The Last 4x100m Mixed Team to Hold a World Record

Last Updated on November 17, 2012 by Jimson Lee

The last time a mixed team consisting of athletes from different countries setting a world record was the University of Southern California in 1967.

Ironically, the infamous O.J. Simpson ran the 3rd leg and handed it off to Lennox Miller of Jamaica in a time of 38.6 hand time.

Lennox Miller would later win a silver at the 100m in the 1968 Olympics, and a bronze at the 1972 Olympics behind American Robert Taylor and Valeri Borzov.

So in 1996, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, the meet promoters put on a “Dream Team” comprising of Canadian Donovan Bailey, American Michael Johnson, Namibia Frankie Fredericks and Britain’s Linford Christie.

Here is the 1996 Dream Team relay on YouTube.

UPDATE: Sorry, the video is no longer on YouTube.

At that time, Bailey and Johnson were not bitter enemies from the media feud over the World’s Fastest Man.

One year later, Donovan Bailey and Michael Johnson would race in a special World’s Fastest Man race in 1997 at Toronto.

Also in 1997, in a repeat event from Berlin, they featured four of the fastest athletes at the time over 100m: Bailey, American Leroy Burrell, Fredericks and American Carl Lewis (in that order of the relay). I believe this race was Carl Lewis’ final appearance on the track.

Here is the 1997 Dream Team relay on YouTube.

UPDATE: Sorry, the video is no longer on YouTube.

In both relays, their times weren’t too shabby, but what do you expect without practice?