Records

Inevitably, Michael Johnson, the greatest 400m sprinter, played a part in the quickest 4x400m time.

At the 1998 Goodwill Games, Jerome Young led off and ran a 44.3 split. He handed over to Antonio Pettigrew: 43.2. And then Tyree Washington did his bit: 43.5sec. All this effort put Johnson in pole position to make history. He didn’t disappoint, running the anchor leg in 43.2. The quartet’s combined time was 2.54.20, shaving 0.09 from the previous world record.

The two quickest times in history were recorded in a thrilling showdown between the Soviet Union and the USA at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.