| | Event type

4 × 400 metres Relay, Women

Date	2 – 3 August 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	59 from 14 countries

The United States had won the 1993 and 1995 World Championships, Russia placing second both times. The final saw Nigeria take the lead on the opening lead and Fatima Yusuf opened up on the second leg to give them an eight-metre lead on the US at the halfway point. Kim Graham ran 49.49 on the third leg for the US to close that gap and give the baton to Jearl Miles with a slight lead on Nigeria. Miles opened the lead on the backstretch, but Nigeria’s anchor runner, 400 bronze medalist Falilat Ogunkoya, closed on the final turn and entered the homestretch right on Miles back. But she could never get to her shoulder and though both runners were almost stumbling in the final 30 metres, Miles held on to give the US the gold medal, Nigeria winning an unexpected silver.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	–	United States	USA	3:22.71 (1 h1)	3:20.91 (1)	Gold
		Rochelle Stevens • Maicel Malone • Kim Graham • Jearl Miles • Linetta Wilson
2	–	Nigeria	NGR	3:23.24 (2 h1)	3:21.04 (2)	Silver
		Bisi Afolabi • Fatima Yusuf • Charity Opara • Falilat Ogunkoya
3	–	Germany	GER	3:24.08 (1 h2)	3:21.14 (3)	Bronze
		Uta Rohländer • Linda Kisabaka • Anja Rücker • Grit Breuer
4	–	Jamaica	JAM	3:25.33 (4 h2)	3:21.69 (4)
		Merlene Frazer • Sandie Richards • Juliet Campbell • Deon Hemmings • Tracey Ann Barnes • Inez Turner
5	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:24.86 (3 h2)	3:22.22 (5)
		Tatyana Chebykina • Svetlana Goncharenko • Yekaterina Kulikova • Olga Kotlyarova
6	–	Cuba	CUB	3:24.23 (2 h2)	3:25.85 (6)
		Idalmis Bonne • Daysi Duportey • Surella Morales • Ana Fidelia Quirós
7	–	Czech Republic	CZE	3:26.82 (5 h2)	3:26.99 (7)
		Naděžda Koštovalová • Ludmila Formanová • Helena Fuchsová • Hana Benešová
8	–	France	FRA	3:28.07 (3 h1)	3:28.46 (8)
		Francine Landre • Viviane Dorsile • Évelyne Élien • Elsa Devassoigne
4 h1 r1/2	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:28.13 (4 h1)	–
		Phylis Smith • Allison Curbishley • Donna Fraser • Georgina Oladapo
5 h1 r1/2	–	Ukraine	UKR	3:28.16 (5 h1)	–
		Viktoriya Fomenko • Liudmyla Koshchei • Yana Manuylova • Olha Moroz
6 h1 r1/2	–	Antigua and Barbuda	ANT	3:44.98 (6 h1)	–
		Dine Potter • Sonia Williams • Charmaine Thomas • Heather Samuel
6 h2 r1/2	–	Australia	AUS	3:33.78 (6 h2)	–
		Lee Naylor • Kylie Hanigan • Melinda Gainsford-Taylor • Renée Poetschka
7 h2 r1/2	–	Saint Kitts and Nevis	SKN	3:35.12 (7 h2)	–
		Bernadeth Prentice • Diane Francis • Valma Bass • Tamara Wigley
AC h1 r1/2	–	India	IND	– (DQ h1)	–
		K. M. Beenamol • Rosa Kutty • Jyotirmoyee Sikdar • Shiny Wilson
DNS	–	United States Virgin Islands	ISV	– (DNS h1)	–

Round One

Date	2 August 1996
Format	Top three in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the final.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (automatic)	Reaction Time
1	United States	USA	3:22.71	0.297	Q
2	Nigeria	NGR	3:23.24	0.321	Q
3	Germany	GER	3:24.08	0.328	Q
4	Cuba	CUB	3:24.23	0.298	Q
5	Russian Federation	RUS	3:24.86	0.275	Q
6	Jamaica	JAM	3:25.33	0.356	q
7	Czech Republic	CZE	3:26.82	0.472	q
8	France	FRA	3:28.07	0.513	Q
9	Great Britain	GBR	3:28.13	0.287
10	Ukraine	UKR	3:28.16	0.266
11	Australia	AUS	3:33.78	0.282
12	Saint Kitts and Nevis	SKN	3:35.12	0.441
13	Antigua and Barbuda	ANT	3:44.98	0.268
DQ	India	IND	–	[0.386]
DNS	United States Virgin Islands	ISV	–	–

Heat #1

Time	20:30

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	3:22.71	0.297	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	–	Rochelle Stevens		–	–	51.53 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Linetta Wilson		–	–	51.22 (2)	1:42.75 (2)
3rd Leg	3836	Kim Graham		–	–	49.99 (1)	2:32.74 (1)
Anchor	3856	Maicel Malone		–	–	49.97 (2)	– (–)
2	–	Nigeria	NGR	3:23.24	0.321	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	3587	Bisi Afolabi		–	–	51.09 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3603	Fatimat Yusuf-Olukoju		–	–	50.29 (1)	1:41.38 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Charity Opara		–	–	52.06 (4)	2:33.44 (2)
Anchor	3595	Falilat Ogunkoya		–	–	49.80 (1)	– (–)
3	–	France	FRA	3:28.07	0.513	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	–	Francine Landre		–	–	51.80 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3291	Viviane Dorsile		–	–	52.90 (5)	1:44.70 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Évelyne Élien		–	–	51.45 (2)	2:36.15 (4)
Anchor	–	Elsa Devassoigne		–	–	51.92 (4)	– (–)
4	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:28.13	0.287	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3333	Phylis Smith		–	–	51.47 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Allison Curbishley		–	–	52.16 (4)	1:43.63 (3)
3rd Leg	3307	Donna Fraser		–	–	51.98 (3)	2:35.61 (3)
Anchor	–	Georgina Oladapo		–	–	52.52 (5)	– (–)
5	–	Ukraine	UKR	3:28.16	0.266	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3793	Viktoriya Fomenko		–	–	53.23 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Liudmyla Koshchei		–	–	51.36 (3)	1:44.59 (4)
3rd Leg	3801	Yana Manuylova		–	–	52.67 (5)	2:37.26 (5)
Anchor	–	Olha Moroz		–	–	50.90 (3)	– (–)
6	–	Antigua and Barbuda	ANT	3:44.98	0.268	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	–	Dine Potter		–	–	56.44 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sonia Williams		–	–	56.99 (7)	1:53.43 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Charmaine Thomas		–	–	56.45 (7)	2:49.88 (6)
Anchor	3009	Heather Samuel		–	–	55.10 (6)	– (–)
DQ	–	India	IND	–	[0.386]	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	–	K. M. Beenamol		–	–	[54.79] ([6])	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Rosa Kutty		–	–	[53.64] ([6])	[1:48.43] ([6])
3rd Leg	–	Jyotirmoyee Sikdar		–	–	[54.86] ([6])	[2:43.29] ([6])
Anchor	–	Shiny Abraham-Wilson		–	–	– (–)	– (–)
DNS	–	United States Virgin Islands	ISV	–	–	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	20:40

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	Germany	GER	3:24.08	0.328	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	–	Uta Rohländer		–	–	51.73 (=1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3356	Linda Kisabaka		–	–	51.16 (3)	1:42.89 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Anja Rücker		–	–	51.08 (3)	2:33.97 (2)
Anchor	3344	Grit Breuer		–	–	50.11 (2)	– (–)
2	–	Cuba	CUB	3:24.23	0.298	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	–	Idalmis Bonne		–	–	51.91 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Daysi Duportey		–	–	50.92 (2)	1:42.83 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Surella Morales		–	–	51.31 (4)	2:34.14 (3)
Anchor	3201	Ana Fidelia Quirós		–	–	50.09 (1)	– (–)
3	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:24.86	0.275	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-Off	–	Tatyana Chebykina		–	–	51.73 (=1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3692	Olga Kotlyarova		–	–	50.63 (1)	1:42.36 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Yekaterina Kulikova		–	–	51.50 (5)	2:33.86 (1)
Anchor	3681	Svetlana Goncharenko		–	–	51.00 (5)	– (–)
4	–	Jamaica	JAM	3:25.33	0.356	– (–)	– (–)	q
Lead-Off	3467	Juliet Campbell		–	–	52.07 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Tracey Ann Barnes		–	–	51.43 (5)	1:43.50 (4)
3rd Leg	3469	Merlene Frazer		–	–	50.88 (2)	2:34.38 (4)
Anchor	3484	Inez Turner		–	–	50.95 (4)	– (–)
5	–	Czech Republic	CZE	3:26.82	0.472	– (–)	– (–)	q
Lead-Off	3208	Naděžda Koštovalová		–	–	53.70 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3205	Ludmila Formanová		–	–	51.70 (6)	1:45.40 (6)
3rd Leg	3206	Helena Fuchsová		–	–	50.58 (1)	2:35.98 (6)
Anchor	3204	Hana Benešová		–	–	50.84 (3)	– (–)
6	–	Australia	AUS	3:33.78	0.282	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3040	Lee Naylor		–	–	52.62 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Kylie Hanigan		–	–	51.21 (4)	1:43.83 (5)
3rd Leg	3026	Melinda Gainsford-Taylor		–	–	51.88 (6)	2:35.71 (5)
Anchor	3042	Renée Poetschka		–	–	58.07 (7)	– (–)
7	–	Saint Kitts and Nevis	SKN	3:35.12	0.441	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	–	Bernadeth Prentice		–	–	54.22 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3728	Diane Francis		–	–	52.03 (7)	1:46.25 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Valma Bass		–	–	55.88 (7)	2:42.13 (7)
Anchor	–	Tamara Wigley		–	–	52.99 (6)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	3 August 1996 — 21:15

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	3:20.91	0.343	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	–	Rochelle Stevens		–	–	51.68 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3856	Maicel Malone		–	–	50.27 (3)	1:41.95 (3)
3rd Leg	3836	Kim Graham		–	–	49.49 (1)	2:31.44 (1)
Anchor	3857	Jearl Miles-Clark		–	–	49.47 (4)	– (–)
2	–	Nigeria	NGR	3:21.04	0.353	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3587	Bisi Afolabi		–	–	51.13 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3603	Fatimat Yusuf-Olukoju		–	–	49.72 (1)	1:40.85 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Charity Opara		–	–	51.29 (6)	2:32.14 (2)
Anchor	3595	Falilat Ogunkoya		–	–	48.90 (2)	– (–)
3	–	Germany	GER	3:21.14	0.169	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	–	Uta Rohländer		–	–	51.72 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3356	Linda Kisabaka		–	–	50.43 (=4)	1:42.15 (=5)
3rd Leg	–	Anja Rücker		–	–	50.36 (3)	2:32.51 (4)
Anchor	3344	Grit Breuer		–	–	48.63 (1)	– (–)
4	–	Jamaica	JAM	3:21.69	0.446	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3469	Merlene Frazer		–	–	51.42 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3480	Sandie Richards		–	–	50.72 (6)	1:42.14 (4)
3rd Leg	3467	Juliet Campbell		–	–	50.21 (2)	2:32.35 (3)
Anchor	3473	Deon Hemmings		–	–	49.34 (3)	– (–)
5	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:22.22	0.301	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	–	Tatyana Chebykina		–	–	51.35 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3681	Svetlana Goncharenko		–	–	50.43 (=4)	1:41.78 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Yekaterina Kulikova		–	–	50.86 (5)	2:32.64 (5)
Anchor	3692	Olga Kotlyarova		–	–	49.58 (5)	– (–)
6	–	Cuba	CUB	3:25.85	0.326	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	–	Idalmis Bonne		–	–	51.94 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Daysi Duportey		–	–	50.21 (2)	1:42.15 (=5)
3rd Leg	–	Surella Morales		–	–	53.98 (8)	2:36.13 (6)
Anchor	3201	Ana Fidelia Quirós		–	–	49.72 (6)	– (–)
7	–	Czech Republic	CZE	3:26.99	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	3208	Naděžda Koštovalová		–	–	54.13 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3205	Ludmila Formanová		–	–	51.46 (7)	1:45.59 (8)
3rd Leg	3206	Helena Fuchsová		–	–	50.79 (4)	2:36.38 (7)
Anchor	3204	Hana Benešová		–	–	50.61 (7)	– (–)
8	–	France	FRA	3:28.46	0.249	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-Off	–	Francine Landre		–	–	51.81 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	3291	Viviane Dorsile		–	–	51.69 (8)	1:43.50 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Évelyne Élien		–	–	53.16 (7)	2:36.66 (8)
Anchor	–	Elsa Devassoigne		–	–	51.80 (8)	– (–)