Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay
Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | ||||||||||
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![]() Aquatics centre during the British Championships in March 2012. | ||||||||||
Venue | London Aquatics Centre | |||||||||
Dates | July 31, 2012 (heats & final) | |||||||||
Competitors | 84 from 16 nations | |||||||||
Winning time | 6:59.70 | |||||||||
Medalists | ||||||||||
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Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics | ||
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Qualification | ||
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 men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 31 July at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.[1]
The U.S. men's team smashed the seven-minute barrier in textile to defend the Olympic title in the event, and most importantly, to keep Michael Phelps' all-time record alive. The American foursome of Ryan Lochte (1:45.15), Conor Dwyer (1:45.23), Ricky Berens (1:45.27), and Phelps (1:44.05) dominated the race from the start to put together a blazing fast finish in 6:59.70.[2][3] As the Americans defended their Olympic title, Phelps also surpassed Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina to become the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time with a remarkable career tally of nineteen medals (15 golds, 2 silver, and 2 bronze).[4][5]
France's Amaury Leveaux (1:46.70), Grégory Mallet (1:46.83), Clément Lefert (1:46.00), and Yannick Agnel (1:43.24, the fastest split in the field) trailed behind their newest rivals in the pool by a couple of seconds to take home the silver in 7:02.77.[6] Meanwhile, China's Hao Yun (1:47.12), Li Yunqi (1:46.46), and Jiang Haiqi (1:47.17) struggled to keep their momentum throughout the race before Sun Yang dove into the pool at the final exchange. Sun then produced an astonishing anchor of 1:45.55 to deliver the Chinese team a historic relay bronze medal in 7:06.30, holding off the aggressive German foursome of Paul Biedermann (1:46.15), Dimitri Colupaev (1:46.36), Tim Wallburger (1:47.48), and Clemens Rapp (1:46.60) by 29-hundredths of a second with a fourth-place finish (7:06.59).[7][8]
Australia's Thomas Fraser-Holmes (1:46.13), Kenrick Monk (1:46.67), Ned McKendry (1:47.60), and Ryan Napoleon (1:46.60) finished fifth in 7:07.00, while Great Britain (7:09.33), South Africa (7:09.65), and Hungary (7:13.66) also vied for an Olympic medal to round out a historic finish.[8][9]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | ![]() Michael Phelps (1:44.49) Ricky Berens (1:44.13) David Walters (1:45.47) Ryan Lochte (1:44.46) |
6:58.55 | Rome, Italy | 31 July 2009 | [10][11] |
Olympic record | ![]() Michael Phelps (1:43.31) Ryan Lochte (1:44.28) Ricky Berens (1:46.29) Peter Vanderkaay (1:44.68) |
6:58.56 | Beijing, China | 13 August 2008 | [12] |
Results
Heats
Final
Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time behind | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
4 | ![]() |
Ryan Lochte (1:45.15) Conor Dwyer (1:45.23) Ricky Berens (1:45.27) Michael Phelps (1:44.05) |
6:59.70 | ||
![]() |
5 | ![]() |
Amaury Leveaux (1:46.70) Grégory Mallet (1:46.83) Clément Lefert (1:46.00) Yannick Agnel (1:43.24) |
7:02.77 | 3.07 | NR |
![]() |
7 | ![]() |
Hao Yun (1:47.12) Li Yunqi (1:46.46) Jiang Haiqi (1:47.17) Sun Yang (1:45.55) |
7:06.30 | 6.60 | |
4 | 3 | ![]() |
Paul Biedermann (1:46.15) Dimitri Colupaev (1:46.36) Tim Wallburger (1:47.48) Clemens Rapp (1:46.60) |
7:06.59 | 6.89 | |
5 | 6 | ![]() |
Thomas Fraser-Holmes (1:46.13) Kenrick Monk (1:46.67) Ned McKendry (1:47.60) Ryan Napoleon (1:46.60) |
7:07.00 | 7.30 | |
6 | 2 | ![]() |
Robbie Renwick (1:46.93) Ieuan Lloyd (1:47.40) Rob Bale (1:47.45) Ross Davenport (1:47.55) |
7:09.33 | 9.63 | |
7 | 1 | ![]() |
Darian Townsend (1:47.25) Sebastien Rousseau (1:47.36) Chad le Clos (1:47.15) Jean Basson (1:47.89) |
7:09.65 | 9.95 | |
8 | 8 | ![]() |
Dominik Kozma (1:46.94) László Cseh (1:48.06) Péter Bernek (1:48.74) Gergő Kis (1:49.92) |
7:13.66 | 13.96 |
References
- ^ "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ "Phelps breaks Olympic medal record". Fox News. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "Michael Phelps makes history with 19th Olympic medal". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Rossingh, Danielle (31 July 2012). "Phelps Becomes Most Decorated Olympian With 19th Career Medal". Bloomberg. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Almasy, Steve (31 July 2012). "'Fab Five' brings home gymnastics gold". CNN. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Brooks, Matt; Shipley, Amy (31 July 2012). "Michael Phelps's gold rush continues: 4×200 freestyle relay medal is record 19th". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "Sun Yang leads team China to bronze in swimming relay". Xinhua. China Times. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-07-10. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ a b "2012 London Olympics: Michael Phelps Becomes Most Decorated Olympian of All Time With 19th Medal; Anchors Team USA to Victory in 800 Free Relay". Swimming World Magazine. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "Phelps claims ultimate Olympic record". ABC News Australia. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Dillman, Lisa (1 August 2009). "Michael Phelps' world records not wearing well". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Michaelis, Vicky (31 July 2009). "Phelps earns relay gold medal, Peirsol sets 200m backstroke mark". USA Today. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Stallman, Jason (13 August 2008). "Phelps Adds 2 More Gold Medals". New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ^ "Men's 4×200m Freestyle Relay – Heats". London2012.com. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ "Men's 4×200m Freestyle Relay – Final". London2012.com. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.