The men's 4 × 100 metres relay competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 10–11 August.

Overview On 11 August, the Jamaican national team, led by Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, and Usain Bolt, won the gold medal and broke their own world record of 37.04 set at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, with a time of 36.84.

Carter did not start well, and Trell Kimmons of the United States led the first 100 metres. Kimmons handed the baton to former world champion and Olympic champion Justin Gatlin, who was in the lead. By the third changeover, America had a slight lead over the Jamaicans, but when Michael Frater handed over to Yohan Blake, Blake took the final bend and made up ground and overtook Tyson Gay of the US. Blake then passed the baton to Bolt slightly ahead of Gay's pass to Ryan Bailey. In the final 100 metres, Bolt extended that lead to a few metres and crossed the line in a new world-record time for his country for the second consecutive Olympics, with the US finishing second. Although the Canadian team finished third, they were disqualified after third leg runner Jared Connaughton stepped on a line, and the bronze medal went to Trinidad and Tobago.Canadian men's relay team goes from bronze to heartache after disqualification The Globe and Mail 12 August 2012

While the Jamaican team were breaking the world record, the American team crossed the line in exactly the same time as the previous record of 37.04 seconds, setting a new national record.

In May 2014, the United States Anti-Doping Agency imposed a one-year suspension on a 4 × 100 m relay team member Tyson Gay. In May 2015, the International Olympic Committee formally requested the United States Olympic Committee to collect the medals from teammates Trell Kimmons, Justin Gatlin, Ryan Bailey, Jeff Demps, and Darvis Patton. The medals were reallocated, with Trinidad and Tobago awarded silver, and France the bronze.US stripped of London 2012 Olympic relay medals

Records Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record(Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt)37.04Daegu, South KoreaOlympic record(Michael Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Carl Lewis)37.40Barcelona, Spain8 August 19922012 world leading Racers Track Club(Mario Forsythe, Yohan Blake, Kimmari Roach, Usain Bolt)37.82Kingston, Jamaica14 April 2012

The following records were established during the competition:

Date Event Name Nationality Time Record 11 August Final Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt 36.84 , Round 1 Brian Mariano, Churandy Martina, Giovanni Codrington, Patrick van Luijk 38.29 NR 10 August Round 1 Guo Fan, Liang Jiahong, Su Bingtian, Zhang Peimeng 38.38 NR 10 August Round 1 Lestrod Roland, Jason Rogers, Antoine Adams, Brijesh Lawrence 38.41 NR 10 August Round 1 Anthony Alozie, Isaac Ntiamoah, Andrew McCabe, Josh Ross 38.17 =AR 10 August Round 1 Kamil Masztak, Dariusz Kuć, Robert Kubaczyk, Kamil Kryński 38.31 NR

Schedule All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1) Date Time RoundFriday, 10 August 2012 19:45Round 1Saturday, 11 August 2012 21:00Finals

Result

Round 1 Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.

Heat 1 Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes1 6 Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Kemar Bailey-Cole 37.39 Q, SB2 3 Gavin Smellie, Oluseyi Smith, Jared Connaughton, Justyn Warner 38.05 Q, SB3 7 Brian Mariano, Churandy Martina, Giovanni Codrington, Patrick van Luijk 38.29 Q, NR4 8 Aldemir da Silva Junior, Sandro Viana, Nilson Andre, Bruno de Barros 38.35 SB5 5 Guo Fan, Liang Jiahong, Su Bingtian, Zhang Peimeng 38.38 NR6 4 Lestrod Roland, Jason Rogers, Antoine Adams, Brijesh Lawrence 38.41 NR7 9 Simone Collio, Jacques Riparelli, Davide Manenti, Fabio Cerutti 38.58 SB 2 Christian Malcolm, Dwain Chambers, Danny Talbot, Adam Gemili (37.93) Out of Zone

Heat 2 Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes1 7 Jeff Demps, Darvis Patton, Trell Kimmons, Justin Gatlin 37.38 Q, NR2 9 Ryota Yamagata, Masashi Eriguchi, Shinji Takahira, Shota Iizuka 38.07 Q, SB3 4 Richard Thompson, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender, Keston Bledman 38.10 Q, SB4 5 38.15 q5 2 Anthony Alozie, Isaac Ntiamoah, Andrew McCabe, Josh Ross 38.17 q, =AR6 3 Kamil Masztak, Dariusz Kuć, Robert Kubaczyk, Kamil Kryński 38.31 NR7 6 Julian Reus, Tobias Unger, Alexander Kosenkow, Lucas Jakubczyk 38.37 8 8 Tang Yik Chun, Lai Chun Ho, Ng Ka Fung, Tsui Chi Ho 38.61

Final Results of the Final: Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes 6 Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt 36.84 , 9 Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender, Richard Thompson 38.12 3 38.16 4 4 Ryota Yamagata, Masashi Eriguchi, Shinji Takahira, Shota Iizuka 38.35 5 8 Brian Mariano, Churandy Martina, Giovanni Codrington, Patrick van Luijk 38.39 6 2 Anthony Alozie, Isaac Ntiamoah, Andrew McCabe, Joshua Ross 38.43 5Gavin Smellie, Oluseyi Smith, Jared Connaughton, Justyn Warner (38.07) 7 Trell Kimmons, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, Ryan Bailey (37.04) Doping

References