Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay

Men's 4×100 metres relay at the Games of the VII Olympiad
The U.S. team, left-right:Paddock, Scholz, Munchison and Kirskey
Venue	Olympisch Stadion
Dates	August 21–22
Competitors	52 from 13 nations
Medalists
Morris Kirksey, Loren Murchison, Charley Paddock, Jackson Scholz United States   Émile Ali-Khan, René Lorain, René Mourlon, René Tirard France   Agne Holmström, Sven Malm, William Petersson, Nils Sandström Sweden

Official Video

Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m		men
200 m		men
400 m		men
800 m		men
1500 m		men
5000 m		men
10,000 m		men
110 m hurdles		men
400 m hurdles		men
3000 m steeplechase		men
4×100 m relay		men
4×400 m relay		men
3000 m team race		men
3 km walk		men
10 km walk		men
Road events
Marathon	men
Field events
Long jump	men
Triple jump	men
High jump	men
Pole vault	men
Shot put	men
Discus throw	men
Hammer throw	men
Javelin throw	men
56 lb weight throw	men
Combined events
Pentathlon	men
Decathlon	men
Cross-country events
Individual	men
Team	men

The men's 4×100 metres relay event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. It was the second appearance of this event. The competition was held on Saturday, August 21, 1920 and on Sunday, August 22, 1920.

Fifty-two runners from 13 nations competed.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.

World Record	42.3	Otto Röhr Max Herrmann Erwin Kern Richard Rau	Stockholm (SWE)	July 8, 1912
Olympic Record	42.3	Otto Röhr Max Herrmann Erwin Kern Richard Rau	Stockholm (SWE)	July 8, 1912

In the final the team of the United States set a new world record with 42.2 seconds.

Results

Semifinals

The semi-finals were held on Saturday, August 21, 1920.

Semifinal 1

Place	Athletes	Time	Qual.
1	Charley Paddock, Jackson Scholz, Loren Murchison, Morris Kirksey (USA)	43.0	Q
2	Jean Colbach, Paul Hammer, Jean Proess, Alex Servais (LUX)	44.4	Q
3	Félix Mendizábal, Diego Ordóñez, Carlos Botín, Federico Reparez (ESP)	44.6
—	Bjarne Guldager, Asle Bækkedal, Rolf Stenersen, Erling Aastad (NOR)	DQ
	Vittorio Zucca, Giovanni Orlandi, Giorgio Croci, Mario Riccobono (ITA)	DQ

Semifinal 2

Place	Athletes	Time	Qual.
1	René Lorain, René Tirard, René Mourlon, Émile Ali-Khan (FRA)	43.0	Q
2	William Hill, Harold Abrahams, Denis Black, Victor d'Arcy (GBR)	43.3	Q
3	Albert Heijnneman, Jan de Vries, Harry van Rappard, Cor Wezepoel (NED)	43.5
4	Max Houben, Julien Lehouck, Omer Smet, Paul Brochart (BEL)	43.7

Semifinal 3

Place	Athletes	Time	Qual.
1	Agne Holmström, William Petersson, Sven Malm, Nils Sandström (SWE)	43.4	Q
2	Henri Thorsen, Fritiof Andersen, August Sørensen, Marinus Sørensen (DEN)	43.8	Q
3	Jack Oosterlaak, Willie Bukes, Henry Dafel, Frank Irvine (RSA)	44.4
4	August Waibel, Walter Leibundgut, Adolf Rysler, Josef Imbach (SUI)	44.2

Final

The final was held on Sunday, August 22, 1920.

Place	Athletes	Time
1	Charley Paddock, Jackson Scholz, Loren Murchison, Morris Kirksey (USA)	42.2 WR
2	René Lorain, René Tirard, René Mourlon, Émile Ali-Khan (FRA)	42.5
3	Agne Holmström, William Petersson, Sven Malm, Nils Sandström (SWE)	42.8
4	William Hill, Harold Abrahams, Denis Black, Victor d'Arcy (GBR)	43.0
5	Henri Thorsen, Fritiof Andersen, August Sørensen, Marinus Sørensen (DEN)	43.3
6	Jean Colbach, Paul Hammer, Jean Proess, Alex Servais (LUX)	43.6

References

• sports-reference.com
• Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 16 August 2007.