| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Women

Date	6 August 2016
Status	Olympic
Location	Estádio Aquático Olímpico, Parque Olímpico da Barra, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro
Participants	71 from 16 countries

Australia’s 4x100 free relay team was likely the heaviest favorite in any women’s event, led by the Campbell sisters, Bronte and Cate. Coming into Rio, Australia had three of the top four ranked 100 free swimmers, and 4 of the top 10. The United States was expected to take silver. That was exactly how the final turned out, with Australia defeating the USA by 1.24 seconds as Bronte and Cate swam the final two legs, both recording 51.97. Australia recorded 3:30.65, bettering their own world record set at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Third place went to Canada, which had been considered a longshot for a medal, but they were led by anchor swimmer Penny Oleksiak, the break-out swimmer of the Rio Olympics. Oleksiak tied Simone Manuel for first in the 100 freestyle, upsetting the Campbell sisters, and also won a silver in the 100 butterfly, and another relay bronze in the 4x200 free.

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	Australia	AUS	3:32.39 (1 h2)	3:30.65 (1)	Gold	WR
	Cate Campbell • Brittany Elmslie • Bronte Campbell • Emma McKeon • Madi Wilson
2	United States	USA	3:33.59 (2 h2)	3:31.89 (2)	Silver
	Amanda Weir • Dana Vollmer • Allison Schmitt • Katie Ledecky • Lia Neal • Abbey Weitzeil • Simone Manuel
3	Canada	CAN	3:33.84 (3 h2)	3:32.89 (3)	Bronze
	Chantal Van Landeghem • Michelle Williams • Penny Oleksiak • Sandrine Mainville • Taylor Ruck
4	Netherlands	NED	3:35.94 (2 h1)	3:33.81 (4)
	Inge Dekker • Ranomi Kromowidjojo • Femke Heemskerk • Marrit Steenbergen • Maud van der Meer
5	Sweden	SWE	3:36.42 (3 h1)	3:35.90 (5)
	Ida Marko-Varga • Sarah Sjöström • Michelle Coleman • Ida Lindborg • Louise Hansson
6	Italy	ITA	3:35.90 (1 h1)	3:36.78 (6)
	Erika Ferraioli • Silvia Di Pietro • Aglaia Pezzato • Federica Pellegrini
7	France	FRA	3:36.85 (4 h2)	3:37.45 (7)
	Béryl Gastaldello • Charlotte Bonnet • Mathilde Cini • Anna Santamans
8	Japan	JPN	3:36.74 (4 h1)	3:37.78 (8)
	Miki Uchida • Rikako Ikee • Misaki Yamaguchi • Yayoi Matsumoto
9	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:37.25 (5 h1)	–
	Zhu Menghui • Sun Meichen • Tang Yi • Shen Duo
10	Russian Federation	RUS	3:37.68 (5 h2)	–
	Veronika Popova • Viktoriya Andreyeva • Rozaliya Nasretdinova • Nataliya Lovtsova
11	Brazil	BRA	3:39.40 (6 h2)	–
	Larissa Oliveira • Etiene Medeiros • Daynara de Paula • Manuella Lyrio
12	Denmark	DEN	3:39.45 (6 h1)	–
	Pernille Blume • Julie Jensen • Sarah Bro • Mie Ø. Nielsen
13	Spain	ESP	3:40.46 (7 h2)	–
	Fátima Gallardo • Marta González • Patricia Castro • Melani Costa
14	Switzerland	SUI	3:41.02 (8 h2)	–
	Maria Ugolkova • Sasha Touretski • Danielle Villars • Noémi Girardet
15	Poland	POL	3:41.43 (7 h1)	–
	Katarzyna Wilk • Alicja Tchórz • Aleksandra Urbańczyk-Olejarczyk • Anna Dowgiert
16	Israel	ISR	3:41.97 (8 h1)	–
	Keren Siebner • Zohar Shikler • Amit Ivry • Andi Murez

Round One

Date	6 August 2016 — 15:24
Format	Fastest eight teams advanced to final

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	–	Australia	AUS	3:32.39	QOR
2	–	United States	USA	3:33.59	Q
3	–	Canada	CAN	3:33.84	Q
4	–	Italy	ITA	3:35.90	Q
5	–	Netherlands	NED	3:35.94	Q
6	–	Sweden	SWE	3:36.42	Q
7	–	Japan	JPN	3:36.74	Q
8	–	France	FRA	3:36.85	Q
9	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:37.25
10	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:37.68
11	–	Brazil	BRA	3:39.40
12	–	Denmark	DEN	3:39.45
13	–	Spain	ESP	3:40.46
14	–	Switzerland	SUI	3:41.02
15	–	Poland	POL	3:41.43
16	–	Israel	ISR	3:41.97

Heat #1

Time	15:24

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	Italy	ITA	3:35.90	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Erika Ferraioli		–	0.66	26.17	54.91 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Silvia Di Pietro		–	0.06	25.56	53.96 (3)	1:48.87 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Aglaia Pezzato		–	0.12	25.46	53.86 (1)	2:42.73 (1)
Anchor	–	Federica Pellegrini		–	0.25	25.83	53.17 (1)	– (–)
2	–	Netherlands	NED	3:35.94	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Inge Dekker		–	0.72	25.92	54.75 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Marrit Steenbergen		–	0.35	25.59	53.31 (1)	1:48.06 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Maud van der Meer		–	0.08	25.37	53.88 (2)	2:41.94 (2)
Anchor	–	Femke Heemskerk		–	0.33	25.70	54.00 (4)	– (–)
3	–	Sweden	SWE	3:36.42	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Michelle Coleman		–	0.75	26.28	54.39 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Louise Hansson		–	0.22	26.21	54.69 (4)	1:49.08 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Ida Lindborg		–	0.19	25.54	54.77 (4)	2:43.85 (3)
Anchor	–	Sarah Sjöström		–	0.26	25.15	53.43 (2)	– (–)
4	–	Japan	JPN	3:36.74	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Miki Uchida		–	0.72	26.01	53.93 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Rikako Ikee		–	0.32	25.56	53.41 (2)	1:47.34 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Misaki Yamaguchi		–	0.14	26.08	54.87 (5)	2:42.21 (4)
Anchor	–	Yayoi Matsumoto		–	0.46	26.26	54.53 (6)	– (–)
5	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:37.25	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Zhu Menghui		–	0.68	26.41	54.06 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sun Meichen		–	0.26	26.42	54.79 (=5)	1:48.85 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Tang Yi		–	0.23	25.89	54.56 (3)	2:43.41 (5)
Anchor	–	Shen Duo		–	0.22	25.94	53.84 (3)	– (–)
6	–	Denmark	DEN	3:39.45	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Pernille Blume		–	0.67	26.82	54.54 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Julie Jensen		–	0.32	26.15	54.79 (=5)	1:49.33 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Sarah Bro		–	0.26	27.22	55.75 (7)	2:45.08 (6)
Anchor	–	Mie Ø. Nielsen		–	0.24	26.33	54.37 (5)	– (–)
7	–	Poland	POL	3:41.43	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Katarzyna Wilk-Wasick		–	0.72	26.72	55.34 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Alicja Tchórz		–	0.18	25.77	55.01 (7)	1:50.35 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Aleksandra Urbańczyk-Olejarczyk		–	0.23	25.76	55.78 (8)	2:46.13 (7)
Anchor	–	Anna Dowgiert		–	0.02	25.27	55.30 (7)	– (–)
8	–	Israel	ISR	3:41.97	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Keren Siebner		–	0.73	26.92	55.60 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Zohar Shikler		–	0.14	26.56	55.29 (8)	1:50.89 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Amit Ivry		–	0.25	27.00	55.71 (6)	2:46.60 (8)
Anchor	–	Andi Murez		–	0.23	26.51	55.37 (8)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	15:32

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	Australia	AUS	3:32.39	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	QOR
Lead-off	–	Madi Wilson		–	0.75	26.17	54.11 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Brittany Elmslie		–	0.21	25.46	53.22 (3)	1:47.33 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Bronte Campbell		–	0.33	25.49	53.26 (1)	2:40.59 (1)
Anchor	–	Cate Campbell		–	0.36	24.43	51.80 (1)	– (–)
2	–	United States	USA	3:33.59	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Amanda Weir		–	0.74	26.07	53.60 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Lia Neal		–	0.29	25.67	53.63 (4)	1:47.23 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Allison Schmitt		–	0.51	26.07	53.72 (2)	2:40.95 (2)
Anchor	–	Katie Ledecky		–	0.37	25.07	52.64 (2)	– (–)
3	–	Canada	CAN	3:33.84	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Sandrine Mainville		–	0.65	25.83	54.17 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Chantal Van Landeghem		–	0.31	24.83	52.90 (1)	1:47.07 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Michelle Williams		–	0.15	25.05	53.73 (3)	2:40.80 (3)
Anchor	–	Taylor Ruck		–	0.18	24.94	53.04 (3)	– (–)
4	–	France	FRA	3:36.85	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Béryl Gastaldello		–	0.67	26.32	54.94 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Charlotte Bonnet		–	0.12	24.99	53.16 (2)	1:48.10 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Mathilde Cini		–	0.19	25.82	54.64 (5)	2:42.74 (4)
Anchor	–	Anna Santamans		–	0.30	25.45	54.11 (4)	– (–)
5	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:37.68	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Veronika Popova-Andrusenko		–	0.74	26.58	54.35 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Viktoriya Andreyeva		–	0.23	26.10	54.45 (6)	1:48.80 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Rozaliya Nasretdinova		–	0.20	25.80	54.32 (4)	2:43.12 (5)
Anchor	–	Nataliya Lovtsova		–	0.21	26.00	54.56 (5)	– (–)
6	–	Brazil	BRA	3:39.40	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Larissa Oliveira		–	0.70	26.83	55.54 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Etiene Medeiros		–	0.19	25.18	53.99 (5)	1:49.53 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Daynara de Paula		–	0.41	26.44	54.81 (6)	2:44.34 (6)
Anchor	–	Manuella Lyrio		–	0.11	26.30	55.06 (6)	– (–)
7	–	Spain	ESP	3:40.46	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Fátima Gallardo		–	0.73	26.53	55.84 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Marta González		–	0.42	26.19	54.98 (7)	1:50.82 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Patricia Castro		–	0.43	26.22	55.08 (7)	2:45.90 (7)
Anchor	–	Melani Costa		–	0.19	26.16	55.44 (7)	– (–)
8	–	Switzerland	SUI	3:41.02	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Maria Ugolkova		–	0.65	26.45	54.75 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sasha Touretski		–	0.36	26.37	55.28 (8)	1:50.03 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Danielle Villars		–	0.12	26.34	55.37 (8)	2:45.40 (8)
Anchor	–	Noémi Girardet		–	0.23	26.84	55.62 (8)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	6 August 2016 — 23:24

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	Australia	AUS	3:30.65	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Lead-off	–	Emma McKeon		–	0.76	25.67	53.12 (=3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Brittany Elmslie		–	0.21	25.59	52.15 (1)	1:46.53 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Bronte Campbell		–	0.22	24.47	51.97 (2)	2:38.68 (1)
Anchor	–	Cate Campbell		–	0.34	24.15	51.97 (1)	– (–)
2	–	United States	USA	3:31.89	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Simone Manuel		–	0.69	25.64	52.56 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Abbey Weitzeil		–	0.21	24.94	53.18 (2)	1:45.92 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Dana Vollmer		–	0.21	25.01	52.79 (4)	2:39.10 (2)
Anchor	–	Katie Ledecky		–	0.18	25.39	52.79 (4)	– (–)
3	–	Canada	CAN	3:32.89	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sandrine Mainville		–	0.64	25.85	53.12 (=3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Chantal Van Landeghem		–	0.17	25.23	53.19 (3)	1:46.98 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Taylor Ruck		–	0.20	25.15	52.72 (3)	2:40.17 (3)
Anchor	–	Penny Oleksiak		–	0.13	25.29	52.72 (3)	– (–)
4	–	Netherlands	NED	3:33.81	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Marrit Steenbergen		–	0.86	26.28	53.47 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Femke Heemskerk		–	0.16	25.06	53.85 (4)	1:47.76 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Inge Dekker		–	0.20	25.38	51.80 (1)	2:41.61 (4)
Anchor	–	Ranomi Kromowidjojo		–	0.25	24.73	52.20 (2)	– (–)
5	–	Sweden	SWE	3:35.90	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Michelle Coleman		–	0.74	26.33	52.47 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sarah Sjöström		–	0.19	25.36	54.70 (6)	1:46.66 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Ida Mattsson-Marko-Varga		–	0.37	26.29	54.54 (8)	2:41.36 (5)
Anchor	–	Louise Hansson		–	0.22	26.13	54.54 (8)	– (–)
6	–	Italy	ITA	3:36.78	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Erika Ferraioli		–	0.72	26.17	53.69 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Silvia Di Pietro		–	0.17	25.38	53.99 (5)	1:48.90 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Aglaia Pezzato		–	0.10	25.61	53.89 (5)	2:42.89 (6)
Anchor	–	Federica Pellegrini		–	0.18	26.02	53.89 (5)	– (–)
7	–	France	FRA	3:37.45	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Béryl Gastaldello		–	0.68	26.58	53.17 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Charlotte Bonnet		–	0.13	25.57	54.92 (7)	1:48.00 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Mathilde Cini		–	0.14	26.29	54.53 (7)	2:42.92 (7)
Anchor	–	Anna Santamans		–	0.13	25.89	54.53 (7)	– (–)
8	–	Japan	JPN	3:37.78	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Miki Uchida		–	0.70	26.3	53.98 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Rikako Ikee		–	0.41	25.79	55.11 (8)	1:48.21 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Misaki Yamaguchi		–	0.23	26.27	54.46 (6)	2:43.32 (8)
Anchor	–	Yayoi Matsumoto		–	0.31	26.12	54.46 (6)	– (–)