Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place on August 6 & August 7. The United States team won the final, but was initially disqualified when officials thought the pass between Barney Ewell and Lorenzo Wright had taken place outside the zone. After further review, officials saw that the pass took place inside the zone, and restored U.S. results.
Records
Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.| World record Olympic record | 39.8 | Berlin, Germany | 9 August 1936 |
Schedule
All times are British Summer Time| Date | Time | Round |
| Friday, 6 August 1948 | 16:00 | Round 1 |
| Saturday, 7 August 1948 | 15:30 | Finals |
Results
Round 1
Round 1 took place on 6 August. The first two teams from each heat advanced to the final.Heat 1
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Harrison Dillard, Barney Ewell, Mel Patton, Lorenzo Wright | 41.1 | Q | |
| 2 | Carlo Monti, Enrico Perucconi, Antonio Siddi, Michele Tito | 41.3 | Q | |
| 3 | Aroldo da Silva, Hélio da Silva, Ivan Hausen, Rosalvo Ramos | 42.4 | ||
| - | Kemal Aksur, Erdal Barkay, Raşit Öztaş, Ruhi Sarıalp | DSQ |
Heat 2
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jack Archer, Jack Gregory, Ken Jones, Alastair McCorquodale | 41.4 | Q | |
| 2 | László Bartha, György Csányi, Béla Goldoványi, Ferenc Tima | 41.4 | Q | |
| 3 | John Bartram, Bill Bruce, Morris Curotta, John Treloar | 41.5 | ||
| 4 | Hércules Azcune, Mario Fayos, Juan López, Walter Pérez | 42.8 | ||
| 5 | Hazzard Dill, Perry Johnson, Stanley Lines, Frank Mahoney | 45.4 | ||
| - | Fernand Bourgaux, Pol Braekman, Fernand Linssen, Isidoor Van De Wiele | DNF |
Heat 3
| Rank | Nation | Competitors | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jan Lammers, Jan Meijer, Gabe Scholten, Jo Zwaan | 41.7 | Q | |
| 2 | Ted Haggis, Don McFarlane, James O'Brien, Don Pettie | 42.3 | Q | |
| 3 | Alberto Biedermann, Gerardo Bönnhoff, Carlos Isaac, Fernando Lapuente | 42.4 | ||
| 4 | Ásmundur Bjarnason, Haukur Clausen, Trausti Eyjólfsson, Finnbjörn Þorvaldsson | 42.9 | ||
| - | Julien Lebas, Marc Litaudon, Alain Porthault, René Valmy | DNF |