| | Event type

4 × 400 metres Relay, Men

Date	26 – 27 July 1952
Status	Olympic
Location	Helsingin Olympiastadion, Helsinki
Participants	72 from 18 countries

As in 1952, the final was considered a two-team race between Jamaica and the United States. Ollie Matson, later an NFL running back, gave the US a slim lead on the opening leg over Jamaica’s 1948 400 metre champion, Arthur Wint. On the second leg, Gene Cole extended the US lead with a 45.5 leg. When Herb McKenley received the baton for his third leg, he was over 10 metres in arrears. Racing against 400 hurdles gold medalist Charlie Moore, McKenley ran the fastest 400 leg yet recorded, 44.6 – the first time any runner had bettered 45 seconds for 400 metres. As they neared the bell lap, McKenley gave Jamaica a narrow lead. The anchor was contested between Jamaica’s George Rhoden and the USA’s Mal Whitfield, who had won the 400 and 800 metre gold medals, respectively. Whitfield ran on Rhoden’s shoulder for the entire last lap, but could never quit pull even or pass him. Jamaica won the gold medal in the greatest 4x400 relay to that time, breaking the world record, with the United States also bettering the old mark, by over four seconds.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	–	Jamaica	JAM	3:12.1 (1 h1)	3:03.9 (1)	Gold	WR
		Arthur Wint • Les Laing • Herb McKenley • George Rhoden • Byron LaBeach (DNS)
2	–	United States	USA	3:11.5 (1 h2)	3:04.0 (2)	Silver
		Ollie Matson • Gene Cole • Charlie Moore • Mal Whitfield • Thane Baker (DNS) • John Barnes (DNS) • J. W. Mashburn (DNS) • Reggie Pearman (DNS)
3	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	3:10.5 (1 h3)	3:06.6 (3)	Bronze
		Hans Geister • Günther Steines • Heinz Ulzheimer • Karl-Friedrich Haas • Leo Lickes (DNS) • Urban Cleve (DNS) • Günter Dohrow (DNS) • Peter Kraus (DNS)
4	–	Canada	CAN	3:11.2 (2 h3)	3:09.3 (4)
		Doug Clement • Jack Hutchins • Jack Carroll • James Lavery • Jack Burney (DNS) • Bob Hutchison (DNS) • John Ross (DNS) • Pete Sutton (DNS)
5	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:12.5 (2 h2)	3:10.0 (5)
		Les Lewis • Alan Dick • Terry Higgins • Nick Stacey • Frank Evans (DNS) • David Gracie (DNS) • Angus Scott (DNS) • Albert Webster (DNS)
6	–	France	FRA	3:12.6 (2 h1)	3:10.1 (6)
		Jean-Pierre Goudeau • Robert Bart • Jacques Degats • Jean-Paul Martin du Gard • Étienne Bally (DNS) • Yves Camus (DNS) • Patrick El Mabrouk (DNS) • Jean Thureau (DNS)
3 h1 r1/2	–	Sweden	SWE	3:13.4 (3 h1)	–
		Gösta Brännström • Tage Ekfeldt • Rune Larsson • Lars-Erik Wolfbrandt • Bo Åhlen (DNS) • Hans Ring (DNS) • Lars Ylander (DNS)
3 h2 r1/2	–	Hungary	HUN	3:13.8 (3 h2)	–
		Ferenc Bánhalmi • Lajos Szentgáli • Egon Solymossy • Zoltán Adamik • Péter Karádi (DNS) • Antal Lippay (DNS)
3 h3 r1/2	–	Soviet Union	URS	3:12.5 (3 h3)	–
		Ardalion Ignatyev • Gennady Slepnyov • Edmunds Pīlāgs • Yury Lituyev • Grigory Ilyin (DNS) • Heino Potter (DNS) • Revas Trapaydze (DNS) • Anatoly Yulin (DNS)
4 h1 r1/2	–	Belgium	BEL	3:15.8 (4 h1)	–
		Albert Lowagie • Antoine Uytterhoeven • Roger Moens • Fernand Linssen • Oscar Soetewey (DNS)
4 h2 r1/2	–	Italy	ITA	3:15.2 (4 h2)	–
		Baldassare Porto • Gianni Rocca • Luigi Grossi • Armando Filiput • Vincenzo Lombardo (DNS) • Antonio Siddi (DNS)
4 h3 r1/2	–	South Africa	RSA	3:14.8 (4 h3)	–
		Louis van Biljon • Ron Wilke • John Anderton • Bill Chivell • Schalk Booysen (DNS)
5 h1 r1/2	–	Luxembourg	LUX	3:16.2 (5 h1)	–
		Roby Schaeffer • Jean Hamilius • Fred Hammer • Gérard Rasquin • Josy Barthel (DNS) • Johnny Fonck (DNS)
5 h2 r1/2	–	Switzerland	SUI	3:15.4 (5 h2)	–
		Hans Ernst Schneider • Sepp Steger • Paul Stalder • Ernst von Gunten • Willy Eichenberger (DNS) • Karl Schmid (DNS) • Jean Schwarz (DNS)
5 h3 r1/2	–	Australia	AUS	3:15.8 (5 h3)	–
		Ray Weinberg • Morris Curotta • Ken Doubleday • Edwin Carr, Jr. • John Landy (DNS) • Don MacMillan (DNS) • John Treloar (DNS)
6 h1 r1/2	–	Finland	FIN	3:16.4 (6 h1)	–
		Pauli Tavisalo • Ossi Mildh • Ragnar Graeffe • Rolf Back • Arvo Hilli (DNS) • Jaakko Suikkari (DNS)
6 h2 r1/2	–	Pakistan	PAK	3:23.2 (6 h2)	–
		Abdul Rehman • Muhammad Shafi • Moshin Mirza Khan • Aurang Zeb • Muhammad Fazil (DNS)
7 h1 r1/2	–	Japan	JPN	3:20.3 (7 h1)	–
		Junkichi Matoba • Eitaro Okano • Hiroshi Yamamoto • Yoshitaka Muroya • Tomio Hosoda (DNS) • Masaji Tajima (DNS)
DNS	–	Greece	GRE	–	–
		Ioannis Kampadelis • Fotios Kosmas • Vasilios Mavroidis • Stefanos Petrakis • Vasilios Sillis
DNS	–	Puerto Rico	PUR	–	–
		Francisco Castro • Amadeo Francis • Frank Rivera • Héctor Román
DNS	–	Thailand	THA	–	–
		Pongummart Ummarttayakul • Boonpak Kwancharoen • Boonterm Pakpuang • Arun Sankosik • Kamtorn Sanidwong • Sompop Svadanandana • Adul Wanasatith
DNS	–	Turkey	TUR	–	–
		Doğan Acarbay • Emin Doybak • Kemal Horulu • Ekrem Koçak • Cahit Önel

Round One

Date	26 July 1952 — 17:00
Format	Top two in each heat advanced to the final.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (automatic)	Time (hand)
1	Unified Team of Germany	GER	3:10.57	3:10.5	Q
2	Canada	CAN	3:11.49	3:11.2	Q
3	United States	USA	3:11.67	3:11.5	Q
4	Jamaica	JAM	3:12.13	3:12.1	Q
5	Soviet Union	URS	3:12.65	3:12.5
6	Great Britain	GBR	3:12.67	3:12.5	Q
7	France	FRA	3:12.72	3:12.6	Q
8	Sweden	SWE	3:13.55	3:13.4
9	Hungary	HUN	3:13.96	3:13.8
10	South Africa	RSA	3:15.09	3:14.8
11	Italy	ITA	3:15.23	3:15.2
12	Switzerland	SUI	3:15.36	3:15.4
13	Australia	AUS	3:16.00	3:15.8
14	Belgium	BEL	3:16.05	3:15.8
15	Luxembourg	LUX	3:16.38	3:16.2
16	Finland	FIN	3:16.67	3:16.4
17	Japan	JPN	3:20.55	3:20.3
18	Pakistan	PAK	3:23.2	–

Heat #1

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)	Split	Exchange
1	–	Jamaica	JAM	3:12.1	3:12.13	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	295	Herb McKenley		–	–	47.5 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	294	Les Laing		–	–	48.6 (2)	1:36.1 (1)
3rd Leg	297	Arthur Wint		–	–	47.6 (=2)	2:23.7 (1)
Anchor	296	George Rhoden		–	–	48.4 (4)	– (–)
2	–	France	FRA	3:12.6	3:12.72	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	601	Jean-Pierre Goudeau		–	–	48.6 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	615	Robert Bart		–	–	48.0 (1)	1:36.6 (2)
3rd Leg	602	Jacques Degats		–	–	48.6 (5)	2:25.2 (3)
Anchor	–	Jean-Paul Martin du Gard		–	–	47.4 (=1)	– (–)
3	–	Sweden	SWE	3:13.4	3:13.55	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	670	Gösta Brännström		–	–	48.7 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	672	Tage Ekfeldt		–	–	48.7 (3)	1:37.4 (3)
3rd Leg	685	Rune Larsson		–	–	47.6 (=2)	2:25.0 (2)
Anchor	671	Lars-Erik Wolfbrandt		–	–	47.4 (=1)	– (–)
4	–	Belgium	BEL	3:15.8	3:16.05	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	37	Albert Lowagie		–	–	50.0 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	35	Antoine Uytterhoeven		–	–	50.0 (6)	1:40.0 (6)
3rd Leg	36	Roger Moens		–	–	47.0 (1)	2:27.0 (4)
Anchor	34	Fernand Linssen		–	–	48.8 (=6)	– (–)
5	–	Luxembourg	LUX	3:16.2	3:16.38	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	408	Roby Schaeffer		–	–	50.1 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	407	Jean Hamilius		–	–	49.5 (4)	1:39.6 (5)
3rd Leg	403	Fred Hammer		–	–	48.5 (4)	2:28.1 (5)
Anchor	404	Gérard Rasquin		–	–	48.5 (5)	– (–)
6	–	Finland	FIN	3:16.4	3:16.67	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	773	Pauli Tavisalo		–	–	49.7 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	776	Ossi Mildh		–	–	49.7 (5)	1:39.4 (4)
3rd Leg	795	Ragnar Graeffe		–	–	48.9 (6)	2:28.3 (6)
Anchor	775	Rolf Back		–	–	48.1 (3)	– (–)
7	–	Japan	JPN	3:20.3	3:20.55	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	302	Junkichi Matoba		–	–	49.5 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	303	Eitaro Okano		–	–	52.0 (7)	1:41.5 (7)
3rd Leg	305	Hiroshi Yamamoto		–	–	50.0 (7)	2:31.5 (7)
Anchor	304	Yoshitaka Muroya		–	–	48.8 (=6)	– (–)

Heat #2

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	3:11.5	3:11.67	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	987	Ollie Matson		–	–	48.1 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	988	Gene Cole		–	–	47.3 (1)	1:35.4 (1)
3rd Leg	1006	Charlie Moore		–	–	46.6 (1)	2:22.0 (1)
Anchor	996	Mal Whitfield		–	–	47.5 (=1)	– (–)
2	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:12.5	3:12.67	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	173	Les Lewis		–	–	48.6 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	171	Alan Dick		–	–	48.4 (5)	1:37.0 (2)
3rd Leg	172	Terry Higgins		–	–	47.2 (2)	2:24.2 (2)
Anchor	170	Nick Stacey		–	–	48.3 (=3)	– (–)
3	–	Hungary	HUN	3:13.8	3:13.96	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	933	Ferenc Bánhalmi		–	–	49.7 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Lajos Szentgáli		–	–	48.3 (4)	1:38.0 (5)
3rd Leg	934	Egon Solymossy		–	–	48.3 (3)	2:26.3 (=3)
Anchor	935	Zoltán Adamik		–	–	47.5 (=1)	– (–)
4	–	Italy	ITA	3:15.2	3:15.23	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	–	Baldassare Porto		–	–	49.3 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	247	Gianni Rocca		–	–	48.0 (=2)	1:37.3 (3)
3rd Leg	244	Luigi Grossi		–	–	49.0 (4)	2:26.3 (=3)
Anchor	252	Armando Filiput		–	–	48.9 (5)	– (–)
5	–	Switzerland	SUI	3:15.4	3:15.36	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	846	Hans Ernst Schneider		–	–	49.8 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	847	Sepp Steger		–	–	48.0 (=2)	1:37.8 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Paul Stalder		–	–	49.3 (5)	2:27.1 (5)
Anchor	845	Ernst von Gunten		–	–	48.3 (=3)	– (–)
6	–	Pakistan	PAK	3:23.2	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	526	Abdul Rehman		–	–	50.0 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	533	Muhammad Shafi		–	–	52.0 (6)	1:42.0 (6)
3rd Leg	532	Moshin Mirza Khan		–	–	51.0 (6)	2:33.0 (6)
Anchor	527	Aurang Zeb		–	–	50.2 (6)	– (–)

Heat #3

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)	Split	Exchange
1	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	3:10.5	3:10.57	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	736	Günther Steines		–	–	48.9 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	732	Hans Geister		–	–	47.2 (1)	1:36.1 (1)
3rd Leg	734	Heinz Ulzheimer		–	–	47.3 (2)	2:23.4 (1)
Anchor	733	Karl-Friedrich Haas		–	–	46.8 (1)	– (–)
2	–	Canada	CAN	3:11.2	3:11.49	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	347	Doug Clement		–	–	49.2 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	351	Jack Hutchins		–	–	48.4 (3)	1:37.6 (3)
3rd Leg	349	Jack Carroll		–	–	46.6 (1)	2:24.2 (2)
Anchor	348	James Lavery		–	–	47.4 (=3)	– (–)
3	–	Soviet Union	URS	3:12.5	3:12.65	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	416	Ardalion Ignatyev		–	–	47.9 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Gennady Slepnyov		–	–	49.0 (4)	1:36.9 (2)
3rd Leg	418	Edmunds Pīlāgs		–	–	48.3 (3)	2:25.2 (3)
Anchor	417	Yury Lituyev		–	–	47.3 (2)	– (–)
4	–	South Africa	RSA	3:14.8	3:15.09	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	107	Louis van Biljon		–	–	48.4 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	112	Ron Wilke		–	–	49.7 (5)	1:38.1 (4)
3rd Leg	106	John Anderton		–	–	48.9 (4)	2:27.0 (4)
Anchor	–	Bill Chivell		–	–	48.2 (5)	– (–)
5	–	Australia	AUS	3:15.8	3:16.00	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	19	Ray Weinberg		–	–	51.3 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	17	Morris Curotta		–	–	47.8 (2)	1:39.1 (5)
3rd Leg	26	Ken Doubleday		–	–	50.0 (5)	2:29.1 (5)
Anchor	20	Edwin Carr, Jr.		–	–	47.4 (=3)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	27 July 1952 — 17:20

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)	Split	Exchange
1	–	Jamaica	JAM	3:03.9	3:04.04	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Lead-Off	297	Arthur Wint		–	–	46.8 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	294	Les Laing		–	–	47.0 (=2)	1:33.8 (2)
3rd Leg	295	Herb McKenley		–	–	44.6 (1)	2:18.4 (1)
Anchor	296	George Rhoden		–	–	45.5 (=1)	– (–)
2	–	United States	USA	3:04.0	3:04.21	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	987	Ollie Matson		–	–	46.7 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	988	Gene Cole		–	–	45.5 (1)	1:32.2 (1)
3rd Leg	1006	Charlie Moore		–	–	46.3 (3)	2:18.5 (2)
Anchor	996	Mal Whitfield		–	–	45.5 (=1)	– (–)
3	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	3:06.6	3:06.78	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	732	Hans Geister		–	–	47.0 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	736	Günther Steines		–	–	47.3 (4)	1:34.3 (3)
3rd Leg	734	Heinz Ulzheimer		–	–	46.5 (4)	2:20.8 (3)
Anchor	733	Karl-Friedrich Haas		–	–	45.8 (3)	– (–)
4	–	Canada	CAN	3:09.3	3:09.37	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	347	Doug Clement		–	–	49.0 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	351	Jack Hutchins		–	–	47.0 (=2)	1:36.0 (=5)
3rd Leg	349	Jack Carroll		–	–	46.0 (2)	2:22.0 (4)
Anchor	348	James Lavery		–	–	47.3 (=5)	– (–)
5	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:10.0	3:10.23	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	173	Les Lewis		–	–	47.9 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	171	Alan Dick		–	–	47.4 (5)	1:35.3 (4)
3rd Leg	172	Terry Higgins		–	–	47.4 (6)	2:22.7 (5)
Anchor	170	Nick Stacey		–	–	47.3 (=5)	– (–)
6	–	France	FRA	3:10.1	3:10.33	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	601	Jean-Pierre Goudeau		–	–	48.5 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	615	Robert Bart		–	–	47.5 (6)	1:36.0 (=5)
3rd Leg	602	Jacques Degats		–	–	47.3 (5)	2:23.3 (6)
Anchor	–	Jean-Paul Martin du Gard		–	–	46.8 (4)	– (–)