| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Relay, Men

Date	7 – 8 September 1960
Status	Olympic
Location	Stadio Olimpico, Roma
Participants	78 from 19 countries

As always, the USA was favored but the German team, led by 100 metre champion Armin Hary and top hurdler Martin Lauer, was expected to challenge them. And in the first round, Germany equaled the world record with 39.5. In the final, Frank Budd opened for the US, and quickly pulled away, but the changeover to Ray Norton was made clearly out of the zone. Norton slowed dramatically, trying to keep the exchange legal, and the Germans went ahead, although Norton had a slight lead by the second exchange, outrunning Hary. Another poor exchange occurred however, and at the final exchange, Lauer had a two-metre lead on Dave Sime. Sime ran one of the great anchor legs to bring the US home in what was at first thought to be a world record 39.4 (39.59). But the US was properly disqualified and the Germans won the gold medal.

Bronze medalists Great Britain were lucky not to be also disqualified as film footage of their first handover appeared to show Peter Radford receiving the baton outside the exchange zone.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	39.5 (1 h3)	39.7 (1 h1)	39.5 (1)	Gold
		Bernd Cullmann • Armin Hary • Walter Mahlendorf • Martin Lauer • Manfred Germar (DNS) • Manfred Steinbach (DNS)
2	–	Soviet Union	URS	40.2 (2 h1)	40.2 (3 h2)	40.1 (2)	Silver
		Gusman Kosanov • Leonid Bartenev • Yury Konovalov • Edvin Ozolin • Vyacheslav Prokhorovsky (DNS) • Vadim Arkhipchuk (DNS)
3	–	Great Britain	GBR	40.1 (1 h1)	40.5 (3 h1)	40.2 (3)	Bronze
		Peter Radford • David Jones • David Segal • Nick Whitehead • Ron Nicholson (DNS) • Robbie Brightwell (DNS)
4	–	Italy	ITA	40.0 (1 h2)	40.2 (2 h2)	40.2 (4)
		Armando Sardi • Pier Giorgio Cazzola • Salvatore Giannone • Livio Berruti • Guido De Murtas (DNS) • Sergio Ottolina (DNS)
5	–	Venezuela	VEN	41.0 (3 h2)	40.3 (2 h1)	40.7 (5)
		Clive Bonas • Lloyd Murad • Emilio Romero • Rafael Romero • Horacio Esteves • Héctor Thomas (DNS)
AC r3/3	–	United States	USA	39.7 (1 h4)	39.7 (1 h2)	[39.4] (DQ)
		Frank Budd • Ray Norton • Stone Johnson • Dave Sime • Paul Winder (DNS) • Hayes Jones (DNS)
4 h1 r2/3	–	Canada	CAN	42.1 (2 h4)	41.1 (4 h1)	–
		Lynn Eves • George Short • Terry Tobacco • Sig Ohlemann • Harry Jerome • George Shepherd (DNS)
4 h2 r2/3	–	Switzerland	SUI	40.8 (3 h1)	40.9 (4 h2)	–
		Peter Laeng • Heinz Müller • Werner Schaufelberger • Sebald Schnellmann • Marcel Stadelmann (DNS) • Gustav Schlosser (DNS)
5 h1 r2/3	–	Japan	JPN	42.4 (3 h4)	42.2 (5 h1)	–
		Keiji Ogushi • Hirotada Hayase • Takayuki Okazaki • Hiroshi Shibata • Koji Sakurai (DNS) • Yukishige Yasuma (DNS)
5 h2 r2/3	–	Greece	GRE	41.6 (2 h3)	41.7 (5 h2)	–
		Ioannis Komitoudis • Konstantinos Lolos • Leonidas Kormalis • Nikolaos Georgopoulos • Dimitrios Magklaras (DNS) • Georgios Marsellos (DNS)
6 h2 r2/3	–	Pakistan	PAK	42.5 (3 h3)	42.8 (6 h2)	–
		Abdul Malik • Muhammad Ramzan Ali • Ghulam Raziq • Abdul Khaliq • Iftikhar Shah (DNS) • Muhammad Yaqub (DNS)
AC h1 r2/3	–	Nigeria	NGR	40.1 (2 h2)	[40.2] (DQ h1)	–
		Jimmy Omagbemi • Abdul Karim Amu • Smart Akraka • Adebayo Oladapo • Adrian Amah (DNS)
4 h1 r1/3	–	Iraq	IRQ	41.7 (4 h1)	–	–
		Jassim Karim • Khudhir Zalata • Falih Fahmi • Ghanim Mahmoud • Abdul Sattar Abdul Razzak (DNS)
4 h2 r1/3	–	Philippines	PHI	41.4 (4 h2)	–	–
		Remigio Vista • Isaac Gómez • Enrique Bautista • Rogelio Onofre • Claro Pellosis (DNS)
4 h4 r1/3	–	Afghanistan	AFG	44.4 (4 h4)	–	–
		Abdul Ghafar Ghafoori • Abdul Hadi Shekaib • Habib Sayed • Ali Zaid
5 h1 r1/3	–	Thailand	THA	42.0 (5 h1)	–	–
		Boonsong Arjtaweekul • Prajim Wongsuwan • Paiboon Vacharapan • Suthi Manyakass • Manut Bumrungphuk (DNS)
AC h2 r1/3	–	Uganda	UGA	[41.90] (DQ h2)	–	–
		Aggrey Awori • Gadi Ado • Sam Amukun • Jean Baptiste Okello • Jorem Ochana (DNS)
AC h3 r1/3	–	Poland	POL	[40.73] (DQ h3)	–	–
		Marian Foik • Jan Jarzembowski • Józef Szmidt • Jerzy Juskowiak • Andrzej Karcz (DNS) • Andrzej Zieliński (DNS)
AC h4 r1/3	–	France	FRA	[40.45] (DQ h4)	–	–
		Paul Genevay • Jocelyn Delecour • Abdou Sèye • Claude Piquemal • Guy Lagorce (DNS) • Konstantin Lissenko (DNS)
DNS	–	Australia	AUS	–	–	–
		Bevyn Baker • John Chittick • Kevan Gosper • Denis Tipping
DNS	–	Austria	AUT	–	–	–
		Heimo Vertacnik • Heinz-Georg Kamler • Richard Schwarzgruber • Elmar Kunauer • Gert Nöster
DNS	–	India	IND	–	–	–
		Ram Sathyanarayana • Raj Joshi Tilak • Jagmohan Singh • Milkha Singh • Virsa Singh • Gurbachan Singh Randhawa
DNS	–	Liberia	LBR	–	–	–
		Adjavon Aye • George Johnson • Emmanuel Putu • James Roberts
DNS	–	Mexico	MEX	–	–	–
		Rodolfo Mijares • Santiago Plaza • Roberto Procel • Jorge Terán

Round One

Date	7 September 1960 — 16:10
Format	Top three in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (automatic)	Time (hand)
1	Unified Team of Germany	GER	39.61	39.5	Q=WR
2	United States	USA	39.87	39.7	Q
3	Italy	ITA	40.16	40.0	Q
4	Nigeria	NGR	40.25	40.1	Q
5	Great Britain	GBR	40.27	40.1	Q
6	Soviet Union	URS	40.39	40.2	Q
7	Switzerland	SUI	40.92	40.8	Q
8	Venezuela	VEN	41.11	41.0	Q
9	Philippines	PHI	41.55	41.4
10	Greece	GRE	41.81	41.6	Q
11	Iraq	IRQ	41.87	41.7
12	Thailand	THA	42.19	42.0
13	Canada	CAN	42.27	42.1	Q
14	Japan	JPN	42.60	42.4	Q
15	Pakistan	PAK	42.67	42.5	Q
16	Afghanistan	AFG	44.53	44.4
DQ	France	FRA	[40.45]	–
DQ	Poland	POL	[40.73]	–
DQ	Uganda	UGA	[41.90]	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	Great Britain	GBR	40.1	40.27	Q
Lead-Off	622	Peter Radford		–	–
2nd Leg	623	David Jones		–	–
3rd Leg	624	David Segal		–	–
Anchor	–	Nick Whitehead		–	–
2	–	Soviet Union	URS	40.2	40.39	Q
Lead-Off	548	Gusman Kosanov		–	–
2nd Leg	550	Leonid Bartenev		–	–
3rd Leg	547	Yury Konovalov		–	–
Anchor	546	Edvin Ozolin		–	–
3	–	Switzerland	SUI	40.8	40.92	Q
Lead-Off	220	Peter Laeng		–	–
2nd Leg	218	Heinz Müller		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Werner Schaufelberger		–	–
Anchor	219	Sebald Schnellmann		–	–
4	–	Iraq	IRQ	41.7	41.87
Lead-Off	23	Jassim Karim		–	–
2nd Leg	21	Khudhir Zalata		–	–
3rd Leg	22	Falih Fahmi		–	–
Anchor	–	Ghanim Mahmoud		–	–
5	–	Thailand	THA	42.0	42.19
Lead-Off	–	Boonsong Arjtaweekul		–	–
2nd Leg	68	Prajim Wongsuwan		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Paiboon Vacharapan		–	–
Anchor	62	Suthi Manyakass		–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	Italy	ITA	40.0	40.16	Q
Lead-Off	598	Armando Sardi		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Pier Giorgio Cazzola		–	–
3rd Leg	597	Salvatore Giannone		–	–
Anchor	596	Livio Berruti		–	–
2	–	Nigeria	NGR	40.1	40.25	Q
Lead-Off	48	Jimmy Omagbemi		–	–
2nd Leg	49	Abdul Karim Amu		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Smart Akraka		–	–
Anchor	–	Adebayo Oladapo		–	–
3	–	Venezuela	VEN	41.0	41.11	Q
Lead-Off	361	Horacio Esteves		–	–
2nd Leg	359	Lloyd Murad		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Emilio Romero		–	–
Anchor	362	Rafael Romero		–	–
4	–	Philippines	PHI	41.4	41.55
Lead-Off	–	Remigio Vista		–	–
2nd Leg	42	Isaac Gómez		–	–
3rd Leg	43	Enrique Bautista		–	–
Anchor	–	Rogelio Onofre		–	–
DQ	–	Uganda	UGA	[41.90]	–
Lead-Off	74	Aggrey Awori		–	–
2nd Leg	76	Gadi Ado		–	–
3rd Leg	75	Sam Amukun		–	–
Anchor	77	Jean Baptiste Okello		–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	39.5	39.61	Q=WR
Lead-Off	–	Bernd Cullmann		–	–
2nd Leg	263	Armin Hary		–	–
3rd Leg	262	Walter Mahlendorf		–	–
Anchor	280	Martin Lauer		–	–
2	–	Greece	GRE	41.6	41.81	Q
Lead-Off	–	Ioannis Komitoudis		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Konstantinos Lolos		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Leonidas Kormalis		–	–
Anchor	326	Nikolaos Georgopoulos		–	–
3	–	Pakistan	PAK	42.5	42.67	Q
Lead-Off	119	Abdul Malik		–	–
2nd Leg	122	Muhammad Ramzan Ali		–	–
3rd Leg	118	Ghulam Raziq		–	–
Anchor	117	Abdul Khaliq		–	–
DQ	–	Poland	POL	[40.73]	–
Lead-Off	515	Marian Foik		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Jan Jarzembowski		–	–
3rd Leg	536	Józef Szmidt		–	–
Anchor	–	Jerzy Juskowiak		–	–

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	United States	USA	39.7	39.87	Q
Lead-Off	395	Frank Budd		–	–
2nd Leg	396	Ray Norton		–	–
3rd Leg	399	Stone Johnson		–	–
Anchor	397	Dave Sime		–	–
2	–	Canada	CAN	42.1	42.27	Q
Lead-Off	135	Lynn Eves		–	–
2nd Leg	134	George Short		–	–
3rd Leg	136	Terry Tobacco		–	–
Anchor	133	Harry Jerome		–	–
3	–	Japan	JPN	42.4	42.60	Q
Lead-Off	376	Keiji Ogushi		–	–
2nd Leg	374	Hirotada Hayase		–	–
3rd Leg	379	Takayuki Okazaki		–	–
Anchor	382	Hiroshi Shibata		–	–
4	–	Afghanistan	AFG	44.4	44.53
Lead-Off	2	Ali Zaid		–	–
2nd Leg	4	Abdul Ghafar Ghafoori		–	–
3rd Leg	3	Habib Sayed		–	–
Anchor	1	Abdul Hadi Shekaib		–	–
DQ	–	France	FRA	[40.45]	–
Lead-Off	468	Paul Genevay		–	–
2nd Leg	466	Jocelyn Delecour		–	–
3rd Leg	465	Abdou Sèye		–	–
Anchor	467	Claude Piquemal		–	–

Semi-Finals

Date	8 September 1960 — 15:15
Format	Top three in each heat advanced to the final.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (automatic)	Time (hand)
1	United States	USA	39.67	39.7	Q
2	Unified Team of Germany	GER	39.88	39.7	Q
3	Italy	ITA	40.29	40.2	Q
4	Soviet Union	URS	40.30	40.2	Q
5	Venezuela	VEN	40.49	40.3	Q
6	Great Britain	GBR	40.63	40.5	Q
7	Switzerland	SUI	41.06	40.9
8	Canada	CAN	41.27	41.1
9	Greece	GRE	41.90	41.7
10	Japan	JPN	42.39	42.2
11	Pakistan	PAK	42.99	42.8
DQ	Nigeria	NGR	[40.33]	[40.2]

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	39.7	39.88	Q
Lead-Off	–	Bernd Cullmann		–	–
2nd Leg	263	Armin Hary		–	–
3rd Leg	262	Walter Mahlendorf		–	–
Anchor	280	Martin Lauer		–	–
2	–	Venezuela	VEN	40.3	40.49	Q
Lead-Off	364	Clive Bonas		–	–
2nd Leg	359	Lloyd Murad		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Emilio Romero		–	–
Anchor	362	Rafael Romero		–	–
3	–	Great Britain	GBR	40.5	40.63	Q
Lead-Off	622	Peter Radford		–	–
2nd Leg	623	David Jones		–	–
3rd Leg	624	David Segal		–	–
Anchor	–	Nick Whitehead		–	–
4	–	Canada	CAN	41.1	41.27
Lead-Off	135	Lynn Eves		–	–
2nd Leg	134	George Short		–	–
3rd Leg	136	Terry Tobacco		–	–
Anchor	139	Sig Ohlemann		–	–
5	–	Japan	JPN	42.2	42.39
Lead-Off	376	Keiji Ogushi		–	–
2nd Leg	374	Hirotada Hayase		–	–
3rd Leg	379	Takayuki Okazaki		–	–
Anchor	382	Hiroshi Shibata		–	–
DQ	–	Nigeria	NGR	[40.2]	[40.33]
Lead-Off	48	Jimmy Omagbemi		–	–
2nd Leg	49	Abdul Karim Amu		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Smart Akraka		–	–
Anchor	–	Adebayo Oladapo		–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	United States	USA	39.7	39.67	Q
Lead-Off	395	Frank Budd		–	–
2nd Leg	396	Ray Norton		–	–
3rd Leg	399	Stone Johnson		–	–
Anchor	397	Dave Sime		–	–
2	–	Italy	ITA	40.2	40.29	Q
Lead-Off	598	Armando Sardi		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Pier Giorgio Cazzola		–	–
3rd Leg	597	Salvatore Giannone		–	–
Anchor	596	Livio Berruti		–	–
3	–	Soviet Union	URS	40.2	40.30	Q
Lead-Off	548	Gusman Kosanov		–	–
2nd Leg	550	Leonid Bartenev		–	–
3rd Leg	547	Yury Konovalov		–	–
Anchor	546	Edvin Ozolin		–	–
4	–	Switzerland	SUI	40.9	41.06
Lead-Off	220	Peter Laeng		–	–
2nd Leg	218	Heinz Müller		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Werner Schaufelberger		–	–
Anchor	219	Sebald Schnellmann		–	–
5	–	Greece	GRE	41.7	41.90
Lead-Off	–	Ioannis Komitoudis		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Konstantinos Lolos		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Leonidas Kormalis		–	–
Anchor	326	Nikolaos Georgopoulos		–	–
6	–	Pakistan	PAK	42.8	42.99
Lead-Off	119	Abdul Malik		–	–
2nd Leg	122	Muhammad Ramzan Ali		–	–
3rd Leg	118	Ghulam Raziq		–	–
Anchor	117	Abdul Khaliq		–	–

Final Round

Date	8 September 1960 — 18:10

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	39.5	39.66	=WR
Lead-Off	–	Bernd Cullmann		–	–
2nd Leg	263	Armin Hary		–	–
3rd Leg	262	Walter Mahlendorf		–	–
Anchor	280	Martin Lauer		–	–
2	–	Soviet Union	URS	40.1	40.24
Lead-Off	548	Gusman Kosanov		–	–
2nd Leg	550	Leonid Bartenev		–	–
3rd Leg	547	Yury Konovalov		–	–
Anchor	546	Edvin Ozolin		–	–
3	–	Great Britain	GBR	40.2	40.32
Lead-Off	622	Peter Radford		–	–
2nd Leg	623	David Jones		–	–
3rd Leg	624	David Segal		–	–
Anchor	–	Nick Whitehead		–	–
4	–	Italy	ITA	40.2	40.33
Lead-Off	598	Armando Sardi		–	–
2nd Leg	–	Pier Giorgio Cazzola		–	–
3rd Leg	597	Salvatore Giannone		–	–
Anchor	596	Livio Berruti		–	–
5	–	Venezuela	VEN	40.7	40.83
Lead-Off	364	Clive Bonas		–	–
2nd Leg	359	Lloyd Murad		–	–
3rd Leg	–	Emilio Romero		–	–
Anchor	362	Rafael Romero		–	–
DQ	–	United States	USA	[39.4]	[39.60]
Lead-Off	395	Frank Budd		–	–
2nd Leg	396	Ray Norton		–	–
3rd Leg	399	Stone Johnson		–	–
Anchor	397	Dave Sime		–	–