| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Medley Relay, Men

Date	3 – 4 August 2012
Status	Olympic
Location	London Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park, Stratford, London
Participants	72 from 16 countries

This was the final swimming event in the pool at the London Olympics and the highlight was to be the last appearance of Michael Phelps at the Olympics. The race was conceded to the US team, with Phelps swimming fly, the backstroke being led by 100 gold medalist Matt Grevers, the free leg going to 100 gold medalist Nathan Adrian, and the breaststroke leg being swum by Brendan Hansen, bronze medalist in the 100 breast. But surprisingly, Japan’s Ryosuke Irie kept them close on the backstroke leg, just behind Grevers, and Kosuke Kitajima, legendary breaststroker who had won the 100-200 double in 2004 and 2008, put Japan ahead as he outswam Hansen on the breaststroke leg.

Phelps then took over and pulled ahead but Japan’s Takeshi Matsuda would not give in and the US led Japan by only 0.26 seconds at the final changeover, but Nathan Adrian was too strong for the Japanese anchor, Takuro Fujii, and the USA had gold in 3:29.35, as Adrian split 46.85 for his freestyle leg. Behind him, Takuro held on for silver, narrowly holding off Australia’s James Magnussen in the freestyle.

For Phelps, this was his third consecutive gold medal in the medley relay, which he had also done in the 4×200 free relay, and in two individual events, the 100 butterfly, and 200 IM. He finished with 22 medals, 18 gold medals, 13 individual medals, and 11 individual gold medals, all Olympic bests. In London he won six medals, and four gold medals. And so it ended, the Olympic career of Michael Fred Phelps, II.

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	3:32.65 (1 h2)	3:29.35 (1)	Gold
	Matt Grevers • Brendan Hansen • Michael Phelps • Nathan Adrian • Nick Thoman • Eric Shanteau • Tyler McGill • Cullen Jones
2	Japan	JPN	3:33.64 (2 h2)	3:31.26 (2)	Silver
	Ryosuke Irie • Kosuke Kitajima • Takeshi Matsuda • Takuro Fujii
3	Australia	AUS	3:33.73 (2 h1)	3:31.58 (3)	Bronze
	Hayden Stoeckel • Christian Sprenger • Matt Targett • James Magnussen • Brenton Rickard • Tommaso D'Orsogna
4	Great Britain	GBR	3:33.44 (1 h1)	3:32.32 (4)
	Liam Tancock • Michael Jamieson • Michael Rock • Adam Brown • Craig Benson
5	Hungary	HUN	3:34.44 (4 h2)	3:33.02 (5)
	László Cseh, Jr. • Dániel Gyurta • Bence Pulai • Dominik Kozma
6	Germany	GER	3:34.28 (3 h2)	3:33.06 (6)
	Helge Meeuw • Christian vom Lehn • Steffen Deibler • Markus Deibler • Marco di Carli
7	Netherlands	NED	3:33.78 (3 h1)	3:33.46 (7)
	Nick Driebergen • Lennart Stekelenburg • Joeri Verlinden • Sebastiaan Verschuren
8	Canada	CAN	3:34.46 (4 h1)	3:34.19 (8)
	Charles Francis • Scott Dickens • Joe Bartoch • Brent Hayden
9	New Zealand	NZL	3:34.52 (5 h2)	–
	Gareth Kean • Glenn Snyders • Andy McMillan • Carl O'Donnell
10	France	FRA	3:34.60 (6 h2)	–
	Camille Lacourt • Giacomo Perez-Dortona • Romain Sassot • Yannick Agnel
11	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:34.65 (5 h1)	–
	Cheng Feiyi • Li Xiayan • Zhou Jiawei • Lu Zhiwu
12	Russian Federation	RUS	3:34.94 (6 h1)	–
	Vladimir Morozov • Vyacheslav Sinkevich • Nikolay Skvortsov • Andrey Grechin
13	South Africa	RSA	3:35.23 (7 h2)	–
	Charl Crous • Cameron van der Burgh • Chad le Clos • Leith Shankland
14	Italy	ITA	3:36.88 (7 h1)	–
	Mirco Di Tora • Fabio Scozzoli • Matteo Rivolta • Luca Dotto
15	Brazil	BRA	3:37.00 (8 h1)	–
	Thiago Pereira • Felipe França • Kaio Márcio • Marcelo Chierighini
16	Poland	POL	3:38.16 (8 h2)	–
	Radosław Kawęcki • Dawid Szulich • Paweł Korzeniowski • Kacper Majchrzak

Round One

Date	3 August 2012 — 11:49
Format	Fastest eight teams advanced to final

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	–	United States	USA	3:32.65	Q
2	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:33.44	Q
3	–	Japan	JPN	3:33.64	Q
4	–	Australia	AUS	3:33.73	Q
5	–	Netherlands	NED	3:33.78	Q
6	–	Germany	GER	3:34.28	Q
7	–	Hungary	HUN	3:34.44	Q
8	–	Canada	CAN	3:34.46	Q
9	–	New Zealand	NZL	3:34.52
10	–	France	FRA	3:34.60
11	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:34.65
12	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:34.94
13	–	South Africa	RSA	3:35.23
14	–	Italy	ITA	3:36.88
15	–	Brazil	BRA	3:37.00
16	–	Poland	POL	3:38.16

Heat #1

Time	11:49

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:33.44	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Liam Tancock		–	0.66	25.96	53.98 (=4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Craig Benson		–	0.03	27.95	59.68 (1)	1:53.66 (1)
Butterfly	–	Michael Rock		–	0.15	23.65	51.56 (4)	2:45.22 (2)
Freestyle	–	Adam Brown		–	0.29	22.67	48.22 (4)	– (–)
2	–	Australia	AUS	3:33.73	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Hayden Stoeckel		–	0.64	26.08	53.89 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Brenton Rickard		–	0.29	27.77	59.95 (2)	1:53.84 (2)
Butterfly	–	Matt Targett		–	0.26	23.68	51.30 (1)	2:45.14 (1)
Freestyle	–	Tommaso D'Orsogna		–	0.41	23.28	48.59 (7)	– (–)
3	–	Netherlands	NED	3:33.78	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Nick Driebergen		–	0.63	26.15	53.98 (=4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Lennart Stekelenburg		–	0.11	27.95	1:00.52 (4)	1:54.50 (3)
Butterfly	–	Joeri Verlinden		–	0.18	23.90	51.46 (3)	2:45.96 (3)
Freestyle	–	Sebastiaan Verschuren		–	0.28	22.79	47.82 (2)	– (–)
4	–	Canada	CAN	3:34.46	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Charles Francis		–	0.64	26.19	53.91 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Scott Dickens		–	0.14	28.06	1:00.60 (5)	1:54.51 (4)
Butterfly	–	Joe Bartoch		–	0.19	24.14	52.43 (6)	2:46.94 (6)
Freestyle	–	Brent Hayden		–	0.28	22.61	47.52 (1)	– (–)
5	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:34.65	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Cheng Feiyi		–	0.60	25.98	53.70 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Li Xiayan		–	0.16	28.02	1:00.96 (8)	1:54.66 (5)
Butterfly	–	Zhou Jiawei		–	0.14	23.88	51.44 (2)	2:46.10 (4)
Freestyle	–	Lu Zhiwu		–	0.08	23.26	48.55 (6)	– (–)
6	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:34.94	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Vladimir Morozov		–	0.64	26.10	53.99 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Vyacheslav Sinkevich		–	0.05	28.34	1:00.80 (7)	1:54.79 (6)
Butterfly	–	Nikolay Skvortsov		–	0.29	23.89	51.83 (5)	2:46.62 (5)
Freestyle	–	Andrey Grechin		–	0.16	22.82	48.32 (5)	– (–)
7	–	Italy	ITA	3:36.88	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Mirco Di Tora		–	0.60	26.11	54.67 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Fabio Scozzoli		–	0.17	27.92	1:00.28 (3)	1:54.95 (7)
Butterfly	–	Matteo Rivolta		–	0.11	24.43	53.10 (7)	2:48.05 (7)
Freestyle	–	Luca Dotto		–	0.18	23.15	48.83 (8)	– (–)
8	–	Brazil	BRA	3:37.00	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Thiago Pereira		–	0.63	26.18	54.45 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Felipe França		–	0.13	27.97	1:00.77 (6)	1:55.22 (8)
Butterfly	–	Kaio Márcio		–	0.31	24.66	53.61 (8)	2:48.83 (8)
Freestyle	–	Marcelo Chierighini		–	0.22	22.46	48.17 (3)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	11:55

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	3:32.65	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Nick Thoman		–	0.65	25.94	53.31 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Eric Shanteau		–	0.29	28.06	59.69 (5)	1:53.00 (2)
Butterfly	–	Tyler McGill		–	0.35	24.04	51.53 (2)	2:44.53 (1)
Freestyle	–	Cullen Jones		–	0.37	22.48	48.12 (1)	– (–)
2	–	Japan	JPN	3:33.64	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Ryosuke Irie		–	0.57	26.09	53.08 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Kosuke Kitajima		–	0.30	27.99	59.47 (3)	1:52.55 (1)
Butterfly	–	Takeshi Matsuda		–	0.23	24.37	52.09 (4)	2:44.64 (2)
Freestyle	–	Takuro Fujii		–	0.27	23.52	49.00 (6)	– (–)
3	–	Germany	GER	3:34.28	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Helge Meeuw		–	0.61	26.09	53.82 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Christian vom Lehn		–	0.40	28.66	1:01.13 (7)	1:54.95 (7)
Butterfly	–	Steffen Deibler		–	0.36	23.62	51.18 (1)	2:46.13 (7)
Freestyle	–	Marco di Carli		–	0.32	22.98	48.15 (2)	– (–)
4	–	Hungary	HUN	3:34.44	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	László Cseh, Jr.		–	0.64	25.43	53.78 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Dániel Gyurta		–	0.15	27.85	59.63 (4)	1:53.41 (4)
Butterfly	–	Bence Pulai		–	0.14	23.99	52.47 (7)	2:45.88 (5)
Freestyle	–	Dominik Kozma		–	0.19	22.89	48.56 (3)	– (–)
5	–	New Zealand	NZL	3:34.52	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Gareth Kean		–	0.56	26.32	54.01 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Glenn Snyders		–	0.14	27.73	59.00 (2)	1:53.01 (3)
Butterfly	–	Andy McMillan		–	0.29	24.28	52.77 (8)	2:45.78 (3)
Freestyle	–	Carl O'Donnell		–	0.12	22.98	48.74 (4)	– (–)
6	–	France	FRA	3:34.60	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Camille Lacourt		–	0.70	26.02	53.63 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Giacomo Perez-Dortona		–	0.27	27.65	1:00.03 (6)	1:53.66 (5)
Butterfly	–	Romain Sassot		–	0.11	24.32	52.17 (5)	2:45.83 (4)
Freestyle	–	Yannick Agnel		–	0.32	23.07	48.77 (5)	– (–)
7	–	South Africa	RSA	3:35.23	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Charl Crous		–	0.62	26.51	55.23 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Cameron van der Burgh		–	0.39	27.02	58.96 (1)	1:54.19 (6)
Butterfly	–	Chad le Clos		–	0.14	24.22	51.83 (3)	2:46.02 (6)
Freestyle	–	Leith Shankland		–	0.31	23.22	49.21 (7)	– (–)
8	–	Poland	POL	3:38.16	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Radosław Kawęcki		–	0.64	26.58	54.65 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Dawid Szulich		–	0.28	28.44	1:01.39 (8)	1:56.04 (8)
Butterfly	–	Paweł Korzeniowski		–	0.16	24.11	52.40 (6)	2:48.44 (8)
Freestyle	–	Kacper Majchrzak		–	0.41	23.15	49.72 (8)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	4 August 2012 — 20:27

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	3:29.35	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Matt Grevers		–	0.63	25.48	52.58 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Brendan Hansen		–	0.24	27.52	59.19 (4)	1:51.77 (2)
Butterfly	–	Michael Phelps		–	0.36	23.83	50.73 (1)	2:42.50 (1)
Freestyle	–	Nathan Adrian		–	0.30	22.10	46.85 (1)	– (–)
2	–	Japan	JPN	3:31.26	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Ryosuke Irie		–	0.57	25.96	52.92 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Kosuke Kitajima		–	0.08	27.35	58.64 (1)	1:51.56 (1)
Butterfly	–	Takeshi Matsuda		–	0.12	23.78	51.20 (3)	2:42.76 (2)
Freestyle	–	Takuro Fujii		–	0.30	23.47	48.50 (7)	– (–)
3	–	Australia	AUS	3:31.58	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Hayden Stoeckel		–	0.61	25.99	53.71 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Christian Sprenger		–	0.25	27.34	59.05 (3)	1:52.76 (5)
Butterfly	–	Matt Targett		–	0.08	23.50	51.60 (4)	2:44.36 (4)
Freestyle	–	James Magnussen		–	0.18	22.38	47.22 (2)	– (–)
4	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:32.32	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Liam Tancock		–	0.61	25.88	53.40 (=3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Michael Jamieson		–	0.17	27.85	59.27 (5)	1:52.67 (4)
Butterfly	–	Michael Rock		–	0.24	23.90	51.74 (5)	2:44.41 (5)
Freestyle	–	Adam Brown		–	0.20	23.15	47.91 (5)	– (–)
5	–	Hungary	HUN	3:33.02	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	László Cseh, Jr.		–	0.61	25.63	53.40 (=3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Dániel Gyurta		–	-0.03	27.31	59.01 (2)	1:52.41 (3)
Butterfly	–	Bence Pulai		–	0.27	23.80	51.82 (6)	2:44.23 (3)
Freestyle	–	Dominik Kozma		–	0.30	22.86	48.79 (8)	– (–)
6	–	Germany	GER	3:33.06	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Helge Meeuw		–	0.62	26.04	53.78 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Christian vom Lehn		–	0.17	28.05	1:00.30 (8)	1:54.08 (7)
Butterfly	–	Steffen Deibler		–	0.20	22.96	50.91 (2)	2:44.99 (6)
Freestyle	–	Markus Deibler		–	0.01	22.30	48.07 (6)	– (–)
7	–	Netherlands	NED	3:33.46	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Nick Driebergen		–	0.63	26.11	53.79 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Lennart Stekelenburg		–	0.16	27.84	1:00.24 (6)	1:54.03 (6)
Butterfly	–	Joeri Verlinden		–	0.15	23.69	51.86 (7)	2:45.89 (7)
Freestyle	–	Sebastiaan Verschuren		–	0.22	22.69	47.57 (4)	– (–)
8	–	Canada	CAN	3:34.19	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Charles Francis		–	0.67	26.11	54.16 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Scott Dickens		–	0.00	27.59	1:00.29 (7)	1:54.45 (8)
Butterfly	–	Joe Bartoch		–	0.19	23.87	52.32 (8)	2:46.77 (8)
Freestyle	–	Brent Hayden		–	0.27	22.38	47.42 (3)	– (–)