| | Event type

4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Men

Date	23 July 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	83 from 19 countries

Every time this event had been held at the Olympic Games the US team had won gold and all but once they had done so in world record time. Added to the fact that America were also the current world champions this suggested that a US victory was one of the biggest certainties of the entire Games.

At the first changeover in the final the USA were out of the medals in fourth and, although over the next two legs they improved, they were still trailing Russia and Germany and a shock defeat appeared likely. However the two European nations had top loaded their best swimmers whilst the American trump card Gary Hall, Jr. was to swim the anchor leg for the home team. Hall took two seconds off his main rivals and vaulted his team to a clear victory. Their only disappointment was that they failed, by a third of a second, to break the world record.

For Hall this was the first gold medal of the five he won during his career and meant that he followed his father, also Gary Hall, as an Olympic champion.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	3:18.40 (1 h3)	3:15.41 (1)	Gold
	Jon Olsen • Josh Davis • Brad Schumacher • Gary Hall, Jr. • David Fox • Scott Tucker
2	Russian Federation	RUS	3:20.39 (2 h3)	3:17.06 (2)	Silver
	Roman Yegorov • Aleksandr Popov • Vladimir Predkin • Vladimir Pyshnenko • Denis Pimankov • Konstantin Ushkov
3	Germany	GER	3:19.27 (1 h1)	3:17.20 (3)	Bronze
	Christian Tröger • Bengt Zikarsky • Björn Zikarsky • Mark Pinger • Alexander Lüderitz
4	Brazil	BRA	3:20.21 (2 h2)	3:18.30 (4)
	Xuxa Scherer • Alexandre Massura • André Cordeiro • Gustavo Borges
5	Netherlands	NED	3:20.16 (1 h2)	3:19.02 (5)
	Mark Veens • Pie Geelen • Martin van der Spoel • Pieter van den Hoogenband
6	Australia	AUS	3:20.88 (3 h2)	3:20.13 (6)
	Michael Klim • Matt Dunn • Scott Logan • Chris Fydler • Ian Vander-Wal
7	Sweden	SWE	3:20.74 (2 h1)	3:20.16 (7)
	Lars Frölander • Fredrik Letzler • Anders Holmertz • Christer Wallin • Johan Wallberg
8	Great Britain	GBR	3:21.34 (3 h1)	3:21.52 (8)
	Nick Shackell • Alan Rapley • Mark Stevens • Mike Fibbens
9	New Zealand	NZL	3:21.65 (3 h3)	–
	Trent Bray • Danyon Loader • John Steel • Nick Tongue
10	Romania	ROU	3:21.66 (4 h2)	–
	Horațiu Bădiță • Alexandru Ioanovici • Nicolae Ivan • Răzvan Petcu
11	France	FRA	3:21.79 (4 h3)	–
	Peirrick Chavatte • Ludovic Dépickère • Nicolas Gruson • Frédéric Lefèvre
12	Finland	FIN	3:22.99 (5 h2)	–
	Janne Blomqvist • Antti Kasvio • Jani Sievinen • Kalle Varonen
13	Venezuela	VEN	3:23.04 (5 h3)	–
	Alejandro Carrizo • Diego Henao • Francisco Sánchez • Carlos Santander
14	Croatia	CRO	3:26.02 (4 h1)	–
	Marijan Kanjer • Alen Lončar • Miloš Milošević • Miroslav Vučetić
15	Ecuador	ECU	3:27.77 (6 h2)	–
	Felipe Delgado • Roberto Delgado • Julio Santos • Javier Santos
16	Puerto Rico	PUR	3:28.27 (5 h1)	–
	Ricardo Busquets • Eduardo González • José González • Arsenio López
17	Uzbekistan	UZB	3:28.33 (6 h3)	–
	Vyacheslav Kabanov • Ravil Nachayev • Oleg Pukhnaty • Oleg Tsvetkovsky
18	Kyrgyzstan	KGZ	3:30.62 (7 h3)	–
	Sergey Ashikhmin • Andrey Kvasov • Dmitry Lapin • Vitaly Vasilyev
DQ	Kazakhstan	KAZ	– (DQ h1)	–
	Sergey Borisenko • Aleksey Khovrin • Sergey Ushkalov • Aleksey Yegorov
DNS	Singapore	SGP	– (DNS h2)	–		1

Round One (23 July 1996)

Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Heat One (12:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	Germany	GER		3:19.27			Q
		Mark Pinger		23.83	50.50	0.84	50.50 (2)
		Alexander Lüderitz		23.93	50.06	0.21	1:40.56 (2)
		Bengt Zikarsky		23.27	48.97	0.46	2:29.53 (1)
		Björn Zikarsky		23.43	49.74	0.45	3:19.27 (1)
2	5	Sweden	SWE		3:20.74			Q
		Fredrik Letzler		24.26	50.81	0.82	50.81 (3)
		Lars Frölander		23.52	49.34	0.06	1:40.15 (1)
		Christer Wallin		23.93	50.13	0.29	2:30.28 (2)
		Johan Wallberg		24.02	50.46	0.01	3:20.74 (2)
3	3	Great Britain	GBR		3:21.34			Q
		Nick Shackell		24.28	50.44	0.74	50.44 (1)
		Alan Rapley		24.06	50.18	0.26	1:40.62 (3)
		Mark Stevens		23.64	49.97	0.20	2:30.59 (3)
		Mike Fibbens		23.56	50.75	0.35	3:21.34 (3)
4	6	Croatia	CRO		3:26.02
		Miroslav Vučetić		24.57	51.10	0.86	51.10 (4)
		Miloš Milošević		23.88	50.81	0.14	1:41.91 (4)
		Alen Lončar		24.21	52.38	0.19	2:34.29 (4)
		Marijan Kanjer		24.10	51.73	0.30	3:26.02 (4)
5	7	Puerto Rico	PUR		3:28.27
		Eduardo González		24.79	52.37	0.74	52.37 (5)
		José González		24.29	51.69	0.21	1:44.06 (5)
		Arsenio López		24.97	52.55	0.14	2:36.61 (5)
		Ricardo Busquets		24.57	51.66	0.27	3:28.27 (5)
DQ	2	Kazakhstan	KAZ		–				2
		Aleksey Yegorov		24.58	50.86	0.90	50.86 (AC)
		Sergey Ushkalov		24.50	52.18	0.33	1:43.04 (AC)
		Aleksey Khovrin		24.06	51.49	-0.22	2:34.53 (AC)
		Sergey Borisenko		23.79	50.61	0.06	3:25.14 (AC)

Heat Two (12:15)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	3	Netherlands	NED		3:20.16			Q
		Pie Geelen		24.32	50.86	0.80	50.86 (4)
		Mark Veens		23.88	49.94	0.14	1:40.80 (3)
		Martin van der Spoel		24.19	50.72	0.20	2:31.52 (3)
		Pieter van den Hoogenband		22.85	48.64	0.19	3:20.16 (1)
2	5	Brazil	BRA		3:20.21			Q
		Xuxa Scherer		24.10	50.81	0.84	50.81 (3)
		Alexandre Massura		23.85	50.20	0.14	1:41.01 (4)
		André Cordeiro		23.57	50.27	0.08	2:31.28 (2)
		Gustavo Borges		23.66	48.93	0.21	3:20.21 (2)
3	4	Australia	AUS		3:20.88			Q
		Michael Klim		24.26	50.09	0.79	50.09 (2)
		Ian Vander-Wal		24.62	50.70	0.31	1:40.79 (2)
		Scott Logan		23.85	50.38	0.23	2:31.17 (1)
		Chris Fydler		23.86	49.71	0.25	3:20.88 (3)
4	6	Romania	ROU		3:21.66
		Nicolae Ivan		24.50	51.06	0.83	51.06 (5)
		Răzvan Petcu		24.23	50.88	0.18	1:41.94 (5)
		Horațiu Bădiță		23.85	50.31	0.25	2:32.25 (5)
		Alexandru Ioanovici		23.21	49.41	0.08	3:21.66 (4)
5	2	Finland	FIN		3:22.99
		Jani Sievinen		24.28	50.04	0.77	50.04 (1)
		Antti Kasvio		23.68	50.42	0.15	1:40.46 (1)
		Janne Blomqvist		24.56	51.52	0.26	2:31.98 (4)
		Kalle Varonen		24.08	51.01	0.14	3:22.99 (5)
6	7	Ecuador	ECU		3:27.77
		Julio Santos		24.62	51.48	0.77	51.48 (6)
		Felipe Delgado		24.04	50.59	0.13	1:42.07 (6)
		Roberto Delgado		25.22	53.22	0.28	2:35.29 (6)
		Javier Santos		24.55	52.48	0.31	3:27.77 (6)
DNS	1	Singapore	SGP		–				3

Heat Three (12:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	United States	USA		3:18.40			Q
		David Fox		23.92	50.46	0.77	50.46 (1)
		Scott Tucker		23.76	49.68	0.31	1:40.14 (1)
		Brad Schumacher		23.47	49.19	0.30	2:29.33 (1)
		Josh Davis		23.09	49.07	0.24	3:18.40 (1)
2	5	Russian Federation	RUS		3:20.39			Q
		Roman Yegorov		24.08	50.82	0.81	50.82 (3)
		Denis Pimankov		23.62	50.09	0.34	1:40.91 (3)
		Konstantin Ushkov		23.48	50.32	0.46	2:31.23 (3)
		Vladimir Pyshnenko		23.27	49.16	0.42	3:20.39 (2)
3	3	New Zealand	NZL		3:21.65
		John Steel		24.50	50.60	0.77	50.60 (2)
		Nick Tongue		24.57	50.89	0.56	1:41.49 (4)
		Danyon Loader		24.22	51.02	0.26	2:32.51 (4)
		Trent Bray		23.11	49.14	0.06	3:21.65 (3)
4	6	France	FRA		3:21.79
		Ludovic Dépickère		24.50	51.22	0.76	51.22 (5)
		Nicolas Gruson		23.32	49.61	0.31	1:40.83 (2)
		Peirrick Chavatte		23.65	50.15	0.21	2:30.98 (2)
		Frédéric Lefèvre		24.00	50.81	0.39	3:21.79 (4)
5	2	Venezuela	VEN		3:23.04
		Diego Henao		24.61	51.64	0.71	51.64 (6)
		Carlos Santander		24.14	51.01	0.17	1:42.65 (5)
		Alejandro Carrizo		24.11	51.20	0.15	2:33.85 (5)
		Francisco Sánchez		23.11	49.19	0.21	3:23.04 (5)
6	7	Uzbekistan	UZB		3:28.33
		Ravil Nachayev		24.42	52.46	0.79	52.46 (7)
		Oleg Tsvetkovsky		25.45	52.13	0.12	1:44.59 (7)
		Oleg Pukhnaty		24.47	51.82	0.08	2:36.41 (6)
		Vyacheslav Kabanov		24.48	51.92	0.37	3:28.33 (6)
7	1	Kyrgyzstan	KGZ		3:30.62
		Sergey Ashikhmin		24.47	50.85	0.84	50.85 (4)
		Andrey Kvasov		25.01	52.08	0.54	1:42.93 (6)
		Dmitry Lapin		25.56	53.67	0.40	2:36.60 (7)
		Vitaly Vasilyev		25.53	54.02	0.31	3:30.62 (7)

Final (23 July 1996 — 21:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	United States	USA		3:15.41			OR
		Jon Olsen		23.62	49.94	0.73	49.94 (4)
		Josh Davis		23.03	49.00	0.20	1:38.94 (3)
		Brad Schumacher		23.22	49.02	0.17	2:27.96 (3)
		Gary Hall, Jr.		21.87	47.45	0.09	3:15.41 (1)
2	2	Russian Federation	RUS		3:17.06
		Roman Yegorov		23.36	49.95	0.81	49.95 (5)
		Aleksandr Popov		22.82	47.88	0.26	1:37.83 (1)
		Vladimir Predkin		23.29	49.51	0.10	2:27.34 (1)
		Vladimir Pyshnenko		23.83	49.72	0.50	3:17.06 (2)
3	5	Germany	GER		3:17.20
		Christian Tröger		23.95	49.74	0.78	49.74 (2)
		Bengt Zikarsky		23.28	49.01	0.34	1:38.75 (2)
		Björn Zikarsky		23.13	48.81	0.28	2:27.56 (2)
		Mark Pinger		23.73	49.64	0.34	3:17.20 (3)
4	6	Brazil	BRA		3:18.30
		Xuxa Scherer		23.79	49.69	0.78	49.69 (1)
		Alexandre Massura		23.88	50.24	0.23	1:39.93 (4)
		André Cordeiro		23.87	50.38	0.22	2:30.31 (5)
		Gustavo Borges		22.55	47.99	0.17	3:18.30 (4)
5	3	Netherlands	NED		3:19.02
		Mark Veens		24.49	50.66	0.81	50.66 (8)
		Pie Geelen		23.58	50.09	0.16	1:40.75 (8)
		Martin van der Spoel		23.20	49.98	0.12	2:30.73 (7)
		Pieter van den Hoogenband		22.63	48.29	0.16	3:19.02 (5)
6	1	Australia	AUS		3:20.13
		Michael Klim		24.16	49.87	0.78	49.87 (3)
		Matt Dunn		24.10	50.50	0.23	1:40.37 (7)
		Scott Logan		23.64	49.97	0.28	2:30.34 (6)
		Chris Fydler		23.81	49.79	0.19	3:20.13 (6)
7	7	Sweden	SWE		3:20.16
		Lars Frölander		24.05	50.01	0.72	50.01 (6)
		Fredrik Letzler		23.69	50.13	0.28	1:40.14 (5)
		Anders Holmertz		23.96	50.06	0.27	2:30.20 (4)
		Christer Wallin		23.27	49.96	0.31	3:20.16 (7)
8	8	Great Britain	GBR		3:21.52
		Nick Shackell		24.66	50.50	0.74	50.50 (7)
		Alan Rapley		23.91	49.76	0.30	1:40.26 (6)
		Mark Stevens		23.83	50.50	0.18	2:30.76 (8)
		Mike Fibbens		24.13	50.76	0.29	3:21.52 (8)