Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay
| Women's 4×100 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | |||||||||
| Date |
August 9, 2008 (heats) August 10, 2008 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 67 from 16 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 3:33.76 OR | |||||||||
| 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 women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 9–10 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
The Dutch women reinforced their claim to become the strongest team in the world with a magnificent triumph over the Aussies and the Americans in the event. Pulling nearly a worst-to-first effort from a seventh-place turn by Inge Dekker (54.37), Ranomi Kromowidjojo (53.39) and Femke Heemskerk (53.42) moved the team further into the top spot, until they handed Marleen Veldhuis the anchor duties on the final exchange to cruise the field down the stretch in 52.58 and to snatch the freestyle relay title with an Olympic record of 3:33.76.[2][3]
Competing in her fifth Olympics since 1984, U.S. legend Dara Torres anchored her team with a remarkable split of 52.44, the second-fastest of all time, to deliver the foursome of Natalie Coughlin (54.00), Lacey Nymeyer (53.91), and Kara Lynn Joyce (53.98) a silver medal in a new American record of 3:34.33.[4][5] Meanwhile, Australia's Cate Campbell (54.43), Alice Mills (54.43), Melanie Schlanger (53.85), and Lisbeth Trickett (52.34) powered home with a bronze in an Oceanian record of 3:35.05, holding off the fast-pacing Chinese squad of Zhu Yingwen (54.12), Tang Yi (54.19), Xu Yanwei (54.64), and Pang Jiaying (52.69) by 59-hundredths of a second, a superb Asian standard of 3:35.64.[6][7]
Britta Steffen shaved off Inge de Bruijn's 2000 Olympic record by 0.39 seconds with a blazing split of 53.38 to take an early lead for the Germans, but the other threesome of Meike Freitag (54.30), Daniela Götz (55.34), and Antje Buschschulte (53.83) could not maintain their pace and thereby occupied the fifth spot in 3:36.85.[8] France (3:37.68), Great Britain (3:38.18), and Canada (3:38.32) picked up the remaining places to complete a close finish.[7]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Inge Dekker (53.77) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (53.61) Femke Heemskerk (53.62) Marleen Veldhuis (52.62) | 3:33.62 | Eindhoven, Netherlands | 18 March 2008 |
| Olympic record |  Alice Mills (54.75) Lisbeth Lenton (53.57) Petria Thomas (54.67) Jodie Henry (52.95) | 3:35.94 | Athens, Greece | 14 August 2004 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10 | Final | Inge Dekker (54.37) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (53.39) Femke Heemskerk (53.42) Marleen Veldhuis (52.58) | | 3:33.76 | OR |
Results
Heats
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Final
| Rank | Lane | Nationality | Names | Time | Time behind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 6 | | Inge Dekker (54.37) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (53.39) Femke Heemskerk (53.42) Marleen Veldhuis (52.58) | 3:33.76 | OR | |
 | 3 |  | Natalie Coughlin (54.00) Lacey Nymeyer (53.91) Kara Lynn Joyce (53.98) Dara Torres (52.44) | 3:34.33 | 0.57 | AM |
 | 7 | | Cate Campbell (54.43) Alice Mills (54.43) Melanie Schlanger (53.85) Lisbeth Trickett (52.34) | 3:35.05 | 1.29 | OC |
| 4 | 4 |  | Zhu Yingwen (54.12) Tang Yi (54.19) Xu Yanwei (54.64) Pang Jiaying (52.69) | 3:35.64 | 1.88 | AS |
| 5 | 5 |  | Britta Steffen (53.38) OR Meike Freitag (54.30) Daniela Götz (55.34) Antje Buschschulte (53.83) | 3:36.85 | 3.09 | |
| 6 | 2 |  | Céline Couderc (54.32) Alena Popchanka (54.54) Ophélie-Cyrielle Étienne (54.79) Malia Metella (54.03) | 3:37.68 | 3.92 | |
| 7 | 8 |  | Francesca Halsall (53.81) NR Caitlin McClatchey (54.48) Jessica Sylvester (55.34) Melanie Marshall (54.55) | 3:38.18 | 4.42 | NR |
| 8 | 1 |  | Julia Wilkinson (54.33) Erica Morningstar (54.35) Geneviève Saumur (54.68) Audrey Lacroix (54.96) | 3:38.32 | 4.56 |
References
- ↑ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ Baldwin, Alan (10 August 2008). "Veldhuis anchors Dutch to relay gold". Reuters. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Holland team claim gold". Sky Sports. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Torres wins 10th career Olympic medal in relay". Team USA. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ Clarey, Christopher (10 August 2008). "With Silver, Torres Sets Age Record for Medalist". New York Times. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ Paxinos, Stathi (10 August 2008). "Bronze is just the start for Cate, declares coach". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- 1 2 Lohn, John (9 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Netherlands Claims Gold Medal in Women's 400 Freestyle Relay With Olympic Record". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ "Dutch women take freestyle gold". BBC Sport. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
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