	–	United States	USA	2:57.77 (1 h1)	2:55.70 (1)	Gold
		Michael Cherry • Michael Norman • Bryce Deadmon • Rai Benjamin • Trevor Stewart • Randolph Ross • Vernon Norwood
2	–	Netherlands	NED	2:59.06 (5 h1)	2:57.18 (2)	Silver
		Liemarvin Bonevacia • Terrence Agard • Tony van Diepen • Ramsey Angela • Jochem Dobber • Nout Wardenburg (DNS)
3	–	Botswana	BOT	2:58.33 (2 h1)	2:57.27 (3)	Bronze
		Isaac Makwala • Baboloki Thebe • Zibani Ngozi • Bayapo Ndori • Leungo Scotch (DNS)
4	–	Belgium	BEL	2:59.37 (3 h2)	2:57.88 (4)
		Alexander Doom • Jonathan Sacoor • Dylan Borlée • Kévin Borlée • Jonathan Borlée
5	–	Poland	POL	2:58.55 (1 h2)	2:58.46 (5)
		Dariusz Kowaluk • Karol Zalewski • Mateusz Rzeźniczak • Kajetan Duszyński • Jakub Krzewina • Wiktor Suwara (DNS)
6	–	Jamaica	JAM	2:59.29 (2 h2)	2:58.76 (6)
		Demish Gaye • Christopher Taylor • Jaheel Hyde • Nathon Allen • Karayme Bartley • Sean Bailey (DNS)
7	–	Italy	ITA	2:58.91 (4 h1)	2:58.81 (7)
		Davide Re • Vladimir Aceti • Edoardo Scotti • Alessandro Sibilio • Lorenzo Benati (DNS) • Matteo Galvan (DNS) • Giuseppe Leonardi (DNS)
8	–	Trinidad and Tobago	TTO	2:58.60 (3 h1)	3:00.85 (8)
		Deon Lendore • Jereem Richards • Dwight St. Hillaire • Machel Cedenio • Asa Guevara (DNS)
4 h2 r1/2	–	India	IND	3:00.25 (4 h2)	–
		Mohammad Anas Yahiya • Noah Nirmal Tom • Arokia Rajiv • Amoj Jacob • Naganathan Pandi (DNS)
5 h2 r1/2	–	Japan	JPN	3:00.76 (5 h2)	–
		Rikuya Ito • Kaito Kawabata • Kentaro Sato • Aoto Suzuki • Julian Walsh (DNS)
6 h1 r1/2	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:03.29 (6 h1)	–
		Cameron Chalmers • Joe Brier • Lee Thompson • Michael Ohioze • Niclas Baker (DNS)
6 h2 r1/2	–	France	FRA	3:00.81 (6 h2)	–
		Thomas Jordier • Muhammad Abdallah Kounta • Ludovic Oucéni • Gilles Biron • Mame-Ibra Anne (DNS)
7 h1 r1/2	–	Czech Republic	CZE	3:03.61 (7 h1)	–
		Patrik Šorm • Pavel Maslák • Michal Desenský • Vít Müller • Jan Tesař (DNS)
7 h2 r1/2	–	South Africa	RSA	3:01.18 (7 h2)	–
		Lythe Pillay • Zakithi Nene • Ranti Dikgale • Thapelo Phora • Wayde van Niekerk (DNS)
8 h1 r1/2	–	Germany	GER	3:03.62 (8 h1)	–
		Marvin Schlegel • Luke Campbell • Jean Paul Bredau • Manuel Sanders • Torben Junker (DNS) • Tobias Lange (DNS)
8 h2 r1/2	–	Colombia	COL	3:03.20 (8 h2)	–
		Jhon Perlaza • Diego Palomeque • Raúl Mena • Jhon Alexander Solís • Anthony Zambrano (DNS)

Round One

Date	6 August 2021 — 20:25
Format	Top three in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the final.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (automatic)	Reaction Time
1	United States	USA	2:57.77	0.180	Q
2	Botswana	BOT	2:58.33	0.200	Q
3	Poland	POL	2:58.55	0.160	Q
4	Trinidad and Tobago	TTO	2:58.60	0.193	Q
5	Italy	ITA	2:58.91	0.144	q
6	Netherlands	NED	2:59.06	0.178	q
7	Jamaica	JAM	2:59.29	0.188	Q
8	Belgium	BEL	2:59.37	0.148	Q
9	India	IND	3:00.25	0.138
10	Japan	JPN	3:00.76	0.143
11	France	FRA	3:00.81	0.166
12	South Africa	RSA	3:01.18	0.151
13	Colombia	COL	3:03.20	0.164
14	Great Britain	GBR	3:03.29	0.245
15	Czech Republic	CZE	3:03.61	0.169
16	Germany	GER	3:03.62	0.197

Heat #1

Time	20:25

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	2:57.77	0.180	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	3970	Trevor Stewart		–	–	44.7 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3964	Randolph Ross		–	–	44.5 (3)	1:29.35 (1)
3rd Leg	3919	Bryce Deadmon		–	–	44.08 (1)	2:13.43 (1)
Anchor	3959	Vernon Norwood		–	–	44.34 (4)	– (–)
2	–	Botswana	BOT	2:58.33	0.200	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	1270	Isaac Makwala		–	–	44.9 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	1275	Baboloki Thebe		–	–	44.8 (4)	1:29.77 (2)
3rd Leg	1272	Zibani Ngozi		–	–	44.61 (4)	2:14.38 (4)
Anchor	1271	Bayapo Ndori		–	–	43.95 (1)	– (–)
3	–	Trinidad and Tobago	TTO	2:58.60	0.193	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	3633	Deon Lendore		–	–	44.8 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3634	Jereem Richards		–	–	45.0 (5)	1:29.89 (5)
3rd Leg	3625	Machel Cedenio		–	–	44.42 (2)	2:14.31 (2)
Anchor	3635	Dwight St. Hillaire		–	–	44.29 (3)	– (–)
4	–	Italy	ITA	2:58.91	0.144	– (–)	– (–)	q
Lead-Off	2439	Alessandro Sibilio		–	–	45.3 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	2413	Vladimir Aceti		–	–	44.5 (2)	1:29.85 (3)
3rd Leg	2438	Edoardo Scotti		–	–	44.51 (3)	2:14.36 (3)
Anchor	2437	Davide Re		–	–	44.55 (5)	– (–)
5	–	Netherlands	NED	2:59.06	0.178	– (–)	– (–)	q
Lead-Off	3019	Jochem Dobber		–	–	45.5 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3012	Terrence Agard		–	–	44.3 (1)	1:29.87 (4)
3rd Leg	3027	Tony van Diepen		–	–	44.96 (5)	2:14.83 (5)
Anchor	3013	Ramsey Angela		–	–	44.23 (2)	– (–)
6	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:03.29	0.245	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	2040	Cameron Chalmers		–	–	45.9 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	2037	Joe Brier		–	–	45.9 (7)	1:31.90 (7)
3rd Leg	2068	Lee Thompson		–	–	45.59 (6)	2:17.49 (6)
Anchor	2059	Michael Ohioze		–	–	45.80 (7)	– (–)
7	–	Czech Republic	CZE	3:03.61	0.169	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	1638	Patrik Šorm		–	–	45.8 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	1636	Pavel Maslák		–	–	45.4 (6)	1:31.20 (6)
3rd Leg	1632	Michal Desenský		–	–	46.59 (8)	2:17.79 (7)
Anchor	1637	Vít Müller		–	–	45.82 (8)	– (–)
8	–	Germany	GER	3:03.62	0.197	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	2178	Marvin Schlegel		–	–	46.5 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	2154	Luke Campbell		–	–	46.0 (8)	1:32.55 (8)
3rd Leg	2153	Jean Paul Bredau		–	–	45.96 (7)	2:18.51 (8)
Anchor	2177	Manuel Sanders		–	–	45.11 (6)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	20:37

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	Poland	POL	2:58.55	0.160	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	3196	Dariusz Kowaluk		–	–	45.3 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3212	Karol Zalewski		–	–	43.7 (1)	1:29.10 (1)
3rd Leg	3198	Jakub Krzewina		–	–	45.06 (5)	2:14.16 (2)
Anchor	3191	Kajetan Duszyński		–	–	44.39 (3)	– (–)
2	–	Jamaica	JAM	2:59.29	0.188	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	2583	Demish Gaye		–	–	45.4 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	2592	Jaheel Hyde		–	–	44.9 (4)	1:30.37 (4)
3rd Leg	2545	Karayme Bartley		–	–	44.99 (4)	2:15.36 (3)
Anchor	2537	Nathon Allen		–	–	43.93 (1)	– (–)
3	–	Belgium	BEL	2:59.37	0.148	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	1195	Alexander Doom		–	–	45.3 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	1201	Jonathan Sacoor		–	–	44.1 (2)	1:29.48 (2)
3rd Leg	1189	Dylan Borlée		–	–	44.46 (1)	2:13.94 (1)
Anchor	1190	Jonathan Borlée		–	–	45.43 (7)	– (–)
4	–	India	IND	3:00.25	0.138	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	2307	Mohammad Anas Yahiya		–	–	45.6 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	2305	Noah Nirmal Tom		–	–	45.0 (6)	1:30.73 (6)
3rd Leg	2301	Arokia Rajiv		–	–	44.84 (2)	2:15.57 (4)
Anchor	2298	Amoj Jacob		–	–	44.68 (4)	– (–)
5	–	Japan	JPN	3:00.76	0.143	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	2694	Rikuya Ito		–	–	45.7 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	2698	Kaito Kawabata		–	–	44.8 (3)	1:30.52 (5)
3rd Leg	2710	Kentaro Sato		–	–	45.13 (6)	2:15.65 (5)
Anchor	2713	Aoto Suzuki		–	–	45.11 (6)	– (–)
6	–	France	FRA	3:00.81	0.166	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	1960	Thomas Jordier		–	–	45.0 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	1961	Muhammad Abdallah Kounta		–	–	45.2 (7)	1:30.25 (3)
3rd Leg	1971	Ludovic Oucéni		–	–	45.56 (7)	2:15.81 (6)
Anchor	1946	Gilles Biron		–	–	45.00 (5)	– (–)
7	–	South Africa	RSA	3:01.18	0.151	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3429	Lythe Pillay		–	–	45.7 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3427	Zakithi Nene		–	–	45.5 (8)	1:31.23 (7)
3rd Leg	3400	Ranti Dikgale		–	–	45.96 (8)	2:17.19 (8)
Anchor	3428	Thapelo Phora		–	–	43.99 (2)	– (–)
8	–	Colombia	COL	3:03.20	0.164	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	1546	Jhon Perlaza		–	–	46.4 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	1545	Diego Palomeque		–	–	44.9 (5)	1:31.41 (8)
3rd Leg	1543	Raúl Mena		–	–	44.98 (3)	2:16.39 (7)
Anchor	1549	Jhon Alexander Solís		–	–	46.81 (8)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	7 August 2021 — 21:50

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	2:55.70	0.185	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3913	Michael Cherry		–	–	44.2 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3958	Michael Norman		–	–	44.0 (4)	1:28.29 (1)
3rd Leg	3919	Bryce Deadmon		–	–	44.01 (1)	2:12.30 (1)
Anchor	3907	Rai Benjamin		–	–	43.40 (1)	– (–)
2	–	Netherlands	NED	2:57.18	0.176	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3015	Liemarvin Bonevacia		–	–	45.0 (–)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3012	Terrence Agard		–	–	43.7 (2)	1:28.78 (4)
3rd Leg	3027	Tony van Diepen		–	–	44.28 (2)	2:13.06 (2)
Anchor	3013	Ramsey Angela		–	–	44.12 (2)	– (–)
3	–	Botswana	BOT	2:57.27	0.212	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	1270	Isaac Makwala		–	–	43.8 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	1275	Baboloki Thebe		–	–	44.7 (8)	1:28.67 (2)
3rd Leg	1272	Zibani Ngozi		–	–	44.40 (3)	2:13.07 (3)
Anchor	1271	Bayapo Ndori		–	–	44.20 (4)	– (–)
4	–	Belgium	BEL	2:57.88	0.149	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	1195	Alexander Doom		–	–	44.9 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	1201	Jonathan Sacoor		–	–	44.0 (5)	1:29.02 (6)
3rd Leg	1189	Dylan Borlée		–	–	44.68 (4)	2:13.70 (4)
Anchor	1191	Kévin Borlée		–	–	44.18 (3)	– (–)
5	–	Poland	POL	2:58.46	0.157	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3196	Dariusz Kowaluk		–	–	45.0 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3212	Karol Zalewski		–	–	43.6 (1)	1:28.71 (3)
3rd Leg	3206	Mateusz Rzeźniczak		–	–	45.44 (7)	2:14.15 (5)
Anchor	3191	Kajetan Duszyński		–	–	44.31 (6)	– (–)
6	–	Jamaica	JAM	2:58.76	0.195	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	2583	Demish Gaye		–	–	45.2 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	2634	Christopher Taylor		–	–	43.9 (3)	1:29.20 (7)
3rd Leg	2592	Jaheel Hyde		–	–	45.15 (6)	2:14.35 (6)
Anchor	2537	Nathon Allen		–	–	44.41 (7)	– (–)
7	–	Italy	ITA	2:58.81	0.161	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	2437	Davide Re		–	–	45.2 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	2413	Vladimir Aceti		–	–	44.2 (6)	1:29.49 (8)
3rd Leg	2438	Edoardo Scotti		–	–	45.07 (5)	2:14.56 (7)
Anchor	2439	Alessandro Sibilio		–	–	44.25 (5)	– (–)
8	–	Trinidad and Tobago	TTO	3:00.85	0.179	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3633	Deon Lendore		–	–	44.3 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3634	Jereem Richards		–	–	44.6 (7)	1:28.98 (5)
3rd Leg	3635	Dwight St. Hillaire		–	–	46.88 (8)	2:15.86 (8)
Anchor	3625	Machel Cedenio		–	–	44.99 (8)	– (–)