| | Event type

4 x 100 metres Medley Relay, Women

Date	24 July 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	103 from 24 countries

With a quartet comprising entirely of swimmers who had won individual medals in Atlanta, the US looked unbeatable in the medley relay. The race went exactly as predicted with opening swimmer Beth Botsford putting the Americans into a lead that, although they were briefly passed by South Africa at halfway, meant they were guaranteed the gold. The main interest involved charting the various fluctuations of the teams chasing the silver and bronze medals. As South Africa faded out of the podium positions Germany moved through to claim silver with China third.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	4:05.80 (1 h2)	4:02.88 (1)	Gold
	Beth Botsford • Amanda Beard • Angel Martino • Amy Van Dyken • Catherine Fox • Whitney Hedgepeth • Kristine Quance • Jenny Thompson
2	Australia	AUS	4:08.87 (1 h3)	4:05.08 (2)	Silver
	Nicole Stevenson • Sam Riley • Susie O'Neill • Sarah Ryan • Helen Denman • Angela Kennedy
3	People's Republic of China	CHN	4:09.23 (1 h1)	4:07.34 (3)	Bronze
	Chen Yan • Han Xue • Cai Huijue • Shan Ying
4	South Africa	RSA	4:09.47 (3 h3)	4:08.16 (4)
	Marianne Kriel • Penny Heyns • Mandy Loots • Heleen Muller
5	Canada	CAN	4:09.50 (2 h2)	4:08.29 (5)
	Julie Howard • Guylaine Cloutier • Sarah Evanetz • Shannon Shakespeare
6	Germany	GER	4:08.95 (2 h3)	4:09.22 (6)
	Antje Buschschulte • Kathrin Dumitru • Franziska van Almsick • Sandra Völker
7	Russian Federation	RUS	4:10.65 (2 h1)	4:10.56 (7)
	Nina Zhivanevskaya • Yelena Makarova • Yelena Nazemnova • Nataliya Meshcheryakova • Svetlana Pozdeyeva
8	Italy	ITA	4:10.57 (4 h3)	4:10.59 (8)
	Lorenza Vigarani • Manuela Dalla Valle • Ilaria Tocchini • Cecilia Vianini
9	Japan	JPN	4:10.71 (5 h3)	–
	Ayari Aoyama • Suzu Chiba • Mai Nakamura • Masami Tanaka
10	Sweden	SWE	4:10.88 (3 h2)	–
	Therèse Alshammar • Hanna Jaltner • Louise Jöhncke • Johanna Sjöberg
11	Hungary	HUN	4:10.92 (3 h1)	–
	Krisztina Egerszegi • Edit Klocker • Ágnes Kovács • Anna Nyíri
12	Netherlands	NED	4:11.64 (4 h1)	–
	Madelon Baans • Karin Brienesse • Brenda Starink • Wilma van Hofwegen
13	Great Britain	GBR	4:13.75 (4 h2)	–
	Caroline Foot • Jaime King • Karen Pickering • Helen Slatter
14	Finland	FIN	4:14.14 (5 h1)	–
	Mia Hagman • Anu Koivisto • Marja Pärssinen-Päivinen • Minna Salmela
15	Spain	ESP	4:15.63 (5 h2)	–
	Claudia Franco • María Olay • María Peláez • Eva Piñera
16	France	FRA	4:15.69 (6 h1)	–
	Karine Brémond • Solenne Figuès • Cécile Jeanson • Hélène Ricardo
17	Romania	ROU	4:16.18 (6 h2)	–
	Cătălina Căşaru • Beatrice Coadă • Luminița Dobrescu • Loredana Zisu
18	Republic of Korea	KOR	4:18.98 (7 h2)	–
	Byeon Hye-Yeong • Lee Bo-Eun • Lee Ji-Hyeon • Park U-Hui
19	New Zealand	NZL	4:19.83 (6 h3)	–
	Alison Fitch • Lydia Lipscombe • Anna Simcic • Anna Wilson
20	Czech Republic	CZE	4:21.05 (8 h2)	–
	Marcela Kubalčíková • Kristýna Kyněrová • Lenka Maňhalová • Kateřina Pivoňková
21	Portugal	POR	4:21.61 (7 h3)	–
	Ana Alegria • Ana Francisco • Maria Carlos Santos • Joana Soutinho
22	Greece	GRE	4:24.80 (8 h3)	–
	Marina Karystinou • Aikaterini Klepkou • Tonia Machaira • Katia Sarakatsani
23	Argentina	ARG	4:27.99 (7 h1)	–
	Valeria Álvarez • María Bertellotti • María Pereyra • María Carolina Santa Cruz
24	Chinese Taipei	TPE	4:38.90 (8 h1)	–
	Hsieh Shu-Ting • Lin Chien-Ju • Mou Ying-Hsin • Tsai Shu-Min

Round One (24 July 1996)

Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Heat One (11:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	People's Republic of China	CHN		4:09.23			Q
		Chen Yan		30.82	1:02.88	–	1:02.88 (3)
		Han Xue		32.06	1:11.28	0.22	2:14.16 (4)
		Cai Huijue		27.42	59.78	0.00	3:13.94 (1)
		Shan Ying		26.68	55.29	0.24	4:09.23 (1)
2	5	Russian Federation	RUS		4:10.65			Q
		Nina Zhivanevskaya		30.93	1:02.40	–	1:02.40 (2)
		Yelena Makarova		33.11	1:10.89	0.10	2:13.29 (2)
		Svetlana Pozdeyeva		28.18	1:00.90	0.31	3:14.19 (3)
		Nataliya Meshcheryakova		26.39	56.46	0.20	4:10.65 (2)
3	3	Hungary	HUN		4:10.92
		Krisztina Egerszegi		29.94	1:01.05	–	1:01.05 (1)
		Ágnes Kovács		32.64	1:09.83	0.43	2:10.88 (1)
		Edit Klocker		29.60	1:03.18	0.39	3:14.06 (2)
		Anna Nyíri		26.53	56.86	0.00	4:10.92 (3)
4	7	Netherlands	NED		4:11.64
		Brenda Starink		30.75	1:03.82	–	1:03.82 (4)
		Madelon Baans		32.20	1:10.13	0.27	2:13.95 (3)
		Wilma van Hofwegen		27.32	1:01.13	0.25	3:15.08 (4)
		Karin Brienesse		27.13	56.56	0.43	4:11.64 (4)
5	2	Finland	FIN		4:14.14
		Anu Koivisto		30.94	1:04.19	–	1:04.19 (6)
		Mia Hagman		33.35	1:11.33	0.16	2:15.52 (5)
		Marja Pärssinen-Päivinen		28.46	1:02.01	0.13	3:17.53 (5)
		Minna Salmela		27.12	56.61	0.30	4:14.14 (5)
6	6	France	FRA		4:15.69
		Hélène Ricardo		31.44	1:04.10	–	1:04.10 (5)
		Karine Brémond		34.12	1:11.93	0.34	2:16.03 (6)
		Cécile Jeanson		30.03	1:02.73	0.40	3:18.76 (6)
		Solenne Figuès		27.11	56.93	0.17	4:15.69 (6)
7	8	Argentina	ARG		4:27.99
		Valeria Álvarez		32.32	1:05.69	–	1:05.69 (7)
		María Carolina Santa Cruz		35.57	1:15.13	0.35	2:20.82 (7)
		María Pereyra		30.06	1:04.33	0.43	3:25.15 (7)
		María Bertellotti		30.04	1:02.84	0.33	4:27.99 (7)
8	1	Chinese Taipei	TPE		4:38.90
		Lin Chien-Ju		34.73	1:10.67	–	1:10.67 (8)
		Mou Ying-Hsin		37.43	1:20.41	0.56	2:31.08 (8)
		Hsieh Shu-Ting		29.87	1:05.09	0.33	3:36.17 (8)
		Tsai Shu-Min		30.15	1:02.73	0.38	4:38.90 (8)

Heat Two (11:45)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	United States	USA		4:05.80			Q
		Whitney Hedgepeth		30.20	1:01.45	–	1:01.45 (1)
		Kristine Quance		32.99	1:10.40	0.31	2:11.85 (1)
		Jenny Thompson		27.03	58.53	0.14	3:10.38 (1)
		Catherine Fox		26.41	55.42	0.20	4:05.80 (1)
2	5	Canada	CAN		4:09.50			Q
		Julie Howard		31.16	1:04.01	–	1:04.01 (4)
		Guylaine Cloutier		31.92	1:08.80	0.11	2:12.81 (2)
		Sarah Evanetz		28.17	1:01.02	0.24	3:13.83 (2)
		Shannon Shakespeare		26.50	55.67	0.20	4:09.50 (2)
3	3	Sweden	SWE		4:10.88
		Therèse Alshammar		30.69	1:03.80	–	1:03.80 (2)
		Hanna Jaltner		32.56	1:10.06	0.35	2:13.86 (3)
		Johanna Sjöberg		27.69	1:00.77	0.17	3:14.63 (3)
		Louise Jöhncke		26.60	56.25	0.19	4:10.88 (3)
4	6	Great Britain	GBR		4:13.75
		Helen Slatter		31.36	1:03.87	–	1:03.87 (3)
		Jaime King		32.48	1:11.15	0.21	2:15.02 (4)
		Caroline Foot		28.18	1:01.75	0.01	3:16.77 (4)
		Karen Pickering		27.57	56.98	0.43	4:13.75 (4)
5	2	Spain	ESP		4:15.63
		Eva Piñera		31.28	1:04.92	–	1:04.92 (6)
		María Olay		33.83	1:12.65	0.19	2:17.57 (6)
		María Peláez		28.52	1:01.38	0.17	3:18.95 (5)
		Claudia Franco		26.74	56.68	0.16	4:15.63 (5)
6	7	Romania	ROU		4:16.18
		Cătălina Căşaru		31.81	1:05.06	–	1:05.06 (7)
		Beatrice Coadă		33.02	1:12.31	0.18	2:17.37 (5)
		Loredana Zisu		29.12	1:02.65	0.30	3:20.02 (6)
		Luminița Dobrescu		27.02	56.16	0.33	4:16.18 (6)
7	1	Republic of Korea	KOR		4:18.98
		Lee Ji-Hyeon		31.09	1:04.55	–	1:04.55 (5)
		Byeon Hye-Yeong		34.97	1:13.22	0.36	2:17.77 (7)
		Park U-Hui		30.34	1:04.48	0.52	3:22.25 (7)
		Lee Bo-Eun		27.19	56.73	0.24	4:18.98 (7)
8	8	Czech Republic	CZE		4:21.05
		Kateřina Pivoňková		32.41	1:05.76	–	1:05.76 (8)
		Lenka Maňhalová		34.56	1:13.41	0.45	2:19.17 (8)
		Marcela Kubalčíková		29.86	1:04.34	0.36	3:23.51 (8)
		Kristýna Kyněrová		27.49	57.54	0.25	4:21.05 (8)

Heat Three (12:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	Australia	AUS		4:08.87			Q
		Nicole Stevenson		30.81	1:03.07	–	1:03.07 (4)
		Helen Denman		32.33	1:09.62	0.54	2:12.69 (2)
		Angela Kennedy		27.76	1:00.45	0.38	3:13.14 (2)
		Sarah Ryan		26.67	55.73	0.21	4:08.87 (1)
2	3	Germany	GER		4:08.95			Q
		Antje Buschschulte		30.66	1:02.83	–	1:02.83 (2)
		Kathrin Dumitru		33.71	1:11.51	0.24	2:14.34 (5)
		Franziska van Almsick		27.93	59.71	0.29	3:14.05 (3)
		Sandra Völker		26.66	54.90	0.18	4:08.95 (2)
3	6	South Africa	RSA		4:09.47			Q
		Marianne Kriel		30.94	1:02.74	–	1:02.74 (1)
		Penny Heyns		31.34	1:07.78	0.30	2:10.52 (1)
		Mandy Loots		28.99	1:02.44	0.30	3:12.96 (1)
		Heleen Muller		26.80	56.51	0.03	4:09.47 (3)
4	2	Italy	ITA		4:10.57			Q
		Lorenza Vigarani		31.64	1:03.88	–	1:03.88 (5)
		Manuela Dalla Valle		32.05	1:09.30	0.14	2:13.18 (3)
		Ilaria Tocchini		28.55	1:01.03	0.38	3:14.21 (4)
		Cecilia Vianini		27.15	56.36	0.31	4:10.57 (4)
5	5	Japan	JPN		4:10.71
		Mai Nakamura		30.53	1:02.95	–	1:02.95 (3)
		Masami Tanaka		33.31	1:10.82	0.23	2:13.77 (4)
		Ayari Aoyama		27.71	1:00.87	0.22	3:14.64 (5)
		Suzu Chiba		26.72	56.07	0.32	4:10.71 (5)
6	7	New Zealand	NZL		4:19.83
		Lydia Lipscombe		31.10	1:04.29	–	1:04.29 (6)
		Anna Wilson		33.53	1:13.82	0.38	2:18.11 (6)
		Anna Simcic		30.22	1:04.95	0.24	3:23.06 (6)
		Alison Fitch		27.03	56.77	0.34	4:19.83 (6)
7	1	Portugal	POR		4:21.61
		Maria Carlos Santos		31.70	1:05.70	–	1:05.70 (7)
		Joana Soutinho		34.02	1:13.73	0.41	2:19.43 (7)
		Ana Francisco		29.95	1:04.29	0.36	3:23.72 (7)
		Ana Alegria		27.93	57.89	0.12	4:21.61 (7)
8	8	Greece	GRE		4:24.80
		Aikaterini Klepkou		32.05	1:05.76	–	1:05.76 (8)
		Katia Sarakatsani		34.68	1:15.59	0.11	2:21.35 (8)
		Marina Karystinou		30.65	1:05.42	0.33	3:26.77 (8)
		Tonia Machaira		28.00	58.03	0.02	4:24.80 (8)

Final (24 July 1996 — 20:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	United States	USA		4:02.88
		Beth Botsford		29.91	1:01.67	–	1:01.67 (1)
		Amanda Beard		32.52	1:08.34	0.07	2:10.01 (2)
		Angel Martino		26.75	58.70	0.35	3:08.71 (1)
		Amy Van Dyken		25.66	54.17	0.17	4:02.88 (1)
2	5	Australia	AUS		4:05.08
		Nicole Stevenson		30.43	1:02.65	–	1:02.65 (6)
		Sam Riley		31.56	1:08.19	0.26	2:10.84 (3)
		Susie O'Neill		27.41	59.03	0.31	3:09.87 (2)
		Sarah Ryan		26.27	55.21	0.22	4:05.08 (2)
3	6	People's Republic of China	CHN		4:07.34
		Chen Yan		30.30	1:02.48	–	1:02.48 (4)
		Han Xue		32.84	1:09.92	0.29	2:12.40 (5)
		Cai Huijue		27.67	59.92	0.32	3:12.32 (4)
		Shan Ying		26.47	55.02	0.39	4:07.34 (3)
4	2	South Africa	RSA		4:08.16
		Marianne Kriel		30.47	1:02.39	–	1:02.39 (3)
		Penny Heyns		31.15	1:07.41	0.05	2:09.80 (1)
		Mandy Loots		28.96	1:02.33	0.53	3:12.13 (3)
		Heleen Muller		26.69	56.03	0.00	4:08.16 (4)
5	7	Canada	CAN		4:08.29
		Julie Howard		30.72	1:03.54	–	1:03.54 (7)
		Guylaine Cloutier		31.89	1:08.79	0.03	2:12.33 (4)
		Sarah Evanetz		28.06	1:00.85	0.31	3:13.18 (5)
		Shannon Shakespeare		26.65	55.11	0.22	4:08.29 (5)
6	3	Germany	GER		4:09.22
		Antje Buschschulte		30.32	1:02.61	–	1:02.61 (5)
		Kathrin Dumitru		33.47	1:11.68	0.14	2:14.29 (8)
		Franziska van Almsick		27.81	1:00.42	0.03	3:14.71 (8)
		Sandra Völker		25.98	54.51	0.14	4:09.22 (6)
7	8	Russian Federation	RUS		4:10.56
		Nina Zhivanevskaya		30.06	1:02.08	–	1:02.08 (2)
		Yelena Makarova		33.02	1:11.76	0.23	2:13.84 (7)
		Yelena Nazemnova		27.88	1:00.80	0.36	3:14.64 (7)
		Nataliya Meshcheryakova		26.44	55.92	0.32	4:10.56 (7)
8	1	Italy	ITA		4:10.59
		Lorenza Vigarani		31.26	1:03.73	–	1:03.73 (8)
		Manuela Dalla Valle		32.39	1:09.42	0.26	2:13.15 (6)
		Ilaria Tocchini		28.51	1:01.01	0.35	3:14.16 (6)
		Cecilia Vianini		27.27	56.43	0.30	4:10.59 (8)