| Date | 4 – 6 August 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Wembley Arena, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 46 from 11 countries |
After the individual 100 metres had been decided, it seemed logical that the medals would be decided between four teams: Denmark, the USA, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
With a rejuvenated Greta Andersen included in their line-up, the Danes found themselves battling the Dutch for the gold medal as the last leg swimmers got under way. The United States and Great Britain trailed and appeared to be fighting only for the bronze, but the last American swimmer was Ann Curtis. Curtis soon moved away from her British rival and began to make headway on the leaders. With just 15 metres to go, she overtook the Dutch swimmer and, with the crowd cheering wildly, edged even closer to Fritze Carstensen of Denmark. With a desperate final sprint, Curtis touched the wall ahead of the Dane to break the Olympic record and clinch the championship. Curtis’ time of 1:04.4 was the fastest ever yet recorded, though it could not be ratified as a world record because only the first leg of a relay is allowed to stand for record purposes.
| Date | 4 August 1948 — 15:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 3 in each heat and the next 2 fastest advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Netherlands |  NED | 4:31.3 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Denmark |  DEN | 4:33.5 | ||
| 3 | 7 | United States |  USA | 4:34.1 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Great Britain |  GBR | 4:36.1 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Sweden |  SWE | 4:38.5 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Hungary |  HUN | 4:47.5 | ||
| 7 | 5 | France |  FRA | 4:50.0 | ||
| 8 | 5 | Brazil |  BRA | 4:51.4 | ||
| 9 | 2 | Belgium |  BEL | 4:54.9 | ||
| 10 | 3 | Argentina |  ARG | 4:59.5 | ||
| 11 | 6 | Canada |  CAN | 5:04.5 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Denmark | DEN | 4:33.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Eva Riise | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Elvi Svendsen | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Fritze Carstensen | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Greta Andersen | – | |||
| 2 | 7 | United States | USA | 4:34.1 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Marie Corridon | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Thelma Kalama | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Brenda Helser | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Ann Curtis | – | |||
| 3 | 4 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:36.1 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Margaret Wellington | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Pat Nielsen | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Lillian Preece | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Cathie Gibson | – | |||
| 4 | 5 | France | FRA | 4:50.0 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Josette Arène | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Colette Thomas | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Marie Foucher-Creteau | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Ginette Jany | – | |||
| 5 | 3 | Argentina | ARG | 4:59.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Enriqueta Duarte | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Liliana Gonzalías | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Adriana Camelli | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Eileen Holt | – | |||
| 6 | 6 | Canada | CAN | 5:04.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Kay McNamee | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Joyce Court | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Vivian King | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Irene Strong | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Netherlands | NED | 4:31.3 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Irma Schuhmacher | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Margot Marsman | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Marie-Louise Vaessen | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Hannie Termeulen | – | |||
| 2 | 3 | Sweden | SWE | 4:38.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Marianne Lundquist | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Gisela Thidholm | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Elisabeth Ahlgren | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Ingegärd Fredin | – | |||
| 3 | 6 | Hungary | HUN | 4:47.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mária Littomeritzky | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Judit Temes | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Éva Székely | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Ilona Novák | – | |||
| 4 | 5 | Brazil | BRA | 4:51.4 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Eleonora Schmitt | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Maria da Costa | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Talita Rodrígues | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Piedade Coutinho-Tavares | – | |||
| 5 | 2 | Belgium | BEL | 4:54.9 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Maria Huybrechts | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Maria Oeyen | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Maria Van den Brande | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Fernande Caroen | – |
| Date | 6 August 1948 — 21:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | United States | USA | 4:29.2 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Marie Corridon | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Thelma Kalama | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Brenda Helser | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Ann Curtis | – | |||
| 2 | 4 | Denmark | DEN | 4:29.6 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Eva Riise | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Karen Margrethe Harup | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Greta Andersen | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Fritze Carstensen | – | |||
| 3 | 5 | Netherlands | NED | 4:31.6 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Irma Schuhmacher | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Margot Marsman | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Marie-Louise Vaessen | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Hannie Termeulen | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:34.7 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Pat Nielsen | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Margaret Wellington | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Lillian Preece | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Cathie Gibson | – | |||
| 5 | 2 | Hungary | HUN | 4:44.8 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mária Littomeritzky | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Ilona Novák | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Judit Temes | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Éva Székely | – | |||
| 6 | 1 | Brazil | BRA | 4:49.1 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Eleonora Schmitt | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Maria da Costa | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Talita Rodrígues | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Piedade Coutinho-Tavares | – | |||
| 7 | 8 | France | FRA | 4:49.8 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Josette Arène | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Gisèle Vallerey | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Colette Thomas | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Ginette Jany | – | |||
| 7 | Sweden | SWE | – | |||
| Lead-off | – | Gisela Thidholm | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Elisabeth Ahlgren | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Marianne Lundquist | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Ingegärd Fredin | – |
