| | Event type

4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men

Date	31 July 2012
Status	Olympic
Location	London Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park, Stratford, London
Participants	73 from 16 countries

With Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte leading the US team, this event was virtually conceded to the Americans. That was accurate. Lochte opened the final for the US and led by a full second at 200 metres as Conor Dwyer took over. Dwyer and Ricky Berens extended the US lead, and with Phelps on anchor the race was over. He came home in the fastest split of the night with 1:44.05 to bring the USA a gold medal in 6:59.70, the first ever sub-7 minute mark in textile suits. Behind the US the race for the medals went to France in second, over three seconds back, anchored by Yannick Agnel, who had won the 200 freestyle in London, with China third, led by Sun Yang, second to Agnel in the 200 free.

For Phelps this was a historic 19th Olympic medal, giving him the record for the most Olympic medals won all-time, breaking the mark he had tied in London, set by Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina with 18 from 1956-64. He and Lochte also won their third gold medals in this event, the first time that had occurred in the 800 relay.

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	7:06.75 (1 h2)	6:59.70 (1)	Gold
	Ryan Lochte • Conor Dwyer • Ricky Berens • Michael Phelps • Charlie Houchin • Matt McLean • Davis Tarwater
2	France	FRA	7:09.18 (1 h1)	7:02.77 (2)	Silver
	Amaury Leveaux • Grégory Mallet • Clément Lefert • Yannick Agnel • Jérémy Stravius
3	People's Republic of China	CHN	7:11.35 (4 h2)	7:06.30 (3)	Bronze
	Hao Yun • Li Yunqi • Jiang Haiqi • Sun Yang • Lu Zhiwu • Dai Jun
4	Germany	GER	7:09.23 (2 h1)	7:06.59 (4)
	Paul Biedermann • Dimitri Colupaev • Tim Wallburger • Clemens Rapp
5	Australia	AUS	7:10.50 (2 h2)	7:07.00 (5)
	Thomas Fraser-Holmes • Kenrick Monk • Ned McKendry • Ryan Napoleon • David McKeon • Cameron McEvoy
6	Great Britain	GBR	7:10.70 (3 h2)	7:09.33 (6)
	Robbie Renwick • Ieuan Lloyd • Rob Bale • Ross Davenport • David Carry
7	South Africa	RSA	7:11.51 (3 h1)	7:09.65 (7)
	Darian Townsend • Sebastien Rousseau • Chad le Clos • Jean Basson
8	Hungary	HUN	7:11.64 (4 h1)	7:13.66 (8)
	Dominik Kozma • László Cseh, Jr. • Péter Bernek • Gergő Kis
9	Japan	JPN	7:11.74 (5 h1)	–
	Yuki Kobori • Sho Sotodate • Chiaki Ishibashi • Yuya Horihata
10	Russian Federation	RUS	7:11.86 (5 h2)	–
	Artyom Lobuzov • Yevgeny Lagunov • Mikhail Polishchuk • Aleksandr Sukhorukov
11	Italy	ITA	7:12.69 (6 h1)	–
	Gianluca Maglia • Alex Di Giorgio • Riccardo Maestri • Marco Belotti
12	Belgium	BEL	7:14.44 (6 h2)	–
	Dieter Dekoninck • Glenn Surgeloose • Louis Croenen • Pieter Timmers
13	Denmark	DEN	7:15.04 (7 h1)	–
	Daniel Skaaning • Pál Joensen • Anders Lie • Mads Glæsner
14	Canada	CAN	7:15.22 (7 h2)	–
	Blake Worsley • Colin Russell • Tobias Oriwol • Alec Page
15	New Zealand	NZL	7:17.18 (8 h1)	–
	Matt Stanley • Steve Kent • Dylan Dunlop-Barrett • Andy McMillan
16	Austria	AUT	7:17.94 (8 h2)	–
	David Brandl • Christian Scherübl • Markus Rogan • Florian Janistyn

Round One

Date	31 July 2012 — 11:02
Format	Fastest eight teams advanced to final

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	–	United States	USA	7:06.75	Q
2	–	France	FRA	7:09.18	Q
3	–	Germany	GER	7:09.23	Q
4	–	Australia	AUS	7:10.50	Q
5	–	Great Britain	GBR	7:10.70	Q
6	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	7:11.35	Q
7	–	South Africa	RSA	7:11.51	Q
8	–	Hungary	HUN	7:11.64	Q
9	–	Japan	JPN	7:11.74
10	–	Russian Federation	RUS	7:11.86
11	–	Italy	ITA	7:12.69
12	–	Belgium	BEL	7:14.44
13	–	Denmark	DEN	7:15.04
14	–	Canada	CAN	7:15.22
15	–	New Zealand	NZL	7:17.18
16	–	Austria	AUT	7:17.94

Heat #1

Time	11:02

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	100 m Time	150 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	France	FRA	7:09.18	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Jérémy Stravius		–	0.74	24.61	51.68	1:20.36	1:47.42 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Grégory Mallet		–	0.38	25.08	52.59	1:20.21	1:47.56 (3)	3:34.98 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Amaury Leveaux		–	0.36	25.00	52.93	1:21.29	1:47.87 (3)	5:22.85 (1)
Anchor	–	Clément Lefert		–	0.18	24.44	51.62	1:19.20	1:46.33 (2)	– (–)
2	–	Germany	GER	7:09.23	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Tim Wallburger		–	0.75	25.20	52.04	1:20.10	1:48.10 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Dimitri Colupaev		–	0.28	24.52	52.32	1:19.95	1:47.47 (2)	3:35.57 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Clemens Rapp		–	0.38	24.70	52.34	1:20.46	1:48.04 (5)	5:23.61 (2)
Anchor	–	Paul Biedermann		–	0.35	24.58	51.31	1:18.55	1:45.62 (1)	– (–)
3	–	South Africa	RSA	7:11.51	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Darian Townsend		–	0.68	25.04	52.32	1:19.91	1:48.09 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Jean Basson		–	0.04	25.23	52.46	1:20.00	1:48.12 (5)	3:36.21 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Sebastien Rousseau		–	0.27	24.54	51.68	1:19.00	1:47.67 (2)	5:23.88 (4)
Anchor	–	Chad le Clos		–	0.14	24.64	52.20	1:19.69	1:47.63 (4)	– (–)
4	–	Hungary	HUN	7:11.64	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Dominik Kozma		–	0.64	25.47	53.02	1:20.53	1:47.24 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Péter Bernek		–	0.49	25.00	52.26	1:20.46	1:48.94 (6)	3:36.18 (4)
3rd Leg	–	László Cseh, Jr.		–	0.36	24.23	51.94	1:19.86	1:48.19 (6)	5:24.37 (6)
Anchor	–	Gergő Kis		–	0.21	25.23	52.81	1:20.51	1:47.27 (3)	– (–)
5	–	Japan	JPN	7:11.74	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Yuki Kobori		–	0.67	25.10	52.00	1:19.84	1:48.00 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sho Sotodate		–	-0.01	24.59	51.75	1:19.71	1:47.30 (1)	3:35.30 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Chiaki Ishibashi		–	0.25	25.26	52.77	1:20.82	1:48.38 (7)	5:23.68 (3)
Anchor	–	Yuya Horihata		–	0.23	25.36	52.69	1:20.44	1:48.06 (5)	– (–)
6	–	Italy	ITA	7:12.69	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Gianluca Maglia		–	0.77	25.61	52.48	1:20.17	1:48.39 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Alex Di Giorgio		–	0.10	24.66	52.13	1:19.94	1:47.83 (4)	3:36.22 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Riccardo Maestri		–	0.20	24.50	51.72	1:19.41	1:47.94 (4)	5:24.16 (5)
Anchor	–	Marco Belotti		–	0.32	24.64	51.83	1:19.62	1:48.53 (6)	– (–)
7	–	Denmark	DEN	7:15.04	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Daniel Skaaning		–	0.60	25.64	53.26	1:20.71	1:48.98 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Pál Joensen		–	0.18	25.55	53.13	1:20.96	1:49.40 (7)	3:38.38 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Anders Lie		–	0.10	24.03	51.14	1:19.07	1:47.59 (1)	5:25.97 (7)
Anchor	–	Mads Glæsner		–	0.32	25.24	52.87	1:20.99	1:49.07 (7)	– (–)
8	–	New Zealand	NZL	7:17.18	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Matt Stanley		–	0.72	25.45	52.30	1:19.64	1:47.88 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Steve Kent		–	0.42	25.79	53.30	1:21.31	1:49.92 (8)	3:37.80 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Dylan Dunlop-Barrett		–	0.32	24.95	51.97	1:20.34	1:49.51 (8)	5:27.31 (8)
Anchor	–	Andy McMillan		–	0.24	25.19	52.93	1:21.32	1:49.87 (8)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	11:11

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	100 m Time	150 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	7:06.75	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Charlie Houchin		–	0.75	25.45	52.29	1:19.71	1:48.22 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Matt McLean		–	0.53	25.01	52.08	1:19.09	1:46.68 (1)	3:34.90 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Davis Tarwater		–	0.40	24.36	51.49	1:18.81	1:46.33 (1)	5:21.23 (1)
Anchor	–	Conor Dwyer		–	0.38	24.34	50.97	1:18.06	1:45.52 (1)	– (–)
2	–	Australia	AUS	7:10.50	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	David McKeon		–	0.76	25.65	53.02	1:20.76	1:48.25 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Cameron McEvoy		–	0.38	24.77	52.38	1:19.69	1:47.89 (5)	3:36.14 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Ned McKendry		–	0.36	24.91	52.16	1:19.65	1:47.55 (2)	5:23.69 (3)
Anchor	–	Ryan Napoleon		–	0.22	24.78	51.76	1:19.25	1:46.81 (3)	– (–)
3	–	Great Britain	GBR	7:10.70	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	David Carry		–	0.71	25.41	52.59	1:20.73	1:48.82 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Ross Davenport		–	0.34	25.36	52.60	1:20.19	1:47.59 (4)	3:36.41 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Rob Bale		–	0.20	24.72	52.17	1:20.40	1:47.85 (4)	5:24.26 (4)
Anchor	–	Robbie Renwick		–	0.14	24.41	51.65	1:19.11	1:46.44 (2)	– (–)
4	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	7:11.35	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Lu Zhiwu		–	0.71	25.65	53.02	1:21.12	1:48.83 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Li Yunqi		–	0.09	25.08	52.26	1:19.61	1:47.27 (2)	3:36.10 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Jiang Haiqi		–	0.28	24.69	52.01	1:19.86	1:47.56 (3)	5:23.66 (2)
Anchor	–	Dai Jun		–	0.27	25.30	52.72	1:20.73	1:47.69 (5)	– (–)
5	–	Russian Federation	RUS	7:11.86	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Artyom Lobuzov		–	0.70	25.28	53.02	1:20.49	1:48.30 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Yevgeny Lagunov		–	0.32	24.11	51.89	1:20.19	1:47.40 (3)	3:35.70 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Mikhail Polishchuk		–	0.22	24.17	51.83	1:20.29	1:48.82 (6)	5:24.52 (5)
Anchor	–	Aleksandr Sukhorukov		–	0.44	24.60	51.66	1:19.33	1:47.34 (4)	– (–)
6	–	Belgium	BEL	7:14.44	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Dieter Dekoninck		–	0.66	25.77	53.81	1:21.16	1:48.62 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Glenn Surgeloose		–	0.29	25.17	52.83	1:20.56	1:48.22 (6)	3:36.84 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Louis Croenen		–	0.16	25.28	52.78	1:20.90	1:49.32 (8)	5:26.16 (7)
Anchor	–	Pieter Timmers		–	0.14	25.08	53.25	1:21.18	1:48.28 (6)	– (–)
7	–	Canada	CAN	7:15.22	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Blake Worsley		–	0.70	25.55	53.08	1:20.76	1:48.23 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Colin Russell		–	0.10	24.78	52.64	1:20.74	1:48.54 (7)	3:36.77 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Tobias Oriwol		–	0.31	25.02	52.79	1:20.78	1:49.24 (7)	5:26.01 (6)
Anchor	–	Alec Page		–	0.32	25.77	53.66	1:21.48	1:49.21 (7)	– (–)
8	–	Austria	AUT	7:17.94	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	David Brandl		–	0.71	25.83	53.69	1:21.50	1:49.80 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Christian Scherübl		–	0.13	24.84	52.76	1:20.61	1:48.64 (8)	3:38.44 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Markus Rogan		–	0.05	25.08	53.02	1:20.23	1:48.13 (5)	5:26.57 (8)
Anchor	–	Florian Janistyn		–	0.32	25.79	53.97	1:22.37	1:51.37 (8)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	31 July 2012 — 20:51

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	100 m Time	150 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	6:59.70	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Ryan Lochte		–	0.67	24.64	51.17	1:17.52	1:45.15 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Conor Dwyer		–	0.34	24.33	50.90	1:17.93	1:45.23 (1)	3:30.38 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Ricky Berens		–	0.17	24.40	51.43	1:18.83	1:45.27 (1)	5:15.65 (1)
Anchor	–	Michael Phelps		–	0.33	24.28	50.84	1:17.85	1:44.05 (2)	– (–)
2	–	France	FRA	7:02.77	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Amaury Leveaux		–	0.77	24.69	52.06	1:19.48	1:46.70 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Grégory Mallet		–	0.30	23.91	51.00	1:18.81	1:46.83 (5)	3:33.53 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Clément Lefert		–	0.18	24.27	51.25	1:18.42	1:46.00 (2)	5:19.53 (2)
Anchor	–	Yannick Agnel		–	0.19	23.80	49.80	1:16.44	1:43.24 (1)	– (–)
3	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	7:06.30	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Hao Yun		–	0.67	25.02	52.12	1:19.48	1:47.12 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Li Yunqi		–	0.22	24.75	51.69	1:18.95	1:46.46 (3)	3:33.58 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Jiang Haiqi		–	0.48	24.34	51.49	1:19.20	1:47.17 (4)	5:20.75 (5)
Anchor	–	Sun Yang		–	0.22	23.99	50.29	1:17.64	1:45.55 (3)	– (–)
4	–	Germany	GER	7:06.59	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Paul Biedermann		–	0.80	25.38	52.15	1:19.51	1:46.15 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Dimitri Colupaev		–	0.27	23.93	51.02	1:18.88	1:46.36 (2)	3:32.51 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Tim Wallburger		–	0.32	24.76	52.05	1:19.61	1:47.48 (6)	5:19.99 (3)
Anchor	–	Clemens Rapp		–	0.25	24.69	51.39	1:18.96	1:46.60 (=4)	– (–)
5	–	Australia	AUS	7:07.00	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Thomas Fraser-Holmes		–	0.69	24.80	51.61	1:18.91	1:46.13 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Kenrick Monk		–	0.39	24.65	51.81	1:19.37	1:46.67 (4)	3:32.80 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Ned McKendry		–	0.30	24.50	51.83	1:19.75	1:47.60 (7)	5:20.40 (4)
Anchor	–	Ryan Napoleon		–	0.20	23.89	50.78	1:18.70	1:46.60 (=4)	– (–)
6	–	Great Britain	GBR	7:09.33	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Robbie Renwick		–	0.67	24.95	52.15	1:19.49	1:46.93 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Ieuan Lloyd		–	0.29	24.39	51.82	1:19.59	1:47.40 (7)	3:34.33 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Rob Bale		–	0.27	24.53	51.86	1:20.06	1:47.45 (5)	5:21.78 (7)
Anchor	–	Ross Davenport		–	0.31	24.89	52.29	1:20.21	1:47.55 (6)	– (–)
7	–	South Africa	RSA	7:09.65	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Darian Townsend		–	0.67	24.56	51.84	1:19.12	1:47.25 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sebastien Rousseau		–	0.22	24.48	52.02	1:19.60	1:47.36 (6)	3:34.61 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Chad le Clos		–	0.25	24.44	51.70	1:19.81	1:47.15 (3)	5:21.76 (6)
Anchor	–	Jean Basson		–	0.13	24.99	52.38	1:20.01	1:47.89 (7)	– (–)
8	–	Hungary	HUN	7:13.66	–	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Dominik Kozma		–	0.64	25.55	53.01	1:20.59	1:46.94 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	László Cseh, Jr.		–	0.40	25.33	53.62	1:21.64	1:48.06 (8)	3:35.00 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Péter Bernek		–	0.32	24.71	52.37	1:20.38	1:48.74 (8)	5:23.74 (8)
Anchor	–	Gergő Kis		–	0.30	25.00	53.06	1:21.87	1:49.92 (8)	– (–)