Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay
| Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad | |||||||
| Venue | Olympic Aquatic Centre | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | August 14, 2004 (heats & final) | ||||||
| Competitors | 72 from 16 nations | ||||||
| Winning time | 3:35.96 WR | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
| |||||||
| Swimming events at the 2004 Summer Olympics  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freestyle | ||||
| 50 m | men | women | ||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | women | ||
| 800 m | women | |||
| 1500 m | men | |||
| Backstroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Breaststroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Butterfly | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Individual medley | ||||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | women | ||
| Freestyle relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | men | women | ||
| 4×200 m | men | women | ||
| Medley relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | men | women | ||
The women's 4×100 metre freestyle relay took place on 14 August at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece.[1]
For the first time in 48 years, the Australians (Alice Mills, Lisbeth Lenton, Petria Thomas, and Jodie Henry) overhauled the Team USA on the final leg to win a gold medal in the event. When Henry touched the wall at 3:35.94, the Australians broke a new world record under a 0.06-second mark set by the Germans in 2002 (3:36.00). Henry also unleashed a remarkable relay split of 52.95, the fastest of all-time in Olympic history.[2][3][4]
The U.S. team of Kara Lynn Joyce, Natalie Coughlin, Amanda Weir, and Jenny Thompson finished out an American record of 3:36.39 to earn a silver medal, while the Dutch took home the bronze in 3:37.59, after Inge de Bruijn swam a split of 53.37 to hold off the Germans anchored by Franziska van Almsick.[2][5]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Germany (GER)Katrin Meissner (54.82) Petra Dallmann (53.95) Sandra Völker (53.59) Franziska van Almsick (53.64) | 3:36.00 | Berlin, Germany | 29 July 2002 |
| Olympic record |  United States (USA)Amy Van Dyken (55.08) Dara Torres (53.51) Courtney Shealy (54.40) Jenny Thompson (53.62) | 3:36.61 | Sydney, Australia | 16 September 2000 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 14 | Final | Alice Mills (54.75) Lisbeth Lenton (53.57) Petria Thomas (54.67) Jodie Henry (52.95) |  Australia | 3:35.94 | WR |
Results
Heats
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Final
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time behind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 4 | Australia | Alice Mills (54.75) Lisbeth Lenton (53.57) Petria Thomas (54.67) Jodie Henry (52.95) | 3:35.94 | WR | |
 | 5 | United States | Kara Lynn Joyce (54.74) Natalie Coughlin (53.83) Amanda Weir (54.05) Jenny Thompson (53.77) | 3:36.39 | 0.45 | AM |
 | 3 |  Netherlands | Chantal Groot (55.45) Inge Dekker (54.66) Marleen Veldhuis (54.11) Inge de Bruijn (53.37) | 3:37.59 | 1.65 | |
| 4 | 6 | Germany | Antje Buschschulte (54.67) Petra Dallmann (54.79) Daniela Götz (53.99) Franziska van Almsick (54.49) | 3:37.94 | 2.00 | |
| 5 | 1 |  France | Solenne Figuès (55.36) Céline Couderc (55.20) Aurore Mongel (55.72) Malia Metella (53.95) | 3:40.23 | 4.29 | |
| 6 | 7 |  Great Britain | Melanie Marshall (55.42) Kathryn Evans (54.33) Karen Pickering (55.58) Lisa Chapman (55.49) | 3:40.82 | 4.88 | |
| 7 | 2 |  Sweden | Josefin Lillhage (55.77) Johanna Sjöberg (55.90) Therese Alshammar (54.18) Anna-Karin Kammerling (55.37) | 3:41.22 | 5.28 | |
| 8 | 8 |  China | Cheng Jiaru (56.20) Xu Yanwei (55.19) Yang Yu (56.08) Zhu Yingwen (55.43) | 3:42.90 | 6.96 |
References
- ↑ "Swimming schedule". BBC Sport. 5 August 2004. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
- 1 2 Thomas, Stephen (14 August 2004). "World Record! Women's 400 Freestyle Relay – Australia Passes U.S. on Final Leg". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- ↑ Woodward, Steve (14 August 2004). "Thompson, U.S. victimized by amazing Aussies". ESPN. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- ↑ Dodd, Mike (14 August 2004). "This time, Thompson couldn't save the day". USA Today. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- ↑ "Australia take record win". BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
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