| | Event type
4 x 100 metres Relay, Men
| Date | 6 – 7 August 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 60 from 15 countries |
The US team was originally to have had Ed Conwell but he had to withdraw with asthma, and was replaced by Lorenzo Wright, who had medaled in the long jump. The US won the final quite comfortably, but were initially disqualified for a faulty exchange between Barney Ewell and Wright. On reviewing film of the race, it could be seen that the exchange had occurred within the legal zone, and the DQ was reversed, giving the United States the gold medal. However, the final decision did not become official for three days.
JAMRound One (6 August 1948 — 16:00)
Top two in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 41.1 | 41.20 | ||||||||
| Barney Ewell • Lorenzo Wright • Harrison Dillard • Mel Patton | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Italy |  ITA | 41.3 | 41.31 | ||||||||
| Michele Tito • Enrico Perucconi • Carlo Monti • Antonio Siddi | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Brazil |  BRA | 42.4 | – | ||||||||
| Rosalvo Ramos • Hélio da Silva • Haroldo da Silva • Ivan Hausen | |||||||||||||
| – | Turkey |  TUR | – | – | |||||||||
| Kemal Aksur • Erdal Barkay • Raşit Öztaş • Ruhi Sarıalp | |||||||||||||
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 41.4 | 41.4 | ||||||||
| Jack Archer • Jack Gregory • Alastair McCorquodale • Ken Jones | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Hungary |  HUN | 41.4 | – | ||||||||
| Ferenc Tima • László Bartha • György Csányi • Béla Goldoványi | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Australia |  AUS | 41.5 | – | ||||||||
| Bill Bruce • John Bartram • Morris Curotta • John Treloar | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Uruguay |  URU | 42.8 | – | ||||||||
| Mario Fayos • Juan López • Walter Pérez • Hércules Azcune | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Bermuda |  BER | 45.4 | – | ||||||||
| Hazzard Dill • Perry Johnson • Stanley Lines • Frank Mahoney | |||||||||||||
| – | Belgium |  BEL | – | – | |||||||||
| Fernand Bourgaux • Pol Braekman • Fernand Linssen • Isidoor Van De Wiele | |||||||||||||
Heat Three
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Netherlands |  NED | 41.7 | |||||||||
| Jan Lammers • Jan Meijer • Gabe Scholten • Jo Zwaan | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Canada |  CAN | 42.3 | |||||||||
| Don McFarlane • Jimmy O'Brien • Don Pettie • Ted Haggis | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Argentina |  ARG | 42.4 | |||||||||
| Gerardo Bönnhoff • Alberto Biderman • Carlos Isaack • Fernando Lapuente | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Iceland |  ISL | 42.9 | |||||||||
| Ásmundur Bjarnason • Finnbjörn Þorvaldsson • Trausti Eyjólfsson • Haukur Clausen | |||||||||||||
| – | France |  FRA | – | ||||||||||
| Alain Porthault • Marc Litaudon • Julien Le Bas • René Valmy | |||||||||||||
Final (7 August 1948 — 15:30)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States | USA | 40.6 | 40.70 | ||||||||
| Barney Ewell • Lorenzo Wright • Harrison Dillard • Mel Patton | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 41.3 | 41.41 | ||||||||
| Jack Archer • Jack Gregory • Alastair McCorquodale • Ken Jones | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Italy | ITA | 41.5 | 41.71 | ||||||||
| Enrico Perucconi • Antonio Siddi • Carlo Monti • Michele Tito | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Hungary | HUN | 41.6 | 41.90 | ||||||||
| Ferenc Tima • László Bartha • György Csányi • Béla Goldoványi | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Canada | CAN | 41.9 | 41.92 | ||||||||
| Don McFarlane • Jimmy O'Brien • Don Pettie • Ted Haggis | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Netherlands | NED | 41.9 | 41.97 | ||||||||
| Jan Lammers • Jan Meijer • Gabe Scholten • Jo Zwaan | |||||||||||||