20.4 How do relay races compare with individual races?

There are three relay events for men and women, the 4x100 m medley and the 4x100 m and 4x200 m freestyle. The very best times for the relay events are better than the very best times for the comparable individual events.

Figure 20.11: Best times for the 400 m freestyle events for men and women, individual (red) and relay (blue)

Best times are achieved by relay teams and not individuals over the same total distance, because each swimmer in a team swims only a quarter of the distance. In the medley event you can have a specialist for each of the four strokes. Individuals only have one diving start, but relay teams have three (in the medley) or four.

The high variability amongst relay times compared with individual times is because each country’s team is treated as one competitor. There is only one best time for each country, whether it is the USA or Togo. This also means that there are not 200 best times in the 4x100 m relay, just 168 for the men and 144 for the women, the numbers of countries who have had teams in those events. Countries which no longer exist (such as Yugoslavia and Rhodesia) are included, which is why there is even a best time for the 4x100 m freestyle relay for women from 1950!