The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic Games, the championships represents the highest level of senior international outdoor athletics competition for track and field athletics globally, including marathon running and race walking. Separate World Championships are held by World Athletics for certain other outdoor events, including cross-country running and half-marathon, as well as indoor and age-group championship.
The men'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 27 to 28. 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 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race. Each runner carries a relay baton. Before 2018, the baton had to be passed within a 20 m changeover box, preceded by a 10-metre acceleration zone. With a rule change effective November 1, 2017, that zone was modified to include the acceleration zone as part of the passing zone, making the entire zone 30 metres in length. The outgoing runner cannot touch the baton until it has entered the zone, and the incoming runner cannot touch it after it has left the zone. The zone is usually marked in yellow, frequently using lines, triangles or chevrons. While the rule book specifies the exact positioning of the marks, the colours and style are only "recommended". While most legacy tracks will still have the older markings, the rule change still uses existing marks. Not all governing body jurisdictions have adopted the rule change.
Sandra Anne Morgan, also known by her married name Sandra Beavis, or as Sandra Morgan-Beavis, is an Australian former freestyle swimmer who was part of the gold medal-winning team in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. At the age of 14 years and 6 months, she became the youngest Australian to win an Olympic gold medal, a record that was broken by Arisa Trew at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Raymond Douglas Stewart is a former Jamaican athlete who specialised in the 100 metres event. As a junior athlete Stewart found much success at the CARIFTA Games, winning five gold medals within a four-year period. In 1984 he reached the 100 m Olympic final and won an Olympic silver medal for the 4×100 metres relay. At the 1987 World Championships he took silver in the 100 m and bronze with the Jamaican relay team. A leg injury in the 1988 Olympic final of the 100 m ruined his medal chances in both the individual and relay events.
The men's 4 × 100 meters relay was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics program. It was the debut of the event, which along with the 4 × 400-meter relays marked the first relays of equal legs in the athletics program. The competition was held on Monday, July 8, 1912, and on Tuesday, July 9, 1912. NOCs could enter 1 team of 4 athletes, with up to 2 reserves.
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between September 7 and September 8.
Aaron Brown is a Canadian sprinter who specializes in the 100 and 200 metres. As part of Canada's 4×100 m relay team, he is the 2024 Olympic gold medalist, 2020 Olympic silver medalist, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and the 2022 World champion. Brown has also won two World bronze medals as part of Canada's 4×100 m relay teams in 2013 and 2015.
Bronte Campbell is a Malawian-born Australian competitive swimmer. A four time Olympian, Campbell is a triple Olympic gold medallist and a former World Champion in the 50 and 100 m freestyle, having won both titles in 2015.
Katerine Savard is a Canadian competitive swimmer who specializes in women's butterfly events and freestyle relay. She holds several Canadian national records in the butterfly over the 50-, 100-, and 200-metre distances in both the short and long courses. Savard also holds the Canadian junior butterfly record in the 200-metre event. She won the gold medal at the 100-metre butterfly event at the 2013 Summer Universiade, held in Kazan. Savard also won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 100-metre butterfly in Glasgow, where she set the Commonwealth record in the process. At the same games, she won a bronze medal as a member of the women's 4×100-metre medley relay team.
The 4 × 100 metres relay at the Summer Olympics is the shortest 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 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. It is the most prestigious 4×100 m relay race at elite level.
Apostolos Christou is a Greek swimmer specializing in backstroke. He is the Greek National Record holder in the 100 metre freestyle and 50, 100, and 200 metre backstroke events, as well as contributing to national record efforts in the 4x100 metre freestyle and medley relays. He is a three-time Olympian, qualifying in 2016, 2021, and most recently 2024, where he became Greece's first Olympic medalist in swimming since the inaugural 1896 Games through his 2nd place finish in the 200 metre backstroke.
Emma Jennifer McKeon, is a retired Australian competitive swimmer. She is an eight-time world record holder, three current and five former, in relays. Her total career haul of 14 Olympic medals following the 2024 Olympic Games made her the most decorated Australian, the third-most decorated swimmer, and the seventh-most decorated athlete in Olympic history and included one gold medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, four gold medals from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and one gold medal from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. With four gold and three bronze medals she was the most decorated athlete across all sports at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and tied for the most medals won by a woman in a single Olympic Games. She also won 20 medals, including five gold medals, at the World Aquatics Championships; and a record 20 medals, including 14 gold, at the Commonwealth Games.
Adam George Peaty is an English competitive swimmer who specialises in the breaststroke. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the first by a male British swimmer in 24 years, and retained the title at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021, the first British swimmer ever to retain an Olympic title.
Duncan William MacNaughton Scott is a Scottish swimmer representing Great Britain at the FINA World Aquatics Championships, LEN European Aquatics Championships, European Games and the Olympic Games, and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Scott made history after winning four medals - more than any other British athlete at a single Olympic Games - in Tokyo 2020, simultaneously becoming Great Britain's most decorated swimmer in Olympic history. With an additional gold and silver medal in Paris 2024 bringing his total to eight, Scott became Scotland's most-decorated Olympian, and is currently tied with Bradley Wiggins as the second most-decorated Olympian in British history. Scott is the only athlete in the top three to still be actively competing, and the only member of the top four who is not a track cyclist.
Brendon Rodney is a Canadian sprinter. As a member of the Canadian men's relay team, he is a three-time Olympic medallist in the 4 × 100 metres relay, taking gold in 2024, silver in 2020 and bronze in 2016. He is also the 2022 World champion and 2015 World bronze medallist in the same event.
Kyle Chalmers, is an Australian competitive swimmer. He is a world record holder in the short course 100 metre freestyle, 4×100 metre medley relay, and long course 4×100 metre mixed freestyle relay. He is the Oceanian and Australian record holder in the short course 50 metre butterfly and 50 metre freestyle.
Jack Cartwright is an Australian swimmer.
James Wilby is a British competitive swimmer who specialises in the breaststroke. Wilby is the 2018 Commonwealth Games champion in 200 metre breaststroke, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion in 100 metre breaststroke, and the 2022 European champion in 200 metre breaststroke. He formed part of the Great Britain team that won World Championship gold in the men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay in 2019, and the England team that won the Commonwealth Games Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay in 2014 and 2022.
Mollie Grace O'Callaghan is an Australian swimmer and the reigning Olympic champion in the 200 m freestyle. She was the 2023 world champion in the women's 100m and 200m freestyle individual events, and part of the world champion 4 × 100 m and 4 × 200 m Australian women's relay teams together with 4 × 100 m mixed relay team. She previously held the world record in the women's individual 200m freestyle.
