Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | ||||||||||
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Venue | London Aquatics Centre | |||||||||
Dates | August 3, 2012 (heats) August 4, 2012 (final) | |||||||||
Competitors | 84 from 16 nations | |||||||||
Winning time | 3:52.05 WR | |||||||||
Medalists | ||||||||||
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Swimming at the 2012 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 women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 3–4 August at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom. [1]
The U.S. women's team solidified their triumph to demolish a new world record and to recapture their Olympic title after twelve years. Leading from the start, the fearsome foursome of Missy Franklin (58.50), Rebecca Soni (1:04.82), Dana Vollmer (55.48), and Allison Schmitt (53.25) put together a perfect ending with a stunning gold-medal time in 3:52.05 to shave off China's global standard by 14-hundredths of a second from the 2009 World Championships at the peak of the high-tech bodysuit era. [2] [3] [4]
Australia's Emily Seebohm (59.01), Leisel Jones (1:06.06), Alicia Coutts (56.41), and Melanie Schlanger (52.54) trailed behind their formidable rivals by a couple of seconds, but managed to take home a magnificent silver in 3:54.02. [5] Pulling off a second-place finish, Jones also matched Ian Thorpe for the most medals by an Australian swimmer in her fourth straight Olympics with a remarkable overall tally of nine (three golds, five silver, and one bronze). [6] [7]
Japan's Aya Terakawa (58.99), Satomi Suzuki (1:05.96), Yuka Kato (57.36), and Haruka Ueda (53.42) ended on a spectacular fashion with a bronze medal in 3:55.73, holding off the robust Russian quartet of Anastasia Zuyeva (59.13), Yuliya Yefimova (1:04.98), Irina Bespalova (58.59), and Veronika Popova (53.33) by exactly three-tenths of a second (0.30), a fourth-place time in 3:56.03. [8] [9]
Outside the podium, China's Zhao Jing (59.86), Ji Liping (1:06.94), Lu Ying (56.80), and Tang Yi (52.81) could not produce a similar stellar performance in the medley relay with a fifth-place finish in 3:56.41, while the Dutch foursome of Sharon van Rouwendaal (1:00.72), Moniek Nijhuis (1:06.74), Inge Dekker (56.91), and star Ranomi Kromowidjojo (52.91), who captured another sprint freestyle title an hour earlier, claimed a distant sixth spot in 3:57.28. [9] Denmark (3:57.76) and Great Britain (3:59.46) rounded out the championship finale. [9] [10]
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | China (CHN) Zhao Jing (58.98) Chen Huijia (1:04.12) Jiao Liuyang (56.28) Li Zhesi (52.81) | 3:52.19 | Rome, Italy | 1 August 2009 | [11] |
Olympic record | Australia (AUS) Emily Seebohm (59.33) Leisel Jones (1:04.58) Jessicah Schipper (56.25) Lisbeth Trickett (52.53) | 3:52.69 | Beijing, China | 17 August 2008 | [12] |
The following records were established during the competition:
Date | Event | Swimmers | Nation | Time | Record |
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August 4 | Final | Missy Franklin (58.50) Rebecca Soni (1:04.82) Dana Vollmer (55.48) Allison Schmitt (53.25) | United States | 3:52.05 | WR |
Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time Behind | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | United States | Missy Franklin (58.50) Rebecca Soni (1:04.82) Dana Vollmer (55.48) Allison Schmitt (53.25) | 3:52.05 | WR | ||
4 | Australia | Emily Seebohm (59.01) Leisel Jones (1:06.06) Alicia Coutts (56.41) Melanie Schlanger (52.54) | 3:54.02 | 1.97 | ||
5 | Japan | Aya Terakawa (58.99) Satomi Suzuki (1:05.96) Yuka Kato (57.36) Haruka Ueda (53.42) | 3:55.73 | 3.68 | NR | |
4 | 8 | Russia | Anastasia Zuyeva (59.13) Yuliya Yefimova (1:04.98) Irina Bespalova (58.59) Veronika Popova (53.33) | 3:56.03 | 3.98 | NR |
5 | 1 | China | Zhao Jing (59.86) Ji Liping (1:06.94) Lu Ying (56.80) Tang Yi (52.81) | 3:56.41 | 4.36 | |
6 | 2 | Netherlands | Sharon van Rouwendaal (1:00.72) Moniek Nijhuis (1:06.74) Inge Dekker (56.91) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (52.91) | 3:57.28 | 5.23 | NR |
7 | 3 | Denmark | Mie Østergaard Nielsen (59.76) Rikke Møller Pedersen (1:06.77) Jeanette Ottesen (56.83) Pernille Blume (54.40) | 3:57.76 | 5.71 | NR |
8 | 7 | Great Britain | Gemma Spofforth (59.46) Siobhan-Marie O'Connor (1:08.45) Ellen Gandy (57.47) Francesca Halsall (54.08) | 3:59.46 | 7.41 |
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