Olympic Track and Field 2021: Men's 4x400m Relay Winners, Times and Results
August 7, 2021
Team USA repeated as Olympic gold medalists in the men's 4x400-meter relay at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo on Saturday.
The quartet of Michael Cherry, Michael Norman, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin couldn't be touched with a time of 2:55.70.
The Netherlands secured silver with a time of 2:57.18 and Botswana held on for bronze, completing the relay in 2:57.27.
Here is the full finishing order for the men's 4x400-meter relay, courtesy of Olympics.com:
1. United States: 2:55.70
2. Netherlands: 2:57.18
3. Botswana: 2:57.27
4. Belgium: 2:57.88
5. Poland: 2:58.46
6. Jamaica: 2:58.76
7. Italy: 2:58.81
8. Trinidad and Tobago: 3:00.85
While the men didn't dominate quite as thoroughly as the American women did in their 4x400-meter relay, they weren't far off, winning by well over a second.
NBC Olympics provided a look at how much space separated the Americans from second-place Netherlands at the line:
With Saturday's win, the American men have now won the 4x400-meter relay at back-to-back Olympics, four of the past five and eight of the past 10.
Not surprisingly, Team USA chose Benjamin to run the anchor leg after he took silver in the 400-meter hurdles behind Karsten Warholm of Norway.
The Americans weren't far ahead of Botswana entering the final handoff, but as noted by Chris Chavez of Sports Illustrated, Benjamin put the race to bed for Team USA with a blistering split:
Chris Chavez @ChrisChavezGOLD FOR THE MEN’S 4X400M! 2:55.70! <br><br>Rai Benjamin was a man on a mission and anchors Team USA to victory with a 43.36 split for the final leg. Sheeesh! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TokyoOlympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TokyoOlympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/ORZrEEL0GT">pic.twitter.com/ORZrEEL0GT</a>
After the American women and men pulled off the double in the 4x400-meter relay Saturday, Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe congratulated them:
shannon sharpe @ShannonSharpeUSA Men and Women 4x400 put on a show. Mu, Felix, McLaughlin, Muhammad won 🥇 by almost 4secs over 2nd place Poland. The men with Cherry, Deadmon, Benjamin and Norman did what we do, win 4x400 meters relay 🥇. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Olympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Olympics</a> 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
The other medalists in the men's race pulled off some massive accomplishments as well, including silver medal-winning Netherlands, which set a new national record and medaled for the first time ever in the event.
Botswana also won its first-ever medal in the men's 4x400-meter relay and only its second-ever medal in men's track and field at the Olympics.
Two-time Olympic gold medal-winning runner David Rudisha of Kenya recognized Botswana for its remarkable feat:
David Rudisha @rudishadavidSo delighted for the Botswanans to be on the podium. Running an African Record in the 4x400m men’s relay to secure bronze for their country. You gotta love Africa! A world class race. Congratulations <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TokyoOlympics2020?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TokyoOlympics2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/FPzh0q9SiK">pic.twitter.com/FPzh0q9SiK</a>
The Botswanan team set a new African record in the men's 4x400-meter relay and became the first African team to medal in the event since Nigeria won bronze in 2004.
The men's 4x400-meter relay was the final race of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and it yielded a familiar result, with Team USA continuing to prove why it is the standard-bearer in the event.