The earliest form of relay racing originated in Ancient Greece. Relay racing has undergone significant evolution over millennia to produce the many forms we see today,
with the 4 x 100 metres sprint relay and the 4 x 400 metres , the two most well-known. Both formats first entered the Olympics in the Stockholm Games in 1912.
In the past century, the sprint relay has seen refinement in baton exchange techniques, resulting in improved safety and efficiency in the transit of the baton through the exchange zones.
There are several factors which contribute to the outcome of the sprint relay, and by far the two most important are the sprinting prowess of the team as a whole and the quality of the three baton exchanges. I write to advance the view that baton passing decidedly trumps speed in determining sprint relay outcomes.
I write from the vantage point of someone who has been a keen, discerning observer for more than 60 years, with the added experience of both competing in and coaching sprint relays at the highest level.
The three exchange zones together, totaling 90 metres,constitute a mere 22.5% of the 400 metres race, but in general, you observe greater changes in team positions within that relatively small distance, compared to the position changes seen in the remaining 310 metres (77.5 %) which is dedicated to the sprinting aspect of the race. It is a familiar sight – that of teams exiting a 30 metre exchange zone in positions that bear no resemblance to that which obtained when they entered it.
In the sprint relay, the baton’s passage through the exchange zone is typically a brief three seconds. In order to execute a safe, efficient exchange, the two athletes involved must properly perform (in that time frame) upwards of a dozen actions, while usually negotiating a curve, which comes with challenges of its own. Mastering the art of baton passing results mainly from proper coaching and plenty, plenty practice on the track. For various reasons, getting sufficient baton practice can be a real problem, especially for national teams, and we witness far too often teams with great sprinters fall prey to baton foul ups, which helps advance the view that baton passing trumps speed in determining sprint relay outcomes.
In this matter of baton passing vs speed, the Jamaica’s Women’s 4x 100 Metres Relay in the 2008 Beijing Olympics comes to mind. The team, to this day, remains the greatest assembly of sprinting prowess in any sprint relay team (male or female) in the history of the event. The team had the three fastest women in the world in 100 metres gold medalist Shelly – Ann Fraser and the tied for silver medal in the same race, Keron Stewart and Sherone Simpson. The fourth member, (the “slowest”) happened to be Veronica Campbell – Brown, the reigning World Champion 2007 at 100 metres , who days earlier in Beijing defended her Athens Olympics 200 metres gold medal. The quartet with such overwhelming sprinting prowess, the likes of which we are unlikely to see again, seemed certain to win the gold medal. A baton mishap at the 2nd exchange zone and Jamaica was out of the race. All that speed counted for nothing.