| | Event type
4 x 400 metres Relay, Men
| Date | 6 – 7 August 1932 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California |
| Participants | 28 from 7 countries |
In the heats the US team broke the world record with 3:11.8. Heavy favorites in the final, Ivan Fuqua put the US in the lead with 47.1, leading Germany by almost 10 metres, and the US was never challenged, breaking their world record from the heats with 3:08.2 and winning by three seconds over Great Britain. On the third leg, David, Lord Burghley did gain a bit on the Americans, and their anchor runner, Godfrey Rampling, also started to close a bit. But his early fast pace was too much for him to hold and he paid the price in the last 100 metres. Rampling was the father of actress Charlotte Rampling.
Round One (6 August 1932 — 16:30)
Top three in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | Split (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 3:11.8 | ||||
| 421 | Ivan Fuqua | 47.8 | 47.8 (–) | |||||
| 400 | Ed Ablowich | 47.6 | 1:35.4 (–) | |||||
| 465 | Karl Warner | 47.4 | 2:22.8 (–) | |||||
| 408 | Bill Carr | 49.0 | 3:11.8 (–) | |||||
| 2 | – | Italy |  ITA | 3:22.8 | ||||
| 257 | Giacomo Carlini | – | – (–) | |||||
| 275 | Giovanni Turba | – | – (–) | |||||
| 259 | Mario Denegri | – | – (–) | |||||
| 260 | Luigi Facelli | – | – (–) | |||||
| 3 | – | Germany |  GER | 3:25.4 | ||||
| 160 | Jochen Büchner | – | – (–) | |||||
| 172 | Walter Nehb | – | – (–) | |||||
| 174 | Otto Peltzer | – | – (–) | |||||
| 171 | Adolf Metzner | – | – (–) | |||||
| – |  GRE | – | ||||||
| – |  SWE | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Japan |  JPN | 3:16.8 | |||||||||
| Itaro Nakajima • Iwao Masuda • Seikan Oki • Teiichi Nishi | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:21.8 | |||||||||
| Crew Stoneley • Tommy Hampson • David, Lord Burghley • Godfrey Rampling | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Canada |  CAN | 3:21.8 | |||||||||
| Ray Lewis • Jimmy Ball • Phil Edwards • Alex Wilson | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Mexico |  MEX | 3:28.5 | |||||||||
| Ricardo Argüello • Jesús Moraila • Manuel Álvarez • Carlos de Anda | |||||||||||||
| – |  BRA | – | |||||||||||
| – |  FRA | – | |||||||||||
Final (7 August 1932 — 16:30)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | Split (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States | USA | 3:08.2 | 3:08.14 | ||||
| 421 | Ivan Fuqua | 47.1 | – | 47.1 (1) | |||||
| 400 | Ed Ablowich | 47.6 | – | 1:34.7 (1) | |||||
| 465 | Karl Warner | 47.3 | – | 2:22.0 (1) | |||||
| 408 | Bill Carr | 46.2 | – | 3:08.2 (1) | |||||
| 2 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 3:11.2 | – | ||||
| 205 | Crew Stoneley | 48.8 | – | 48.8 (3) | |||||
| 199 | Tommy Hampson | 47.6 | – | 1:36.4 (3) | |||||
| 190 | David, Lord Burghley | 46.7 | – | 2:23.1 (2) | |||||
| 203 | Godfrey Rampling | 48.1 | – | 3:11.2 (2) | |||||
| 3 | – | Canada | CAN | 3:12.8 | – | ||||
| 72 | Ray Lewis | 49.5 | – | 49.5 (5) | |||||
| 62 | Jimmy Ball | 47.9 | – | 1:37.4 (4) | |||||
| 68 | Phil Edwards | 48.1 | – | 2:25.5 (4) | |||||
| 82 | Alex Wilson | 47.3 | – | 3:12.8 (3) | |||||
| 4 | – | Germany | GER | 3:14.4 | – | ||||
| 160 | Jochen Büchner | 48.0 | – | 48.0 (2) | |||||
| 172 | Walter Nehb | 48.2 | – | 1:36.2 (2) | |||||
| 171 | Adolf Metzner | 49.1 | – | 2:25.3 (3) | |||||
| 174 | Otto Peltzer | 49.1 | – | 3:14.4 (4) | |||||
| 5 | – | Japan | JPN | 3:14.6 | – | ||||
| 292 | Itaro Nakajima | 49.0 | – | 49.0 (4) | |||||
| 287 | Iwao Masuda | 48.8 | – | 1:37.8 (5) | |||||
| 298 | Seikan Oki | 47.7 | – | 2:25.5 (5) | |||||
| 293 | Teiichi Nishi | 49.1 | – | 3:14.6 (5) | |||||
| 6 | – | Italy | ITA | 3:17.8 | – | ||||
| 257 | Giacomo Carlini | – | – | – (–) | |||||
| 275 | Giovanni Turba | – | – | – (–) | |||||
| 259 | Mario Denegri | – | – | – (–) | |||||
| 260 | Luigi Facelli | – | – | – (–) |