The first recorded instance of a shuttle hurdle relay was probably in January 1901, when a "Hurdle relay race" was included at a meet in Portland, Oregon. No hurdle details were provided. In December 1906, a "hurdle relay race proved a highly exciting contest" at a meet in Vancouver, Canada. No hurdle details were provided. In January 1907 and November 1907, the
YMCA in Kansas held an indoor "hurdle relay". In 1910–1911, the Official Handbook of the Girls' Branch of the Public Schools Athletic League states for the girls hurdle relay "the maximum distance for each runner not to exceed fifty yards; the maximum height for hurdles to be two feet". On , a girls hurdle relay was held at the Armory in Rochester, New York. A November 1912 announcement for girls in New York announced that youth activities would include a "hurdle relay". In 1912, the American Physical Review magazine reports a boys SHR at a Dual Athletic Meet between Cambridge High and Latin School vs Rindge Technical School. In 1916, an indoor meet in Hawaii held a "300-yard hurdle relay race", which was won by the N.A.C. Club for the youth clubs, and
Kalihi for the junior clubs. In May 1917, at the first annual girls' interscholastic meet on Tech Field in Pennsylvania, a "Hurdle relay" was competed, with Allegheny first, Peabody second, and Latimer third. No hurdle details were provided. In 1926, the SHR was added to the
Penn Relays events at the suggestion of
David Burghley, the British champion of the
400 meter hurdles at the 1928 Olympic Games. In April 1938,
Oklahoma State set a (then)
Kansas Relays meet record in 1:01.6. In March 1953, in California, the SHR was included at the Orange Show Relay and the four-way spike meet (four colleges). In 1973, a
West German team placed 3rd at the Mt Sac Relays in 59.1. Masters Track and Field have included the SHR as a standard event at the
USATF Masters Outdoor Championships. The competition is eligible for Masters American Records and medals. The oldest athlete that has competed in a SHR is George Roudebush (age 93) when he competed in a 2018 M80 plus SHR race. The oldest female athletes that have competed in a SHR are Tami Graf (age 85) at the 2021 and Flo Meiler (age 88) at the 2022 USATF Masters Outdoor Championships. The SMR was also included at former relays such as the California Relays, Compton Relays,
West Coast Relays, the 1996 Alabama Relays, and the Golden Valley Conference Relays Additional relays include the 1993 European Relays in Portsmouth, England, and July 5, 1981, TAC Relay Championship in Greenvale, New York. Including a SHR outside of the US and the United Kingdom has been infrequent. In August 2007, the
BAUHAUS-galan (formerly GN Galan) meet in
Stockholm, Sweden included the 480 Yard Shuttle Hurdle Relay. The United States won with a time of 53.36 seconds, Sweden in second with a time of 57.03, Finland in third with a time of 57.26. The event was well received. The 1990 Penn Relay included a 880 shuttle hurdle relay.
The British Empire versus the USA In 1920-1928, after the
1920,
1924, and
1928 Summer Olympics, the majority of the
American track and field team crossed the
British Channel to compete in a highly-publicized meet known as "The British Empire versus the U.S.A.", held at
Stamford Bridge,
London. This meet included the shuttle hurdle relay. In 1924 and 1928, the US won in 61.6 and 62 seconds for the 480 yards hurdle relay, respectively.
Oxford versus Cambridge The
Oxford–Cambridge rivalry: Oxford versus Cambridge Inter-University competitions included 480 yards hurdles relay (1920 to 1930) and 880 yards low hurdles relay (1926 to 1930). 1920: Inter-varsity: Cambridge versus Oxford: Dec 1920: Oxford beat Cambridge in the SHR. Winning time of 67 2/5 seconds. December 1921 Oxford beat Cambridge in 69 4/5 seconds. December 1922 Oxford beat Cambridge in 67 2/5 seconds. ==All-time top 20==