The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.
Michael Duane Johnson is an American retired sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals and 8 World Championships gold medals in the span of his career. He formerly 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 entire history of track and field.
The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America. The music for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies was composed by Canadian composers Jan Randall and Cassius Khan. The ceremonies also featured a 1000 voice choir, and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29.
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations. Athens used the successful organization of the World Championships the next month during the IOC Session in Lausanne during its campaign to host the 2004 Summer Olympics as proof positive of Athens' and Greece's ability and readiness to organize large-scale, international sporting events.
Jerome Young is an American former track and field sprinter who specialized in the 400-meter dash. He won gold medals with the United States 4 × 400-meter relay team at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and 1997 World Championships in Athletics, but was later stripped of these medals due to doping and was ultimately banned from the sport. He also was the heats runner for the relay team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where the Americans won gold, but this medal was rescinded as well.
Derrick Keith Brew is a 2004 Olympic Gold medalist in the Men's 4x400 meter relay for the United States. Earlier in the games he took third in the US sweep of the 400m.
Antonio Pettigrew was an American sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters.
Alvin Leonardo Harrison is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. He won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at both the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Calvin Harrison is an American athlete. He won a gold medal in the men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He is the identical twin brother of fellow Olympic medalist Alvin Harrison. At the 2000 Olympics, Alvin Harrison and Calvin Harrison made history by becoming the first twins ever to compete and win Olympic gold medals together on the same relay team since the inception of the modern Olympic Games. In the 4 × 400 m relay, Alvin ran the first leg and Calvin ran the third leg. In 2008, the 2000 Sydney Olympics 4×400 metres relay US team was stripped of their medals after teammate Antonio Pettigrew admitted that he had used performance-enhancing drugs.
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.
The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, the first 500 metres is run in lanes. Start lines are thus staggered over a greater distance than in an individual 400 metres race; the runners then typically move to the inside of the track. The slightly longer 4 × 440 yards relay was a formerly run British and American event, until metrication was completed in the 1970s.
The 4 × 400 metres relay races at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held on 29 and 30 September. The top two teams in each of the initial five heats automatically qualified for the semi-final. The next six fastest teams from across the heats also qualified. The top three teams in each of the semi-finals automatically qualified for the final. The next two fastest team from the semi-finals also qualified.
Leonard Byrd is an American sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. His personal best time is 44.45 seconds, achieved in May 2002 in Belém, Brazil. This was the fastest time of 2002.
Nduka Awazie is a Nigerian athlete and Olympic medalist and the 400 meters world Junior Champion. He won the world junior title at the 8th IAAF World Junior Championship held in 1998 Annecy, France. He attended Eastern Michigan University.
At the 1998 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York, United States from 19 to 22 July. The programme consisted of 44 track and field events, of which 22 were contested by male athletes and 22 by female athletes. With the introduction of the women's hammer throw and mile run, the men's and women's programmes achieved equivalent parity for the first time. The United States topped the athletics medal table for a third consecutive edition winning 17 gold medals and 55 medals in total. Russia were the next best performing nation, with 11 golds and 21 medals. Kenya, Cuba and Jamaica rounded out the top-five countries.
The 2003 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was organised by USA Track & Field and held from June 19 to 22 at the Cobb Track & Angell Field in Palo Alto, California. The four-day competition served as the national championships in track and field for the United States and also the trials for the 2003 World Championships in Athletics.
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.
The 4×400 metres relay at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by both men and women since the inaugural edition in 1983. The competition features three formats in relation to gender: men, women, and mixed. The 2019 edition added in the mixed competition. The format utilizes one set of heats qualifying the top 8 into a final.
United States (USA)
Great Britain (GBR)
China (CHN)
Barbados (BRB)
France (FRA)
Jamaica (JAM)
Russia (RUS)
Cuba (CUB)
Finland (FIN)
Spain (ESP)
Haiti (HAI)
Hungary (HUN)
Slovakia (SVK)
Dominican Republic (DOM)
Zambia (ZAM)
Italy (ITA)
Brazil (BRA)
Kenya (KEN)
Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)
Germany (GER)
South Africa (RSA)
Turkey (TUR)
Japan (JPN)
Greece (GRE)
Soviet Union (URS)
Switzerland (SUI)
Bahamas (BAH)
Poland (POL)
Serbia (SRB)
Qatar (QAT)
Morocco (MAR)
Ethiopia (ETH)
East Germany (GDR)
Belgium (BEL)
Algeria (ALG)
Saudi Arabia (KSA)
