| | Event type

4 x 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Women

Date	28 – 29 July 2021
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympic Aquatics Centre, 2-1, 2chome, Tatsumi, Koto-ku, Tatsumi-no-Mori Seaside Park, Tokyo, Japan
Participants	72 from 15 countries

The longer free relay was expected to be a three-way battle between Australia, China, and the United States. Contested at the Olympics since 1996, the USA had won five of the previous six gold medals, with Australia winning in 2008. At the World Championships, the United States had won 8 of the 10 4 x 200 gold medals since 2001, with China triumphing in 2009 and Australia in 2019.

All three qualified easily as Australia cruised in the preliminary round, winning by almost three seconds over the USA with China third. Australia would use an entirely new squad in the final, while the United States subbed in two swimmers and China one.

The biggest surprise of the event happened on the first leg as Yang Junxuan came home in the lead over Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, who had won the 200 free the day before, in which Yang finished only fourth. China was never headed, maintaining the lead after every leg, with Li Bingjie coming home for the gold medal.

Australia was second after three legs, but Leah Neale could not hold off Katie Ledecky on the anchor as Ledecky swam the fastest leg of the competition in 1:53.76 to get the United States the silver medal.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	Final
1	People's Republic of China	CHN	7:48.98 (2 h1)	7:40.33 (1)	Gold
	Yang Junxuan • Tang Muhan • Zhang Yufei • Li Bingjie • Zhang Yifan • Dong Jie
2	United States	USA	7:47.57 (1 h1)	7:40.73 (2)	Silver
	Allison Schmitt • Paige Madden • Katie McLaughlin • Katie Ledecky • Bella Sims • Brooke Forde
3	Australia	AUS	7:44.61 (1 h2)	7:41.29 (3)	Bronze
	Ariarne Titmus • Emma McKeon • Madi Wilson • Leah Neale • Mollie O'Callaghan • Meg Harris • Brianna Throssell • Tamsin Cook
4	Canada	CAN	7:51.52 (2 h2)	7:43.77 (4)
	Summer McIntosh • Rebecca Smith • Kayla Sanchez • Penny Oleksiak • Katerine Savard • Mary-Sophie Harvey • Sydney Pickrem
5	ROC	ROC	7:52.04 (3 h2)	7:52.15 (5)
	Anna Yegorova • Valeriya Salamatina • Veronika Andrusenko • Anastasiya Guzhenkova
6	Germany	GER	7:52.06 (3 h1)	7:53.89 (6)
	Isabel Gose • Leonie Kullmann • Marie Pietruschka • Annika Bruhn
7	Hungary	HUN	7:56.16 (4 h2)	7:56.62 (7)
	Zsu Jakabos • Laura Veres • Ajna Késely • Boglárka Kapás • Evelyn Verrasztó
8	France	FRA	7:55.05 (4 h1)	7:58.15 (8)
	Charlotte Bonnet • Assia Touati • Lucile Tessariol • Margaux Fabre
9	Japan	JPN	7:58.39 (5 h1)	–
	Chihiro Igarashi • Rio Shirai • Nagisa Ikemoto • Aoi Masuda
10	Brazil	BRA	7:59.50 (5 h2)	–
	Aline Rodrigues • Larissa Oliveira • Naná Almeida • Gabi Roncatto
11	South Africa	RSA	8:01.56 (6 h1)	–
	Aimee Canny • Rebecca Meder • Duné Coetzee • Erin Gallagher
12	New Zealand	NZL	8:06.16 (6 h2)	–
	Erika Fairweather • Carina Doyle • Eve Thomas • Ali Galyer
13	Turkey	TUR	8:10.96 (7 h1)	–
	Viktoria Zeynep Güneş • Beril Böcekler • Deniz Ertan • Merve Tuncel
14	Republic of Korea	KOR	8:11.16 (8 h1)	–
	Jeong Hyun-Yeong • Kim Seo-Yeong • Han Da-Gyeong • An Se-Hyeon
DQ	Italy	ITA	– (DQ h2)	–
	Stefania Pirozzi • Anna Chiara Mascolo • Giulia Vetrano • Federica Pellegrini
DNS	Hong Kong, China	HKG	– (DNS h2)	–

Round One (28 July 2021 — 20:17)

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	4	Australia	AUS	7:44.61	Q
		Mollie O'Callaghan • Meg Harris • Brianna Throssell • Tamsin Cook
2	4	United States	USA	7:47.57	Q
		Bella Sims • Paige Madden • Katie McLaughlin • Brooke Forde
3	5	People's Republic of China	CHN	7:48.98	Q
		Tang Muhan • Zhang Yifan • Dong Jie • Li Bingjie
4	5	Canada	CAN	7:51.52	Q
		Katerine Savard • Rebecca Smith • Mary-Sophie Harvey • Sydney Pickrem
5	3	ROC	ROC	7:52.04	Q
		Anastasiya Guzhenkova • Valeriya Salamatina • Veronika Andrusenko • Anna Yegorova
6	3	Germany	GER	7:52.06	Q
		Isabel Gose • Leonie Kullmann • Marie Pietruschka • Annika Bruhn
7	2	France	FRA	7:55.05	Q
		Charlotte Bonnet • Assia Touati • Lucile Tessariol • Margaux Fabre
8	6	Hungary	HUN	7:56.16	Q
		Zsu Jakabos • Laura Veres • Evelyn Verrasztó • Ajna Késely
9	6	Japan	JPN	7:58.39
		Chihiro Igarashi • Rio Shirai • Nagisa Ikemoto • Aoi Masuda
10	7	Brazil	BRA	7:59.50
		Aline Rodrigues • Larissa Oliveira • Naná Almeida • Gabi Roncatto
11	1	South Africa	RSA	8:01.56
		Aimee Canny • Rebecca Meder • Duné Coetzee • Erin Gallagher
12	1	New Zealand	NZL	8:06.16
		Erika Fairweather • Carina Doyle • Eve Thomas • Ali Galyer
13	7	Turkey	TUR	8:10.96
		Viktoria Zeynep Güneş • Beril Böcekler • Deniz Ertan • Merve Tuncel
14	8	Republic of Korea	KOR	8:11.16
		Jeong Hyun-Yeong • Kim Seo-Yeong • Han Da-Gyeong • An Se-Hyeon
DQ	8	Italy	ITA	–
		Stefania Pirozzi • Anna Chiara Mascolo • Giulia Vetrano • Federica Pellegrini
DNS	–	Hong Kong, China	HKG	–

Heat One (20:17)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	United States	USA				7:47.57			Q
		Bella Sims		27.56	57.35	1:28.05	–	0.59	1:58.59 (6)
		Paige Madden		27.01	55.94	1:25.60	–	0.34	3:54.55 (1)
		Katie McLaughlin		26.45	55.68	1:25.66	–	0.30	5:50.57 (1)
		Brooke Forde		27.52	56.73	1:26.75	–	0.30	7:47.57 (1)
2	5	People's Republic of China	CHN				7:48.98			Q
		Tang Muhan		27.13	56.68	1:26.86	–	0.74	1:57.29 (=1)
		Zhang Yifan		26.60	56.43	1:27.17	–	0.32	3:54.92 (2)
		Dong Jie		27.15	56.52	1:26.74	–	0.50	5:52.69 (4)
		Li Bingjie		26.92	56.65	1:26.76	–	0.36	7:48.98 (2)
3	3	Germany	GER				7:52.06			Q
		Isabel Gose		27.59	57.13	1:27.33	–	0.74	1:57.29 (=1)
		Leonie Kullmann		27.59	57.19	1:27.69	–	0.20	3:56.29 (4)
		Marie Pietruschka		27.65	58.03	1:28.45	–	0.19	5:55.02 (2)
		Annika Bruhn		26.58	55.71	1:26.14	–	0.24	7:52.06 (3)
4	2	France	FRA				7:55.05			Q
		Charlotte Bonnet		27.42	57.46	1:27.81	–	0.70	1:57.61 (3)
		Assia Touati		27.46	57.68	1:28.27	–	0.23	3:56.20 (3)
		Lucile Tessariol		27.93	58.38	1:28.79	–	0.31	5:55.59 (3)
		Margaux Fabre		27.07	57.07	1:28.21	–	0.21	7:55.05 (4)
5	6	Japan	JPN				7:58.39
		Chihiro Igarashi		27.52	57.66	1:28.17	–	0.59	1:57.87 (4)
		Rio Shirai		27.45	58.18	1:29.10	–	0.29	3:57.81 (5)
		Nagisa Ikemoto		26.88	57.15	1:28.43	–	0.08	5:58.06 (5)
		Aoi Masuda		27.06	57.22	1:28.56	–	0.07	7:58.39 (5)
6	1	South Africa	RSA				8:01.56
		Aimee Canny		27.66	57.40	1:27.38	–	0.76	1:58.41 (5)
		Rebecca Meder		27.35	57.76	1:28.84	–	0.34	3:58.94 (6)
		Duné Coetzee		27.32	57.59	1:28.46	–	0.30	5:58.69 (6)
		Erin Gallagher		27.16	57.85	1:29.78	–	0.30	8:01.56 (6)
7	7	Turkey	TUR				8:10.96
		Viktoria Zeynep Güneş		28.37	59.39	1:31.71	–	0.74	2:04.42 (8)
		Beril Böcekler		28.33	59.31	1:30.91	–	0.15	4:06.45 (8)
		Deniz Ertan		28.48	1:00.20	1:32.34	–	0.24	6:10.60 (8)
		Merve Tuncel		28.54	59.54	1:30.43	–	0.18	8:10.96 (7)
8	8	Republic of Korea	KOR				8:11.16
		Jeong Hyun-Yeong		28.09	58.78	1:30.08	–	0.66	2:01.27 (7)
		Kim Seo-Yeong		27.69	58.08	1:28.87	–	0.39	4:01.25 (7)
		Han Da-Gyeong		28.21	59.50	1:32.01	–	0.44	6:05.63 (7)
		An Se-Hyeon		28.67	1:00.60	1:33.35	–	0.30	8:11.16 (8)

Heat Two (20:27)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	Australia	AUS				7:44.61			Q
		Mollie O'Callaghan		27.25	56.94	1:26.70	–	0.70	1:55.11 (–)
		Meg Harris		25.87	55.03	1:25.70	–	0.38	3:52.12 (–)
		Brianna Throssell		26.11	55.61	1:25.91	–	0.34	5:48.58 (–)
		Tamsin Cook		26.77	56.14	1:26.08	–	0.16	7:44.61 (–)
2	5	Canada	CAN				7:51.52			Q
		Katerine Savard		27.38	57.31	1:27.28	–	0.66	1:58.18 (–)
		Rebecca Smith		26.59	55.93	1:25.87	–	0.41	3:54.17 (–)
		Mary-Sophie Harvey		26.65	56.28	1:26.66	–	0.36	5:51.70 (–)
		Sydney Pickrem		27.27	57.86	1:29.54	–	0.03	7:51.52 (–)
3	3	ROC	ROC				7:52.04			Q
		Anastasiya Guzhenkova		27.73	57.45	1:27.36	–	0.78	1:57.26 (–)
		Valeriya Salamatina		27.70	57.84	1:28.78	–	0.25	3:56.13 (–)
		Veronika Andrusenko		27.34	57.13	1:27.81	–	0.19	5:53.90 (–)
		Anna Yegorova		27.24	57.24	1:27.56	–	0.30	7:52.04 (–)
4	6	Hungary	HUN				7:56.16			Q
		Zsu Jakabos		28.18	58.47	1:28.78	–	0.73	1:59.19 (–)
		Laura Veres		27.17	56.74	1:27.11	–	0.31	3:57.07 (–)
		Evelyn Verrasztó		27.94	58.62	1:29.56	–	0.33	5:57.42 (–)
		Ajna Késely		26.79	56.52	1:27.17	–	0.24	7:56.16 (–)
5	7	Brazil	BRA				7:59.50
		Aline Rodrigues		28.04	57.99	1:29.13	–	0.66	2:00.15 (–)
		Larissa Oliveira		27.29	57.28	1:28.93	–	0.32	4:01.65 (–)
		Naná Almeida		27.62	57.44	1:28.39	–	0.34	6:00.83 (–)
		Gabi Roncatto		27.53	57.71	1:28.31	–	0.51	7:59.50 (–)
6	1	New Zealand	NZL				8:06.16
		Erika Fairweather		27.30	56.97	1:27.34	–	0.71	1:57.38 (–)
		Carina Doyle		28.01	59.13	1:30.57	–	0.25	3:59.56 (–)
		Eve Thomas		28.64	59.87	1:30.62	–	0.04	6:00.31 (–)
		Ali Galyer		28.44	1:00.45	1:33.23	–	0.12	8:06.16 (–)
DQ	8	Italy	ITA				–
		Stefania Pirozzi		28.16	58.36	1:29.74	–	0.68	2:01.64 (–)
		Anna Chiara Mascolo		27.09	57.86	1:29.20	–	-0.05	4:01.45 (–)
		Giulia Vetrano		[27.97]	[58.72]	[1:29.86]	–	–	[6:02.36] (–)
		Federica Pellegrini		[26.86]	[56.53]	[1:26.76]	–	–	[7:59.17] (–)
DNS	–	Hong Kong, China	HKG				–

Final (29 July 2021 — 12:31)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	3	People's Republic of China	CHN				7:40.33			WR
		Yang Junxuan		26.99	56.02	1:25.15	–	0.65	1:54.37 (1)
		Tang Muhan		26.88	56.81	1:26.33	–	0.33	3:49.37 (1)
		Zhang Yufei		26.81	56.74	1:27.03	–	0.48	5:45.03 (1)
		Li Bingjie		26.73	56.23	1:25.68	–	0.28	7:40.33 (1)
2	5	United States	USA				7:40.73
		Allison Schmitt		27.70	56.70	1:26.21	–	0.71	1:56.34 (4)
		Paige Madden		27.00	56.17	1:25.57	–	0.31	3:51.59 (3)
		Katie McLaughlin		26.81	56.12	1:25.84	–	0.36	5:46.97 (3)
		Katie Ledecky		26.30	55.00	1:24.40	–	0.23	7:40.73 (2)
3	4	Australia	AUS				7:41.29
		Ariarne Titmus		27.05	56.18	1:25.65	–	0.72	1:54.51 (2)
		Emma McKeon		26.62	56.20	1:25.83	–	0.36	3:49.82 (2)
		Madi Wilson		26.48	56.09	1:25.80	–	0.28	5:45.44 (2)
		Leah Neale		26.71	56.36	1:26.31	–	0.19	7:41.29 (3)
4	6	Canada	CAN				7:43.77
		Summer McIntosh		27.05	56.10	1:25.86	–	0.78	1:55.74 (3)
		Rebecca Smith		26.90	56.41	1:26.85	–	0.32	3:53.04 (4)
		Kayla Sanchez		26.63	55.49	1:25.41	–	0.17	5:48.63 (4)
		Penny Oleksiak		25.67	54.62	1:24.64	–	0.23	7:43.77 (4)
5	2	ROC	ROC				7:52.15
		Anna Yegorova		28.00	58.11	1:28.20	–	0.68	1:58.22 (6)
		Valeriya Salamatina		27.41	57.43	1:27.95	–	0.27	3:56.53 (5)
		Veronika Andrusenko		27.48	57.72	1:28.17	–	0.16	5:54.70 (5)
		Anastasiya Guzhenkova		26.90	56.81	1:27.09	–	0.18	7:52.15 (5)
6	7	Germany	GER				7:53.89
		Isabel Gose		27.78	57.34	1:27.81	–	0.75	1:58.63 (8)
		Leonie Kullmann		27.95	57.94	1:28.61	–	0.08	3:57.82 (7)
		Marie Pietruschka		26.99	57.13	1:27.60	–	0.31	5:56.18 (6)
		Annika Bruhn		27.14	56.60	1:27.15	–	0.35	7:53.89 (6)
7	8	Hungary	HUN				7:56.62
		Zsu Jakabos		28.12	58.17	1:28.52	–	0.72	1:58.61 (7)
		Laura Veres		27.63	57.93	1:29.05	–	0.28	3:58.32 (8)
		Ajna Késely		27.24	56.86	1:27.43	–	0.19	5:56.46 (7)
		Boglárka Kapás		27.81	58.09	1:29.37	–	0.30	7:56.62 (7)
8	1	France	FRA				7:58.15
		Charlotte Bonnet		27.68	57.57	1:28.23	–	0.70	1:58.08 (5)
		Assia Touati		27.42	57.51	1:28.34	–	0.30	3:56.90 (6)
		Lucile Tessariol		27.65	58.32	1:29.37	–	0.26	5:57.76 (8)
		Margaux Fabre		27.80	58.15	1:29.71	–	0.33	7:58.15 (8)