| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Women

Date	24 – 25 July 2021
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympic Aquatics Centre, 2-1, 2chome, Tatsumi, Koto-ku, Tatsumi-no-Mori Seaside Park, Tokyo, Japan
Participants	68 from 15 countries

This event was conceded to Australia’s female sprinters before it began. As the two-time defending gold medallists, and world records holders (set at Rio in 2016), they did nothing to change that in the preliminary round, swimming 3:31.73, leading the round by almost two seconds over the Netherlands, with Canada qualifying third. The United States qualified only fifth and there was concern they would not make the podium, which had only happened at the Olympics in this event in 1912 and 1980, when they were not at the Olympic swimming competition.

In the final Australia subbed in Cate Campbell’s sister, Bronte and Emma McKeon for heat swimmers Mollie O’Callaghan and Madi Wilson. Bronte opened in 53.01, trailing only Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström, whose 52.62 bettered the Olympic record for the 100 freestyle, set at Rio by Canadian Penny Oleksiak and American Simone Manuel.

On the second leg Meg Harris recorded 53.09 for the Aussies to give them a slight lead over Sweden, with Great Britain in third. McKeon then shattered the field, swimming 51.35 on the third leg, and their lead was more than two seconds ahead of Sweden. Cate Campbell came home in 52.24 as the Aussies destroyed the world record with a time of 3:29.69, winning by more than three seconds over Canada.

Canada had been well back in the first two legs, but Oleksiak finished almost as fast as Cate Campbell in 52.26 to bring them the silver medal. Behind the top two the United States made the podium, as Manuel anchored in 52.96 to keep the American streak alive, just edging out the Netherlands.

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	Australia	AUS	3:31.73 (1 h2)	3:29.69 (1)	Gold
	Bronte Campbell • Meg Harris • Emma McKeon • Cate Campbell • Mollie O'Callaghan • Madi Wilson
2	Canada	CAN	3:33.72 (3 h2)	3:32.78 (2)	Silver
	Kayla Sanchez • Maggie Mac Neil • Rebecca Smith • Penny Oleksiak • Taylor Ruck
3	United States	USA	3:34.80 (2 h1)	3:32.81 (3)	Bronze
	Erika Brown • Abbey Weitzeil • Natalie Hinds • Simone Manuel • Olivia Smoliga • Catie DeLoof • Allison Schmitt
4	Netherlands	NED	3:33.51 (2 h2)	3:33.70 (4)
	Kim Busch • Ranomi Kromowidjojo • Kira Toussaint • Femke Heemskerk • Marrit Steenbergen
5	Great Britain	GBR	3:34.03 (1 h1)	3:33.96 (5)
	Anna Hopkin • Abbie Wood • Lucy Hope • Freya Anderson
6	Sweden	SWE	3:35.93 (4 h1)	3:34.69 (6)
	Sarah Sjöström • Michelle Coleman • Louise Hansson • Sophie Hansson • Sara Junevik
7	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:35.07 (4 h2)	3:34.76 (7)
	Cheng Yujie • Zhu Menghui • Ai Yanhan • Wu Qingfeng
8	Denmark	DEN	3:35.56 (3 h1)	3:35.70 (8)
	Pernille Blume • Signe Bro • Julie Jensen • Jeanette Ottesen Gray
9	Japan	JPN	3:36.20 (5 h2)	–
	Chihiro Igarashi • Rikako Ikee • Natsumi Sakai • Rika Omoto
10	France	FRA	3:36.61 (5 h1)	–
	Béryl Gastaldello • Charlotte Bonnet • Margaux Fabre • Anouchka Martin
11	ROC	ROC	3:38.25 (6 h2)	–
	Darya Ustinova • Arina Surkova • Yelizaveta Klevanovich • Veronika Andrusenko
12	Brazil	BRA	3:39.19 (6 h1)	–
	Larissa Oliveira • Ana Vieira • Etiene Medeiros • Stephanie Balduccini
13	Germany	GER	3:39.33 (7 h2)	–
	Lisa Höpink • Annika Bruhn • Marie Pietruschka • Hannah Küchler
14	Czech Republic	CZE	3:42.40 (8 h2)	–
	Barbora Seemanová • Kristýna Horská • Barbora Janíčková • Anika Apostalon
15	Hong Kong, China	HKG	3:43.52 (7 h1)	–
	Tam Hoi Lam • Camille Lily Cheng • Stephanie Au • Tinky Ho

Round One

Date	24 July 2021 — 20:43

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time
1	4	Australia	AUS	3:31.73	Q
2	3	Netherlands	NED	3:33.51	Q
3	5	Canada	CAN	3:33.72	Q
4	5	Great Britain	GBR	3:34.03	Q
5	4	United States	USA	3:34.80	Q
6	6	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:35.07	Q
7	2	Denmark	DEN	3:35.56	Q
8	6	Sweden	SWE	3:35.93	Q
9	2	Japan	JPN	3:36.20
10	3	France	FRA	3:36.61
11	1	ROC	ROC	3:38.25
12	7	Brazil	BRA	3:39.19
13	7	Germany	GER	3:39.33
14	8	Czech Republic	CZE	3:42.40
15	1	Hong Kong, China	HKG	3:43.52

Heat #1

Time	20:43

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	5	Great Britain	GBR	3:34.03	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Lucy Hope		–	0.70	26.28	54.37 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Anna Hopkin		–	0.31	24.87	52.65 (1)	1:47.02 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Abbie Wood		–	0.28	25.53	53.55 (1)	2:40.57 (2)
Anchor	–	Freya Anderson		–	0.46	25.76	53.46 (2)	– (–)
2	4	United States	USA	3:34.80	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Olivia Smoliga		–	0.67	25.96	54.06 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Catie DeLoof		–	0.14	25.02	53.42 (4)	1:47.48 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Allison Schmitt		–	0.32	25.85	54.04 (3)	2:41.52 (4)
Anchor	–	Natalie Hinds		–	0.43	25.30	53.28 (1)	– (–)
3	2	Denmark	DEN	3:35.56	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Pernille Blume		–	0.67	25.33	53.15 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Signe Bro		–	0.22	25.50	53.19 (3)	1:46.34 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Julie Jensen		–	0.24	25.56	54.72 (4)	2:41.06 (3)
Anchor	–	Jeanette Ottesen Gray		–	0.21	25.46	54.50 (5)	– (–)
4	6	Sweden	SWE	3:35.93	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Sarah Sjöström		–	0.65	25.47	52.95 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Michelle Coleman		–	0.31	24.91	53.44 (5)	1:46.39 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Louise Hansson		–	0.17	25.29	53.68 (2)	2:40.07 (1)
Anchor	–	Sara Junevik		–	0.33	25.87	55.86 (6)	– (–)
5	3	France	FRA	3:36.61	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Béryl Gastaldello		–	0.63	25.97	54.28 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Charlotte Bonnet		–	0.24	25.35	53.05 (2)	1:47.33 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Margaux Fabre		–	0.32	26.09	54.83 (5)	2:42.16 (5)
Anchor	–	Anouchka Martin		–	0.20	25.75	54.45 (4)	– (–)
6	7	Brazil	BRA	3:39.19	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Larissa Oliveira		–	0.63	26.23	54.79 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Ana Vieira		–	0.22	26.07	54.92 (7)	1:49.71 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Etiene Medeiros		–	0.18	25.95	55.42 (6)	2:45.13 (6)
Anchor	–	Stephanie Balduccini		–	0.08	25.61	54.06 (3)	– (–)
7	1	Hong Kong, China	HKG	3:43.52	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Tam Hoi Lam		–	0.67	26.50	55.58 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Camille Lily Cheng		–	0.08	26.05	54.61 (6)	1:50.19 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Stephanie Au		–	0.34	26.96	56.96 (7)	2:47.15 (7)
Anchor	–	Tinky Ho		–	0.40	27.43	56.37 (7)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	20:53

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	Australia	AUS	3:31.73	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Mollie O'Callaghan		–	0.69	25.94	53.08 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Meg Harris		–	0.37	25.30	52.73 (2)	1:45.81 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Madi Wilson		–	0.45	25.73	53.10 (1)	2:38.91 (1)
Anchor	–	Bronte Campbell		–	0.38	25.29	52.82 (3)	– (–)
2	3	Netherlands	NED	3:33.51	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Kim Busch		–	0.75	25.84	54.79 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Ranomi Kromowidjojo		–	0.16	24.93	52.50 (1)	1:47.29 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Marrit Steenbergen		–	0.27	25.79	54.32 (3)	2:41.61 (3)
Anchor	–	Femke Heemskerk		–	0.27	24.55	51.90 (1)	– (–)
3	5	Canada	CAN	3:33.72	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Kayla Sanchez		–	0.69	25.91	53.45 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Taylor Ruck		–	0.11	25.44	54.16 (5)	1:47.61 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Rebecca Smith		–	0.29	25.50	53.73 (2)	2:41.34 (2)
Anchor	–	Penny Oleksiak		–	0.22	24.92	52.38 (2)	– (–)
4	6	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:35.07	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Cheng Yujie		–	0.73	26.05	54.03 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Zhu Menghui		–	0.34	25.37	53.48 (3)	1:47.51 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Ai Yanhan		–	0.51	25.92	54.33 (4)	2:41.84 (4)
Anchor	–	Wu Qingfeng		–	0.35	25.35	53.23 (4)	– (–)
5	2	Japan	JPN	3:36.20	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Chihiro Igarashi		–	0.58	25.97	54.10 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Rikako Ikee		–	0.16	25.95	53.63 (4)	1:47.73 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Natsumi Sakai		–	0.20	26.20	54.70 (6)	2:42.43 (5)
Anchor	–	Rika Omoto		–	0.18	25.85	53.77 (5)	– (–)
6	1	ROC	ROC	3:38.25	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Darya Ustinova		–	0.70	26.13	54.75 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Arina Surkova		–	0.21	25.65	54.54 (7)	1:49.29 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Yelizaveta Klevanovich		–	0.21	25.93	54.57 (5)	2:43.86 (6)
Anchor	–	Veronika Andrusenko		–	0.09	26.28	54.39 (6)	– (–)
7	7	Germany	GER	3:39.33	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Lisa Höpink		–	0.58	26.16	54.83 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Annika Bruhn		–	0.38	26.19	54.33 (6)	1:49.16 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Marie Pietruschka		–	0.38	26.19	55.31 (7)	2:44.47 (7)
Anchor	–	Hannah Küchler		–	0.26	25.94	54.86 (7)	– (–)
8	8	Czech Republic	CZE	3:42.40	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Barbora Seemanová		–	0.62	25.79	53.86 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Kristýna Horská		–	0.25	26.64	56.72 (8)	1:50.58 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Barbora Janíčková		–	0.24	26.27	55.89 (8)	2:46.47 (8)
Anchor	–	Anika Apostalon		–	0.32	26.30	55.93 (8)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	25 July 2021 — 11:45

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	Australia	AUS	3:29.69	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Lead-off	–	Bronte Campbell		–	0.75	25.82	53.01 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Meg Harris		–	0.26	25.25	53.09 (3)	1:46.10 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Emma McKeon		–	0.25	24.66	51.35 (1)	2:37.45 (1)
Anchor	–	Cate Campbell		–	0.21	24.31	52.24 (2)	– (–)
2	3	Canada	CAN	3:32.78	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Kayla Sanchez		–	0.69	25.90	53.42 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Maggie Mac Neil		–	0.18	24.90	53.47 (5)	1:46.89 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Rebecca Smith		–	0.23	25.56	53.63 (4)	2:40.52 (4)
Anchor	–	Penny Oleksiak		–	0.09	24.69	52.26 (3)	– (–)
3	2	United States	USA	3:32.81	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Erika Brown		–	0.68	25.83	54.02 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Abbey Weitzeil		–	0.18	24.72	52.68 (1)	1:46.70 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Natalie Hinds		–	0.27	25.25	53.15 (2)	2:39.85 (3)
Anchor	–	Simone Manuel		–	0.37	25.32	52.96 (6)	– (–)
4	5	Netherlands	NED	3:33.70	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Kim Busch		–	0.71	26.07	54.64 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Ranomi Kromowidjojo		–	0.20	25.07	52.87 (2)	1:47.51 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Kira Toussaint		–	0.05	25.33	54.14 (5)	2:41.65 (7)
Anchor	–	Femke Heemskerk		–	0.15	24.46	52.05 (1)	– (–)
5	6	Great Britain	GBR	3:33.96	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Anna Hopkin		–	0.67	25.29	53.16 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Abbie Wood		–	0.09	25.26	53.23 (4)	1:46.39 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Lucy Hope		–	0.24	25.94	54.73 (8)	2:41.12 (5)
Anchor	–	Freya Anderson		–	0.34	25.20	52.84 (4)	– (–)
6	8	Sweden	SWE	3:34.69	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sarah Sjöström		–	0.65	25.61	52.62 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Michelle Coleman		–	0.31	25.41	53.62 (7)	1:46.24 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Louise Hansson		–	0.04	25.26	53.51 (3)	2:39.75 (2)
Anchor	–	Sophie Hansson		–	0.44	26.56	54.94 (8)	– (–)
7	7	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:34.76	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Cheng Yujie		–	0.71	25.90	54.10 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Zhu Menghui		–	0.40	25.18	53.54 (6)	1:47.64 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Ai Yanhan		–	0.31	25.87	54.22 (6)	2:41.86 (8)
Anchor	–	Wu Qingfeng		–	0.26	24.99	52.90 (5)	– (–)
8	1	Denmark	DEN	3:35.70	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Pernille Blume		–	0.68	25.38	53.07 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Signe Bro		–	0.29	25.89	53.78 (8)	1:46.85 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Julie Jensen		–	0.08	25.94	54.46 (7)	2:41.31 (6)
Anchor	–	Jeanette Ottesen Gray		–	0.28	25.79	54.39 (7)	– (–)