With the USA missing from the race, several teams had a solid chance to capture the gold medal. Nigeria, the favourite of many, had recorded the fastest time of the year in the semi-finals (37.94). Nigeria was leading the race on the first leg, but a bad exchange blew their gold medal. However, they stayed near the lead and in contention for the other medals.
The first five teams ran quite even until the last exchange. Great Britain, in good position after 3 legs, had trouble on the last exchange. Coming from behind, Donovan Bailey, the anchor for Canada, lifted his team to a clear win in the final 50m. Canada produced a world leading time of 37.86 to get the gold medal. Nigeria, despite having problems with exchanges, managed to take 2nd place in 38.07.
Julian Golding (Great Britain) ran a terrific anchor leg, passing Luis Perez-Rionda of Cuba right at the finish line to win the bronze medal in a time of 38.14. Cuba finished fourth in 38.15.
