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1991 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay

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These are the official results of the Men's 4 × 400 metres event at the 1991 IAAF World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. There were a total number of sixteen participating nations, with three qualifying heats and the final held on Sunday 1 September 1991. The final was won by Great Britain in what was, at the time, the fourth fastest time in history (behind the USA team's 1988 World Record, and two other US times). Going into the meeting, the USA 4 × 400 metres team hadn't lost at a major championships in over seven years. Britain, by contrast, hadn't won a gold medal in the event since the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

The British team made a tactical change, switching their top runner Roger Black, expected to be the anchor leg runner, to the first leg. The move paid off. Black ran a 44.6 first leg, catching Andrew Valmon before the handoff. giving Derek Redmond the edge to beat Quincy Watts to the break. Both Watts and Redmond would become famous the following year, Watts for winning the Olympic gold medal in the 400 metres and Redmond for his determination, finishing his semi-final race in that same event with a torn hamstring, assisted by his father. Watts ran a 44.1 leg to catch Redmond, but it could have been faster because Watts had to pass Redmond on the outside of the turn due to the British team's superior position. Danny Everett was not able to put any distance on John Regis, even having to fend off a challenge on the final straightaway, so going into the final leg, the USA held only a small lead. Kriss Akabusi, running the anchor leg paced off of the individual 400m Champion, Antonio Pettigrew, then dramatically overtook him on the home straight to win. The USA team was so shocked by the result, that even on the medal podium, they were still in disbelief at the result. Indeed, television footage immediately after the race, showed Pettigrew standing, hands on hips, shaking his head at the outcome of the race. The result was the only time out of eight major championships over a twelve-year span that the USA team failed to win gold.

The winning margin was 0.04 seconds which as of 2024 remains the only time the men's 4 x 400 metres relay was won by less than a tenth of a second at these championships.

Schedule

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Semi-Final
31.08.1991 – 20:20h
Final
01.09.1991 – 18:10h

Final

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RANK FINAL ATHLETES TIME
 Great Britain (GBR) Roger Black
Derek Redmond
John Regis
Kriss Akabusi
2:57.53 (NR)
 United States (USA) Andrew Valmon
Quincy Watts
Danny Everett
Antonio Pettigrew
2:57.57
 Jamaica (JAM) Patrick O'Connor
Devon Morris
Winthrop Graham
Seymour Fagan
3:00.10
4.  Yugoslavia (YUG) Dejan Jovković
Nenad Đurović
Ismail Mačev
Slobodan Branković
3:00.32
5.  Kenya (KEN) Samson Kitur
Simon Kemboi
Charles Gitonga
Simon Kipkemboi
3:00.34
6.  Germany (GER) Klaus Just
Rico Lieder
Norbert Dobeleit
Jens Carlowitz
3:00.75
7.  Morocco (MAR) Abdelali Kasbane
Ali Dahane
Bouchaib Belkaid
Benyounés Lahlou
3:04.49
8.  Cuba (CUB) Agustín Pavó
Héctor Herrera
Jorge Valentín
Lázaro Martínez
3:05.33

Qualifying heats

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  • Held on Saturday 1991-08-31
RANK HEAT 1 ATHLETES TIME
1.  United States (USA) Jeff Reynolds
Quincy Watts
Mark Everett
Danny Everett
2:59.55
2.  Jamaica (JAM) Howard Burnett
Devon Morris
Patrick O'Connor
Seymour Fagan
3:00.01
3.  Germany (GER) Klaus Just
Rico Lieder
Norbert Dobeleit
Jens Carlowitz
3:00.17
4.  Japan (JPN) Koichi Konakatomi
Susumu Takano
Takahiro Watanabe
Koji Ito
3:01.26
5.  Qatar (QAT) Sami Jumah
Ismael Youssef
Masoud Khamis Rahman
Ibrahim Ismail Muftah
3:07.06
6.  Spain (ESP) Luis Cumellas
Antonio Sanchez
Moises Fernández
Didac Manas
3:08.39


RANK HEAT 2 ATHLETES TIME
1.  Morocco (MAR) Abdelali Kasbane
Ali Dahane
Bouchaib Belkaid
Benyounés Lahlou
3:02.11
(NR)
2.  Cuba (CUB) Agustín Pavó
Héctor Herrera
Jorge Valentín
Lázaro Martínez
3:02.29
3.  Italy (ITA) Fabio Grossi
Marco Vaccari
Alessandro Aimar
Andrea Nuti
3:02.72
4.  Canada (CAN) Anthony Wilson
Mark Jackson
Mike McLean
Freddie Williams
3:03.68
5.  Mexico (MEX) Raymundo Escalante
Eduardo Nava
Josue Morales
Luis Toledo
3:09.56
 France (FRA) Andre Jaffory
Olivier Noirot
Stéphane Diagana
Christophe Goris
DNF


RANK HEAT 3 ATHLETES TIME
1.  Great Britain (GBR) Ade Mafe
Derek Redmond
Mark Richardson
Kriss Akabusi
2:59.49
2.  Yugoslavia (YUG) Dejan Jovković
Nenad Đurović
Ismail Mačev
Slobodan Branković
2:59.95
(NR)
3.  Kenya (KEN) Samson Kitur
Simon Kemboi
Charles Gitonga
Simon Kipkemboi
3:00.21
4.  Australia (AUS) Dean Capobianco
Paul Greene
Rohan Robinson
Mark Garner
3:02.42
5.  Barbados (BAR) Terrence Harewood
Steven Roberts
Seibert Straughn
Michael Williams
3:05.63

See also

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Notes

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In 2002 this race came 42nd in the TV programme 100 Greatest Sporting Moments by Channel 4 of the UK.

References

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External videos
video icon Men's 4x400m Final, World Championships Tokyo 1991 on YouTube