Men's 4 × 400 metres relay indoor prize money
United States won the men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in 3:01.52 and took $40,000. Second was worth $20,000 and third $10,000, and the money ran six deep, so the final paid $88,000 in all. A winning quartet indoors takes exactly what a winning individual takes, which is true of no other championship in the sport.
Six teams ran the final in Toruń. Every event indoors carries the same $88,000, relays included, and the championships put up $2,376,000 across 27 of them in Toruń. The two finals below are the Nanjing 2025 and Toruń 2026 championships, and the ladder under them has not moved between the two.
The 2026 final
Toruń, 20 to 22 March 2026
| POS | TEAM | THE TEAM | TIME | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | Justin Robinson, Chris Robinson, Demarius Smith, Khaleb McRae | 3:01.52 | $40,000 |
| 2 | Belgium | Jonathan Sacoor, Christian Iguacel, Julien Watrin, Robin Vanderbemden | 3:03.29 | $20,000 |
| 3 | Jamaica | Reheem Hayles, Delano Kennedy, Tyrice Taylor, Kimar Farquharson | 3:05.99 | $10,000 |
| 4 | Netherlands | Eugene Omalla, Keenan Blake, Liemarvin Bonevacia, Tony van Diepen | 3:06.05 | $8,000 |
| 5 | Portugal | Pedro Afonso, Ericsson Tavares, Omar Elkhatib, João Coelho | 3:08.34 | $6,000 |
| 6 | Hungary | Árpád Kovács, Zoltán Wahl, Ernő Steigerwald, Csanád Csahóczi | $4,000 | |
| 6 | teams | 6 countries | — | $88,000 |
The six paid places came to $88,000.
The 2025 final
Nanjing, 21 to 23 March 2025
| POS | TEAM | THE TEAM | TIME | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | Elija Godwin, Brian Faust, Jacory Patterson, Christopher Bailey | 3:03.13 | $40,000 |
| 2 | Jamaica | Rusheen McDonald, Jasauna Dennis, Kimar Farquharson, Demar Francis | 3:05.05 | $20,000 |
| 3 | Hungary | Patrik Simon Enyingi, Zoltán Wahl, Árpád Kovács, Attila Molnár | 3:06.03 | $10,000 |
| 4 | China | Zheng Chiyu, Zhang Qining, Xu Xinlong, Ju Tianqi | 3:06.90 | $8,000 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | Kalinga Kumarage, H.D.R Madushan, J.O. Shashintha Silva, S.M.S.V Rajakaruna | 3:10.58 | $6,000 |
| 5 | teams | 5 countries | — | $84,000 |
The five paid places came to $84,000, short of the $88,000 the event carries because nobody was 6th.
What each place is worth
The ladder, and who has taken each rung of it
| PLACE | PAYS | TORUŃ 2026 | NANJING 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | $40,000 | United States | United States |
| 2nd | $20,000 | Belgium | Jamaica |
| 3rd | $10,000 | Jamaica | Hungary |
| 4th | $8,000 | Netherlands | China |
| 5th | $6,000 | Portugal | Sri Lanka |
| 6th | $4,000 | Hungary | nobody finished 6th |
| The event | $88,000 | $88,000 paid | $84,000 paid |
The winner takes 45% of what the event pays out and the other five places share the rest. That shape is the same in every event on the indoor programme, relays included, so the chart is the championship's ladder rather than anything particular to the men's 4 × 400 metres relay.
Everyone who ran the relay
All 41 of them, across the two finals
- Justin Robinson
- Chris Robinson
- Demarius Smith
- Khaleb McRae
- Jonathan Sacoor
- Christian Iguacel
- Julien Watrin
- Robin Vanderbemden
- Reheem Hayles
- Delano Kennedy
- Tyrice Taylor
- Kimar Farquharson
- Eugene Omalla
- Keenan Blake
- Liemarvin Bonevacia
- Tony van Diepen
- Pedro Afonso
- Ericsson Tavares
- Omar Elkhatib
- João Coelho
- Árpád Kovács
- Zoltán Wahl
- Ernő Steigerwald
- Csanád Csahóczi
- Elija Godwin
- Brian Faust
- Jacory Patterson
- Christopher Bailey
- Rusheen McDonald
- Jasauna Dennis
- Demar Francis
- Patrik Simon Enyingi
- Attila Molnár
- Zheng Chiyu
- Zhang Qining
- Xu Xinlong
- Ju Tianqi
- Kalinga Kumarage
- H.D.R Madushan
- J.O. Shashintha Silva
- S.M.S.V Rajakaruna
A team is named on the result table in running order. The purse is paid to the federation as one payment at every one of the six paid places, from $40,000 for the win down to $4,000 for 6th, and the split between the four is not published.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the men's 4 × 400 metres relay pay at the World Indoor Championships?
The event carries $88,000, split six ways: $40,000 to the winner, $20,000 for second and $10,000 for third, down to $4,000 for 6th. In Toruń that came to $88,000.
Who won the men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2026 World Indoor Championships?
United States, in 3:01.52 (Justin Robinson, Chris Robinson, Demarius Smith, Khaleb McRae), for $40,000. Six teams ran the final in Toruń.
Do relay teams earn less than individual athletes indoors?
No, and the indoor championships are the only place that is true. A winning quartet takes $40,000 and so does a winning individual, with the same ladder underneath. Outdoors a relay title is worth $80,000 against a world champion's $70,000.
How many places does the men's 4 × 400 metres relay pay indoors?
Six. The ladder runs $40,000, $20,000, $10,000, $8,000, $6,000, $4,000, and 7th pays nothing.
Is there a bonus for a world record in the men's 4 × 400 metres relay?
No. The indoor card is the ladder and nothing else, so a world record is worth the place it won and not a dollar more. Outdoors a world record adds $100,000 on top of the place money.
Do the four runners split the prize money?
Not in any way that is published. The $40,000 goes to the team, and how a federation divides it between the four who ran the final, and the reserves who ran the heats, is its own business.
Where to next
The rest of the championships
Indoor Championships prize money holds all 53 finals, the 233 athletes who were paid and the $4,664,000 that was put up. World Championships prize money is the outdoor version, where a title pays $70,000 and the ladder runs eight deep, and Diamond League prize money is the series most of this field races all summer. The World Athletics Relays is the one championship in the sport with no individual event on it at all: 12 finals across two editions, $40,000 to the winning team and a ladder that reaches all eight teams in a final.
Every other event on the indoor programme
- Men's 1500 metres
- Men's 3000 metres
- Men's 400 metres
- Men's 60 metres
- Men's 60 metres hurdles
- Men's 800 metres
- Men's heptathlon
- Men's high jump
- Men's long jump
- Men's pole vault
- Men's shot put
- Men's triple jump
- Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay
- Women's 4 × 400 metres relay
- Women's 1500 metres
- Women's 3000 metres
- Women's 400 metres
- Women's 60 metres
- Women's 60 metres hurdles
- Women's 800 metres
- Women's high jump
- Women's long jump
- Women's pentathlon
- Women's pole vault
- Women's shot put
- Women's triple jump