The women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held over two rounds at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, on 5 and 7 August 2021. There were 16 competing relay teams, with each team having at least 5 members from which 4 were selected in each round.

Background This was the 13th appearance of the event, having appeared at every Olympics since 1972.

The event continued to use the two-round format introduced in 2012.

Prior to this competition, the existing world, Olympic, and area records were as follows.

+ Area records before the 2020 Summer Olympics Area Time (s) Athlete Nation Africa 3:21.04 Asia 3:24.28 Europe 3:15.17 North, Central America and Caribbean 3:15.51 Oceania 3:23.81 South America 3:26.68

Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could qualify a relay team of 5 athletes in one of three ways. A total of 16 NOCs qualified.

The top 8 NOCs at the 2019 World Athletics Championships qualified a relay team. The top 8 NOCs at the 2021 World Athletics Relays qualified a relay team. Where an NOC placed in the top 8 at both the 2019 World Championships and the 2021 World Relays, the quota place was allocated to the world ranking list as of 29 June 2021. In this case, 4 teams did so, so there are 4 places available through the world rankings.

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.

Results Round 1 Round 1 was held on 5 August 2021, starting at 19:00 (UTC+9).

Qualification Rules: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advance to the Final

+ Results of the first heat of round 1RankLaneNationCompetitorsReaction TimeNotes 1 3 Anna Kiełbasińska, Iga Baumgart-Witan, Małgorzata Hołub-Kowalik, Justyna Święty-Ersetic 0.161 3:23.10 , 2 8 Zurian Hechavarría, Rose Mary Almanza, Sahily Diago, Lisneidy Veitía 0.194 3:24.04 , 3 4 Naomi Van den Broeck, Imke Vervaet, Paulien Couckuyt, Camille Laus 0.139 3:24.08 , 4 5 Corinna Schwab, Carolina Krafzik, Laura Müller, Ruth Spelmeyer 0.168 3:24.77 5 9 Sokhna Lacoste, Amandine Brossier, Brigitte Ntiamoah, Floria Gueï 0.279 3:25.07 6 6 Léa Sprunger, Silke Lemmens, Rachel Pellaud, Yasmin Giger 0.153 3:25.90 7 7 Bendere Oboya, Kendra Hubbard, Ellie Beer, Anneliese Rubie-Renshaw 0.197 3:30.61 2 Doneisha Anderson, Megan Moss, Brianne Bethel, Anthonique Strachan 0.297

+ Results of the second heat of round 1RankLaneNationCompetitorsReaction TimeNotes 1 8 Kaylin Whitney, Wadeline Jonathas, Kendall Ellis, Lynna Irby 0.177 3:20.86 , 2 9 Junelle Bromfield, Roneisha McGregor, Janieve Russell, Stacey-Ann Williams 0.177 3:21.95 , 3 3 Emily Diamond, Zoey Clark, Laviai Nielsen, Nicole Yeargin 0.169 3:23.99 , 4 7 Lieke Klaver, Lisanne de Witte, Laura de Witte, Femke Bol 0.220 3:24.01 , 5 6 Alicia Brown, Sage Watson, Madeline Price, Kyra Constantine 0.162 3:24.05 , 6 5 Kateryna Klymiuk, Alina Lohvynenko, Viktoriya Tkachuk, Anna Ryzhykova 0.173 3:24.50 7 4 Maria Benedicta Chigbolu, Alice Mangione, Petra Nardelli, Rebecca Borga 0.150 3:27.74 8 2 Aliaksandra Khilmanovich, Yuliya Bliznets, Elvira Herman, Asteria Limai 0.214 3:33.00

Final The final was held on 7 August 2021 at 21:30 (UTC+9).

This was USA's seventh consecutive Olympic gold, their 3:16.85 the fifth fastest time in history. Poland's 3:20.53 became their new National record. For Felix, it became her eleventh and final Olympic medal.

+ Results of the final Rank Lane Nation Competitors Reaction Time Notes 7 Sydney McLaughlin, Allyson Felix, Dalilah Muhammad, Athing Mu 0.145 3:16.85 4 Natalia Kaczmarek, Iga Baumgart-Witan, Małgorzata Hołub-Kowalik, Justyna Święty-Ersetic 0.183 3:20.53 5 Roneisha McGregor, Janieve Russell, Shericka Jackson, Candice McLeod 0.192 3:21.24 4 3 Alicia Brown, Madeline Price, Kyra Constantine, Sage Watson 0.179 3:21.84 5 9 Ama Pipi, Jodie Williams, Emily Diamond, Nicole Yeargin 0.163 3:22.59 6 2 Lieke Klaver, Lisanne de Witte, Laura de Witte, Femke Bol 0.207 3:23.74 7 8 Naomi Van den Broeck, Imke Vervaet, Paulien Couckuyt, Camille Laus 0.173 3:23.96 8 6 Zurian Hechavarría, Rose Mary Almanza, Sahily Diago, Lisneidy Veitía 0.219 3:26.92

Notes

References

External links