Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay
| Men's 4×200 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | |||||||||
| Date |
August 12, 2008 (heats) August 13, 2008 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 73 from 16 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 6:58.56 WR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2008 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 |
| Marathon | ||
| 10 km | men | women |
The men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 12–13 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
The U.S. men's team smashed both the seven-minute barrier and the world record to keep Michael Phelps' gold-medal streak alive and most importantly, to defend their Olympic title in the event. The American foursome of Phelps (1:43.31, the second fastest split in history), Ryan Lochte (1:44.28), Ricky Berens (1:46.29), and Peter Vanderkaay (1:44.68) blistered the field, and prevailed in a sterling time of 6:58.56 to shave off their standard by almost five seconds from the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne.[2][3] Earlier in the prelims, Berens (1:45.47) and his teammates David Walters (1:46.57), Erik Vendt (1:47.11), and Klete Keller (1:45.51) registered a top-seeded time of 7:04.66 from heat two to demolish Australia's 2000 Olympic record by 2.39 seconds.[4][5]
Russia's Nikita Lobintsev (1:46.64), Yevgeny Lagunov (1:46.56), Danila Izotov (1:45.86), and Alexander Sukhorukov (1:44.65) trailed behind the Americans by over five body lengths to take home the silver in a European record of 7:03.70.[6] Meanwhile, Australia's Patrick Murphy (1:45.95), Grant Hackett (1:45.87), Grant Brits (1:47.13), and Nic Ffrost (1:46.03) picked up a bronze in 7:04.98 to hold off the agile Italian quartet of Marco Belotti (1:47.37), Emiliano Brembilla (1:47.33), Massimiliano Rosolino (1:46.53), and Filippo Magnini (1:44.12) by 37-hundredths of a second, a national record of 7:05.35.[7][8]
Canada's Brent Hayden (1:44.42) helped his teammates Colin Russell (1:46.89), Brian Johns (1:47.61), Brent Hayden (1:44.42), and Andrew Hurd (1:46.85) claim a fifth spot in a national record of 7:05.77.[9] Great Britain (7:05.92), Japan (7:10.31), and South Africa (7:13.02), led by fourth-place finalist Jean Basson, rounded out the field.[8]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Michael Phelps (1:45.36) Ryan Lochte (1:45.86) Klete Keller (1:46.31) Peter Vanderkaay (1:45.71) | 7:03.24 | Melbourne, Australia | 30 March 2007 |
| Olympic record |  Ian Thorpe (1:46.03) Michael Klim (1:46.40) Todd Pearson (1:47.36) Bill Kirby (1:47.26) | 7:07.05 | Sydney, Australia | 19 September 2000 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 12 | Heat 2 | David Walters (1:46.57) Ricky Berens (1:45.47) Erik Vendt (1:47.11) Klete Keller (1:45.51) | | 7:04.66 | OR |
| August 13 | Final | Michael Phelps (1:43.31) Ryan Lochte (1:44.28) Ricky Berens (1:46.29) Peter Vanderkaay (1:44.68) | | 6:58.56 | WR, OR |
Results
Heats
Final
References
- ↑ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ Hullah, Jack (13 August 2008). "Michael Phelps takes gold medal tally to 11 to become greatest Olympian". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ Stallman, Jason (13 August 2008). "Phelps Adds 2 More Gold Medals". New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ Lohn, John (12 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: United States Shatters Olympic Record to Qualify First in 800 Freestyle Relay". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ "Day 4: U.S. swimmers sail through to semifinals". USA Today. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ "Russian swimmers take Olympic silver". RIA Novosti. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ Jeffery, Nicole (13 August 2008). "Michael Phelps wins butterfly, relay gold medals to swim into history at Beijing Olympics". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- 1 2 Lohn, John (12 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: U.S. Men Break 7:00 In Men's 800 Freestyle Relay". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ Morris, Jim (13 August 2008). "Canada's Beijing pool drought continues". Toronto Star. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
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