The women's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 26 to 27. The sixteen teams competed in a two-heat qualifying round in which the first three teams from each heat, together with the next two fastest teams, were given a place in the final race.
The final started off quickly with an early lead from Jamaica, before the U.S. team, led by Angela Williams, made a tactical move to pass their Jamaican rivals towards the exchange zone. Marion Jones ran the second leg confidently to put the Americans a more decent lead, until she finally approached the 100 metres silver medalist Lauryn Williams to do the handoff. By the time Williams was about to move off her mark on the third leg, Jones lunged out of breath with baton and desperately tried to catch her at the exchange zone that never happened, costing the Americans' chances for the Olympic medal. As the race continued without the U.S. team, the Jamaicans, anchored by 200 metres champion Veronica Campbell, scorched their way down the home stretch to an effortless victory in 41.73 seconds. They were soon followed by Russia taking the silver, and the French quartet rounding out the medal podium with the bronze.
Records Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows:
No new records were set during the competition.
Qualification The qualification period for athletics was 1 January 2003 to 9 August 2004. A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter one qualified relay team per relay event, with a maximum of six athletes. For this event, an NOC would be invited to participate with a relay team if the average of the team's two best times, obtained in IAAF-sanctioned meetings or tournaments, would be among the best sixteen, at the end of this period.
Schedule All times are Greece Standard Time (UTC+2) Date Time RoundThursday, 26 August 2004 22:00 Round 1Friday, 27 August 2004 22:45 Final
Results
Round 1 Qualification rule: The first three teams in each heat (Q) plus the next two fastest overall (q) moved on to the final.
Heat 1 Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes 1 1LaTasha Colander, Lauryn Williams, Marion Jones, Angela Williams 41.67Q, =SB 2 6Debbie Ferguson, Shandria Brown, Chandra Sturrup, Tamicka Clarke 43.02Q, SB 3 4Kim Gevaert, Élodie Ouédraogo, Lien Huyghebaert, Katleen De Caluwé 43.08Q, NR 4 3Luciana dos Santos, Rosemar Coelho Neto, Lucimar de Moura, Kátia Regina Santos 43.12 5 2Norma González, Digna Luz Murillo, Felipa Palacios, Melisa Murillo 43.30 6 8Katja Wakan, Birgit Rockmeier, Marion Wagner, Sina Schielke 43.64SB 7 5Zhanna Block, Tetyana Tkalich, Maryna Maydanova, Iryna Kozhemyakina 43.77 8 7Maria Karastamati, Marina Vasarmidou, Effrosíni Patsoú, Georgia Kokloni 44.45SB
Heat 2 Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes 1 4Larisa Kruglova, Irina Khabarova, Yuliya Tabakova, Olga Fyodorova 42.12Q, SB 2 1Aleen Bailey, Beverly McDonald, Sherone Simpson, Tayna Lawrence 42.20Q, SB 3 8Christine Arron, Sylviane Félix, Muriel Hurtis, Véronique Mang 42.98Q 4 2Endurance Ojokolo, Oludamola Osayomi, Mercy Nku, Gloria Kemasuode 43.00q, SB 5 5Aksana Drahun, Alena Neumiarzhitskaya, Natallia Safronnikava, Yulia Nestsiarenka 43.06q 6 3Misleydis Lazo, Ana López, Roxana Díaz, Virgen Benavides 43.60 6Annemarie Kramer, Pascal van Assendelft, Jacqueline Poelman, Joan van den Akker 7Ayanna Hutchinson, Wanda Hutson, Fana Ashby, Kelly-Ann Baptiste
Final
Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes 4Tayna Lawrence, Sherone Simpson, Aleen Bailey, Veronica Campbell 41.73NR 6Olga Fyodorova, Yuliya Tabakova, Irina Khabarova, Larisa Kruglova 42.27 2Veronique Mang, Muriel Hurtis, Sylviane Félix, Christine Arron 42.54 4 3Tamicka Clarke, Chandra Sturrup, Shandria Brown, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie 42.69SB 5 1Yulia Nestsiarenka, Natallia Safronnikava, Alena Neumiarzhitskaya, Aksana Drahun 42.94NR 6 7Katleen De Caluwé, Lien Huyghebaert, Elodie Ouedraogo, Kim Gevaert 43.11 7 8Gloria Kemasuode, Mercy Nku, Oludamola Osayomi, Endurance Ojokolo 43.42 5Angela Williams, Marion Jones, Lauryn Williams, LaTasha Colander DNF, DQ
References
External links IAAF Athens 2004 Olympic Coverage