Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay

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Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
Venue Olympic Aquatics Stadium
Dates6 August 2016 (heats & final)
Competitors71 from 16 nations
Teams16
Winning time3:30.65 WR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svgFlag of Australia.svg  Australia
Brittany Elmslie, Bronte Campbell, Cate Campbell, Emma McKeon, Madison Wilson*
Silver medal icon.svgFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel, Abbey Weitzeil, Dana Vollmer, Amanda Weir*, Lia Neal*, Allison Schmitt*
Bronze medal icon.svgFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Chantal Van Landeghem, Sandrine Mainville, Taylor Ruck, Penny Oleksiak, Michelle Williams*
*Indicates the swimmer only competed in the preliminary heats.
  2012
2020  

The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on 6 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. [1]

Summary

As expected, the Australian women's team solidified its triumph to set a new world record and defend the Olympic title in one of the program's freestyle relay races with the help of sterling final legs from sisters Bronte and Cate Campbell. Trailing half of the race with a marginal lead from the Americans, Bronte booted the Australians to the front with a third-leg split of 52.15, before her sister Cate (51.97) put on a fastest finish at the anchor leg to deliver the foursome of Emma McKeon (53.41) and Brittany Elmslie (53.12) a gold-medal time in 3:30.65. Moreover, they managed to break their own world record, set at the Commonwealth Games two years earlier, by a third of a second (3:30.98). [2] [3]

The U.S. team of Simone Manuel (53.36) and Abbey Weitzeil (52.56) handed Dana Vollmer the third-leg duties to maintain their lead, but Vollmer's split of 53.18 was just almost a second behind Bronte Campbell that pushed Australia to the front. As Katie Ledecky dove into the pool at the final exchange with a split of 52.79, she could not catch Cate Campbell near the wall to leave the Americans with a silver medal in 3:31.89. [4] Meanwhile, Sandrine Mainville (53.86), Chantal Van Landeghem (53.12), Taylor Ruck (53.19), and Penny Oleksiak (52.72) ended Canada's 20-year medal drought for the female swimmers by taking home the bronze in 3:32.89. [5] [6]

The Dutch quartet of Marrit Steenbergen (54.29), Femke Heemskerk (53.47), Inge Dekker (53.85), and three-time gold medalist Ranomi Kromowidjojo (52.20) fell short of the medal podium with a fourth-place time in 3:33.81, while Sweden (3:35.90), Italy (3:36.78), France (3:37.45), and Japan (3:37.78) also vied for an Olympic medal. [6]

Earlier in the prelims, the Australian team of Elmslie (53.22), Campbell sisters Bronte (53.26) and Cate (51.80), and Madison Wilson (54.11) grabbed the top seed with a 3:32.39 to overturn their own existing Olympic record by 86-hundredths of a second. [7]

The medals were presented by John Dowling Coates, Australia Vice President of the IOC and Dennis Miller, Vice President of FINA.

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World recordFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia  (AUS)
Bronte Campbell (53.15)
Melanie Schlanger (52.76)
Emma McKeon (52.91)
Cate Campbell (52.16)
3:30.98 Glasgow, Scotland 24 July 2014 [8]
Olympic recordFlag of Australia.svg  Australia  (AUS)
Alicia Coutts (53.90)
Cate Campbell (53.19)
Brittany Elmslie (53.41)
Melanie Schlanger (52.65)
3:33.15 London, England 28 July 2012 [9]

The following records were established during the competition:

DateEventNameNationTimeRecord
6 AugustHeat 2 Madison Wilson (54.11)
Brittany Elmslie (53.22)
Bronte Campbell (53.26)
Cate Campbell (51.80)
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 3:32.39 OR
6 AugustFinal Emma McKeon (53.41)
Brittany Elmslie (53.12)
Bronte Campbell (52.15)
Cate Campbell (51.97)
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 3:30.65 WR , OR

Competition format

The competition consisted of two rounds: heats and a final. The relay teams with the best 8 times in the heats advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round. [1]

Results

Heats

A total of sixteen countries have qualified to participate. The best eight from two heats advanced to the final.

RankHeatLaneNationSwimmersTimeNotes
124Flag of Australia.svg  Australia Madison Wilson (54.11)
Brittany Elmslie (53.22)
Bronte Campbell (53.26)
Cate Campbell (51.80)
3:32.39Q, OR
225Flag of the United States.svg  United States Amanda Weir (53.60)
Lia Neal (53.63)
Allison Schmitt (53.72)
Katie Ledecky (52.64)
3:33.59Q
323Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Sandrine Mainville (54.17)
Chantal Van Landeghem (52.90)
Michelle Williams (53.73)
Taylor Ruck (53.04)
3:33.84Q, NR
413Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Erika Ferraioli (54.91)
Silvia di Pietro (53.96)
Aglaia Pezzato (53.86)
Federica Pellegrini (53.17)
3:35.90Q NR
514Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Inge Dekker (54.75)
Marrit Steenbergen (53.31)
Maud van der Meer (53.88)
Femke Heemskerk (54.00)
3:35.94Q
615Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Michelle Coleman (54.39)
Louise Hansson (54.69)
Ida Lindborg (54.77)
Sarah Sjöström (52.57)
3:36.42Q
712Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Miki Uchida (53.93)
Rikako Ikee (53.41)
Misaki Yamaguchi (54.87)
Yayoi Matsumoto (54.53)
3:36.74Q, NR
822Flag of France.svg  France Béryl Gastaldello (54.94)
Charlotte Bonnet (53.16)
Mathilde Cini (54.64)
Anna Santamans (54.11)
3:36.85Q, NR
916Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Zhu Menghui (54.06)
Sun Meichen (54.79)
Tang Yi (54.56)
Shen Duo (53.84)
3:37.25
1027Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Veronika Popova (54.35)
Viktoriya Andreeva (54.45)
Rozaliya Nasretdinova (54.32)
Nataliya Lovtsova (54.56)
3:37.68 NR
1126Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Larissa Oliveira (55.54)
Etiene Medeiros (53.99)
Daynara de Paula (54.81)
Manuella Lyrio (55.06)
3:39.40
1217Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Pernille Blume (54.54)
Julie Kepp Jensen (54.79)
Sarah Bro (55.75)
Mie Nielsen (54.37)
3:39.45
1321Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Fatima Gallardo (55.84)
Marta González (54.98)
Patricia Castro (55.08)
Melania Costa Schmid (54.56)
3:40.46 NR
1428Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland Maria Ugolkova (54.75 NR )
Alexandra Touretski (55.28)
Danielle Villars (55.37)
Noemi Girardet (55.62)
3:41.02 NR
1511Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Katarzyna Wilk (55.34)
Alicja Tchórz (55.01)
Aleksandra Urbańczyk (55.78)
Anna Dowgiert (55.30)
3:41.43
1618Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Keren Siebner (55.60)
Zohar Shikler (55.29)
Amit Ivry (55.71)
Andrea Murez (55.37)
3:41.97

Final

The relay teams prepare for the final. Rio 2016 Olympics - Swimming 6 August evening session (28887604020).jpg
The relay teams prepare for the final.
RankLaneNationSwimmersTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg4Flag of Australia.svg  Australia Emma McKeon (53.41)
Brittany Elmslie (53.12)
Bronte Campbell (52.15)
Cate Campbell (51.97)
3:30.65 WR
Silver medal icon.svg5Flag of the United States.svg  United States Simone Manuel (53.36)
Abbey Weitzeil (52.56)
Dana Vollmer (53.18)
Katie Ledecky (52.79)
3:31.89 AM
Bronze medal icon.svg3Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Sandrine Mainville (53.86)
Chantal Van Landeghem (53.12)
Taylor Ruck (53.19)
Penny Oleksiak (52.72)
3:32.89 NR
42Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Marrit Steenbergen (54.29)
Femke Heemskerk (53.47)
Inge Dekker (53.85)
Ranomi Kromowidjojo (52.20)
3:33.81
57Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Michelle Coleman (54.19)
Sarah Sjöström (52.47)
Ida Marko-Varga (54.70)
Louise Hansson (54.54)
3:35.90
66Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Erika Ferraioli (55.21)
Silvia di Pietro (53.69)
Aglaia Pezzato (53.99)
Federica Pellegrini (53.89)
3:36.78
78Flag of France.svg  France Béryl Gastaldello (54.83)
Charlotte Bonnet (53.17)
Mathilde Cini (54.92)
Anna Santamans (54.53)
3:37.45
81Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Miki Uchida (54.23)
Rikako Ikee (53.98)
Misaki Yamaguchi (55.11)
Yayoi Matsumoto (54.46)
3:37.78

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References

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