| | Event type

4 × 400 metres Relay, Men

Date	27 – 28 August 2004
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympiako Stadio, Olympiako Athletiko Kentro Athinon Spiros Loues, Maroussi
Participants	68 from 16 countries

Having swept the medals in the 400 metre event, the 4x400 relay gold medals was conceded to the United States. Otis Harris led off for the US in the final and gave them a lead they never relinquished. All four US runners posted the fastest times for their respective legs, and the margin of victory was the biggest ever for the event – 4.69 seconds. In a close finish for the other medals, Australia outlasted Nigeria to win the silver medal, with Japan and Great Britain within a metre of the bronze medal at the end. The Australian anchor runner, Clinton Hill, later commented, “If the US dropped the baton, we still wouldn’t have caught them.”

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	2:59.30 (1 h2)	2:55.91 (1)	Gold
	Otis Harris • Derrick Brew • Jeremy Wariner • Darold Williamson • Kelly Willie • Andrew Rock
2	Australia	AUS	3:03.06 (4 h1)	3:00.60 (2)	Silver
	John Steffensen • Mark Ormrod • Pat Dwyer • Clinton Hill • David Geddes (DNS) • Casey Vincent (DNS)
3	Nigeria	NGR	3:01.60 (2 h2)	3:00.90 (3)	Bronze
	Godday James • Musa Audu • Saul Weigopwa • Enefiok Udo-Obong • Abayomi Agunbiade (DNS) • Bolaji Lawal (DNS)
4	Japan	JPN	3:02.71 (2 h1)	3:00.99 (4)
	Yuki Yamaguchi • Jun Osakada • Tomohiro Ito • Mitsuhiro Sato • Yukihiro Mukai (DNS) • Shinji Takahira (DNS)
5	Great Britain	GBR	3:02.40 (1 h1)	3:01.07 (5)
	Tim Benjamin • Sean Baldock • Malachi Davis • Matt Elias • Daniel Caines (DNS) • Rob Tobin (DNS)
6	The Bahamas	BAH	3:01.74 (3 h2)	3:01.88 (6)
	Nathaniel McKinney • Aaron Cleare • Andrae Williams • Chris Brown • Dennis Darling • Dominic Demeritte (DNS)
7	Germany	GER	3:02.77 (3 h1)	3:02.22 (7)
	Ingo Schultz • Kamghe Gaba • Ruwen Faller • Bastian Swillims • Sebastian Gatzka (DNS)
8	Botswana	BOT	3:03.32 (5 h1)	3:02.49 (8)
	Johnson Kubisa • California Molefe • Gaolisiela Salang • Kagiso Kilego • Oganeditse Moseki
4 h2 r1/2	Russian Federation	RUS	3:03.35 (4 h2)	–
	Aleksandr Larin • Andrey Rudnitsky • Oleg Mishukov • Ruslan Mashchenko • Dmitry Forshev (DNS) • Anton Galkin (DNS) • Yevgeny Lebedev (DNS)
5 h2 r1/2	Poland	POL	3:03.69 (5 h2)	–
	Piotr Rysiukiewicz • Piotr Klimczak • Marcin Marciniszyn • Marek Plawgo • Artur Gąsiewski (DNS) • Piotr Kędzia (DNS) • Rafał Wieruszewski (DNS)
6 h1 r1/2	Greece	GRE	3:04.27 (6 h1)	–
	Stelios Dimotsios • Tasos Gkousis • Panagiotis Sarris • Periklis Iakovakis • Giorgios Ntoupis (DNS) • Dimitrios Gravalos (DNS) • Georgios Oikonomidis (DNS)
6 h2 r1/2	Ukraine	UKR	3:04.01 (6 h2)	–
	Volodymyr Demchenko • Yevhen Ziukov • Mykhailo Knysh • Andriy Tverdostup
7 h1 r1/2	France	FRA	3:04.39 (7 h1)	–
	Ahmed Douhou • Ibrahima Wade • Abderrahim El Haouzy • Leslie Djhone • Marc Foucan (DNS) • Marc Raquil (DNS)
7 h2 r1/2	Spain	ESP	3:05.03 (7 h2)	–
	Eduardo Iván Rodríguez • David Canal • Luis Flores • Antonio Reina • José María García (DNS) • Daniel Ruiz (DNS) • David Testa (DNS)
AC h1 r1/2	Jamaica	JAM	[3:02.78] (DQ h1)	–
	Michael Campbell • Michael Blackwood • Jermaine Gonzales • Davian Clarke • Richard James (DNS) • Brandon Simpson (DNS)
AC h2 r1/2	South Africa	RSA	– (DNF h2)	–
	Marcus la Grange • Hendrick Mokganyetsi • Ockert Cilliers • Arnaud Malherbe • Llewellyn Herbert (DNS) • Leigh Julius (DNS)

Round One

Date	27 August 2004
Format	Top 3 in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the final.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (automatic)	Reaction Time
1	United States	USA	2:59.30	0.458	Q
2	Nigeria	NGR	3:01.60	0.273	Q
3	The Bahamas	BAH	3:01.74	0.393	Q
4	Great Britain	GBR	3:02.40	0.344	Q
5	Japan	JPN	3:02.71	0.340	Q
6	Germany	GER	3:02.77	0.307	Q
7	Australia	AUS	3:03.06	0.441	q
8	Botswana	BOT	3:03.32	0.250	q
9	Russian Federation	RUS	3:03.35	0.311
10	Poland	POL	3:03.69	0.315
11	Ukraine	UKR	3:04.01	0.255
12	Greece	GRE	3:04.27	0.301
13	France	FRA	3:04.39	0.286
14	Spain	ESP	3:05.03	0.270
DNF	South Africa	RSA	–	0.247
DQ	Jamaica	JAM	[3:02.78]	[0.280]		1

Heat #1

Time	21:00

Pos	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time	Split	Exchange
1	Great Britain	GBR	3:02.40	0.344	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	Tim Benjamin		–	–	44.83 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Sean Baldock		–	–	46.75 (5)	1:31.58 (3)
3rd Leg	Malachi Davis		–	–	45.27 (=3)	2:16.85 (3)
Anchor	Matt Elias		–	–	45.55 (4)	– (–)
2	Japan	JPN	3:02.71	0.340	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	Yuki Yamaguchi		–	–	45.13 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Jun Osakada		–	–	46.53 (4)	1:31.66 (4)
3rd Leg	Tomohiro Ito		–	–	45.09 (2)	2:16.75 (2)
Anchor	Mitsuhiro Sato		–	–	45.96 (=6)	– (–)
3	Germany	GER	3:02.77	0.307	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	Ingo Schultz		–	–	45.29 (=4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Kamghe Gaba		–	–	45.64 (1)	1:30.93 (1)
3rd Leg	Ruwen Faller		–	–	46.50 (8)	2:17.43 (4)
Anchor	Bastian Swillims		–	–	45.34 (3)	– (–)
4	Australia	AUS	3:03.06	0.441	– (–)	– (–)	q
Lead-Off	John Steffensen		–	–	45.29 (=4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Clinton Hill		–	–	46.06 (3)	1:31.35 (2)
3rd Leg	Pat Dwyer		–	–	45.27 (=3)	2:16.62 (1)
Anchor	Mark Ormrod		–	–	46.44 (8)	– (–)
5	Botswana	BOT	3:03.32	0.250	– (–)	– (–)	q
Lead-Off	Oganeditse Moseki		–	–	46.93 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Johnson Kubisa		–	–	45.94 (2)	1:32.87 (6)
3rd Leg	California Molefe		–	–	45.49 (5)	2:18.36 (6)
Anchor	Kagiso Kilego		–	–	44.96 (1)	– (–)
6	Greece	GRE	3:04.27	0.301	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Stelios Dimotsios		–	–	45.23 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Tasos Gkousis		–	–	47.36 (7)	1:32.59 (5)
3rd Leg	Panagiotis Sarris		–	–	45.72 (6)	2:18.31 (5)
Anchor	Periklis Iakovakis		–	–	45.96 (=6)	– (–)
7	France	FRA	3:04.39	0.286	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Ahmed Douhou		–	–	45.35 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Ibrahima Wade		–	–	47.72 (8)	1:33.07 (7)
3rd Leg	Abderrahim El Haouzy		–	–	46.24 (7)	2:19.31 (7)
Anchor	Leslie Djhone		–	–	45.08 (2)	– (–)
DQ	Jamaica	JAM	[3:02.78]	[0.280]	– (–)	– (–)		2
Lead-Off	Michael Campbell		–	–	[45.14] ([3])	– (–)
2nd Leg	Michael Blackwood		–	–	[46.97] ([6])	[1:32.11] ([5])
3rd Leg	Jermaine Gonzales		–	–	[44.67] ([1])	[2:16.78] ([3])
Anchor	Davian Clarke		–	–	[45.90] ([5])	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	21:09

Pos	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time	Split	Exchange
1	United States	USA	2:59.30	0.458	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	Kelly Willie		–	–	44.65 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Derrick Brew		–	–	45.70 (2)	1:30.35 (1)
3rd Leg	Andrew Rock		–	–	44.81 (1)	2:15.16 (1)
Anchor	Darold Williamson		–	–	44.14 (1)	– (–)
2	Nigeria	NGR	3:01.60	0.273	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	Godday James		–	–	45.00 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Musa Audu		–	–	46.17 (4)	1:31.17 (2)
3rd Leg	Saul Weigopwa		–	–	44.93 (2)	2:16.10 (2)
Anchor	Enefiok Udo-Obong		–	–	45.50 (4)	– (–)
3	The Bahamas	BAH	3:01.74	0.393	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	Andrae Williams		–	–	46.13 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Dennis Darling		–	–	45.99 (3)	1:32.12 (4)
3rd Leg	Nathaniel McKinney		–	–	45.27 (3)	2:17.39 (3)
Anchor	Chris Brown		–	–	44.35 (2)	– (–)
4	Russian Federation	RUS	3:03.35	0.311	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Aleksandr Larin		–	–	46.59 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Andrey Rudnitsky		–	–	45.69 (1)	1:32.28 (6)
3rd Leg	Oleg Mishukov		–	–	45.65 (4)	2:17.93 (4)
Anchor	Ruslan Mashchenko		–	–	45.42 (3)	– (–)
5	Poland	POL	3:03.69	0.315	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Piotr Rysiukiewicz		–	–	44.87 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Piotr Klimczak		–	–	47.48 (7)	1:32.35 (7)
3rd Leg	Marcin Marciniszyn		–	–	45.73 (5)	2:18.08 (=5)
Anchor	Marek Plawgo		–	–	45.61 (6)	– (–)
6	Ukraine	UKR	3:04.01	0.255	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Volodymyr Demchenko		–	–	46.03 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Yevhen Ziukov		–	–	46.19 (5)	1:32.22 (5)
3rd Leg	Mykhailo Knysh		–	–	46.27 (7)	2:18.49 (7)
Anchor	Andriy Tverdostup		–	–	45.52 (5)	– (–)
7	Spain	ESP	3:05.03	0.270	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Eduardo Iván Rodríguez		–	–	45.21 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	David Canal		–	–	46.74 (6)	1:31.95 (3)
3rd Leg	Luis Flores		–	–	46.13 (6)	2:18.08 (=5)
Anchor	Antonio Reina		–	–	46.95 (7)	– (–)
DNF	South Africa	RSA	–	0.247	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Marcus la Grange		–	–	46.18 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Hendrick Mokganyetsi		–	–	– (–)	– (–)
3rd Leg	Ockert Cilliers		–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Anchor	Arnaud Malherbe		–	–	– (–)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	28 August 2004 — 22:25

Pos	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time	Split	Exchange
1	United States	USA	2:55.91	0.335	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Otis Harris		–	–	43.28 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Derrick Brew		–	–	44.82 (3)	1:28.10 (1)
3rd Leg	Jeremy Wariner		–	–	43.98 (1)	2:12.08 (1)
Anchor	Darold Williamson		–	–	43.83 (1)	– (–)
2	Australia	AUS	3:00.60	0.163	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	John Steffensen		–	–	46.12 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Mark Ormrod		–	–	44.76 (2)	1:30.88 (5)
3rd Leg	Pat Dwyer		–	–	45.11 (4)	2:15.99 (5)
Anchor	Clinton Hill		–	–	44.61 (2)	– (–)
3	Nigeria	NGR	3:00.90	0.274	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Godday James		–	–	47.78 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Musa Audu		–	–	43.05 (1)	1:30.83 (4)
3rd Leg	Saul Weigopwa		–	–	44.84 (2)	2:15.67 (3)
Anchor	Enefiok Udo-Obong		–	–	45.23 (7)	– (–)
4	Japan	JPN	3:00.99	0.361	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Yuki Yamaguchi		–	–	44.81 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Jun Osakada		–	–	45.84 (5)	1:30.65 (2)
3rd Leg	Tomohiro Ito		–	–	45.01 (3)	2:15.66 (2)
Anchor	Mitsuhiro Sato		–	–	45.33 (8)	– (–)
5	Great Britain	GBR	3:01.07	0.289	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Tim Benjamin		–	–	44.21 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Sean Baldock		–	–	46.51 (7)	1:30.72 (3)
3rd Leg	Malachi Davis		–	–	45.14 (5)	2:15.86 (4)
Anchor	Matt Elias		–	–	45.21 (6)	– (–)
6	The Bahamas	BAH	3:01.88	0.405	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Nathaniel McKinney		–	–	44.97 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Aaron Cleare		–	–	46.44 (6)	1:31.41 (8)
3rd Leg	Andrae Williams		–	–	45.81 (6)	2:17.22 (7)
Anchor	Chris Brown		–	–	44.66 (3)	– (–)
7	Germany	GER	3:02.22	0.441	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Ingo Schultz		–	–	44.43 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Kamghe Gaba		–	–	46.83 (8)	1:31.26 (7)
3rd Leg	Ruwen Faller		–	–	45.83 (7)	2:17.09 (6)
Anchor	Bastian Swillims		–	–	45.13 (5)	– (–)
8	Botswana	BOT	3:02.49	0.311	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	Johnson Kubisa		–	–	45.69 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	California Molefe		–	–	45.50 (4)	1:31.19 (6)
3rd Leg	Gaolisiela Salang		–	–	46.37 (8)	2:17.56 (8)
Anchor	Kagiso Kilego		–	–	44.93 (4)	– (–)