| Date | 20 – 21 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympiako Kentro Ugrou Stivou, Olympiako Athletiko Kentro Athinon Spiros Loues, Athina (Main Pool) |
| Participants | 73 from 16 countries |
One simple statistic explains the history of this event at the Olympic Games namely that the USA had won 20 of the 22 heats and finals in which they have competed. Add the fact that their two defeats came in heat swims where sub-strength teams idled to easy qualifications and you fully explain the domination that America has over the medley relay. The golden streak was easily maintained in Athens despite the decision of Michael Phelps, the 100 metre butterfly champion, to give up his place in the final to silver medallist Ian Crocker. After Aaron Peirsol broke his own world record in the backstroke lead there was no way back for rest of the field and each American increased the team’s lead as the race progressed. The winning time of 3:30.68 took 0.86 of a second off the world record that the same quartet of Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker and Lezak had set at the World Championships in Barcelona a year later. Germany, who won silver, and third placed Japan both set continental records.
| Pos | Competitors | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |  USA | 3:35.10 (1 h2) | 3:30.68 (1) | Gold | ||
| Butterfly | Ian Crocker | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Brendan Hansen | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Jason Lezak | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Aaron Peirsol | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Mark Gangloff | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Lenny Krayzelburg | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Michael Phelps | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Neil Walker | – | – | ||||
| 2 | Germany |  GER | 3:36.65 (2 h2) | 3:33.62 (2) | Silver | ||
| Freestyle | Lars Conrad | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Steffen Driesen | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Jens Kruppa | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Thomas Rupprath | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Helge Meeuw | – | – | ||||
| 3 | Japan |  JPN | 3:37.04 (4 h2) | 3:35.22 (3) | Bronze | ||
| Breaststroke | Kosuke Kitajima | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Tomomi Morita | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Yoshihiro Okumura | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Takashi Yamamoto | – | – | ||||
| 4 | Russian Federation |  RUS | 3:38.07 (1 h1) | 3:35.91 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | Igor Marchenko | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Aleksandr Popov | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Roman Sludnov | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Arkady Vyatchanin | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Andrey Kapralov | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Yevgeny Korotyshkin | – | – | ||||
| 5 | France |  FRA | 3:37.60 (6 h2) | 3:36.57 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | Fréd Bousquet | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Hugues Duboscq | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Simon Dufour | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Franck Esposito | – | – | ||||
| 6 | Ukraine |  UKR | 3:38.85 (2 h1) | 3:36.87 (6) | |||
| Backstroke | Pavlo Illichov | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Oleh Lisohor | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Andriy Serdinov | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Yuriy Yehoshyn | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Valeriy Dymo | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Denys Sylantiev | – | – | ||||
| 7 | Hungary |  HUN | 3:37.27 (5 h2) | 3:37.46 (7) | |||
| Breaststroke | Richárd Bodor | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | László Cseh, Jr. | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Zsolt Gáspár | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Attila Zubor | – | – | ||||
| 8 | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:36.94 (3 h2) | 3:37.77 (8) | |||
| Breaststroke | James Gibson | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | James Hickman | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Matthew Kidd | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Gregor Tait | – | – | ||||
| 9 | Australia |  AUS | 3:39.14 (3 h1) | – | |||
| Freestyle | Michael Klim | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Adam Pine | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Jim Piper | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Matt Welsh | – | – | ||||
| 10 | Canada |  CAN | 3:39.36 (4 h1) | – | |||
| Breaststroke | Mike Brown | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Brent Hayden | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Riley Janes | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Mike Mintenko | – | – | ||||
| 11 | Finland |  FIN | 3:41.64 (5 h1) | – | |||
| Butterfly | Jere Hård | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Jarno Pihlava | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Matti Rajakylä | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Jani Sievinen | – | – | ||||
| 12 | New Zealand |  NZL | 3:42.74 (7 h2) | – | |||
| Freestyle | Cam Gibson | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Ben Labowitch | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Corney Swanepoel | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Scott Talbot | – | – | ||||
| 13 | South Africa |  RSA | 3:43.94 (8 h2) | – | |||
| Butterfly | Eugene Botes | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Terence Parkin | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Karl Otto Thaning | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Gerhard Zandberg | – | – | ||||
| 14 | Slovenia |  SLO | 3:44.17 (6 h1) | – | |||
| Freestyle | Jernej Godec | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Peter Mankoč | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Blaž Medvešek | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Emil Tahirovič | – | – | ||||
| 15 | Brazil |  BRA | 3:44.41 (7 h1) | – | |||
| Butterfly | Kaio Márcio | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Eduardo Fischer | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Paulo Machado | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Jader Souza | – | – | ||||
| Italy |  ITA | – (DQ h1) | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Paolo Bossini | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Emanuele Merisi | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Mattia Nalesso | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Giacomo Vassanelli | – | – |
| Date | 20 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest 8 advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:35.10 | ||
| 2 | 8 | Germany | GER | 3:36.65 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:36.94 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Japan | JPN | 3:37.04 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Hungary | HUN | 3:37.27 | ||
| 6 | 3 | France | FRA | 3:37.60 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Russian Federation | RUS | 3:38.07 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Ukraine | UKR | 3:38.85 | ||
| 9 | 5 | Australia | AUS | 3:39.14 | ||
| 10 | 6 | Canada | CAN | 3:39.36 | ||
| 11 | 2 | Finland | FIN | 3:41.64 | ||
| 12 | 1 | New Zealand | NZL | 3:42.74 | ||
| 13 | 7 | South Africa | RSA | 3:43.94 | ||
| 14 | 7 | Slovenia | SLO | 3:44.17 | ||
| 15 | 1 | Brazil | BRA | 3:44.41 | ||
| 8 | Italy | ITA | – | 1 |
| Time | 12:08 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Reaction Time | 50 m Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Russian Federation | RUS | 3:38.07 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Arkady Vyatchanin | – | 0.84 | 27.72 | 55.47 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Roman Sludnov | – | 0.36 | 28.62 | 1:01.22 (1) | 1:56.69 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Yevgeny Korotyshkin | – | 0.15 | 24.42 | 52.35 (1) | 2:49.04 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Andrey Kapralov | – | 0.06 | 22.75 | 49.03 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 3 | Ukraine | UKR | 3:38.85 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Pavlo Illichov | – | 0.72 | 27.62 | 56.40 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Valeriy Dymo | – | 0.09 | 28.78 | 1:01.23 (2) | 1:57.63 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Denys Sylantiev | – | 0.23 | 24.33 | 52.41 (2) | 2:50.04 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Yuriy Yehoshyn | – | 0.00 | 23.05 | 48.81 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 5 | Australia | AUS | 3:39.14 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Matt Welsh | – | 0.64 | 26.92 | 55.36 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Jim Piper | – | 0.35 | 28.95 | 1:02.10 (5) | 1:57.46 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Adam Pine | – | 0.00 | 24.63 | 53.02 (4) | 2:50.48 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Michael Klim | – | 0.19 | 23.40 | 48.66 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 6 | Canada | CAN | 3:39.36 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Riley Janes | – | 0.70 | 27.13 | 56.17 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Mike Brown | – | 0.18 | 29.29 | 1:01.73 (4) | 1:57.90 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Mike Mintenko | – | 0.12 | 24.02 | 52.48 (3) | 2:50.38 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Brent Hayden | – | 0.10 | 23.36 | 48.98 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 2 | Finland | FIN | 3:41.64 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Jani Sievinen | – | 0.59 | 27.70 | 56.84 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Jarno Pihlava | – | 0.12 | 28.36 | 1:01.39 (3) | 1:58.23 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Jere Hård | – | -0.01 | 24.03 | 53.19 (5) | 2:51.42 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Matti Rajakylä | – | 0.18 | 23.37 | 50.22 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 7 | Slovenia | SLO | 3:44.17 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Blaž Medvešek | – | 0.76 | 27.68 | 56.47 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Emil Tahirovič | – | 0.23 | 28.56 | 1:02.52 (6) | 1:58.99 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Peter Mankoč | – | 0.20 | 24.97 | 53.75 (7) | 2:52.74 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jernej Godec | – | 0.34 | 24.12 | 51.43 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 1 | Brazil | BRA | 3:44.41 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Paulo Machado | – | 0.63 | 28.20 | 57.33 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Eduardo Fischer | – | 0.29 | 28.86 | 1:02.58 (7) | 1:59.91 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Kaio Márcio | – | 0.28 | 24.91 | 53.52 (6) | 2:53.43 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jader Souza | – | 0.49 | 24.44 | 50.98 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | Italy | ITA | – | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | 2 | ||
| Backstroke | – | Emanuele Merisi | – | [0.61] | [27.46] | [56.55] ([6]) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Paolo Bossini | – | [-0.06] | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Mattia Nalesso | – | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Giacomo Vassanelli | – | – | – | – (–) | – (–) |
| Time | 12:14 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Reaction Time | 50 m Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:35.10 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lenny Krayzelburg | – | 0.63 | 26.26 | 54.27 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Mark Gangloff | – | 0.19 | 27.77 | 1:00.27 (3) | 1:54.54 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Michael Phelps | – | 0.28 | 24.95 | 52.43 (3) | 2:46.97 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Neil Walker | – | 0.38 | 22.63 | 48.13 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 8 | Germany | GER | 3:36.65 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Steffen Driesen | – | 0.72 | 26.72 | 54.75 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Jens Kruppa | – | 0.45 | 27.88 | 1:00.80 (6) | 1:55.55 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Helge Meeuw | – | 0.41 | 24.57 | 52.73 (6) | 2:48.28 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Lars Conrad | – | 0.30 | 23.17 | 48.37 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 2 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:36.94 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Gregor Tait | – | 0.64 | 26.83 | 55.36 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | James Gibson | – | 0.09 | 27.47 | 1:00.30 (4) | 1:55.66 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | James Hickman | – | 0.06 | 24.23 | 52.23 (1) | 2:47.89 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Matthew Kidd | – | 0.21 | 23.25 | 49.05 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 5 | Japan | JPN | 3:37.04 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Tomomi Morita | – | 0.53 | 26.83 | 54.63 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Kosuke Kitajima | – | 0.23 | 27.99 | 59.69 (1) | 1:54.32 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Takashi Yamamoto | – | 0.18 | 24.83 | 52.66 (5) | 2:46.98 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Yoshihiro Okumura | – | 0.33 | 24.50 | 50.06 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 6 | Hungary | HUN | 3:37.27 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | László Cseh, Jr. | – | 0.62 | 26.72 | 55.22 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Richárd Bodor | – | 0.21 | 28.22 | 1:00.31 (5) | 1:55.53 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Zsolt Gáspár | – | 0.26 | 24.31 | 52.96 (7) | 2:48.49 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Attila Zubor | – | 0.30 | 23.45 | 48.78 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 3 | France | FRA | 3:37.60 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Simon Dufour | – | 0.69 | 27.43 | 55.69 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Hugues Duboscq | – | 0.06 | 27.96 | 1:00.10 (2) | 1:55.79 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Franck Esposito | – | 0.20 | 24.53 | 52.52 (4) | 2:48.31 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Fréd Bousquet | – | 0.17 | 23.21 | 49.29 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 1 | New Zealand | NZL | 3:42.74 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Scott Talbot | – | 0.64 | 27.39 | 56.11 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Ben Labowitch | – | 0.09 | 29.17 | 1:03.88 (7) | 1:59.99 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Corney Swanepoel | – | 0.00 | 24.03 | 52.41 (2) | 2:52.40 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Cam Gibson | – | 0.28 | 23.91 | 50.34 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 7 | South Africa | RSA | 3:43.94 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Gerhard Zandberg | – | 0.73 | 26.47 | 56.23 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Terence Parkin | – | 0.46 | 29.86 | 1:03.89 (8) | 2:00.12 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Eugene Botes | – | 0.35 | 25.32 | 54.57 (8) | 2:54.69 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Karl Otto Thaning | – | 0.03 | 22.88 | 49.25 (5) | – (–) |
| Date | 21 August 2004 — 20:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Reaction Time | 50 m Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:30.68 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Aaron Peirsol | – | 0.66 | 26.02 | 53.45 (1) | – (–) | IWR | ||
| Breaststroke | – | Brendan Hansen | – | 0.28 | 27.83 | 59.37 (2) | 1:52.82 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Ian Crocker | – | 0.04 | 23.05 | 50.28 (1) | 2:43.10 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jason Lezak | – | 0.07 | 22.26 | 47.58 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 5 | Germany | GER | 3:33.62 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Steffen Driesen | – | 0.72 | 26.66 | 54.26 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Jens Kruppa | – | 0.28 | 27.67 | 1:00.50 (6) | 1:54.76 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Thomas Rupprath | – | 0.13 | 23.37 | 51.40 (3) | 2:46.16 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Lars Conrad | – | 0.25 | 22.37 | 47.46 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 6 | Japan | JPN | 3:35.22 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Tomomi Morita | – | 0.54 | 26.63 | 54.25 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Kosuke Kitajima | – | 0.28 | 27.87 | 59.35 (1) | 1:53.60 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Takashi Yamamoto | – | 0.13 | 24.13 | 51.87 (5) | 2:45.47 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Yoshihiro Okumura | – | 0.28 | 23.89 | 49.75 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 1 | Russian Federation | RUS | 3:35.91 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Arkady Vyatchanin | – | 0.83 | 27.11 | 55.15 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Roman Sludnov | – | 0.31 | 28.13 | 1:01.00 (8) | 1:56.15 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Igor Marchenko | – | 0.17 | 23.79 | 51.74 (4) | 2:47.89 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Aleksandr Popov | – | 0.26 | 22.65 | 48.02 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 7 | France | FRA | 3:36.57 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Simon Dufour | – | 0.66 | 27.04 | 55.74 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Hugues Duboscq | – | 0.19 | 27.67 | 1:00.07 (3) | 1:55.81 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Franck Esposito | – | 0.18 | 24.09 | 52.22 (6) | 2:48.03 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Fréd Bousquet | – | 0.17 | 23.05 | 48.54 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 8 | Ukraine | UKR | 3:36.87 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Pavlo Illichov | – | 0.75 | 27.15 | 56.19 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Oleh Lisohor | – | 0.25 | 28.33 | 1:00.99 (7) | 1:57.18 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Andriy Serdinov | – | 0.25 | 23.48 | 50.80 (2) | 2:47.98 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Yuriy Yehoshyn | – | 0.18 | 23.16 | 48.89 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 2 | Hungary | HUN | 3:37.46 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | László Cseh, Jr. | – | 0.66 | 26.75 | 54.89 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Richárd Bodor | – | 0.10 | 28.02 | 1:00.25 (4) | 1:55.14 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Zsolt Gáspár | – | 0.22 | 24.27 | 53.32 (8) | 2:48.46 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Attila Zubor | – | 0.31 | 23.35 | 49.00 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 3 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:37.77 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Gregor Tait | – | 0.65 | 26.82 | 55.69 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | James Gibson | – | 0.08 | 27.46 | 1:00.30 (5) | 1:55.99 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | James Hickman | – | 0.05 | 24.17 | 52.64 (7) | 2:48.63 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Matthew Kidd | – | 0.15 | 22.72 | 49.14 (7) | – (–) |
