| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Medley Relay, Women

Date	15 – 17 August 2008
Status	Olympic
Location	Beijing Guojia Youyong Zhongxin, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing
Participants	74 from 16 countries

Prior to 2004 only the controversial East German team had broken the American dominance of this event. That all changed in Athens when the Australians broke through to win their first title and by Beijing they had built on this to emerge as world champions, world record holders and clear favourites to retain the Olympic title.

After the USA had make a strong start it was the performance of Australia’s individual breaststroke champion Leisel Jones that was to prove the difference between gold and silver. Whilst the silver medal winning Americans recorded better times on three of the four legs this could not make up for the 1.4 seconds that Jones pulled out over Rebecca Soni. In a fitting finale to the women’s programme both teams were comfortably under the pre-existing world record. China broke the Asian record in 3rd whilst Great Britain’s European record for 4th meant that 4 continental records fell in the final.

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	Australia	AUS	3:57.94 (1 h2)	3:52.69 (1)	Gold
Backstroke	Emily Seebohm		–	–
Breaststroke	Leisel Jones		–	–
Butterfly	Jess Schipper		–	–
Freestyle	Libby Trickett		–	–
Breaststroke	Tarnee White		–	–
Butterfly	Felicity Galvez		–	–
Freestyle	Shayne Reese		–	–
2	United States	USA	3:59.15 (1 h1)	3:53.30 (2)	Silver
Backstroke	Natalie Coughlin		–	–
Breaststroke	Rebecca Soni		–	–
Butterfly	Christine Magnuson		–	–
Freestyle	Dara Torres		–	–
Backstroke	Margaret Hoelzer		–	–
Breaststroke	Megan Jendrick		–	–
Butterfly	Elaine Breeden		–	–
Freestyle	Kara Lynn Joyce		–	–
3	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:59.21 (2 h1)	3:56.11 (3)	Bronze
Backstroke	Zhao Jing		–	–
Breaststroke	Sun Ye		–	–
Butterfly	Zhou Yafei		–	–
Freestyle	Pang Jiaying		–	–
Backstroke	Xu Tianlongzi		–	–
4	Great Britain	GBR	3:59.14 (2 h2)	3:57.50 (4)
Backstroke	Gemma Spofforth		–	–
Breaststroke	Kate Haywood		–	–
Butterfly	Jemma Lowe		–	–
Freestyle	Fran Halsall		–	–
5	Russian Federation	RUS	3:59.66 (3 h2)	3:57.84 (5)
Backstroke	Anastasiya Zuyeva		–	–
Breaststroke	Yuliya Yefimova		–	–
Butterfly	Nataliya Sutyagina		–	–
Freestyle	Anastasiya Aksenova		–	–
Backstroke	Kseniya Moskvina		–	–
6	Japan	JPN	3:59.91 (3 h1)	3:59.54 (6)
Backstroke	Reiko Nakamura		–	–
Breaststroke	Asami Kitagawa		–	–
Butterfly	Yuka Kato		–	–
Freestyle	Haruka Ueda		–	–
Backstroke	Hanae Ito		–	–
7	Canada	CAN	4:02.13 (5 h2)	4:01.35 (7)
Backstroke	Julia Wilkinson		–	–
Breaststroke	Annamay Pierse		–	–
Butterfly	Audrey Lacroix		–	–
Freestyle	Erica Morningstar		–	–
DQ	Sweden	SWE	4:02.12 (4 h2)	– (DQ)
Backstroke	Sarah Sjöström		–	–
Breaststroke	Joline Höstman		–	–
Butterfly	Anna-Karin Kammerling		–	–
Freestyle	Josefin Lillhage		–	–
9	Germany	GER	4:02.53 (4 h1)	–
Backstroke	Antje Buschschulte		–	–
Breaststroke	Sarah Poewe		–	–
Butterfly	Daniela Samulski		–	–
Freestyle	Britta Steffen		–	–
10	Brazil	BRA	4:02.61 (5 h1)	–
Backstroke	Fabíola Molina		–	–
Breaststroke	Tatiane Sakemi		–	–
Butterfly	Gabriella Silva		–	–
Freestyle	Tatiana Lemos		–	–
11	France	FRA	4:02.95 (6 h1)	–
Backstroke	Alexianne Castel		–	–
Breaststroke	Sophie de Ronchi		–	–
Butterfly	Aurore Mongel		–	–
Freestyle	Alena Popchanka		–	–
12	South Africa	RSA	4:04.20 (6 h2)	–
Backstroke	Melissa Corfe		–	–
Breaststroke	Suzaan van Biljon		–	–
Butterfly	Mandy Loots		–	–
Freestyle	Lize-Mari Retief		–	–
13	Netherlands	NED	4:04.74 (7 h1)	–
Backstroke	Femke Heemskerk		–	–
Breaststroke	Jolijn van Valkengoed		–	–
Butterfly	Inge Dekker		–	–
Freestyle	Ranomi Kromowidjojo		–	–
14	Italy	ITA	4:04.93 (7 h2)	–
Backstroke	Romina Armellini		–	–
Breaststroke	Roberta Panara		–	–
Butterfly	Ilaria Bianchi		–	–
Freestyle	Federica Pellegrini		–	–
15	Spain	ESP	4:06.40 (8 h1)	–
Backstroke	Nina Zhivanevskaya		–	–
Breaststroke	Mireia Belmonte		–	–
Butterfly	Ángela San Juan		–	–
Freestyle	María Fuster		–	–
16	Ukraine	UKR	4:08.62 (8 h2)	–
Backstroke	Iryna Amshennikova		–	–
Breaststroke	Yuliya Pidlisna		–	–
Butterfly	Kateryna Zubkova		–	–
Freestyle	Dar'ia Stepaniuk		–	–

Round One

Date	15 August 2008
Format	Fastest 8 teams advanced to the final round.

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	4	Australia	AUS	3:57.94	Q
2	5	Great Britain	GBR	3:59.14	Q
3	4	United States	USA	3:59.15	Q
4	5	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:59.21	Q
5	3	Russian Federation	RUS	3:59.66	Q
6	3	Japan	JPN	3:59.91	Q
7	7	Sweden	SWE	4:02.12	Q
8	2	Canada	CAN	4:02.13	Q
9	8	Germany	GER	4:02.53
10	2	Brazil	BRA	4:02.61
11	1	France	FRA	4:02.95
12	6	South Africa	RSA	4:04.20
13	6	Netherlands	NED	4:04.74
14	8	Italy	ITA	4:04.93
15	7	Spain	ESP	4:06.40
16	1	Ukraine	UKR	4:08.62

Heat #1

Time	20:32

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	United States	USA	3:59.15	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Margaret Hoelzer		–	0.71	29.12	59.29 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Megan Jendrick		–	0.06	31.04	1:07.17 (2)	2:06.46 (1)
Butterfly	–	Elaine Breeden		–	0.46	27.03	58.59 (5)	3:05.05 (2)
Freestyle	–	Kara Lynn Joyce		–	0.30	25.79	54.10 (3)	– (–)
2	5	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:59.21	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Xu Tianlongzi		–	0.58	29.94	1:01.13 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Sun Ye		–	0.12	31.23	1:06.85 (1)	2:07.98 (3)
Butterfly	–	Zhou Yafei		–	0.29	26.32	56.94 (1)	3:04.92 (1)
Freestyle	–	Pang Jiaying		–	0.24	25.86	54.29 (5)	– (–)
3	3	Japan	JPN	3:59.91	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Hanae Ito		–	0.62	29.50	1:00.34 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Asami Kitagawa		–	0.35	31.23	1:07.33 (3)	2:07.67 (2)
Butterfly	–	Yuka Kato		–	0.36	26.43	57.69 (4)	3:05.36 (3)
Freestyle	–	Haruka Ueda		–	0.37	26.32	54.55 (7)	– (–)
4	8	Germany	GER	4:02.53	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Antje Buschschulte		–	0.61	29.44	1:00.51 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Sarah Poewe		–	0.38	31.89	1:08.95 (5)	2:09.46 (4)
Butterfly	–	Daniela Samulski		–	0.30	27.32	59.78 (7)	3:09.24 (6)
Freestyle	–	Britta Steffen		–	0.21	25.44	53.29 (1)	– (–)
5	2	Brazil	BRA	4:02.61	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Fabíola Molina		–	0.61	29.67	1:00.71 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Tatiane Sakemi		–	0.43	33.17	1:10.42 (6)	2:11.13 (6)
Butterfly	–	Gabriella Silva		–	-0.02	25.91	56.97 (2)	3:08.10 (4)
Freestyle	–	Tatiana Lemos		–	0.11	26.11	54.51 (6)	– (–)
6	1	France	FRA	4:02.95	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Alexianne Castel		–	0.74	30.06	1:01.28 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Sophie de Ronchi		–	0.16	31.56	1:08.75 (4)	2:10.03 (5)
Butterfly	–	Aurore Mongel		–	0.35	27.34	58.64 (6)	3:08.67 (5)
Freestyle	–	Alena Popchanka		–	0.44	26.32	54.28 (4)	– (–)
7	6	Netherlands	NED	4:04.74	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Femke Heemskerk		–	0.70	30.66	1:02.97 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Jolijn van Valkengoed		–	0.44	32.47	1:10.85 (8)	2:13.82 (8)
Butterfly	–	Inge Dekker		–	-0.01	26.08	57.41 (3)	3:11.23 (7)
Freestyle	–	Ranomi Kromowidjojo		–	0.28	25.66	53.51 (2)	– (–)
8	7	Spain	ESP	4:06.40	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Nina Zhivanevskaya		–	0.65	29.80	1:00.77 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Mireia Belmonte		–	0.15	33.19	1:10.46 (7)	2:11.23 (7)
Butterfly	–	Ángela San Juan		–	0.22	27.94	1:00.08 (8)	3:11.31 (8)
Freestyle	–	María Fuster		–	-0.03	26.33	55.09 (8)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	20:39

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	Australia	AUS	3:57.94	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Emily Seebohm		–	0.60	29.15	59.95 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Tarnee White		–	0.12	30.36	1:06.81 (2)	2:06.76 (1)
Butterfly	–	Felicity Galvez		–	0.31	26.45	56.82 (1)	3:03.58 (1)
Freestyle	–	Shayne Reese		–	0.45	25.87	54.36 (5)	– (–)
2	5	Great Britain	GBR	3:59.14	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Gemma Spofforth		–	0.63	29.63	1:00.33 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Kate Haywood		–	0.37	31.15	1:08.00 (5)	2:08.33 (4)
Butterfly	–	Jemma Lowe		–	0.16	26.29	57.34 (2)	3:05.67 (2)
Freestyle	–	Fran Halsall		–	0.32	25.56	53.47 (1)	– (–)
3	3	Russian Federation	RUS	3:59.66	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Kseniya Moskvina		–	0.70	29.78	1:01.05 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Yuliya Yefimova		–	0.44	30.73	1:06.45 (1)	2:07.50 (2)
Butterfly	–	Nataliya Sutyagina		–	0.21	26.93	58.31 (5)	3:05.81 (3)
Freestyle	–	Anastasiya Aksenova		–	0.47	25.48	53.85 (3)	– (–)
4	7	Sweden	SWE	4:02.12	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Sarah Sjöström		–	0.72	30.32	1:02.48 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Joline Höstman		–	0.36	31.93	1:08.48 (7)	2:10.96 (7)
Butterfly	–	Anna-Karin Kammerling		–	0.00	25.78	57.57 (3)	3:08.53 (5)
Freestyle	–	Josefin Lillhage		–	0.32	25.55	53.59 (2)	– (–)
5	2	Canada	CAN	4:02.13	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Julia Wilkinson		–	0.76	29.91	1:00.90 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Annamay Pierse		–	0.44	31.69	1:07.22 (3)	2:08.12 (3)
Butterfly	–	Audrey Lacroix		–	0.25	27.67	59.84 (8)	3:07.96 (4)
Freestyle	–	Erica Morningstar		–	0.27	25.50	54.17 (4)	– (–)
6	6	South Africa	RSA	4:04.20	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Melissa Corfe		–	0.58	30.57	1:02.62 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Suzaan van Biljon		–	0.25	31.70	1:07.90 (4)	2:10.52 (5)
Butterfly	–	Mandy Loots		–	0.32	27.28	58.76 (6)	3:09.28 (7)
Freestyle	–	Lize-Mari Retief		–	0.24	25.56	54.92 (6)	– (–)
7	8	Italy	ITA	4:04.93	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Romina Armellini		–	0.63	30.91	1:02.49 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Roberta Panara		–	0.27	31.74	1:08.36 (6)	2:10.85 (6)
Butterfly	–	Ilaria Bianchi		–	0.30	26.76	58.09 (4)	3:08.94 (6)
Freestyle	–	Federica Pellegrini		–	0.24	26.88	55.99 (8)	– (–)
8	1	Ukraine	UKR	4:08.62	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Iryna Amshennikova		–	0.64	30.16	1:03.63 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Yuliya Pidlisna		–	0.10	32.21	1:09.53 (8)	2:13.16 (8)
Butterfly	–	Kateryna Zubkova		–	0.18	27.71	59.65 (7)	3:12.81 (8)
Freestyle	–	Dar'ia Stepaniuk		–	0.25	26.40	55.81 (7)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	17 August 2008 — 10:47

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	Australia	AUS	3:52.69	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Backstroke	–	Emily Seebohm		–	0.57	28.91	59.33 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Leisel Jones		–	0.19	30.38	1:04.58 (1)	2:03.91 (1)
Butterfly	–	Jess Schipper		–	0.22	26.10	56.25 (2)	3:00.16 (1)
Freestyle	–	Libby Trickett		–	0.24	25.19	52.53 (3)	– (–)
2	3	United States	USA	3:53.30	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Natalie Coughlin		–	0.61	28.39	58.94 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Rebecca Soni		–	0.28	30.88	1:05.95 (2)	2:04.89 (2)
Butterfly	–	Christine Magnuson		–	0.28	26.09	56.14 (1)	3:01.03 (2)
Freestyle	–	Dara Torres		–	0.12	24.97	52.27 (1)	– (–)
3	6	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:56.11	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Zhao Jing		–	0.54	29.12	59.56 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Sun Ye		–	0.00	31.02	1:06.75 (4)	2:06.31 (4)
Butterfly	–	Zhou Yafei		–	0.20	26.29	57.40 (3)	3:03.71 (3)
Freestyle	–	Pang Jiaying		–	0.12	25.04	52.40 (2)	– (–)
4	5	Great Britain	GBR	3:57.50	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Gemma Spofforth		–	0.62	29.04	59.05 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Kate Haywood		–	0.26	31.21	1:07.51 (7)	2:06.56 (5)
Butterfly	–	Jemma Lowe		–	0.23	26.10	58.13 (5)	3:04.69 (5)
Freestyle	–	Fran Halsall		–	0.00	24.61	52.81 (4)	– (–)
5	2	Russian Federation	RUS	3:57.84	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Anastasiya Zuyeva		–	0.77	29.05	59.16 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Yuliya Yefimova		–	0.24	30.30	1:06.46 (3)	2:05.62 (3)
Butterfly	–	Nataliya Sutyagina		–	0.21	26.70	58.09 (4)	3:03.71 (3)
Freestyle	–	Anastasiya Aksenova		–	0.28	25.37	54.13 (6)	– (–)
6	7	Japan	JPN	3:59.54	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Reiko Nakamura		–	0.61	29.04	59.74 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Asami Kitagawa		–	0.23	31.20	1:07.04 (6)	2:06.78 (6)
Butterfly	–	Yuka Kato		–	0.27	26.53	58.17 (6)	3:04.95 (6)
Freestyle	–	Haruka Ueda		–	0.18	26.39	54.59 (7)	– (–)
7	8	Canada	CAN	4:01.35	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Julia Wilkinson		–	0.68	30.24	1:01.35 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Annamay Pierse		–	0.19	31.49	1:06.91 (5)	2:08.26 (7)
Butterfly	–	Audrey Lacroix		–	0.28	27.39	59.01 (8)	3:07.27 (7)
Freestyle	–	Erica Morningstar		–	0.21	25.72	54.08 (5)	– (–)
DQ	1	Sweden	SWE	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)		1
Backstroke	–	Sarah Sjöström		–	[0.75]	[30.42]	[1:02.63] ([8])	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Joline Höstman		–	[0.36]	[31.80]	[1:08.11] ([8])	[2:10.74] ([8])
Butterfly	–	Anna-Karin Kammerling		–	[-0.03]	[25.81]	[58.51] ([7])	[3:09.25] ([8])
Freestyle	–	Josefin Lillhage		–	[-0.10]	–	– (–)	– (–)