| Event: | Men's 4 × 400 metres relay |
| Games: | 2020 Summer |
| Venue: | Japan National Stadium |
| Dates: | 6 August 2021 (round 1) 7 August 2021 (final) |
| Competitors: | 71 |
| Nations: | 16 |
| Win Value: | 2:55.70 |
| Gold: | Michael Cherry Michael Norman Bryce Deadmon Rai Benjamin Trevor Stewart* Randolph Ross* Vernon Norwood* |
| Goldnoc: | USA |
| Silver: | Liemarvin Bonevacia Terrence Agard Tony van Diepen Ramsey Angela Jochem Dobber |
| Silvernoc: | NED |
| Bronzenoc: | BOT |
| Prev: | 2016 |
| Next: | 2024 |
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 6 and 7 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium.[1] There were 16 competing relay teams, with each team having up to 8 members from which 4 were selected in each round.[2]
This was the 25th appearance of the event, having appeared at every Olympics since 1912.
See main article: Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification.
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could qualify a relay team of 8 athletes in one of three ways. A total of 16 NOCs qualified.[2] [3]
The qualifying period was originally from 1 May 2019 to 29 June 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the period was suspended from 6 April 2020 to 30 November 2020, with the end date extended to 29 June 2021. The qualifying time standards could be obtained in various meets during the given period that have the approval of the IAAF. Both indoor and outdoor meets are eligible. The most recent Area Championships may be counted in the ranking, even if not during the qualifying period.[2] [4]
The event continued to use the two-round format introduced in 2012.[5]
Prior to this competition, the existing world, Olympic, and area records were as follows.
| Area | Time (s) | Athlete | Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:58.68 | ||||
| 3:00.56 | ||||
| 2:56.60 | ||||
| 2:54.29 | ||||
| 2:59.70 | ||||
| 2:58.56 |
The following national records were established during the competition:
| Country | class=unsortable | Athletes ! | Round | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana | Heats | 2:58.33 | ||||
| Final | 2:57.27 | |||||
| Italy | align=left | Heats | 2:58.91 | |||
| align=left | Final | 2:58.81 | ||||
| Netherlands | align=left | Heats | 2:59.06 | |||
| align=left | Final | 2:57.18 | ||||
| align=left | India | align=left | Heats | 3:00.25 | ||
| align=left | Japan | align=left | Heats | 3:00.76 | ||
| Belgium | align=left | Final | 2:57.88 |
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay took place over two consecutive days.[1]
| Date | Time | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, 6 August 2021 | 19:50 | Round 1 | |
| Saturday, 7 August 2021 | 21:50 | Final |
Qualification Rules: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advance to the Final
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Competitors | Reaction | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | align=left | align=left | 0.180 | 2:57.77 | , | |||
| 2 | 9 | align=left | align=left | 0.200 | 2:58.33 | , | |||
| 3 | 3 | align=left | align=left | 0.193 | 2:58.60 | , | |||
| 4 | 4 | align=left | align=left | 0.144 | 2:58.91 | , | |||
| 5 | 2 | align=left | align=left | 0.178 | 2:59.06 | , | |||
| 6 | 5 | align=left | align=left | 0.245 | 3:03.29 | ||||
| 7 | 6 | align=left | align=left | 0.169 | 3:03.61 | ||||
| 8 | 8 | align=left | align=left | 0.197 | 3:03.62 |
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Competitors | Reaction | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | align=left | align=left | 0.160 | 2:58.55 | , | |||
| 2 | 4 | align=left | align=left | 0.188 | 2:59.29 | , | |||
| 3 | 6 | align=left | align=left | 0.148 | 2:59.37 | , | |||
| 4 | 2 | align=left | align=left | Muhammed Anas, Noah Nirmal Tom, Arokia Rajiv, Amoj Jacob | 0.138 | 3:00.25 | |||
| 5 | 7 | align=left | align=left | 0.143 | 3:00.76 | = | |||
| 6 | 5 | align=left | align=left | 0.166 | 3:00.81 | ||||
| 7 | 9 | align=left | align=left | 0.151 | 3:01.18 | ||||
| 8 | 3 | align=left | align=left | 0.164 | 3:03.20 |
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Competitors | Reaction | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 0.185 | 2:55.70 | |||||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 0.176 | 2:57.18 | |||||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 0.212 | 2:57.27 | |||||
| 4 | 9 | align=left | align=left | 0.149 | 2:57.88 | ||||
| 5 | 6 | align=left | align=left | 0.157 | 2:58.46 | ||||
| 6 | 5 | align=left | align=left | 0.195 | 2:58.76 | ||||
| 7 | 3 | align=left | align=left | 0.161 | 2:58.81 | ||||
| 8 | 8 | align=left | align=left | 0.179 | 3:00.85 |