The 4 × 100 metres relay at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by both men and women since the inaugural edition in 1983. It is the second most prestigious title in the discipline after the 4 × 100 metres relay at the Olympics. The competition format typically has one qualifying round leading to a final between eight teams. As of 2015, nations can qualify for the competition through a top eight finish at the previous IAAF World Relays event, with the remaining teams coming through the more traditional route of ranking highly on time in the seasonal lists.Qualification System and Entry Standards (as approved by IAAF Council in April and November 2014. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-09-18. This system was modified due to the postponement of 2023 World Athletics Relays to 2024: therefore, the eight teams directly qualified are those of the 2022 World Championships, in Eugene, completed by eight more 2022-2023 top lists' teams.

The championship records for the event are 37.04 seconds for men, set by Jamaica in 2011, and 41.03 seconds for women, set by the United States in 2023.Championships Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 2023-12-28. The men's world record has been broken or equalled at the competition on four occasions.IAAF World Championships: IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, pp. 595–6 (archived). IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-06. The women's world record has never been broken or equalled at the competition.

The United States is the most successful nation in the discipline, with nine men's gold medals and nine women's gold medals. The next most successful nation is Jamaica, which has won four gold medals for men's and five for the women's events. Jamaica won in 1991, 2009, 2013, 2015, and 2019. The USA has won the most overall medals at 26 with Jamaica having the second most at 24. Canada, with three golds, and France, with two, are the only other nations to have won multiple titles. Great Britain has the third highest overall medal tally in the event with 15 medals.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the most successful athlete of the event, with four gold medals and four silver medals. Her compatriot Usain Bolt is the next most successful, with four consecutive gold medals from 2009 to 2015 and a silver medal in 2007. Kerron Stewart and Nesta Carter of Jamaica and Carl Lewis of the USA are the only other athletes to have won three gold medals in the relay event.

The United States has twice been stripped of the gold medal due to doping by athletes on the national team, having lost both men's and women's titles in 2001.

Age

All information from World Athletics.

DistinctionMaleFemaleAthleteAgeDateAthleteAgeDateYoungest champion20 years, 229 days4 Sep 201117 years, 248 days17 years, 248 daysYoungest medalist16 years, 305 days12 Aug 200117 years, 197 days17 years, 197 daysYoungest finalist16 years, 277 days22 Aug 199317 years, 66 days17 years, 66 daysYoungest participant15 years, 174 days2 Aug 200116 years, 133 days16 years, 133 daysOldest champion37 years, 237 days5 Oct 201935 years, 144 days30 Aug 2003Oldest medalist40 years, 274 days31 Aug 200337 years, 344 days22 Aug 2009Oldest finalist40 years, 274 days31 Aug 200337 years, 344 days22 Aug 2009Oldest participant40 years, 274 days31 Aug 200343 years, 111 days29 Aug 2003

Doping The men's event was affected by doping in its debut tournament in 1983, with Ben Johnson running for Canada, although the team did not progress beyond the first round. Johnson's drug use was only self-admitted during this period and he did not fail a drug test that year. Johnson ran for the fourth-placed Canada team at the 1987 event. His Canadian team mate Angella Issajenko later became the first female relay athlete to be sanctioned – she helped Canada to fifth at the same edition.

The positive drug test for Nigeria's Innocent Asonze in 1999 marked the first instance where a medal-winning team was disqualified at the World Championships in Athletics. Brazil was elevated to the bronze medal as a result. Doping persisted two years later, as France's Christophe Cheval was disqualified after a positive test for nandrolone shortly before the event (the team were semi-finalists only).Sprinter afsløret med doping . Berlingske. Retrieved on 2015-09-18. The greatest disqualifications yet followed after the BALCO scandal in 2005. Tim Montgomery of the 2001-winning men's team was later disqualified following his admission of doping during the period, meaning that the American gold medallists were stricken from the record (South Africa were elevated as champions).SA awarded 2001 worlds gold medal. BBC Sport (2006-11-22). Retrieved on 2015-09-18. Similarly, Marion Jones's and Kelli White's admitted usage led to the disqualification of the winning American women's team (Germany were made champions as a result).

The impact of the BALCO scandal extended to the 2003 edition, as medals were again reassigned as a result of British athlete Dwain Chambers doping. Brazil were elevated to silver and the Netherlands became the bronze medallists. The next doping disqualification to occur in the relay was in 2009, when Nigerian women's runner Toyin Augustus had her team's first round result annulled. A similar fate met Lim Hee-Nam and the South Korean men in 2011. The fourth-placed Trinidad and Tobago team had their result retrospectively disqualified due to Semoy Hackett's failed doping test prior to the competition.T&T federation to confirm Hackett's positive test on Monday . Track Alerts. Retrieved on 2012-03-15. A third straight championships was affected as a result of Ukraine's Yelyzaveta Bryzhina failing a doping test for drostanolone (as of 2015 the Ukrainian relay team's first round result still stands, however).IAAF World Championships in Athletics > 14th IAAF World Championships > 4x100 Metres Relay - women. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-09-18.

Medalists

Men

Multiple medalists Rank Athlete Nation PeriodGoldSilverBronze Total 1 2007–2017 4 1 0 52 2017–2025 3 2 0 53 2007–2015 3 1 0 4 2019–2025 3 1 0 4 5 1983–1991 3 0 0 36 2007–2015 2 1 0 37 1993–1997 2 0 1 3 1993–1997 2 0 1 3 1993–1997 2 0 1 310 1983–1993 2 0 0 2 1991–1993 2 0 0 2 1991–1993 2 0 0 2 1991–1993 2 0 0 2 1993–1999 2 0 0 2 1995–1997 2 0 0 2 2003–2007 2 0 0 2 2009–2011 2 0 0 2 2009–2011 2 0 0 219 2015–2019 1 2 0 3 2015–2019 1 2 0 3212013–2025112422 2017–2022 1 1 1 3 2017–2022 1 1 1 32015–202511132015–2025111326 2007–2009 1 1 0 2 2007–2009 1 1 0 2Jerome Blake 2022-2025 1 1 0 229 2001–2009 0 3 0 3 2001–2009 0 3 0 331 2001–2005 0 2 0 232 1999–2009 0 1 3 433 1991–1997 0 1 2 334 1983–1987 0 1 1 2 1983–1987 0 1 1 2 1991–1993 0 1 1 2 1991–1993 0 1 1 2 1991–1993 0 1 1 2 1995–2001 0 1 1 2 1997–1999 0 1 1 2 1997–1999 0 1 1 242 1999–2005 0 1 1 2 2019–2022 0 1 1 244 2005–2007 0 0 2 2 2005–2007 0 0 2 2 2013–2015 0 0 2 2 2017–2019 0 0 2 2 2017–2019 0 0 2 2

Medals by country Rank NationGoldSilverBronze Total 1 9 3 0 12 2 4 1 2 7 3 3 0 3 6 4 1 3 6 10 5 1 2 0 3 6 1 0 0 1 7 0 3 0 3 8 0 2 1 3 9 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 2 12 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 14 0 0 2 2 15 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1

Women

Multiple medalists Rank Athlete Nation PeriodGoldSilverBronze Total 1 2007–2025 4 5 0 9 2 2007–2015 3 2 0 5 3 2007–2017 3 1 0 4 42022–202530032022–20253003 6 2015–2023 2 1 1 47 1995–2003 2 1 0 3 2003–2007 2 1 0 39 2007–2011 2 0 0 2Sha'Carri Richardson 2023-2025 2 0 0 211 1991–2005 1 3 2 612 2005–2015 1 3 0 413 1983–1997 1 2 1 414 1999–2003 1 2 0 3 2005–2015 1 2 0 3 2019–2023 1 2 0 3 2015–2023 1 2 0 3 18 1983–1995 1 1 2 4 1991–2001 1 1 2 420 1997–2003 1 1 1 3 1997–2003 1 1 1 3 1997–2003 1 1 1 3 1999–2009 1 1 1 324 1983–1987 1 1 0 2 1983–1987 1 1 0 2 1991–1993 1 1 0 2 1991–1993 1 1 0 2 1993–1995 1 1 0 2 1993–1997 1 1 0 2 1999–2009 1 1 0 2 1999–2009 1 1 0 2 1997–2003 1 1 0 2 2003–2007 1 1 0 2 2007–2013 1 1 0 2 2007–2009 1 1 0 2 2011–2013 1 1 0 2 2015–2022 1 1 0 2 2019–2022 1 1 0 2Jonielle Smith2019–2025110240 1987–1993 1 0 1 2 2001–2009 1 0 1 243 2013–2019 0 2 1 3 2015–2023 0 2 1 3 2017–2023 0 2 1 3 46 2013–2015 0 2 0 2 2022–2023 0 2 0 2 48 1993–1995 0 1 1 2 1997–2001 0 1 1 2 2013–2019 0 1 1 2 2015–2023 0 1 1 2 2019–2023 0 1 1 2 53 1993–2001 0 0 2 2Rebekka Haase2022-20250022Gina Lückenkemper2022-20250022

Medals by country Rank NationGoldSilverBronze Total 1 10 4 1 15 2 5 8 5 18 3 1 2 1 4 4 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 6 1 0 5 6 7 1 0 1 2 8 0 3 2 5 9 0 1 1 2 10 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1

Championship record progression

Men + Men's 4 × 100 metres relay World Championships record progressionMain > Men, 4 × 100 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.TimeNationAthletesYearRoundDate 39.22 Andreas Knebel, Thomas Schröder, Jens Hübler, Frank Emmelmann 1983 Heats 9 August 38.75 Emmit King, Willie Gault, Calvin Smith, Carl Lewis 1983 Heats 9 August 38.62 Andrey Prokofyev, Nikolay Sidorov, Vladimir Muravyov, Viktor Bryzgin 1983 Semi-finals 10 August 38.50 Emmit King, Willie Gault, Calvin Smith, Carl Lewis 1983 Semi-finals 10 August 37.86 Emmit King, Willie Gault, Calvin Smith, Carl Lewis 1983 Final 10 August 37.75 Andre Cason, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Michael Marsh 1991 Semi-finals 31 August 37.50 Andre Cason, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Carl Lewis 1991 Final 1 September 37.40 Jon Drummond, Andre Cason, Dennis Mitchell, Leroy Burrell 1993 Semi-finals 21 August 37.31 Usain Bolt, Michael Frater, Steve Mullings, Asafa Powell 2009 Final 22 August 37.04 Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt 2011 Final 4 September

Women + Women's 4 × 100 metres relay World Championships record progressionMain > Women, 4 × 100 m > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.TimeNationAthletesYearRoundDate 43.06 Joan Baptiste, Kathy Smallwood-Cook, Beverley Callender, Shirley Thomas 1983 Heats 10 August 42.59 Silke Gladisch-Möller, Marita Koch, Ingrid Auerswald-Lange, Marlies Oelsner-Göhr 1983 Heats 10 August 41.76 Silke Gladisch-Möller, Marita Koch, Ingrid Auerswald-Lange, Marlies Oelsner-Göhr 1983 Final 10 August 41.58 Alice Brown, Diane Williams, Florence Griffith Joyner, Pam Marshall 1987 Final 6 September 41.49 Olga Bogoslovskaya, Galina Malchugina, Natalya Voronova, Irina Privalova 1993 Final 22 August 41.49 Michelle Finn, Gwen Torrence, Wendy Vereen, Gail Devers 1993 Final 22 August 41.47 Chryste Gaines, Marion Jones, Inger Miller, Gail Devers 1997 Final 9 August 41.29 Carrie Russell, Kerron Stewart, Schillonie Calvert, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce 2013 Final 18 August 41.07 Veronica Campbell-Brown, Natasha Morrison, Elaine Thompson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce 2015 Final 29 August41.03Tamari Davis, Twanisha Terry, Gabrielle Thomas, Sha'Carri Richardson2023Final26 August Russia and the United States team shared the same championship record time of 41.49, although Russia won the title when measuring the time down to thousandths of a second

Finishing times Top ten fastest World Championship times

+ Fastest men's times at the World ChampionshipsRankTime (sec)NationAthletesGamesRoundDate 1 37.04 Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt 2011 Final 4 September 2 37.10 Christian Coleman, Justin Gatlin, Michael Rodgers, Noah Lyles 2019 Final 5 October 3 37.29 Christian Coleman, Kenneth Bednarek, Courtney Lindsey, Noah Lyles 2025 Final 21 September 4 37.31 Steve Mullings, Michael Frater, Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell 2009 Final 22 August 5= 37.36 Nesta Carter, Kemar Bailey-Cole, Nickel Ashmeade, Usain Bolt 2013 Final 18 August 5= 37.36 Nesta Carter, Asafa Powell, Nickel Ashmeade, Usain Bolt 2015 Final 29 August 5= 37.36 Adam Gemili, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake 2019 Final 5 October 8 37.38 Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley, Brandon Carnes, Noah Lyles 2023 Final 26 August 9 37.40 Jon Drummond, Andre Carson, Dennis Mitchell, Leroy Burrell 1993 Semi-finals 23 August 10 37.41 Nesta Carter, Asafa Powell, Rasheed Dwyer, Nickel Ashmeade 2015 Heats 29 August