European Athletics Championships 1954/4 × 100 m men

5th European Athletics Championships
discipline	4 × 100 m relay of men
city	Bern
Stadion	Neufeld Stadium
Attendees	14 relays with 56 athletes
Competition phase	August 27th (preliminary) August 29th (final)
Medalist
gold	Hungary
silver	Great Britain
bronze	Soviet Union

Grandstand of the Neufeld stadium in Bern

The men's 4 x 100 meter relay at the 1954 European Athletics Championships was held on August 27 and 29, 1954 in the Neufeld stadium in Bern .

Hungary became European champions with László Zarándi , Géza Varasdi , György Csányi and Béla Goldoványi . Great Britain ( Kenneth Box , George Ellis , Ken Jones , Brian Shenton ) won the silver medal. Bronze went to the Soviet Union in the line-up of Boris Tokarew , Viktor Ryabov, Levan Sanadze and Leonid Bartenew .

Records

Existing records

World record	39.8 s	USA ( Jesse Owens , Ralph Metcalfe , Foy Draper , Frank Wykoff )	OS Berlin , Germany	August 9, 1936
European record	40.1 s	German Empire ( Erich Borchmeyer , Gerd Hornberger , Karl Neckermann , Jakob Scheuring )	Berlin , Germany	July 19, 1939
EM record	40.9 s	German Empire ( Manfred Kersch , Gerd Hornberger , Karl Neckermann , Jakob Scheuring )	EM Paris , France	September 5, 1938

Record improvements

The existing EM record has been improved twice:

• 40.8 s: URS ( Boris Tokarew , Viktor Ryabov, Levan Sanadze , Leonid Bartenew ) - preliminary, August 27 
• 40.6 s: HUN ( László Zarándi , Géza Varasdi , György Csányi , Béla Goldoványi ) - final, August 29th 

Preliminary round

August 27, 1954, 6:30 p.m.

The preliminary round was in three runs. The first two seasons per run - highlighted in light blue - qualified for the final.

Forward 1

space	Season	occupation	Time (s)
1	Soviet Union	Boris Tokarev Viktor Ryabov Levan Sanadze Leonid Bartenev	41.0
2	Great Britain	Kenneth Box George Ellis Ken Jones Brian Shenton	41.0
3	Poland	Nikodem Goździalski Wiesław Holajn Zdobyslaw Stawczyk Emil Kiszka	41.5 NO
4th	Saarland	Gert Lemmes Werner Kiefer Kurt Heidrich Erich Ladwein	42.3 NO

Forward 2

space	Season	occupation	Time (s)
1	Czechoslovakia	František Brož Bohuslav Hlidek Václav Janecek František Šimůnek	41.1 NO
2	Italy	Wolfgango Montanari Sergio D'Asnasch Lucio Sangermano Luigi Gnocchi	41.2
3	France	René Bonino Yves Camus Ernest Wanko Alain David	41.4
4th	Yugoslavia	Milovan Jovančić Aleksandar Benjak Petar Pecelj Veljko Petrović	42.2
DSQ	BR Germany	Leonhard Pohl Peter Kraus Heinz Fütterer Manfred Germar	IAAF Rule 170.7 faulty substitution

Forward 3

space	Season	occupation	Time (s)
1	Hungary	László Zarándi Géza Varasdi György Csányi Béla Goldoványi	40.8 CR
2	Sweden	Börje Andersson Kaj Månsson Sven-Olof Westlund Jan Carlsson	41.1 NO
3	Netherlands	Teun Aret Theo Saat Hayo Rulander Aad van Hardeveld	41.3
4th	Belgium	Jacques Vercruysse Carlos Germonprez Roland Vercruysse Isidoor Vandewiele	41.5
5	Switzerland	Joseph Huber Willy Eichenberger Pierfrancesco Campanella Hans Wehrli-Frei	41.9

final

August 29, 1954

space	Season	occupation	Time (s)
1	Hungary	László Zarándi Géza Varasdi György Csányi Béla Goldoványi	40.6 CR
2	Great Britain	Kenneth Box George Ellis Ken Jones Brian Shenton	40.8
3	Soviet Union	Boris Tokarev Viktor Ryabov Levan Sanadze Leonid Bartenev	40.9
4th	Czechoslovakia	František Brož Bohuslav Hlidek Václav Janecek František Šimůnek	40.9 NO
5	Italy	Wolfgango Montanari Sergio D'Asnasch Lucio Sangermano Luigi Gnocchi	41.0
6th	Sweden	Börje Andersson Kaj Månsson Sven-Olof Westlund Jan Carlsson	41.3

Web links

• European Athletics Championships - Bern 1954 at european-athletics.org, accessed on April 6, 2019
• Men 4x100m Relay European Championship 1954 Bern on todor66.com, accessed on April 6, 2019
• V European Championship, Bern 1954 on trackfield.brinkster.net, accessed on April 6, 2019
• Results of all European Athletics Championships - 1954, 4 × 100 m men on sportschau.de, accessed on April 6, 2019
• 5th European Athletics Championships 1954 in Bern, Switzerland from ifosta.de, accessed on April 6, 2019

References and comments

1. ↑ IAAF world records. 4 × 100 m , accessed on April 6, 2019
2. ^ Progression of the European Outdoor Records. 4 × 100 m on rfea.es, p. 34 (PDF), accessed on April 6, 2019
3. ↑ IAAF competition rules, page 99 (PDF), accessed on April 6, 2019