| Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ← 20082016 → | ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| 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.
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.
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. 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).
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.
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. Denmark (3:57.76) and Great Britain (3:59.46) rounded out the championship finale.
Records
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 | |
| 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 |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Swimmers | Nation | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Results
Heats
Final
| 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 |
References
- "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 29 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- Auerbach, Nicole (4 August 2012). "U.S. women set world record, win gold in medley relay". USA Today. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- "Phelps looks to close career with 18th gold medal". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- Crouse, Karen (5 August 2012). "U.S. Women Set Mark in Medley Relay". New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- "Aussies get silver behind US medley machine". ABC News Australia. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- Tucker, Jim (5 August 2012). "Leisel Jones and Alicia Coutts enter record books as Australia claims silver in 4×100 medley relay". Herald Sun. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- "Leisel retires from the pool". ABC News Australia. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- Norlander, Matt (5 August 2012). "U.S. women's 4×100 medley team sets world record". CBS Sports. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ "2012 London Olympics: Team USA Breaks World Record in Women's 400-Meter Medley Relay Victory; Australia, Japan Take Silver-Bronze". Swimming World Magazine. 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- Jones, Sam (5 August 2012). "Missy Franklin wins Olympic gold no. 4 but Team GB swimmers flounder". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- "Phelps stuns Serbian to regain world record". CNN. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- "Phelps claims Olympic-record eighth gold medal with relay win". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 16 August 2008. Archived from the original on September 3, 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- "Women's 4×100m Medley Relay – Heats". London2012.com. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
