| Date | 30 – 31 July 1976 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Stade olympique, Parc olympique, Montréal, Québec |
| Participants | 40 from 10 countries |
As in 1972, the final again came down to a close match race between the two German teams. East Germany had Renate Stecher, who had won the 100 and 200 in 1972 and was the silver medalist in the 1976 100, while West Germany was led by Annegret Richter, who won the 1976 100 gold medal. But neither ran the anchor leg, as Stecher ran the second leg and Richter the third leg for their teams. The GDR anchor runner was Bärbel Eckert, who had won the 200 title in Montréal. At the final exchange, the FRG had a small lead, but Eckert overcame their anchor runner, Annegret Kroniger, to win by ½-metre.
| Date | 30 July 1976 — 16:40 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top three in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Team | NOC | Time (automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Germany | FRG | 42.61 | ||
| 2 | East Germany | GDR | 43.00 | ||
| 3 | Soviet Union | URS | 43.33 | ||
| 4 | Great Britain | GBR | 43.44 | ||
| 5 | United States | USA | 43.46 | ||
| 6 | Canada | CAN | 43.53 | ||
| 7 | Australia | AUS | 43.67 | ||
| 8 | Jamaica | JAM | 43.88 | ||
| 9 | France | FRA | 43.95 | ||
| 10 | Cuba | CUB | 44.29 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | West Germany | FRG | 42.61 | ||
| Lead-Off | 180 | Elvira Poßekel | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 174 | Inge Helten | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 181 | Annegret Richter | – | |||
| Anchor | 178 | Anne Kroniger | – | |||
| 2 | – | Soviet Union | URS | 43.33 | ||
| Lead-Off | 349 | Tatyana Prorochenko | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 346 | Lyudmila Zharkova-Maslakova | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 332 | Nadezhda Besfamilnaya | – | |||
| Anchor | 329 | Vera Anisimova | – | |||
| 3 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 43.44 | ||
| Lead-Off | 112 | Wendy Clarke | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 124 | Denise Ramsden | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 113 | Sharon Colyear-Danville | – | |||
| Anchor | 120 | Andrea Lynch | – | |||
| 4 | – | Australia | AUS | 43.67 | ||
| Lead-Off | 12 | Barbara Wilson | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 11 | Debbie Wells | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 9 | Denise Robertson-Boyd | – | |||
| Anchor | 1 | Raelene Boyle | – | |||
| 5 | – | France | FRA | 43.95 | ||
| Lead-Off | – | Emma Sulter | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 103 | Catherine Delachanal | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 105 | Chantal Réga | – | |||
| Anchor | 108 | Sylviane Telliez | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | East Germany | GDR | 43.00 | ||
| Lead-Off | 153 | Marlies Oelsner-Göhr | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 162 | Renate Stecher | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 136 | Carla Bodendorf | – | |||
| Anchor | 139 | Bärbel Eckert-Wöckel | – | |||
| 2 | – | United States | USA | 43.46 | ||
| Lead-Off | 386 | Martha Rae Watson | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 358 | Evelyn Ashford | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 357 | Debra Edwards-Armstrong | – | |||
| Anchor | 362 | Chandra Cheeseborough | – | |||
| 3 | – | Canada | CAN | 43.53 | ||
| Lead-Off | 64 | Margaret Howe | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 67 | Patty Loverock | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 68 | Joanne McTaggart | – | |||
| Anchor | 58 | Marjorie Bailey | – | |||
| 4 | – | Jamaica | JAM | 43.88 | ||
| Lead-Off | 229 | Rosie Allwood | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 235 | Jackie Pusey | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 232 | Carol Cummings | – | |||
| Anchor | 233 | Lelieth Hodges | – | |||
| 5 | – | Cuba | CUB | 44.29 | ||
| Lead-Off | 87 | Isabel Taylor | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 88 | Carmen Valdés | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 84 | Fulgencia Romay | – | |||
| Anchor | 83 | Silvia Chivás | – |
| Date | 31 July 1976 — 18:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | East Germany | GDR | 42.55 | ||
| Lead-Off | 153 | Marlies Oelsner-Göhr | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 162 | Renate Stecher | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 136 | Carla Bodendorf | – | |||
| Anchor | 139 | Bärbel Eckert-Wöckel | – | |||
| 2 | – | West Germany | FRG | 42.59 | ||
| Lead-Off | 180 | Elvira Poßekel | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 174 | Inge Helten | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 181 | Annegret Richter | – | |||
| Anchor | 178 | Anne Kroniger | – | |||
| 3 | – | Soviet Union | URS | 43.09 | ||
| Lead-Off | 349 | Tatyana Prorochenko | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 346 | Lyudmila Zharkova-Maslakova | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 332 | Nadezhda Besfamilnaya | – | |||
| Anchor | 329 | Vera Anisimova | – | |||
| 4 | – | Canada | CAN | 43.17 | ||
| Lead-Off | 64 | Margaret Howe | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 67 | Patty Loverock | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 68 | Joanne McTaggart | – | |||
| Anchor | 58 | Marjorie Bailey | – | |||
| 5 | – | Australia | AUS | 43.18 | ||
| Lead-Off | 12 | Barbara Wilson | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 11 | Debbie Wells | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 9 | Denise Robertson-Boyd | – | |||
| Anchor | 1 | Raelene Boyle | – | |||
| 6 | – | Jamaica | JAM | 43.24 | ||
| Lead-Off | 233 | Lelieth Hodges | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 229 | Rosie Allwood | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 232 | Carol Cummings | – | |||
| Anchor | 235 | Jackie Pusey | – | |||
| 7 | – | United States | USA | 43.35 | ||
| Lead-Off | 386 | Martha Rae Watson | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 358 | Evelyn Ashford | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 357 | Debra Edwards-Armstrong | – | |||
| Anchor | 362 | Chandra Cheeseborough | – | |||
| 8 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 43.79 | ||
| Lead-Off | 112 | Wendy Clarke | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | 124 | Denise Ramsden | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | 113 | Sharon Colyear-Danville | – | |||
| Anchor | 120 | Andrea Lynch | – |