| Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Olympic Aquatic Centre | |||||||||
| Dates | August 15, 2004 (heats & final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 75 from 16 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 3:13.17 WR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ← 20002008 → | ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2004 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 |
The men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay took place on 15 August at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece.
The South African team (Roland Mark Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns, Darian Townsend, and Ryk Neethling) set a new world record of 3:13.17 to solidify their country's triumph with a gold medal in the event. Defending Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband swam a fastest split of 46.79 to take the silver for the Dutch in a national record of 3:14.36, leaving the U.S. team of Ian Crocker, Michael Phelps, Neil Walker, and Jason Lezak with the bronze in 3:14.62, their worst result in Olympic history.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Australia (AUS)Michael Klim (48.18) Chris Fydler (48.48) Ashley Callus (48.71) Ian Thorpe (48.30) |
3:13.67 | Sydney, Australia | 17 September 2000 |
| Olympic record | Australia (AUS) Michael Klim (48.18) Chris Fydler (48.48) Ashley Callus (48.71) Ian Thorpe (48.30) |
3:13.67 | Sydney, Australia | 17 September 2000 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 15 | Final | Roland Mark Schoeman (48.17) Lyndon Ferns (48.13) Darian Townsend (48.96) Ryk Neethling (47.91) |
 South Africa |
3:13.17 | WR |
Results
Heats
Final
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time behind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | South Africa |
Roland Mark Schoeman (48.17) AF Lyndon Ferns (48.13) Darian Townsend (48.96) Ryk Neethling (47.91) |
3:13.17 | WR | |
 |
6 |  Netherlands |
Johan Kenkhuis (49.81) Mitja Zastrow (49.25) Klaas-Erik Zwering (48.51) Pieter van den Hoogenband (46.79) |
3:14.36 | 1.19 | NR |
 |
5 |  United States |
Ian Crocker (50.05) Michael Phelps (48.74) Neil Walker (47.97) Jason Lezak (47.86) |
3:14.62 | 1.45 | |
| 4 | 2 |  Russia |
Andrey Kapralov (49.27) Yevgeny Lagunov (49.17) Denis Pimankov (49.25) Alexander Popov (48.06) |
3:15.75 | 2.68 | |
| 3 |  Italy |
Lorenzo Vismara (49.16) Filippo Magnini (48.30) Michele Scarica (49.21) Christian Galenda (49.08) |
||||
| 6 | 1 | Australia |
Michael Klim (49.37) Todd Pearson (49.07) Eamon Sullivan (49.19) Ian Thorpe (48.14) |
3:15.77 | 2.70 | |
| 7 | 7 |  France |
Romain Barnier (49.65) Julien Sicot (49.31) Fabien Gilot (48.95) Frédérick Bousquet (48.32) |
3:16.23 | 3.06 | |
| 8 | 8 |  Germany |
Jens Schreiber (49.88) Lars Conrad (48.72) Torsten Spanneberg (49.24) Stefan Herbst (49.34) |
3:17.18 | 4.01 |
References
- "Swimming schedule". BBC Sport. 5 August 2004. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
- "South African Men Take a Historic Relay Victory in 400 free – Smash World Record". Swimming World Magazine. 15 August 2004. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- Zinser, Lynn (16 August 2012). "Olympics: Swimming; South Africa's Relay Upset Leaves U.S. and Phelps 3rd". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2013.