Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay
| Men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | |||||||
| Venue | London Aquatics Centre | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | August 3, 2012 (heats) August 4, 2012 (final) | ||||||
| Competitors | 84 from 16 nations | ||||||
| Winning time | 3:29.35 | ||||||
| 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 men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 3–4 August at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.[1]
In the final race of his unprecedented career before a temporary retirement, Michael Phelps topped off with his eighteenth gold and twenty-second overall to officially become the most decorated Olympian of all time, as the U.S. men's team posted a textile best to defend the Olympic medley relay title since the event's inception in 1960. Trading the lead with Japan throughout the race, the solid foursome of Matt Grevers (52.58), Brendan Hansen (59.19), Phelps (50.73), and Nathan Adrian (46.85) put together a historic ending with a blazing fast finish in 3:29.35, just a fingertip short of their 2008 Olympic record during the high-tech bodysuit era.[2][3][4]
Japan's Ryosuke Irie (52.92), Kosuke Kitajima (58.64), Takeshi Matsuda (51.20), and Takuro Fujii (48.50) held on an arduous challenge with the Americans throughout the race before Adrian pulled off a lead in the freestyle leg, leaving them with a silver in 3:31.26.[5][6] Meanwhile, James Magnussen produced a magnificent freestyle anchor of 47.22 to deliver the Aussie foursome of Hayden Stoeckel (53.71), Christian Sprenger (59.05), and Matt Targett (51.60) a bronze-medal time in 3:31.58.[7][8][9]
Great Britain's Liam Tancock (53.40), Michael Jamieson (59.27), Michael Rock (51.74), and Adam Brown (47.91) missed the podium by almost three quarters of a second (0.75) with a fourth-place effort in 3:32.32.[10] Meanwhile, Hungary's László Cseh (53.40, a national-record split), Dániel Gyurta (59.01), Bence Pulai (51.82), and Dominik Kozma (48.79) claimed a fifth spot in 3:33.02 to hold off the agile German foursome of Helge Meeuw (53.78), Christian vom Lehn (1:00.30), and Deibler brothers Steffen (50.91) and Markus (48.07) by four-hundredths of a second, a sixth-place time in 3:33.06.[9] Netherlands (3:33.46) and Canada (3:34.19), anchored by freestyle swimmer and bronze medalist Brent Hayden, rounded out a historic championship finale.[9]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  United States (USA)Aaron Peirsol (52.19) Eric Shanteau (58.57) Michael Phelps (49.72) David Walters (46.80) | 3:27.28 | Rome, Italy | 2 August 2009 |
| Olympic record | United States (USA) Aaron Peirsol (53.16) Brendan Hansen (59.27) Michael Phelps (50.15) Jason Lezak (46.76) | 3:29.34 | Beijing, China | 17 August 2008 |
Results
Heats
Final
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time Behind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 4 | United States | Matt Grevers (52.58) Brendan Hansen (59.19) Michael Phelps (50.73) Nathan Adrian (46.85) | 3:29.35 | ||
 | 3 |  Japan | Ryosuke Irie (52.92) Kosuke Kitajima (58.64) Takeshi Matsuda (51.20) Takuro Fujii (48.50) | 3:31.26 | 1.91 | |
 | 6 |  Australia | Hayden Stoeckel (53.71) Christian Sprenger (59.05) Matt Targett (51.60) James Magnussen (47.22) | 3:31.58 | 2.23 | |
| 4 | 5 |  Great Britain | Liam Tancock (53.40) Michael Jamieson (59.27) Michael Rock (51.74) Adam Brown (47.91) | 3:32.32 | 2.97 | |
| 5 | 1 |  Hungary | László Cseh (53.40) NR Dániel Gyurta (59.01) Bence Pulai (51.82) Dominik Kozma (48.79) | 3:33.02 | 3.67 | NR |
| 6 | 7 |  Germany | Helge Meeuw (53.78) Christian vom Lehn (1:00.30) Steffen Deibler (50.91) Markus Deibler (48.07) | 3:33.06 | 3.71 | |
| 7 | 2 |  Netherlands | Nick Driebergen (53.79) Lennart Stekelenburg (1:00.24) Joeri Verlinden (51.86) Sebastiaan Verschuren (47.57) | 3:33.46 | 4.11 | NR |
| 8 | 8 |  Canada | Charles Francis (54.16) Scott Dickens (1:00.29) Joe Bartoch (52.32) Brent Hayden (47.42) | 3:34.19 | 4.84 |
References
- ↑ "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Armstrong, Kevin (4 August 2012). "Olympics 2012: Michaels Phelps ends his career with his 18th gold medal after leading U.S. to another relay win". New York Daily News. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ "Michael Phelps ends career with gold as U.S. men win medley relay". CBS News. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ "Phelps ends career with gold in medley relay". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ "Michael Phelps, U.S. win medley relay". ESPN. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ Das, Andrew (4 August 2012). "With Relay Victory in His Final Race, Phelps Claims 18th Gold". New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ "Phelps bids farewell with medley relay gold". ABC News Australia. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ "Michael Phelps bows out with 18th Olympic gold". The Australian. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- 1 2 3 "2012 London Olympics: Michael Phelps Secures 18th Gold in His Final Event as Team USA Posts Textile Best in 400 Medley Relay; Japan, Australia, Place Second, Third; Phelps Honored With Award for Most London Medals". Swimming World Magazine. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ "Michael Phelps wins 18th and final Olympic gold in London". BBC Sport. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ "Men's 4×100m Medley Relay – Heats". London 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
External links
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