Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay
| Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | London Aquatics Centre | |||||||||
| Dates | July 29, 2012 (heats & final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 80 from 15 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 3:09.93 | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2012 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 × 100 metre freestyle relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 29 July at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.[1]
Four years after winning the silver medal in this event, the French men's team won gold for the first time as they edged out the Americans and the Australians with the help of a sterling anchor leg from Yannick Agnel. Trailing behind by 0.55 seconds at the final exchange, Agnel blistered the field with a remarkable split of 46.74 to deliver the foursome of Amaury Leveaux (48.13), Fabien Gilot (47.67), and Clément Lefert (47.39) a gold-medal time in 3:09.93.[2][3] Meanwhile, the U.S. team of Nathan Adrian (47.89), Michael Phelps (47.15), and Cullen Jones (47.60) handed Ryan Lochte the anchor duties to maintain their lead, but Lochte's split of 47.74 was just a full second behind Agnel's anchor that sealed a stunning triumph for the French, leaving the U.S. with a silver medal in 3:10.38.[4][5] With the second-place finish, Phelps also earned his first-ever Olympic silver medal to raise his overall tally to seventeen, (including 14 gold and 2 bronze), bringing him a single step closer to the all-time record held by Larisa Latynina.[6][7]
The Russian quartet of Andrey Grechin (48.57), Nikita Lobintsev (47.39), Vladimir Morozov (47.85), and Danila Izotov (47.60) took home the bronze in 3:11.41 to edge out the more aggressive Aussie foursome of James Magnussen (48.03), Matt Targett (47.83), Eamon Sullivan (47.68), and James Roberts (48.09) by 0.22 seconds, finishing with a fourth-place time in 3:11.63.[8][9][10]
South Africa's solid foursome of Gideon Louw (48.48), Darian Townsend (48.36), Graeme Moore (48.36), and Roland Mark Schoeman (48.27) struggled to mount a challenge in a world-record race as they finished fifth in 3:13.45, holding off the hard-charging Germans Benjamin Starke (49.03), Markus Deibler (47.97), Christoph Fildebrandt (48.45), and Marco di Carli (48.07) by seven-hundredths of a second with a sixth-place finish (3:13.52).[11] Italy (3:14.13) and Belgium (3:14.40) also vied for an Olympic medal to round out a historic finish.[10]
In the absence of César Cielo on the morning prelims, Brazil's Nicolas Oliveira (49.31), Bruno Fratus (48.98), Nicholas Santos (49.68), and Marcelo Chierighini (48.17) missed the final roster by almost half a second (0.50) with a ninth-place effort (3:16.14),[12] repeating their performance from the 2011 World Aquatics Championships.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Michael Phelps (47.51) Garrett Weber-Gale (47.02) Cullen Jones (47.65) Jason Lezak (46.06) | 3:08.24 | Beijing, China | 11 August 2008 |
| Olympic record | Michael Phelps (47.51) Garrett Weber-Gale (47.02) Cullen Jones (47.65) Jason Lezak (46.06) | 3:08.24 | Beijing, China | 11 August 2008 |
Results
Heats
Final
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time behind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 6 |  | Amaury Leveaux (48.13) Fabien Gilot (47.67) Clément Lefert (47.39) Yannick Agnel (46.74) | 3:09.93 | ||
 | 5 | | Nathan Adrian (47.89) Michael Phelps (47.15) Cullen Jones (47.60) Ryan Lochte (47.74) | 3:10.38 | 0.45 | |
 | 3 |  | Andrey Grechin (48.57) Nikita Lobintsev (47.39) Vladimir Morozov (47.85) Danila Izotov (47.60) | 3:11.41 | 1.48 | |
| 4 | 4 |  | James Magnussen (48.03) Matt Targett (47.83) Eamon Sullivan (47.68) James Roberts (48.09) | 3:11.63 | 1.70 | |
| 5 | 1 |  | Gideon Louw (48.48) Darian Townsend (48.36) Graeme Moore (48.36) Roland Mark Schoeman (48.27) | 3:13.45 | 3.52 | |
| 6 | 2 |  | Benjamin Starke (49.03) Markus Deibler (47.97) Christoph Fildebrandt (48.45) Marco di Carli (48.07) | 3:13.52 | 3.59 | |
| 7 | 8 |  | Luca Dotto (48.73) Marco Orsi (48.42) Michele Santucci (48.88) Filippo Magnini (48.10) | 3:14.13 | 4.20 | |
| 8 | 7 | .svg.png){kind=small} | Dieter Dekoninck (49.42) Jasper Aerents (48.34) Emmanuel Vanluchene (48.46) Pieter Timmers (48.18) | 3:14.40 | 4.47 |
References
- ↑ "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 29 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Norlander, Matt (29 July 2012). "France gets revenge for the U.S. in 4x100 free; America takes silver". Fox News. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "Olympic swimming: France defeat US in men's 4×100m relay". BBC Sport. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ Crouse, Karen (29 July 2012). "This Time, It's the U.S. Overtaken for the Gold". New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "France pulls off upset for gold". ESPN. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ Liffey, Kevin (29 July 2012). "Pool records fall as Phelps gets 17th medal". Reuters. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "Phelps Earns First Silver Medal in Free Relay". Team USA. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ Jeffery, Nicole (30 July 2012). "Shocked Australian men's 4×100m freestyle relay team struggles to explain loss". The Australian. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ Cowley, Michael (30 July 2012). "Missile bombs as men's relay team misses medal". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- 1 2 "2012 London Olympics: Four Years After Being on Wrong End of History, French Anchor Way to Men's 400-meter Freestyle Relay Triumph". Swimming World Magazine. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Cameron hails 'perfect race'". News24. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "2012 London Olympics: James Magnussen Powers Australia to Top Seed in Men's 400 Free Relay". Swimming World Magazine. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ↑ "Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay – Heats". London 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
External links
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