The 4 × 800 metres relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 800 metres or 2 laps on a standard 400 metre track.
The IAAF ratifies world records in the event and it became a world championship event in 2014 as part of the IAAF World Relays.
The men's world record is 7:02.43 by a Kenyan team of Joseph Mutua, William Yiampoy, Ismael Kombich and Wilfred Bungei, set August 25, 2006, at the Memorial Van Damme meet in Brussels, Belgium. The women's world record is 7:50.17, set by a team representing the Soviet Union, Nadiya Olizarenko, Lyubov Gurina, Lyudmila Borisova and Irina Podyalovskaya on August 15, 1984, in Moscow.[1]
- Updated September 2021.[2]
| Rank
|
Time
|
Team
|
Nation
|
Date
|
Place
|
Ref
|
| 1
|
7:02.43
|
Joseph Mutua, William Yiampoy, Ismael Kombich, Wilfred Bungei
|
 Kenya
|
25 August 2006
|
Brussels
|
|
| 2
|
7:02.82
|
Santa Monica Track Club
Jebreh Harris, Khadevis Robinson, Sam Burley, David Krummenacker
|
 United States
|
25 August 2006
|
Brussels
|
|
| 3
|
7:03.89
|
Peter Elliott, Garry Cook, Steve Cram, Sebastian Coe
|
 Great Britain
|
30 August 1982
|
London
|
|
| 4
|
7:04.70
|
Gideon van Oudtshoorn, Hezekiél Sepeng, Jurgens Kotzé, Johan Botha
|
 South Africa
|
6 June 1999
|
Stuttgart
|
|
| 5
|
7:04.84
|
Duane Solomon, Eric Sowinski, Casimir Loxsom, Robby Andrews
|
United States
|
2 May 2015
|
Nassau
|
|
| 6
|
7:04.89
|
St. Patrick's School
David Kiptoo Singoei, Joseph Tengelei, William Chirchir, Japheth Kimutai
|
Kenya
|
6 June 1999
|
Stuttgart
|
|
| 7
|
7:06:12
|
Benelux
Bram Som
David Fiegen
Arnoud Okken
Thomas Matthys
|
 Netherlands
 Luxembourg
Netherlands
 Belgium
|
25 August 2006
|
Brussels
|
|
| 8
|
7:06.5
|
Santa Monica Track Club
James Robinson, David Mack, Earl Jones, Johnny Gray
|
United States
|
26 April 1986
|
Walnut
|
|
| 9
|
7:06.66
|
Majid Saeed Sultan, Salem Amer Al-Badri, Abdulrahman Suleiman, Ali Abubaker Kamal
|
 Qatar
|
25 August 2006
|
Brussels
|
|
| 10
|
7:07.1
|
Kericho
?, ?, ?, Abraham Kiplagat
|
Kenya
|
7 March 2014
|
Nairobi
|
|
| 11
|
7:07.40
|
Leonid Masunov, Aleksandr Kostyetskiy, Vasiliy Matveyev, Viktor Kalinkin
|
 Soviet Union
|
5 August 1984
|
Moscow
|
|
| 12
|
7:08.0
|
Chicago Track Club
Tom Bach, Ken Sparks, Lowell Paul, Rick Wohlhuter
|
United States
|
12 May 1973
|
Durham
|
|
| 13
|
7:08.1
|
Vladimir Podolyako, Nikolay Kirov, Vladimir Malozyemlin, Anatoliy Reshetnyak
|
Soviet Union
|
12 August 1978
|
Podolsk
|
|
| 14
|
7:08.3 A
|
Kenya Defence Forces
|
Kenya
|
7 March 2014
|
Nairobi
|
| 15
|
7:08.30 A
|
Abraham Kiplagat, Robert Biwott, Edward Kemboi, Cornelius Kiplangat
|
Kenya
|
26 April 2014
|
Nairobi
|
|
- Updated September 2021.[3]
| Rank
|
Time
|
Team
|
Nation
|
Date
|
Place
|
Ref
|
| 1
|
7:50.17
|
Nadezhda Olizarenko, Lyubov Gurina, Lyudmila Borisova, Irina Podyalovskaya
|
Soviet Union
|
5 August 1984
|
Moscow
|
|
| 2
|
7:51.62
|
Nina Ruchayeva, Ravilya Agletdinova, Nadezhda Loboyko, Valentina Parkhuta
|
Soviet Union
|
5 August 1984
|
Moscow
|
|
| 3
|
7:52.24
|
Yekaterina Podkopayeva, Nadezhda Loboyko, Nadezhda Olizarenko, Ravilya Agletdinova
|
Soviet Union
|
4 August 1985
|
Leningrad
|
|
| 4
|
7:52.3
|
Tatyana Providokhina, Valentina Gerasimova, Svetlana Styrkina, Tatyana Kazankina
|
Soviet Union
|
16 August 1976
|
Podolsk
|
|
| 5
|
7:54.10
|
Elfi Zinn, Gunhild Hoffmeister, Anita Weiß, Ulrike Bruns
|
 German Democratic Republic
|
6 August 1976
|
Karl-Marx-Stadt
|
|
| 6
|
7:56.6
|
Russia
Zoya Rigel, Lyubov Gurina, Yekaterina Podkopayeva, Tatyana Mishkel
|
Soviet Union
|
8 September 1980
|
Donetsk
|
|
| 7
|
7:56:6
|
Ukraine
Lyubov Smolka, Maryna Sheberova, Svetlana Popova, Tamara Koba
|
Soviet Union
|
8 September 1980
|
Donetsk
|
|
| 8
|
7:56.9
|
Leningrad
Zoya Rigel, Lyubov Gurina, Olga Dvirna, Lyudmila Veselkova
|
Soviet Union
|
8 September 1980
|
Donetsk
|
|
| 9
|
7:57.08
|
Olga Kuzenkova, Natalya Betekhtina, Olga Burkanova, Svetlana Masterkova
|
 Russia
|
5 June 1993
|
Portsmouth
|
|
| 10
|
7:57.21
|
Liliana Salageanu, Mitica Constantin, Violeta Szekely, Laura Itcou
|
 Romania
|
5 June 1993
|
Portsmouth
|
|
| 11
|
7:58.5
|
Lithuania
Ana Ambrazienė, Danguolė Bislytė, Laima Juknavičienė, Laimutė Baikauskaitė
|
Soviet Union
|
8 September 1980
|
Donetsk
|
|
| 12
|
7:59.6
|
Russia
Olga Mineyeva, Maria Enkina, Nadezhda Olizarenko, Yekaterina Podkopayeva
|
Soviet Union
|
24 July 1979
|
Moscow
|
|
| 13
|
8:00.62
|
Chanelle Price, Maggie Vessey, Molly Beckwith-Ludlow, Alysia Johnson Montaño
|
United States
|
3 May 2015
|
Nassau
|
[4]
|
| 14
|
8:00.84
|
Russia
Nina Ruchayeva, Nadezhda Loboyko, Olga Nelyubova, Lyubov Gurina
|
Soviet Union
|
19 July 1987
|
Bryansk
|
|
| 15
|
8:01.58
|
Chanelle Price, Geena Lara, Ajee' Wilson, Brenda Martinez
|
United States
|
25 May 2014
|
Nassau
|
|
Kenya (Joseph Mutua, William Yiampoy, Ismael Kombich, Wilfred Bungei) 7:02.43 (2006)
Soviet Union (Nadezhda Olizarenko, Lyubov Gurina, Lyudmila Borisova, Irina Podyalovskaya) 7:50.17 (1984)