Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay
| Women's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | |||||||
| Venue | London Aquatics Centre | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | August 1, 2012 (heats & final) | ||||||
| Competitors | 84 from 16 nations | ||||||
| Winning time | 7:42.92 OR | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
| |||||||
| Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freestyle | ||||
| 50 m | men | women | ||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | women | ||
| 800 m | women | |||
| 1500 m | men | |||
| Backstroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Breaststroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Butterfly | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Individual medley | ||||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | women | ||
| Freestyle relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | men | women | ||
| 4×200 m | men | women | ||
| Medley relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | men | women | ||
| Marathon | ||||
| 10 km | men | women | ||
The women's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 1 August at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.[1]
The U.S. women's team smashed a new Olympic record to recapture their freestyle relay title with the help of a sterling anchor leg from Allison Schmitt. Trailing throughout most of the race with a back-to-back lead from Australia and France before the final exchange, Schmitt demolished the field with a remarkable split of 1:54.09 to deliver the American foursome of Missy Franklin (1:55.96), Dana Vollmer (1:56.02), and Shannon Vreeland (1:56.85) a gold medal and an Olympic record in 7:42.92.[2][3]
Australia's Bronte Barratt (1:55.76), Melanie Schlanger (1:55.62), and Kylie Palmer (1:56.91) handed Alicia Coutts the anchor duties at the final exchange with a 0.54-second lead, but Coutts' split of 1:56.12 was just over a full-body length behind Schmitt's stunning anchor, leaving them with a silver medal in 7:44.41.[4][5] Meanwhile, the fantastic French quartet of Camille Muffat (1:55.51), Charlotte Bonnet (1:57.78), Ophélie-Cyrielle Étienne (1:58.05), and Coralie Balmy (1:56.15) took home the bronze in 7:47.49.[6][7]
Canada's Barbara Jardin (1:57.96), Samantha Cheverton (1:56.91), Amanda Reason (1:59.32), and Brittany MacLean (1:56.46) missed the podium with a fourth-place time in 7:50.65, while Great Britain's home favorite foursome of Caitlin McClatchey (1:58.66), Rebecca Turner (1:57.39), Hannah Miley (1:58.12), and Joanne Jackson (1:58.20) struggled to mount a challenge in an Olympic-medal race as they finished fifth in 7:52.37.[8][9] China (7:53.11), led by medley double champion Ye Shiwen, Italy (7:56.30), and Japan (7:56.73) rounded out the championship finale.[7]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  China (CHN)Yang Yu (1:55.47) Zhu Qianwei (1:55.79) Liu Jing (1:56.09) Pang Jiaying (1:54.73) | 7:42.08 | Rome, Italy | 30 July 2009 |
| Olympic record |  Australia (AUS)Stephanie Rice (1:56.60) Bronte Barratt (1:56.58) Kylie Palmer (1:55.22) Linda Mackenzie (1:55.91) | 7:44.31 | Beijing, China | 14 August 2008 |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Name | Nation | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1 | Final | Missy Franklin (1:55.96) Dana Vollmer (1:56.02) Shannon Vreeland (1:56.85) Allison Schmitt (1:54.09) |  United States | 7:42.92 | OR |
Results
Heats
Final
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time Behind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 5 | United States | Missy Franklin (1:55.96) Dana Vollmer (1:56.02) Shannon Vreeland (1:56.85) Allison Schmitt (1:54.09) | 7:42.92 | OR | |
 | 4 | Australia | Bronte Barratt (1:55.76) Melanie Schlanger (1:55.62) Kylie Palmer (1:56.91) Alicia Coutts (1:56.12) | 7:44.41 | 1.49 | |
 | 2 |  France | Camille Muffat (1:55.51) Charlotte Bonnet (1:57.78) Ophélie-Cyrielle Étienne (1:58.05) Coralie Balmy (1:56.15) | 7:47.49 | 4.57 | NR |
| 4 | 3 |  Canada | Barbara Jardin (1:57.96) Samantha Cheverton (1:56.91) Amanda Reason (1:59.32) Brittany MacLean (1:56.46) | 7:50.65 | 7.73 | |
| 5 | 1 |  Great Britain | Caitlin McClatchey (1:58.66) Rebecca Turner (1:57.39) Hannah Miley (1:58.12) Joanne Jackson (1:58.20) | 7:52.37 | 9.45 | |
| 6 | 7 | China | Wang Shijia (1:58.32) Ye Shiwen (1:57.37) Liu Jing (1:59.51) Tang Yi (1:57.91) | 7:53.11 | 10.19 | |
| 7 | 6 |  Italy | Alice Mizzau (1:58.93) Alice Nesti (2:00.03) Diletta Carli (1:59.73) Federica Pellegrini (1:57.61) | 7:56.30 | 13.38 | |
| 8 | 8 |  Japan | Haruka Ueda (1:58.23) Hanae Ito (1:58.26) Yayoi Matsumoto (2:00.82) Aya Takano (1:59.42) | 7:56.73 | 13.81 |
References
- ↑ "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ Norlander, Matt (1 August 2012). "U.S. women set Olympic record in 4×200 freestyle relay". CBS Sports. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ Rossingh, Danielle (1 August 2012). "U.S. Women Relay Swimmers Win 2nd Gold on Day of Olympic Records". Bloomberg. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ "Aussies take relay silver". ABC News Australia. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ "Olympics 2012: Allison Schmitt pushes U.S. ahead to win 4×200 free relay". Washington Times. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ Rossingh, Danielle (1 August 2012). "U.S. Women Get Relay Swim Gold, Gyurta Breaks World Record". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- 1 2 "2012 London Olympics: Team USA Wins Duel With Australia, Posts Olympic Record in Women's 800-Meter Freestyle Relay". Swimming World Magazine. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ "Canada misses podium in women's 4×200m relay". Vancouver Courier. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ "Olympics Swimming: USA women win 200m freestyle relay". BBC Sport. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ "Women's 4×200m Freestyle Relay – Heats". London 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.