| | Event type
4 x 400 metres Relay, Men
| Date | 4 – 5 August 1928 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam |
| Participants | 56 from 14 countries |
Great Britain had the fastest time in the heats with 3:20.6 but would finish only fifth in the final. The USA took the lead on the first leg, with George Baird running 48.2, and they were never headed. Their anchor was run by Ray Barbuti, who had won the open 400 metres, but he was probably slightly outrun by the German anchor, Hermann Engelhard. Still, Barbuti held off the German charge and the US won in world record time.
Round One (4 August 1928 — 16:00)
Top two in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 3:21.4 | |||||||||
| George Baird • Bud Spencer • Fred Alderman • Ray Barbuti | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Canada |  CAN | 3:22.0 | |||||||||
| Alex Wilson • Phil Edwards • Stan Glover • Jimmy Ball | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Hungary |  HUN | 3:23.2 | |||||||||
| Mór Gerő • László Magdics • László Barsi • Antal Odri | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Poland |  POL | 3:24.2 | |||||||||
| Feliks Malanowski • Zygmunt Weiss • Stefan Kostrzewski • Klemens Biniakowski | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Belgium |  BEL | – | |||||||||
| Philippe Coenjaerts • Emile Vercken • Frans Prinsen • Eugène Langenraedt | |||||||||||||
| – | Finland |  FIN | – | ||||||||||
| Erkka Wilén • Erik Åström • Arvo Lindroos • Jukka Matilainen • Lauri Härö | |||||||||||||
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Germany |  GER | 3:20.8 | |||||||||
| Otto Neumann • Richard Krebs • Harry Storz • Hermann Engelhard | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Sweden |  SWE | 3:21.2 | |||||||||
| Björn Kugelberg • Bertil von Wachenfeldt • Erik Byléhn • Sten Pettersson | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Italy |  ITA | 3:22.6 | |||||||||
| Giacomo Carlini • Luigi Facelli • Guido Cominotto • Ettore Tavernari | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Netherlands |  NED | – | |||||||||
| Andries Hoogerwerf • Adje Paulen • Harry Broos • Rinus van den Berge | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Czechoslovakia |  TCH | – | |||||||||
| Johann Bartl • Karel Kněnický • Vilém Šindler • Jaroslav Vykoupil | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Greece |  GRE | – | |||||||||
| Stelios Benardis • Renos Fragkoudis • Vangelis Moiropoulos • Vasilios Stavrinos | |||||||||||||
Heat Three
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:20.6 | |||||||||
| Roger Leigh-Wood • William Craner • John Rinkel • Douglas Lowe | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | France |  FRA | 3:23.0 | |||||||||
| Georges Krotoff • Joseph Jackson • Georges Dupont • René Féger | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Mexico |  MEX | 3:23.4 | |||||||||
| Alfonso García • José Lucílo Iturbe • Jesús Moraila • Víctor Villaseñor | |||||||||||||
| – | Switzerland |  SUI | – | ||||||||||
| Josef Imbach • Gottfried Lüscher • Eugène Bec • Paul Martin • Adolf Meier | |||||||||||||
| – | British India |  IND | – | ||||||||||
| Ronald Burns • James Hall • S. Abdul Hamid • Joseph Murphy | |||||||||||||
Final (5 August 1928 — 15:00)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | Split (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States | USA | 3:14.2 | ||||
| 509 | George Baird | 48.2 | 48.2 (1) | |||||
| 563 | Bud Spencer | 47.8 | 1:36.0 (1) | |||||
| 496 | Fred Alderman | 49.4 | 2:25.4 (1) | |||||
| 499 | Ray Barbuti | 48.8 | 3:14.2 (1) | |||||
| 2 | – | Germany | GER | 3:14.8 | ||||
| 732 | Otto Neumann | 48.8 | 48.8 (2) | |||||
| 725 | Richard Krebs | 49.2 | 1:38.0 (3) | |||||
| 742 | Harry Storz | 48.2 | 2:26.2 (2) | |||||
| 709 | Hermann Engelhard | 48.6 | 3:14.8 (2) | |||||
| 3 | – | Canada | CAN | 3:15.4 | ||||
| 669 | Alex Wilson | 49.2 | 49.2 (4) | |||||
| 650 | Phil Edwards | 48.6 | 1:37.8 (2) | |||||
| 652 | Stan Glover | 50.0 | 2:27.8 (=3) | |||||
| 646 | Jimmy Ball | 47.6 | 3:15.4 (3) | |||||
| 4 | – | Sweden | SWE | 3:15.8 | ||||
| 848 | Björn Kugelberg | 51.0 | 51.0 (5) | |||||
| 865 | Bertil von Wachenfeldt | 49.4 | 1:40.4 (5) | |||||
| 842 | Erik Byléhn | 47.4 | 2:27.8 (=3) | |||||
| 860 | Sten Pettersson | 48.0 | 3:15.8 (4) | |||||
| 5 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 3:16.4 | ||||
| 466 | Roger Leigh-Wood | 48.9 | 48.9 (3) | |||||
| 450 | William Craner | 51.4 | 1:40.3 (4) | |||||
| 483 | John Rinkel | 48.5 | 2:28.8 (5) | |||||
| 470 | Douglas Lowe | 47.6 | 3:16.4 (5) | |||||
| 6 | – | France | FRA | 3:19.4 | ||||
| 77 | Georges Krotoff | – | – (–) | |||||
| 76 | Joseph Jackson | – | – (–) | |||||
| 65 | Georges Dupont | – | – (–) | |||||
| 72 | René Féger | – | – (–) |