Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay

Men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the Games of the XX Olympiad
Venue	Olympic Stadium
Dates	9 September & 10 September
Competitors	from 21 nations
Medalists
Charles Asati Munyoro Nyamau Robert Ouko Julius Sang  Kenya Martin Reynolds Alan Pascoe Dave Hemery David Jenkins  Great Britain Gilles Bertould Daniel Velasques Francis Kerbiriou Jacques Carette  France

Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m		men		women
200 m		men		women
400 m		men		women
800 m		men		women
1500 m		men		women
5000 m		men
10,000 m		men
100 m hurdles				women
110 m hurdles		men
400 m hurdles		men
3000 m steeplechase		men
4×100 m relay		men		women
4×400 m relay		men		women
Road events
Marathon		men
20 km walk		men
50 km walk		men
Field events
Long jump		men		women
Triple jump		men
High jump		men		women
Pole vault		men
Shot put		men		women
Discus throw		men		women
Javelin throw		men		women
Hammer throw		men
Combined events
Pentathlon				women
Decathlon		men

The men's 4 × 100 metres relay was the longer of the two men's relays on the Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics program in Munich. It was held on 9 September and 10 September 1972. The United States had the three best 400 metre runners at the Olympics. The 400 metres had been won by Vince Matthews earlier in the games. Matthews and 400 metres silver medalist, Wayne Collett staged a protest on the podium, where they were talking to each other and not standing at attention during the National Anthem. These actions caused the IOC to ban them from the rest of the Olympics. This combined with, John Smith’s hamstring injury, suffered earlier in the Olympics, caused the heavy favorite United States team to not have enough runners even with the two alternates. The U.S. was unable to compete in the event. With the U.S. team out of this opened up the field for everyone.

Results

Top two in each heat (blue) and the next two fastest (green) advanced to the finals.

Heats

Heat one

Rank	Names	Nationality	Time
1	Martin Reynolds, Alan Pascoe, Dave Hemery, David Jenkins	Great Britain	3:01.26
2	Charles Asati, Munyoro Nyamau, Robert Ouko, Julius Sang	Kenya	3:01.27
3	Erik Carlgren, Anders Faager, Kent Öhman, Ulf Rönner	Sweden	3:03.05
4	Ian Gordon, Brian MacLaren, Craig Blackman, Tony Powell	Canada	3:04.22
5	Miro Kocuvan, Laszlo Ubori, Jozo Alebić, Milorad Čikić	Yugoslavia	3:05.70
6	Omar Ghizlat, Ahmed Hasnaoui, Salah Fettouh, Mohamed Bouboud	Morocco	3:05.92
7	Silva Fernando, Alberto Matos, José Carvalho, Fernando Mamede	Portugal	3:10.00
–	Maurice Peoples, Tommy Turner, Lee Evans, John Smith	United States	DNS

Heat two

Rank	Names	Nationality	Time
1	Bernd Herrmann, Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske, Hermann Köhler, Karl Honz	West Germany	3:03.27
2	Arthur Cooper, Pat Marshall, Charles Joseph, Edwin Roberts	Trinidad and Tobago	3:03.48
3	Musa Dogon Yaro, Bruce Ijirighwo, Mamman Makama, Robert Ojo	Nigeria	3:04.31
4	Tegegne Bezabeh, Shoangizaw Worku, Ketema Benti, Mulugetta Tadesse	23x15px Ethiopia	3:08.59
5	Daniele Giovanardi, Giacomo Puosi, Lorenzo Cellerino, Sergio Bello	Italy	3:09.7
6	Hamad Ndee, Obedi Mwanga, Omari Abdallah, Claver Kamanya	Tanzania	3:10.1
7	Omar Ba, Abdou Mamadou Sow, Samba Dièye, Jean-Pierre Mango	Senegal	3:11.2
8	Mohamed Musa Gadou, Dafallah Sultan Farah, Ibrahim Saad Abdel Galil, Angelo Hussein	Sudan	3:14.5

Heat three

Rank	Names	Nationality	Time
1	Jan Werner, Jan Balachowski, Zbigniew Jaremski, Andrzej Badeński	Poland	3:02.52
2	Stig Lönnqvist, Ari Salin, Ossi Karttunen, Markku Kukkoaho	Finland	3:02.97
3	Gilles Bertould, Daniel Velasques, Francis Kerbiriou, Jacques Carette	France	3:03.13
4	Leighton Priestley, Kim Rowe, Trevor Campbell, Alfred Daley	Jamaica	3:03.83
5	Raúl Dome, Félix Pérez, José Jacinto Hidalgo, Eric Phillips	23x15px Venezuela	3:06.99
6	Tambusamy Krishnan, Sinnayah Sabapathy, Mohamed Hassan bin Osman, Baba Singhe Peyadesa	Malaysia	3:13.51
–	Mohamad Younas, Norman Brinkworth, M. Seediq, Iqbal Nusrat	Pakistan	DNS

Final

Rank	Names	Nationality	Time
	Charles Asati, Munyoro Nyamau, Robert Ouko, Julius Sang	Kenya	2:59.83
	Martin Reynolds, Alan Pascoe, Dave Hemery, David Jenkins	Great Britain	3:00.46
	Gilles Bertould, Daniel Velasques, Francis Kerbiriou, Jacques Carette	France	3:00.65
4	Bernd Herrmann, Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske, Hermann Köhler, Karl Honz	West Germany	3:00.88
5	Jan Werner, Jan Balachowski, Zbigniew Jaremski, Andrzej Badeński	Poland	3:01.05
6	Stig Lönnqvist, Ari Salin, Ossi Karttunen, Markku Kukkoaho	Finland	3:01.12
7	Erik Carlgren, Anders Faager, Kent Öhman, Ulf Rönner	Sweden	3:02.57
8	Arthur Cooper, Pat Marshall, Charles Joseph, Edwin Roberts	Trinidad and Tobago	3:03.58

References

• Sports-reference
• Official report