Michael Duane Johnson is an American retired sprinter who became Olympic Champion four times, and World Champion eight times in the span of his career. He held the world and Olympic records in the 200 m and 400 m, as well as the world record in the indoor 400 m. He also once held the world's best time in the 300 m. Johnson is generally considered one of the greatest and most consistent sprinters in the history of track and field.
Otis Crandall Davis was an American athlete, winner of two gold medals for record-breaking performances in the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He set a new world record of 44.9 seconds in the 400 m and became the first person to break the 45-second barrier.
Malvin Greston Whitfield was an American athlete, goodwill ambassador, and airman. Nicknamed "Marvelous Mal", he was the Olympic champion in the 800 meters at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics, and a member of the 1948 gold medal team in the 4 × 400 meters relay. Overall, Whitfield was a five-time Olympic medalist. After his competitive career, he worked for 47 years as a coach, goodwill ambassador, as well as an athletic mentor in Africa on behalf of the United States Information Service.
Jeremy Matthew Wariner is a retired American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals and six World Championships medals. He is the joint sixth fastest competitor in the history of the 400 m event with a personal best of 43.45 seconds, behind Wayde van Niekerk, Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds and the fifth fastest all-time mark when he set it in 2007.
Derrick Ralph Adkins is a former American track and field athlete who specialized in the 400-meter hurdles. He was an Olympic gold medalist in that event at the 1996 Summer Olympics and World Champion at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. He was the fastest man in the world in the 1994 and 1996 seasons, and holds a personal record of 47.54 seconds. Adkins was a two-time national champion at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Angelo F. Taylor is an American track and field athlete, winner of 400-meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics. His personal record for the hurdles event is 47.25 seconds. His time puts him in a tie with Félix Sánchez for the #14 performer of all time. Sánchez also won two Olympic gold medals, in 2004 between Taylor's two golds and 2012, immediately following. Taylor also has a 400-meter dash best of 44.05 seconds, ranking him as the joint 29th performer of all time, superior to any other athlete who has made a serious effort in the 400 metres hurdles. He won the bronze medal in the 400 m at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics.
Harvey Edward Glance was an American sprint runner. He won gold medals in tandem with his teammates at the 4 × 100 m relay at the 1976 Summer Olympics, 1979 and 1987 Pan American Games, and 1987 World Championships.
Clifford Frederick Bourland was an American athlete who won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Andrew Orlando Valmon is an American former 400 meters runner.
Harry Lee "Butch" Reynolds Jr. is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 meter dash. He held the world record for the event for 11 years 9 days with his personal best time of 43.29 seconds set in 1988. That year, he was the silver medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and a relay gold medalist.
Antonio McKay Sr. is a former track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meters.
Sanjay Claude Ayre is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters. Ayre won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Ayre is a 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championship Gold medalist and a three-time World Outdoor Championship medalist.
Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov is a Russian former freestyle swimmer who set 12 world records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 metre events. Nicknamed the "Tsar of the Pool", "Monster of the Waves" and "Leningrad Express", he was the first person to swim under fifteen minutes in the 1500 m freestyle and also the first person to swim under eight minutes in the 800 m freestyle. He was named the Male World Swimmer of the Year in 1979 and 1982 by Swimming World.
Sherri Frances Howard is a former American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She is the older sister of 1988 relay teammate Denean Howard.
These are the official results of the men's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. There were 35 nations competing.
Jeffrey James Float is a former American competitive swimmer, world record holder, world champion and Olympic gold medalist. He qualified for the 1980 USA Olympic Swimming Team in three individual events, but could not participate when the United States boycotted the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympic Games. Four years later, he competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. As the peer-elected team captain, Jeff earned a gold medal in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay, and finished fourth in the individual 200-meter freestyle event. In 2016 this 4x200-meter freestyle relay was designated the third greatest of all time.
Rachel Komisarz, also known by her married name Rachel Komisarz-Baugh, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world record-holder and collegiate swimming coach.
Tony McQuay is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters. He is a member of the 2012 and 2016 United States Olympic teams, winning a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay in 2012 and a gold in the same event in 2016. He is also a two time World Champion in this event.
The 4 × 400 metres relay at the Summer Olympics is the longest track relay event held at the multi-sport event. The men's relay has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912 and the women's event has been continuously held since the 1972 Olympics. The inaugural mixed 4 × 400 metres relay was held at the 2020 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 4×400 m relay race at the elite level. At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a precursor to this event was held – the 1600 m medley relay. This event, with two legs of 200 m, one of 400 m, and a final leg of 800 m, was the first track relay in Olympic history.
Leah Grace Smith is an American competition swimmer who specializes in freestyle events. Smith is a member of the 2016 US Women's Olympic Swimming team, and won a bronze medal in the 400 m freestyle and a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m relay at those games.
