Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay

Women's 4 × 100 metres relay at the Games of the XXX Olympiad
Venue	Olympic Stadium
Date	9 August 2012 (2012-08-09) (heats) 10 August 2012 (2012-08-10) (final)
Teams	16
Winning time	40.82 WR
Medalists
United States  (USA) Tianna Madison Allyson Felix Bianca Knight Carmelita Jeter Jeneba Tarmoh* Lauryn Williams*   Jamaica  (JAM) Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Sherone Simpson Veronica Campbell-Brown Kerron Stewart Samantha Henry-Robinson* Schillonie Calvert*   Ukraine  (UKR) Olesya Povh Hrystyna Stuy Mariya Ryemyen Elyzaveta Bryzgina
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Official Video

The women's 4 × 100 metres relay competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on 9–10 August at the Olympic Stadium. ^[1] The victorious United States team broke the world record by over half a second. The previous record had been set 27 years previously by East Germany. ^[2] The Jamaican team, 6 metres back, missed the previous world record by 0.04, but set a new national record. Another 7 metres back, Ukraine took the bronze, also setting a new national record. ^[3]

Records

Prior to the competition ^[update] , the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record	East Germany (Silke Gladisch, Sabine Rieger, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr)	41.37	Canberra, Australia	6 October 1985
Olympic record	East Germany (Romy Müller, Bärbel Wöckel, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr)	41.60	Moscow, Soviet Union	1 August 1980
2012 World leading	United States (Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter) [4]	42.19	Philadelphia, United States	28 April 2012

The following records were established during the competition:

Date	Event	Name	Nationality	Time	Record
10 August 2012	Final	Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter	United States	40.82 [3]	WR
10 August 2012	Final	Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart	Jamaica	41.41 [3]	NR
10 August 2012	Final	Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina	Ukraine	42.04 [3]	NR
9 August 2012	Round 1	Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett	Trinidad and Tobago	42.31	NR
9 August 2012	Round 1	Kadene Vassell, Dafne Schippers, Eva Lubbers, Jamile Samuel	Netherlands	42.45	NR
9 August 2012	Round 1	Ana Claudia Silva, Franciela Krasucki, Evelyn dos Santos, Rosângela Santos	Brazil	42.55	AR

Results

Round 1

Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.

Heat 1

Rank	Lane	Nation	Competitors	Time	Notes
1	2	United States	Tianna Madison, Jeneba Tarmoh, Bianca Knight, Lauryn Williams	41.64	Q, SB
2	4	Trinidad and Tobago	Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett	42.31	Q, NR
3	8	Netherlands	Kadene Vassell, Dafne Schippers, Eva Lubbers, Jamile Samuel	42.45	Q, NR
4	7	Brazil	Ana Claudia Silva, Franciela Krasucki, Evelyn dos Santos, Rosângela Santos	42.55	q, AR
5	3	Nigeria	Christy Udoh, Gloria Asumnu, Oludamola Osayomi, Blessing Okagbare	42.74	q, SB
6	9	Bahamas	Sheniqua Ferguson, Chandra Sturrup, Christine Amertil, Anthonique Strachan	43.07	SB
7	6	Switzerland	Michelle Cueni, Mujinga Kambundji, Ellen Sprunger, Léa Sprunger	43.54	PB
8	5	Japan	Anna Doi, Kana Ichikawa, Chisato Fukushima, Yumeka Sano	44.25

Heat 2

Rank	Lane	Nation	Competitors	Time	Notes
1	4	Ukraine	Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina	42.36	Q, SB
2	6	Jamaica	Samantha Henry-Robinson, Sherone Simpson, Schillonie Calvert, Kerron Stewart	42.37	Q, SB
3	9	Germany	Leena Günther, Anne Cibis, Tatjana Pinto, Verena Sailer	42.69	Q
4	2	Poland	Marika Popowicz, Daria Korczynska, Marta Jeschke, Ewelina Ptak	43.07
5	5	Colombia	Yomara Hinestroza, Norma González, Darlenis Obregón, Eliecith Palacios	43.21	SB
6	7	Russia	Olga Belkina, Natalia Rusakova, Elizabeta Savlinis, Aleksandra Fedoriva	43.24	SB
7	3	Belarus	Alina Talay, Katsiaryna Hanchar, Elena Danilyuk-Nevmerzhytskaya, Yuliya Balykina	43.90
—	8	France	Myriam Soumaré, Ayodelé Ikuesan, Lina Jacques-Sébastien, Johanna Danois	DQ	R 163.3a

• France originally finished in seventh place with a time of 43.77, but were disqualified due to a lane infringement.

Final

The American team had an often repeated history of relay failures, so most of the pre-race discussion focused on whether it could successfully get the baton around the track. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, both the men's and women's 4 × 100 metres teams had dropped the baton, leading one reporter to call it the "nadir in US relay history". ^[5]

On the first leg of the final, Tianna Madison was able to hold her own against the double 100-metre gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Allyson Felix put the USA into the lead, extended by Bianca Knight around the turn. At the final handoff to individual 100-metre silver medalist Carmelita Jeter, the team enjoyed a 3-metre lead. Secure in the handoffs, Jeter sped to the finish, noticing the time and pointing at the clock before the finish line. ^{[6] [7]}

Rank	Lane	Nation	Competitors	Time	Notes
	7	United States	Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter	40.82 [3]	WR
	6	Jamaica	Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart	41.41 [3]	NR
	5	Ukraine	Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina	42.04 [3]	NR
4	2	Nigeria	Oludamola Osayomi, Gloria Asumnu, Endurance Abinuwa, Blessing Okagbare	42.64 [3]	SB
5	8	Germany	Leena Günther, Anne Cibis, Tatjana Pinto, Verena Sailer	42.67 [3]
6	9	Netherlands	Kadene Vassell, Dafne Schippers, Eva Lubbers, Jamile Samuel	42.70 [3]
7	3	Brazil	Ana Claudia Silva, Franciela Krasucki, Evelyn dos Santos, Rosângela Santos	42.91 [3]
—	4	Trinidad and Tobago	Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett	—	DNF [3]

• Trinidad and Tobago failed to finish as Michelle-Lee Ahye could not pass the baton to Kelly-Ann Baptiste in time.

References

1. "Athletics - News, Athletes, Highlights & More". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
2. Turnbull, Simon (11 August 2012). "Jeter brings it home to smash 27-year-old world record". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
3. "International Association of Athletics Federations". iaaf.org. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
4. "The Penn Relays - April 26-28, 2012". Pennrelaysonline.com. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
5. Shira Springer (12 August 2012). "Gripping tale for US sprinters". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
6. "Highlights: U.S. Women Set 4x100m World Record, Win Gold - Track & Field Video". NBC Olympics. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
7. "Expert Analysis: U.S. Women Set 4x100m WR; Men on Tap - Track & Field Video". NBC Olympics. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.