Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay
| Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Tokyo Aquatics Centre | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 24 July 2021 (heats) 25 July 2021 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 68 from 15 nations | ||||||||||||
| Teams | 15 | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 3:29.69 WR | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Qualification | |||
| Freestyle | |||
| 50 m | men | women | |
| 100 m | men | women | |
| 200 m | men | women | |
| 400 m | men | women | |
| 800 m | men | women | |
| 1500 m | men | women | |
| 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 | mixed | women |
| Marathon | |||
| 10 km | men | women | |
The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] It will be the event's twenty-fifth appearance at the Olympics, having been held at every edition since 1912.
Swimming
Returning from their triumph five years earlier in Rio, the experienced trio of Emma McKeon and sisters Bronte and Cate Campbell joined with the youngster Meg Harris to win Australia's third consecutive Olympic title in dominating fashion. Bronte led off the quartet in 53.01 before handing over to Harris (53.09). Holding a marginal gap over the field, McKeon blasted a 51.35 split - the quickest in the field and fifth-fastest of all time - to give the Australians a monstrous lead of over two seconds. As she did in Rio, Cate Campbell (52.24) anchored Australia home to win gold in a world record of 3:29.69. Moreover, the Australians' victory margin of 3.09 seconds was the largest in the event since the U.S.' 3.22 seconds win in 2000.
Fifth at the halfway mark, Canada's Kayla Sanchez (53.42) and Maggie Mac Neil (53.47) handed Rebecca Smith the third-leg duties, but Smith's split of 53.63 kept the Canadians 0.67 seconds behind the pace of the Americans. However, in a thrilling duel between the 100 m freestyle defending champions Penny Oleksiak and Simone Manuel, Canada's Oleksiak split 52.26 to overtake the U.S.' Manuel (52.96) and secure Canada the silver medal in 3:32.78 - their best finish in the event after three previous bronze-medal feats (1968, 1976, 2016). While Erika Brown's lead-off of 54.02 had the U.S. in sixth, the remaining legs from Abbey Weitzeil (52.68), Natalie Hinds (53.15) and Manuel helped the U.S. to recover and win bronze in 3:32.81, just 0.03 seconds behind Canada.
Winners in 2008, the Netherlands (3:33.70) fell short of the podium to come fourth despite valiant efforts from the 2012 100 m freestyle champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo (52.87) and Femke Heemskerk (52.05), who had the second fastest split in the field behind McKeon. Great Britain (3:33.96) edged out Sweden (3:34.69), who were led off in an Olympic record of 52.69 by superstar Sarah Sjöström, for fifth place. China (3:34.76) and Denmark (3:35.70) rounded out the championship field.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |
|
3:30.05 | Gold Coast, Australia | 5 April 2018 | [2] |
| Olympic record |
|
3:30.65 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6 August 2016 | [3][4] |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 25 | Final | Bronte Campbell (53.01) Meg Harris (53.09) Emma McKeon (51.35) Cate Campbell (52.24) |
 Australia |
3:29.69 | WR, OR |
Qualification
The top 12 teams in this event at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships qualified for the Olympics. An additional 4 teams will qualify through having the fastest times at approved qualifying events during the qualifying period (1 March 2019 to 30 May 2020).[5]
Competition format
The competition consists of two rounds: heats and a final. The relay teams with the best 8 times in the heats advance to the final. Swim-offs are used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.[6]
Schedule
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)[1]
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| 24 July | 20:43 | Heats |
| 25 July | 11:45 | Final |
Results
Heats
The relay teams with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advance to the final.[7]
Final
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Australia |
Bronte Campbell (53.01) Meg Harris (53.09) Emma McKeon (51.35) Cate Campbell (52.24) |
3:29.69 | WR |
 |
3 |  Canada |
Kayla Sanchez (53.42) Margaret MacNeil (53.47) Rebecca Smith (53.63) Penny Oleksiak (52.26) |
3:32.78 | |
 |
2 |  United States |
Erika Brown (54.02) Abbey Weitzeil (52.68) Natalie Hinds (53.15) Simone Manuel (52.96) |
3:32.81 | |
| 4 | 5 |  Netherlands |
Kim Busch (54.64) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (52.87) Kira Toussaint (54.14) Femke Heemskerk (52.05) |
3:33.70 | |
| 5 | 6 |  Great Britain |
Anna Hopkin (53.16) Abbie Wood (53.23) Lucy Hope (54.73) Freya Anderson (52.84) |
3:33.96 | NR |
| 6 | 8 |  Sweden |
Sarah Sjöström (52.62) OR Michelle Coleman (53.62) Louise Hansson (53.51) Sophie Hansson (54.94) |
3:34.69 | |
| 7 | 7 |  China |
Cheng Yujie (54.10) Zhu Menghui (53.54) Ai Yanhan (54.22) Wu Qingfeng (52.90) |
3:34.76 | AS |
| 8 | 1 |  Denmark |
Pernille Blume (53.07) Signe Bro (53.78) Julie Kepp Jensen (54.46) Jeanette Ottesen (54.39) |
3:35.70 |
References
- ^ a b "Tokyo 2020: Swimming Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ Pentony, Luke (6 April 2018). "Commonwealth Games: Australia sets new world record in 4x100 metres freestyle relay". ABC News Australia. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ Barrett, Chris (7 August 2016). "Rio Olympics 2016: Australia's women win gold in world record time in 4x100m freestyle relay". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- ^ "Cate, Bronte Campbell lead Australian women to 4x100m gold at Rio". ABC News Australia. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- ^ "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "FINA Swimming Rulebook, 2017–21" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "Heats results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
