| Date | 12 – 14 August 1936 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmstadion, Reichssportfeld, Berlin |
| Participants | 38 from 9 countries |
Historically, the women’s relay had been dominated by the United States, who had won the gold each time they had contested it, and always in a world record time. In 1936, the US team came into the Games without the world record to their name, that record belonging to the exact Dutch quartet that were selected for Berlin.
The final developed into a duel between the host nation, Germany, and the Netherlands. Although only one of the German team had qualified from the heats of the individual event, they stayed with the Dutch and even held a small lead at the 200m mark. The Netherlands still had their two strongest swimmers to go, and Willy den Ouden overhauled Inge Schmitz on the third leg to hand over to 100m champion Rie Mastenbroek in first leg. Throughout the final leg, Germany’s Gisele Arendt threatened the leader, but Mastenbroek’s familiar finishing took her to a narrow victory.
| Date | 12 August 1936 — 11:20 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 3 in each heat and the fastest fourth-place advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Netherlands |  NED | 4:38.1 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Germany |  GER | 4:40.5 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Denmark |  DEN | 4:46.2 | ||
| 4 | 4 | United States |  USA | 4:47.1 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Great Britain |  GBR | 4:47.2 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Canada |  CAN | 4:49.7 | ||
| 7 | 3 | Hungary |  HUN | 4:50.6 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Japan |  JPN | 4:58.1 | ||
| 9 | 2 | Austria |  AUT | 5:16.6 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 4:47.1 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mavis Freeman | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Bernice Lapp | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Olive McKean | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Elizabeth Ryan | – | |||
| 2 | 1 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:47.2 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Zilpha Grant | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Edna Hughes | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Margaret Jeffery | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Olive Wadham | – | |||
| 3 | 5 | Canada | CAN | 4:49.7 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Phyllis Dewar | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Mary McConkey | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Irene Pirie-Milton | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Margaret Stone | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Hungary | HUN | 4:50.6 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Ilona Ács | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Ágnes Bíró | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Vera Harsányi | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Magda Lenkei | – | |||
| 5 | 2 | Austria | AUT | 5:16.6 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Roma Wagner | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Franziska Mally | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Grete Ittlinger | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Elli von Kropiwnicki | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Netherlands | NED | 4:38.1 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Rie Mastenbroek | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Willy den Ouden | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Jopie Selbach | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Tini Wagner | – | |||
| 2 | 4 | Germany | GER | 4:40.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Ruth Halbsguth | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Leni Lohmar | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Ursula Pollack | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Inge Schmitz | – | |||
| 3 | 1 | Denmark | DEN | 4:46.2 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Eva Arndt | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Tove Brunnstrøm Madsen | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Ragnhild Hveger | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Elvi Svendsen | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Japan | JPN | 4:58.1 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Tsuneko Furuta | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Kazue Kojima | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Hatsuko Morioka | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Rei Takemura | – |
| Date | 14 August 1936 — 16:45 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Netherlands | NED | 4:36.0 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Jopie Selbach | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Tini Wagner | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Willy den Ouden | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Rie Mastenbroek | – | |||
| 2 | 7 | Germany | GER | 4:36.8 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Ruth Halbsguth | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Leni Lohmar | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Inge Schmitz | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Gisela Arendt | – | |||
| 3 | 1 | United States | USA | 4:40.2 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Katherine Rawls | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Bernice Lapp | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Mavis Freeman | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Olive McKean | – | |||
| =4 | 6 | Hungary | HUN | 4:48.0 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Ilona Ács | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Ágnes Bíró | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Vera Harsányi | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Magda Lenkei | – | |||
| =4 | 2 | Canada | CAN | 4:48.0 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mary McConkey | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Irene Pirie-Milton | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Margaret Stone | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Phyllis Dewar | – | |||
| 6 | 3 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:51.0 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Margaret Jeffery | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Zilpha Grant | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Edna Hughes | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Olive Wadham | – | |||
| 7 | 5 | Denmark | DEN | 4:51.4 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Ragnhild Hveger | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Tove Brunnstrøm Madsen | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Elvi Svendsen | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Eva Arndt | – |
