| | Event type

4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men

Date	12 – 13 August 2008
Status	Olympic
Location	Beijing Guojia Youyong Zhongxin, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing
Participants	73 from 16 countries

Realistically the question was not which team would win this race but what would be the winning margin of the American team and how much time would they shave off the world record? Michael Phelps started the record chase by posting the second fastest time in history on the opening leg of the final and then cheered on teammates Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens, and Peter Vanderkaay as the American smashed through the seven-minute barrier and finished in 6:58.56, fully five seconds inside the record set at the 2007 World Championships, and winning by over five seconds. Behind the US team, Canada, Australia and Russia took turns in second place before the Russians pulled away in the closing stages. Australia held on the bronze ahead of the fast finishing Italian team. Of the four Americans who raced and won the 2004 Olympic final only Klete Keller did not swim in the final this time around although he did compete in the heats.

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	7:04.66 (1 h2)	6:58.56 (1)	Gold
	Michael Phelps		–	–
	Ryan Lochte		–	–
	Ricky Berens		–	–
	Peter Vanderkaay		–	–
	Dave Walters		–	–
	Erik Vendt		–	–
	Klete Keller		–	–
2	Russian Federation	RUS	7:07.86 (2 h1)	7:03.70 (2)	Silver
	Nikita Lobintsev		–	–
	Yevgeny Lagunov		–	–
	Dan Izotov		–	–
	Aleksandr Sukhorukov		–	–
	Mikhail Polishchuk		–	–
3	Australia	AUS	7:08.41 (3 h2)	7:04.98 (3)	Bronze
	Patrick Murphy		–	–
	Grant Hackett		–	–
	Grant Brits		–	–
	Nick Ffrost		–	–
	Kirk Palmer		–	–
	Leith Brodie		–	–
4	Italy	ITA	7:07.84 (1 h1)	7:05.35 (4)
	Marco Belotti		–	–
	Emiliano Brembilla		–	–
	Massi Rosolino		–	–
	Filippo Magnini		–	–
	Nicola Cassio		–	–
5	Canada	CAN	7:08.04 (3 h1)	7:05.77 (5)
	Colin Russell		–	–
	Brian Johns		–	–
	Brent Hayden		–	–
	Andrew Hurd		–	–
	Rick Say		–	–
	Adam Sioui		–	–
6	Great Britain	GBR	7:07.89 (2 h2)	7:05.92 (6)
	David Carry		–	–
	Andrew Hunter		–	–
	Robbie Renwick		–	–
	Ross Davenport		–	–
7	Japan	JPN	7:09.12 (4 h1)	7:10.31 (7)
	Yoshihiro Okumura		–	–
	Sho Uchida		–	–
	Yasunori Mononobe		–	–
	Hisato Matsumoto		–	–
8	South Africa	RSA	7:10.91 (4 h2)	7:13.02 (8)
	Jean Basson		–	–
	Darian Townsend		–	–
	Jan Venter		–	–
	Sebastien Rousseau		–	–
9	Austria	AUT	7:11.45 (5 h2)	–
	Dominik Koll		–	–
	David Brandl		–	–
	Florian Janistyn		–	–
	Markus Rogan		–	–
10	People's Republic of China	CHN	7:13.57 (5 h1)	–
	Zhang Lin		–	–
	Zhang Enjian		–	–
	Sun Yang		–	–
	Shi Haoran		–	–
11	France	FRA	7:13.57 (6 h1)	–
	Clément Lefert		–	–
	Sébastien Bodet		–	–
	Matthieu Madelaine		–	–
	Amaury Leveaux		–	–
12	Germany	GER	7:13.92 (7 h1)	–
	Paul Biedermann		–	–
	Benjamin Starke		–	–
	Christian Kubusch		–	–
	Stefan Herbst		–	–
13	Hungary	HUN	7:14.14 (6 h2)	–
	Gergő Kis		–	–
	Tamás Kerékjártó		–	–
	Dominik Kozma		–	–
	Norbert Kovács		–	–
14	Poland	POL	7:18.09 (7 h2)	–
	Łukasz Gąsior		–	–
	Łukasz Wójt		–	–
	Michał Rokicki		–	–
	Przemysław Stańczyk		–	–
15	Greece	GRE	7:18.26 (8 h2)	–
	Andreas Zisimos		–	–
	Nikos Xylouris		–	–
	Giannis Giannoulis		–	–
	Vasilis Demetis		–	–
16	Brazil	BRA	7:19.54 (8 h1)	–
	Nicolas Oliveira		–	–
	Rodrigo Castro		–	–
	Phillip Morrison		–	–
	Lucas Salatta		–	–

Round One

Date	12 August 2008
Format	Fastest 8 teams advanced to the final round.

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	4	United States	USA	7:04.66	QOR
2	4	Italy	ITA	7:07.84	Q
3	6	Russian Federation	RUS	7:07.86	Q
4	3	Great Britain	GBR	7:07.89	Q
5	5	Canada	CAN	7:08.04	Q
6	5	Australia	AUS	7:08.41	Q
7	7	Japan	JPN	7:09.12	Q
8	2	South Africa	RSA	7:10.91	Q
9	6	Austria	AUT	7:11.45
=10	2	People's Republic of China	CHN	7:13.57
=10	8	France	FRA	7:13.57
12	1	Germany	GER	7:13.92
13	1	Hungary	HUN	7:14.14
14	7	Poland	POL	7:18.09
15	8	Greece	GRE	7:18.26
16	3	Brazil	BRA	7:19.54

Heat #1

Time	19:55

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	100 m Time	150 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	Italy	ITA	7:07.84	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Nicola Cassio		–	0.84	25.73	52.97	1:20.79	1:48.76 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Marco Belotti		–	0.31	24.14	51.23	1:18.26	1:45.82 (1)	3:34.58 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Emiliano Brembilla		–	0.37	25.23	52.01	1:19.18	1:46.46 (1)	5:21.04 (1)
Anchor	–	Massi Rosolino		–	0.47	25.16	51.96	1:19.25	1:46.80 (4)	– (–)
2	6	Russian Federation	RUS	7:07.86	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Mikhail Polishchuk		–	0.77	25.23	52.53	1:20.74	1:48.54 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Dan Izotov		–	0.33	24.96	52.37	1:19.83	1:47.24 (=3)	3:35.78 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Nikita Lobintsev		–	0.41	24.36	51.59	1:19.12	1:46.84 (2)	5:22.62 (4)
Anchor	–	Aleksandr Sukhorukov		–	0.26	24.60	51.37	1:18.38	1:45.24 (1)	– (–)
3	5	Canada	CAN	7:08.04	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Brian Johns		–	0.81	25.39	52.62	1:20.45	1:47.44 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Rick Say		–	0.09	24.25	51.37	1:19.58	1:47.24 (=3)	3:34.68 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Adam Sioui		–	0.27	24.19	51.12	1:19.06	1:47.05 (3)	5:21.73 (3)
Anchor	–	Andrew Hurd		–	0.35	24.97	51.83	1:19.25	1:46.31 (3)	– (–)
4	7	Japan	JPN	7:09.12	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Yoshihiro Okumura		–	0.76	25.69	52.90	1:20.13	1:47.19 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sho Uchida		–	0.16	24.99	52.23	1:19.55	1:46.59 (2)	3:33.78 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Yasunori Mononobe		–	0.05	24.69	52.23	1:20.04	1:47.29 (4)	5:21.07 (2)
Anchor	–	Hisato Matsumoto		–	0.17	24.43	51.37	1:19.04	1:48.05 (5)	– (–)
5	2	People's Republic of China	CHN	7:13.57	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Zhang Lin		–	0.73	25.20	52.28	1:19.56	1:46.13 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Zhang Enjian		–	0.18	25.00	52.83	1:20.83	1:49.31 (7)	3:35.44 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Sun Yang		–	0.08	25.36	53.35	1:21.57	1:48.73 (5)	5:24.17 (5)
Anchor	–	Shi Haoran		–	0.43	25.71	53.15	1:21.30	1:49.40 (7)	– (–)
6	8	France	FRA	7:13.57	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Clément Lefert		–	0.83	25.55	52.53	1:20.11	1:48.34 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sébastien Bodet		–	0.11	24.54	51.75	1:19.70	1:49.47 (8)	3:37.81 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Matthieu Madelaine		–	0.10	24.51	51.85	1:20.47	1:49.87 (8)	5:27.68 (8)
Anchor	–	Amaury Leveaux		–	0.00	24.22	50.96	1:18.65	1:45.89 (2)	– (–)
7	1	Germany	GER	7:13.92	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Paul Biedermann		–	0.88	25.45	52.82	1:20.23	1:47.48 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Benjamin Starke		–	0.16	24.30	51.94	1:20.21	1:48.51 (6)	3:35.99 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Christian Kubusch		–	0.27	25.72	53.50	1:21.87	1:49.28 (6)	5:25.27 (6)
Anchor	–	Stefan Herbst		–	0.37	24.64	52.16	1:20.73	1:48.65 (6)	– (–)
8	3	Brazil	BRA	7:19.54	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Nicolas Oliveira		–	0.75	25.42	52.99	1:21.18	1:49.49 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Rodrigo Castro		–	0.32	24.75	51.69	1:19.54	1:48.31 (5)	3:37.80 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Phillip Morrison		–	0.35	25.13	52.64	1:20.77	1:49.35 (7)	5:27.15 (7)
Anchor	–	Lucas Salatta		–	0.16	24.85	52.98	1:22.28	1:52.39 (8)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	20:05

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	100 m Time	150 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	United States	USA	7:04.66	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	QOR
Lead-off	–	Dave Walters		–	0.77	24.73	51.18	1:18.63	1:46.57 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Ricky Berens		–	0.42	24.40	51.47	1:18.64	1:45.47 (1)	3:32.04 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Erik Vendt		–	0.41	25.38	53.05	1:20.73	1:47.11 (2)	5:19.15 (1)
Anchor	–	Klete Keller		–	0.38	24.74	51.28	1:18.22	1:45.51 (1)	– (–)
2	3	Great Britain	GBR	7:07.89	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	David Carry		–	0.79	25.36	52.06	1:19.39	1:46.47 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Andrew Hunter		–	0.41	24.63	51.73	1:19.59	1:46.88 (5)	3:33.35 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Ross Davenport		–	0.37	24.87	52.22	1:20.05	1:47.15 (3)	5:20.50 (3)
Anchor	–	Robbie Renwick		–	0.31	24.40	51.64	1:19.58	1:47.39 (4)	– (–)
3	5	Australia	AUS	7:08.41	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Nick Ffrost		–	0.66	25.51	52.71	1:20.27	1:47.47 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Grant Brits		–	0.10	24.10	51.40	1:19.14	1:46.84 (4)	3:34.31 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Kirk Palmer		–	0.41	24.52	51.55	1:19.61	1:47.02 (1)	5:21.33 (4)
Anchor	–	Leith Brodie		–	0.28	24.49	51.89	1:19.48	1:47.08 (3)	– (–)
4	2	South Africa	RSA	7:10.91	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Jean Basson		–	0.69	25.29	52.03	1:18.97	1:45.99 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Darian Townsend		–	0.25	23.85	50.59	1:17.92	1:46.14 (2)	3:32.13 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Jan Venter		–	-0.02	25.43	53.48	1:21.28	1:48.32 (4)	5:20.45 (2)
Anchor	–	Sebastien Rousseau		–	0.38	25.02	52.66	1:21.41	1:50.46 (7)	– (–)
5	6	Austria	AUT	7:11.45	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Dominik Koll		–	0.80	25.45	52.39	1:19.85	1:47.72 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	David Brandl		–	0.51	24.94	51.84	1:19.29	1:46.45 (3)	3:34.17 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Florian Janistyn		–	0.15	25.21	52.35	1:21.01	1:50.48 (7)	5:24.65 (5)
Anchor	–	Markus Rogan		–	0.02	24.33	51.47	1:19.04	1:46.80 (2)	– (–)
6	1	Hungary	HUN	7:14.14	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Gergő Kis		–	0.80	25.93	53.04	1:20.06	1:47.39 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Tamás Kerékjártó		–	0.30	25.05	52.37	1:20.70	1:49.09 (7)	3:36.48 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Dominik Kozma		–	0.08	24.67	52.20	1:20.45	1:49.26 (6)	5:25.74 (6)
Anchor	–	Norbert Kovács		–	0.38	25.01	52.46	1:20.53	1:48.40 (5)	– (–)
7	7	Poland	POL	7:18.09	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Łukasz Gąsior		–	0.75	25.30	52.95	1:21.33	1:49.43 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Łukasz Wójt		–	0.13	24.66	52.33	1:19.99	1:48.54 (6)	3:37.97 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Michał Rokicki		–	0.24	26.47	54.38	1:23.07	1:51.14 (8)	5:29.11 (8)
Anchor	–	Przemysław Stańczyk		–	0.11	25.42	53.07	1:20.80	1:48.98 (6)	– (–)
8	8	Greece	GRE	7:18.26	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Andreas Zisimos		–	0.77	25.40	52.99	1:20.89	1:49.05 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Nikos Xylouris		–	0.30	25.25	52.91	1:21.00	1:49.53 (8)	3:38.58 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Giannis Giannoulis		–	0.39	25.49	53.03	1:20.75	1:48.96 (5)	5:27.54 (7)
Anchor	–	Vasilis Demetis		–	0.17	25.24	53.64	1:22.49	1:50.72 (8)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	13 August 2008 — 11:22

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	100 m Time	150 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	United States	USA	6:58.56	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Lead-off	–	Michael Phelps		–	0.72	24.25	50.48	1:17.09	1:43.31 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Ryan Lochte		–	0.34	23.70	50.28	1:17.33	1:44.28 (1)	3:27.59 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Ricky Berens		–	0.41	24.53	51.70	1:19.29	1:46.29 (4)	5:13.88 (1)
Anchor	–	Peter Vanderkaay		–	0.36	24.13	50.95	1:18.28	1:44.68 (3)	– (–)
2	3	Russian Federation	RUS	7:03.70	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Nikita Lobintsev		–	0.81	24.90	51.59	1:18.97	1:46.64 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Yevgeny Lagunov		–	0.24	23.09	49.60	1:17.93	1:46.56 (3)	3:33.20 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Dan Izotov		–	0.20	23.83	50.61	1:18.27	1:45.85 (2)	5:19.05 (4)
Anchor	–	Aleksandr Sukhorukov		–	0.24	24.35	50.83	1:17.71	1:44.65 (2)	– (–)
3	7	Australia	AUS	7:04.98	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Patrick Murphy		–	0.79	25.10	51.74	1:18.91	1:45.95 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Grant Hackett		–	0.28	24.52	51.45	1:18.75	1:45.87 (2)	3:31.82 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Grant Brits		–	0.12	24.09	51.51	1:19.41	1:47.13 (6)	5:18.95 (3)
Anchor	–	Nick Ffrost		–	0.10	24.47	51.85	1:19.22	1:46.03 (4)	– (–)
4	5	Italy	ITA	7:05.35	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Marco Belotti		–	0.76	25.18	52.65	1:20.07	1:47.37 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Emiliano Brembilla		–	0.47	25.90	53.20	1:20.60	1:47.33 (6)	3:34.70 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Massi Rosolino		–	0.29	24.99	52.09	1:19.43	1:46.53 (5)	5:21.23 (6)
Anchor	–	Filippo Magnini		–	0.09	23.07	50.40	1:17.78	1:44.12 (1)	– (–)
5	2	Canada	CAN	7:05.77	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Colin Russell		–	0.74	24.88	51.74	1:19.23	1:46.89 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Brian Johns		–	0.09	24.56	51.84	1:19.95	1:47.61 (8)	3:34.50 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Brent Hayden		–	0.21	23.34	49.87	1:17.23	1:44.42 (1)	5:18.92 (2)
Anchor	–	Andrew Hurd		–	0.26	24.96	52.09	1:19.58	1:46.85 (6)	– (–)
6	6	Great Britain	GBR	7:05.92	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	David Carry		–	0.76	25.32	52.21	1:19.67	1:46.78 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Andrew Hunter		–	0.19	24.76	52.04	1:19.74	1:46.73 (4)	3:33.51 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Robbie Renwick		–	0.31	23.87	50.74	1:18.03	1:46.16 (3)	5:19.67 (5)
Anchor	–	Ross Davenport		–	0.22	24.13	50.97	1:18.63	1:46.25 (5)	– (–)
7	1	Japan	JPN	7:10.31	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Yoshihiro Okumura		–	0.71	25.61	52.48	1:19.51	1:46.61 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sho Uchida		–	0.32	25.14	52.44	1:20.23	1:47.36 (7)	3:33.97 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Yasunori Mononobe		–	0.14	24.84	52.42	1:20.54	1:47.72 (7)	5:21.69 (7)
Anchor	–	Hisato Matsumoto		–	0.08	24.83	52.34	1:20.42	1:48.62 (7)	– (–)
8	8	South Africa	RSA	7:13.02	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Jean Basson		–	0.71	25.18	51.74	1:18.75	1:46.67 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Darian Townsend		–	0.21	24.10	51.20	1:18.61	1:47.24 (5)	3:33.91 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Jan Venter		–	0.25	25.28	53.25	1:21.74	1:49.56 (8)	5:23.47 (8)
Anchor	–	Sebastien Rousseau		–	0.27	25.37	53.57	1:21.56	1:49.55 (8)	– (–)