Athletics - Team France

General
France took part in the first Olympic Games to feature a women's 4x100m relay, in 1928 in Amsterdam, and finished fourth. Only Great Britain [17] and the United States of America [19] have appeared at more Olympic Games in the event. But after the 1928 Games, France did not return until the 1964 Games in Tokyo, where they finished eighth in the final. The French team would go on to appear regularly in the event in the remaining decades of the 20th century, on two occasions finishing fourth and frustratingly close to a medal. In both 1984 and 1992 they missed out on the podium by just 0.04s.

At Sydney 2000 France finished fourth again, but their fortunes changed four years later in Athens when they finally made the podium, claiming bronze. Since then, however, their Olympic performances have declined, as they failed to finish in 2008 and did not qualify for the final in 2012 or 2016.

France have fared better at the world championships, claiming four medals at consecutive tournaments from 1997 to 2003, including gold in 2003 in front of a home crowd in Paris. However, like their Olympic performances, in recent years France's results have been modest. They failed to make the final at the last three editions of the world championships, including a disqualification from their heat in 2019 in Doha.

The French team qualified for Tokyo by making the final at the 2021 World Relays. They qualified second-fastest after the heats, but failed to finish the final after a botched baton exchange.