Athletics Distance Medley Relay | |
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World records | |
Men | Brooks Beasts (Brannon Kidder, Brandon Miller, Isaiah Harris, Henry Wynne 9:14.58 (2024) |
Women | New Balance (Emma Coburn, Kendall Ellis, Roisin Willis, Elle Purrier St. Pierre 10:33.85 (2022) |
The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event.[1]
Unlike most track relays, each member of the team runs a different distance. A distance medley relay is made up of a 1200-meter leg (three laps on a standard 400 meter track), a 400-meter leg (one lap), an 800-meter leg (two laps), and a 1600-meter leg (four laps) in that order. The total distance run is 4000 meters, or nearly 2.5 miles. Aside from the 400 meter segment, which is a sprint, all legs are a middle distance run. Prior to going metric, the distance medley relay consisted of a 440-yard leg, an 880-yard leg, a 1320-yard leg and a one-mile leg. The total distance for the old distance medley relay was 4400 yards and the total distance for the current metric distance medley relay is 4374.45 yards - slightly over 25 yards shorter than the old race.