| Event: | Women's 4 × 100 metres relay |
| Games: | 2012 Summer |
| Venue: | Olympic Stadium |
| Date: | (heats) (final) |
| Teams: | 16 |
| Win Value: | 40.82 |
| Gold: | |
| Silver: | |
| Bronze: | |
| Prev: | 2008 |
| Next: | 2016 |
The women's 4 × 100 metres relay competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on 9–10 August at the Olympic Stadium.[1] The victorious United States team broke the world record by over half a second. The previous record had been set 27 years previously by East Germany.[2] The Jamaican team, 6 metres back, missed the previous world record by 0.04, but set a new national record. Another 7 metres back, Ukraine took the bronze, also setting a new national record.
, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record | (Silke Gladisch, Sabine Rieger, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr) | 41.37 | Canberra, Australia | 6 October 1985 | |
| Olympic record | (Romy Müller, Bärbel Wöckel, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr) | 41.60 | Moscow, Soviet Union | 1 August 1980 | |
| 2012 World leading | (Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter)[3] | 42.19 | Philadelphia, United States | 28 April 2012 |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 August 2012 | Final | 40.82 | |||
| 10 August 2012 | Final | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart | 41.41 | NR | |
| 10 August 2012 | Final | Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina | 42.04 | NR | |
| 9 August 2012 | Round 1 | Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett | 42.31 | NR | |
| 9 August 2012 | Round 1 | Kadene Vassell, Dafne Schippers, Eva Lubbers, Jamile Samuel | 42.45 | NR | |
| 9 August 2012 | Round 1 | Ana Claudia Silva, Franciela Krasucki, Evelyn dos Santos, Rosângela Santos | 42.55 | AR | |
Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.
| width=15 | Rank | width=15 | Lane | width=300 | Nation | width=700 | Competitors | width=15 | Time | width=15 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Tianna Madison, Jeneba Tarmoh, Bianca Knight, Lauryn Williams | 41.64 | Q, SB | |||||||
| 2 | 4 | Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett | 42.31 | Q, NR | |||||||
| 3 | 8 | Kadene Vassell, Dafne Schippers, Eva Lubbers, Jamile Samuel | 42.45 | Q, NR | |||||||
| 4 | 7 | Ana Claudia Silva, Franciela Krasucki, Evelyn dos Santos, Rosângela Santos | 42.55 | q, AR | |||||||
| 5 | 3 | Christy Udoh, Gloria Asumnu, Oludamola Osayomi, Blessing Okagbare | 42.74 | q, SB | |||||||
| 6 | 9 | Sheniqua Ferguson, Chandra Sturrup, Christine Amertil, Anthonique Strachan | 43.07 | SB | |||||||
| 7 | 6 | Michelle Cueni, Mujinga Kambundji, Ellen Sprunger, Léa Sprunger | 43.54 | PB | |||||||
| 8 | 5 | 44.25 |
| width=15 | Rank | width=15 | Lane | width=300 | Nation | width=700 | Competitors | width=15 | Time | width=15 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina | 42.36 | Q, SB | |||||||
| 2 | 6 | Samantha Henry-Robinson, Sherone Simpson, Schillonie Calvert, Kerron Stewart | 42.37 | Q, SB | |||||||
| 3 | 9 | Leena Günther, Anne Cibis, Tatjana Pinto, Verena Sailer | 42.69 | Q | |||||||
| 4 | 2 | Marika Popowicz, Daria Korczynska, Marta Jeschke, Ewelina Ptak | 43.07 | ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | Yomara Hinestroza, Norma González, Darlenis Obregón, Eliecith Palacios | 43.21 | SB | |||||||
| 6 | 7 | Olga Belkina, Natalia Rusakova, Elizabeta Savlinis, Aleksandra Fedoriva | 43.24 | SB | |||||||
| 7 | 3 | Alina Talay, Katsiaryna Hanchar, Elena Danilyuk-Nevmerzhytskaya, Yuliya Balykina | 43.90 | ||||||||
| 8 | DQ | R 163.3a |
The American team had an often repeated history of relay failures, so most of the pre-race discussion focused on whether it could successfully get the baton around the track. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, both the men's and women's 4 × 100 metres teams had dropped the baton, leading one reporter to call it the "nadir in US relay history".[4]
On the first leg of the final, Tianna Madison was able to hold her own against the double 100-metre gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Allyson Felix put the USA into the lead, extended by Bianca Knight around the turn. At the final handoff to individual 100-metre silver medalist Carmelita Jeter, the team enjoyed a 3-metre lead. Secure in the handoffs, Jeter sped to the finish, noticing the time and pointing at the clock before the finish line.[5] [6]
| width=15 | Rank | width=15 | Lane | width=200 | Nation | width=800 | Competitors | width=15 | Time | width=15 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter | 40.82[7] | |||||||||
| 6 | Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart | 41.41 | NR | ||||||||
| 5 | Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina | 42.04 | NR | ||||||||
| 4 | 2 | Oludamola Osayomi, Gloria Asumnu, Endurance Abinuwa, Blessing Okagbare | 42.64 | SB | |||||||
| 5 | 8 | Leena Günther, Anne Cibis, Tatjana Pinto, Verena Sailer | 42.67 | ||||||||
| 6 | 9 | Kadene Vassell, Dafne Schippers, Eva Lubbers, Jamile Samuel | 42.70 | ||||||||
| 7 | 3 | Ana Claudia Silva, Franciela Krasucki, Evelyn dos Santos, Rosângela Santos | 42.91 | ||||||||
| 4 | Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett | DNF |