Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay
The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 28 July at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.[1]
| Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | London Aquatics Centre | |||||||||
| Dates | 28 July 2012 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 84 from 16 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 3:33.15 OR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Qualification | ||
| 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 |
| Marathon | ||
| 10 km | men | women |
The Australian women's team fought off an early lead by their American rivals and overhauled the field down the stretch to recapture the Olympic freestyle relay title they last held in 2004. The foursome of Alicia Coutts (53.90), Cate Campbell (53.19), Brittany Elmslie (53.41), and Melanie Schlanger (52.65) put together a blazing fast finish with a new Olympic record in 3:33.15.[2][3]
The Netherlands nearly pulled a worst-to-first effort, building from an eighth-place turn by Inge Dekker (54.67), fifth by Marleen Veldhuis (53.80), and third by Femke Heemskerk (53.39), until they handed Ranomi Kromowidjojo the anchor duties on the final exchange. She delivered a fastest freestyle split in the field with an anchor of 51.93 to race against the Americans for the silver in 3:33.79, but finished just 0.64 seconds off the pace posted by the Australians.[4] Meanwhile, the U.S. team got off an early lead from Missy Franklin (53.52) and Jessica Hardy (53.53), but slipped through the final stretches from Lia Neal (53.65) and Allison Schmitt (53.54) to settle for the bronze in an American record of 3:34.24.[5] Building a new milestone, Neal became the first ever African-American female to swim in an Olympic final, while Natalie Coughlin, who competed earlier in the relay prelims, picked up her twelfth career medal to share a three-way tie with Dara Torres and Jenny Thompson as the most decorated female Olympic swimmers of all time.[6][7]
China (3:36.75), Great Britain (3:37.02), Denmark (3:37.45), and Japan (3:37.96) also vied for an Olympic medal to round out the championship finale, while Sweden was disqualified from the race because of an early relay takeoff by anchor Gabriella Fagundez.[7]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Netherlands (NED) Inge Dekker (53.61) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (52.30) Femke Heemskerk (53.03) Marleen Veldhuis (52.78) | 3:31.72 | Rome, Italy | 26 July 2009 | [8][9] |
| Olympic record | Netherlands (NED) Inge Dekker (54.37) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (53.39) Femke Heemskerk (53.42) Marleen Veldhuis (52.58) | 3:33.76 | Beijing, China | 10 August 2008 | [10] |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Name | Nation | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 28 | Final | Alicia Coutts (53.90) Cate Campbell (53.19) Brittany Elmslie (53.41) Melanie Schlanger (52.65) |  Australia | 3:33.15 | OR |
Results
Heats
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Final
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time Behind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 4 | Australia | Alicia Coutts (53.90) Cate Campbell (53.19) Brittany Elmslie (53.41) Melanie Schlanger (52.65) | 3:33.15 | OR | |
 | 3 | Netherlands | Inge Dekker (54.67) Marleen Veldhuis (53.80) Femke Heemskerk (53.39) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (51.93) | 3:33.79 | 0.64 | |
 | 5 |  United States | Missy Franklin (53.52) Jessica Hardy (53.53) Lia Neal (53.65) Allison Schmitt (53.54) | 3:34.24 | 1.09 | AM, NR |
| 4 | 6 |  China | Tang Yi (53.58) Qiu Yuhan (54.49) Wang Haibing (54.03) Pang Jiaying (54.65) | 3:36.75 | 3.60 | |
| 5 | 8 |  Great Britain | Amy Smith (54.27) Francesca Halsall (53.29) Jess Lloyd (54.65) Caitlin McClatchey (54.81) | 3:37.02 | 3.87 | |
| 6 | 7 |  Denmark | Pernille Blume (54.52) Mie Nielsen (54.04) Lotte Friis (55.65) Jeanette Ottesen Gray (53.24) | 3:37.45 | 4.30 | NR |
| 7 | 2 |  Japan | Haruka Ueda (54.34) Yayoi Matsumoto (54.52) Miki Uchida (54.43) Hanae Ito (54.67) | 3:37.96 | 4.81 | NR |
| 1 |  Sweden | Michelle Coleman (54.57) Sarah Sjöström (53.91) Ida Marko-Varga (55.01) Gabriella Fagundez | DSQ |
References
- "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 28 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- "Aussie women claim first gold in London". ABC News Australia. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- "Relay team clinch first Aussie gold". Herald Sun. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- "Lochte, Phelps face off in the pool at London Olympics". Fox News. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- "Lochte Wins 400 IM on Night 1 in London". Team USA. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- Auerbach, Nicole (28 July 2012). "Natalie Coughlin ties medals record, but doesn't swim final". USA Today. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- "2012 London Olympics: Australia Reclaims Women's 400 Free Relay Gold; Natalie Coughlin Ties for Most Decorated Female Olympic Swimmer". Swimming World Magazine. 28 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-05-27. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- "With Suits, Few Records Appear Safe". The Washington Post. 27 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- "Swimming world records in Rome". BBC Sport. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- Baldwin, Alan (10 August 2008). "Veldhuis anchors Dutch to relay gold". Reuters. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- "Women's 4×100m Freestyle Relay – Heats". London 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- "Women's 4×100m Freestyle Relay – Final". London 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
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