A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of a racecourse or performing a certain action. In a relay race, each team member runs a set distance with a baton, which is passed on to the next runner. Relay races are common in running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating, usually with a baton in the fist. The relay method of racing was started in the United States about 1883. The original method was for the men running the second quarter of the course each to take over a small flag from the first man as he arrived, before departing on their own stage of the race, at the end of which they, in their turn, handed on their flags to the awaiting next runners. The baton, a hollow cylinder of wood or plastic, was introduced in 1893. It is carried by the runner and must be exchanged between lines drawn at right angles to the side of the track 10 meters or 11 yards on each side of the starting line for each leg of the relay.
Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. In the Olympic Games, there are several types of relay races that are part of track and field. The three standard relays raced at the Olympics are the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, and 4 × 100 m medley relay. Mixed-gendered relays were introduced at the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) (4 × 50 m freestyle and medley) and the 2015 World Aquatics Championships (4 × 100 m freestyle and medley). The event debuted at the 2020 Summer Olympics (4 × 100 m medley) . The two relay races in the Olympics are the 4x100m and 4x400m for both men and women and mixed.
