| | Event type
4 x 100 metres Relay, Men
| Date | 9 – 10 September 1972 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympiastadion, Olympiapark, München |
| Participants | 112 from 27 countries |
Valery Borzov had won the 100 and 200 metres and led a top Soviet squad that also had fast-starter Aleksandr Kornelyuk to run the opening leg. The Americans had been stung in the 100 metres by the disqualification of Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson when they showed up late for their quarter-final heats, having used an incorrect schedule to determine when they were to run next. Robinson was not chosen for the relay as 200 silver medalist Larry Black was picked for his turn-running ability. In the final, he opened up and there was little to choose between him and Kornelyuk at the first exchange. Robert Taylor and Gerald Tinker then gave the US a big lead by the time the baton got to Hart for the anchor leg. Borzov was four metres down and possibly gained a little on Hart but the US won easily with a world record time of 38.19.
JAM
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TTORound One (9 September 1972 — 14:30)
Top four in each heat advanced to the semi-final.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Soviet Union |  URS | 39.15 | |||||||||
| Aleksandr Kornelyuk • Vladimir Lovetsky • Juris Silovs • Valery Borzov | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | West Germany |  FRG | 39.17 | |||||||||
| Jobst Hirscht • Karlheinz Klotz • Gerhard Wucherer • Klaus Ehl | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | East Germany |  GDR | 39.17 | |||||||||
| Manfred Kokot • Bernd Borth • Hans-Jürgen Bombach • Siegfried Schenke | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Austria |  AUT | 40.49 | |||||||||
| Georg Regner • Axel Nepraunik • Gert Nöster • Helmut Lang | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Puerto Rico |  PUR | 41.34 | |||||||||
| Luis Alers • Guillermo González • Pedro Ferrer • Jorge Vizcarrondo | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |  KSA | 43.35 | |||||||||
| Mohamed Jaman Al-Dosari • Mansour Al-Juaid • Bilal Said Al-Azma • Said Khalil Al-Dosari | |||||||||||||
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | France |  FRA | 39.01 | |||||||||
| Patrick Bourbeillon • Jean-Pierre Grès • Gérard Fenouil • René Metz | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Czechoslovakia |  TCH | 39.31 | |||||||||
| Jaroslav Matoušek • Juraj Demeč • Jiří Kynos • Luděk Bohman | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Nigeria |  NGR | 39.66 | |||||||||
| Rex Bazunu • James Olakunle • Benedict Majekodunmi • Kola Abdulai | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Venezuela |  VEN | 39.74 | |||||||||
| Humberto Galea • Félix Mata • Alberto Marchán • Jesús Rico | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Côte d'Ivoire |  CIV | 39.81 | |||||||||
| Kouakou Komenan • Amadou Méité • Kouami N'Dri • Gaoussou Koné | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Madagascar |  MAD | 40.58 | |||||||||
| Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa • Alfred Rabenja • André Ralainasolo • Henri Rafaralahy | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | Republic of China |  TPE | 41.78 | |||||||||
| Lee Chung-Ping • Su Wen-Ho • Chen Chin-Long • Chen Ming-Chi | |||||||||||||
Heat Three
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Poland |  POL | 39.11 | |||||||||
| Stanisław Wagner • Tadeusz Cuch • Jerzy Czerbniak • Zenon Nowosz | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Ghana |  GHA | 39.46 | |||||||||
| Ohene Karikari • James Addy • Sandy Osei-Agyemang • George Daniels | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Finland |  FIN | 39.54 | |||||||||
| Antti Rajamäki • Raimo Vilén • Erik Gustafsson • Markku Juhola | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Cuba |  CUB | 39.65 | |||||||||
| José Triana • Juan Morales • Hermes Ramírez • Pablo Montes | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Senegal |  SEN | 40.95 | |||||||||
| Malang Mané • Christian Dorosario • Momar N'Dao • Barka Sy | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Thailand |  THA | 41.04 | |||||||||
| Somsak Boontud • Surapong Ariyamongkol • Panus Ariyamongkol • Anat Ratanapol | |||||||||||||
Heat Four
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 38.96 | |||||||||
| Larry Black • Robert Taylor • Gerald Tinker • Eddie Hart | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Italy |  ITA | 39.29 | |||||||||
| Vincenzo Guerini • Ennio Preatoni • Luigi Benedetti • Pietro Mennea | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 39.63 | |||||||||
| Berwyn Price • Don Halliday • Dave Dear • Brian Green | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Congo |  CGO | 39.86 | |||||||||
| Antoine Nkounkou • Louis Nkanza • Jean-Pierre Basségéla • Théophile Nkounkou | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | The Bahamas |  BAH | 40.48 | |||||||||
| Danny Smith • Harry Lockhart • Walter Callander • Mike Sands | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | United Republic of Tanzania |  TAN | 41.07 | |||||||||
| Obedi Mwanga • Norman Chihota • Claver Kamanya • Hamad Ndee | |||||||||||||
| – | Ethiopia |  ETH | – | ||||||||||
| Sisaye Feleke • Solomon Belaye • Kebede Bedasso • Egzi Gebre-Gebre | |||||||||||||
| – | Spain |  ESP | – | ||||||||||
| José Luis Sánchez • Manuel Carballo • Francisco García • Luis Sarría | |||||||||||||
Semi-Finals (9 September 1972 — 17:40)
Top four in each heat advanced to the semi-final.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States | USA | 38.54 | |||||||||
| Larry Black • Robert Taylor • Gerald Tinker • Eddie Hart | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | West Germany | FRG | 38.86 | |||||||||
| Jobst Hirscht • Karlheinz Klotz • Gerhard Wucherer • Klaus Ehl | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Poland | POL | 38.90 | |||||||||
| Stanisław Wagner • Tadeusz Cuch • Jerzy Czerbniak • Zenon Nowosz | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Czechoslovakia | TCH | 39.01 | |||||||||
| Jaroslav Matoušek • Juraj Demeč • Jiří Kynos • Luděk Bohman | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Cuba | CUB | 39.04 | |||||||||
| José Triana • Juan Morales • Hermes Ramírez • Pablo Montes | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Nigeria | NGR | 39.73 | |||||||||
| Kola Abdulai • Rex Bazunu • James Olakunle • Timon Oyebami | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | Ghana | GHA | 39.99 | |||||||||
| Ohene Karikari • James Addy • Sandy Osei-Agyemang • George Daniels | |||||||||||||
| – | Austria | AUT | – | ||||||||||
| Georg Regner • Axel Nepraunik • Günther Würfel • Helmut Lang | |||||||||||||
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | France | FRA | 39.00 | |||||||||
| Patrick Bourbeillon • Jean-Pierre Grès • Gérard Fenouil • Bruno Cherrier | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Soviet Union | URS | 39.00 | |||||||||
| Aleksandr Kornelyuk • Vladimir Lovetsky • Juris Silovs • Valery Borzov | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | East Germany | GDR | 39.06 | |||||||||
| Manfred Kokot • Bernd Borth • Hans-Jürgen Bombach • Siegfried Schenke | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Italy | ITA | 39.21 | |||||||||
| Vincenzo Guerini • Ennio Preatoni • Luigi Benedetti • Pietro Mennea | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Finland | FIN | 39.30 | |||||||||
| Antti Rajamäki • Raimo Vilén • Erik Gustafsson • Markku Juhola | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 39.47 | |||||||||
| Les Piggot • Don Halliday • Dave Dear • Brian Green | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | Venezuela | VEN | 39.74 | |||||||||
| Humberto Galea • Félix Mata • Alberto Marchán • Jesús Rico | |||||||||||||
| 8 | – | Congo | CGO | 39.97 | |||||||||
| Antoine Nkounkou • Louis Nkanza • Jean-Pierre Basségéla • Théophile Nkounkou | |||||||||||||
Final (10 September 1972 — 16:10)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | Split (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States | USA | 38.19 | ||||
| 973 | Larry Black | 10.3 | 10.3 (=1) | |||||
| 1023 | Robert Taylor | 9.3 | 19.6 (1) | |||||
| 1024 | Gerald Tinker | 9.4 | 29.0 (1) | |||||
| 988 | Eddie Hart | 9.25 | 38.2 (1) | |||||
| 2 | – | Soviet Union | URS | 38.50 | ||||
| 941 | Aleksandr Kornelyuk | 10.3 | 10.3 (=1) | |||||
| 945 | Vladimir Lovetsky | 9.5 | 19.8 (2) | |||||
| 957 | Juris Silovs | 9.6 | 29.4 (2) | |||||
| 932 | Valery Borzov | 9.21 | 38.5 (2) | |||||
| 3 | – | West Germany | FRG | 38.79 | ||||
| 369 | Jobst Hirscht | – | – (–) | |||||
| 375 | Karlheinz Klotz | – | – (–) | |||||
| 413 | Gerhard Wucherer | – | – (–) | |||||
| 363 | Klaus Ehl | – | – (–) | |||||
| 4 | – | Czechoslovakia | TCH | 38.82 | ||||
| 878 | Jaroslav Matoušek | – | – (–) | |||||
| 872 | Juraj Demeč | – | – (–) | |||||
| 877 | Jiří Kynos | – | – (–) | |||||
| 866 | Luděk Bohman | – | – (–) | |||||
| 5 | – | East Germany | GDR | 38.90 | ||||
| 335 | Manfred Kokot | – | – (–) | |||||
| 321 | Bernd Borth | – | – (–) | |||||
| 320 | Hans-Jürgen Bombach | – | – (–) | |||||
| 344 | Siegfried Schenke | – | – (–) | |||||
| 6 | – | Poland | POL | 39.03 | ||||
| 746 | Stanisław Wagner | – | – (–) | |||||
| 712 | Tadeusz Cuch | – | – (–) | |||||
| 714 | Jerzy Czerbniak | – | – (–) | |||||
| 734 | Zenon Nowosz | – | – (–) | |||||
| 7 | – | France | FRA | 39.14 | ||||
| 232 | Patrick Bourbeillon | – | – (–) | |||||
| 250 | Jean-Pierre Grès | – | – (–) | |||||
| 247 | Gérard Fenouil | – | – (–) | |||||
| 239 | Bruno Cherrier | – | – (–) | |||||
| 8 | – | Italy | ITA | 39.14 | ||||
| 524 | Vincenzo Guerini | – | – (–) | |||||
| 532 | Ennio Preatoni | – | – (–) | |||||
| 505 | Luigi Benedetti | – | – (–) | |||||
| 528 | Pietro Mennea | 9.20 | – (–) |