Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
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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 | ||||||||||
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Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
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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 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.[ citation needed ] 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. [6] [7]
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. [8] 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. [7]
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | United States (USA) 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 | [9] |
Olympic record | Australia (AUS) 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 |
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August 12 | Heat 2 | David Walters (1:46.57) Ricky Berens (1:45.47) Erik Vendt (1:47.11) Klete Keller (1:45.51) | United States | 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) | United States | 6:58.56 | WR |
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