| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Women

Date	14 – 15 October 1964
Status	Olympic
Location	Kokuritsu Yoyogi Kyogijo, Shibuya, Tokyo
Participants	46 from 10 countries

The only real decision for the US swim coaches was who they would select to lead the Americans to the gold medal in the final. The US qualified second in the heats, behind Australia, but that was with their junior varsity squad allowing the big guns to rest. In the final the race was over after one leg, as 100 fly gold medalist Sharon Stouder put the US into an insurmountable lead. She was followed by Donna de Varona, Pokey Watson, and Kathy Ellis, who swam anchor and finished in the time of 4:03.8 for a world record, bettering the time of 4:07.6 that had been set in September by another group of Americans. Australia finished second, anchored by Dawn Fraser, who had the fastest split of the race with 58.6, but they were too far behind for it to matter much. The Netherlands came on for the bronze medal, as anchor Erica Terpstra touched out the Hungarian finisher Csilla Madarász-Bajnogel-Dobai.

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	–	United States	USA	4:12.2 (1 h1)	4:03.8 (1)	Gold
	–	Sharon Stouder		–	–
	–	Donna de Varona		–	–
	–	Pokey Watson		–	–
	–	Kathy Ellis		–	–
	–	Jeanne Hallock		–	–
	–	Erika Bricker		–	–
	–	Lynne Allsup		–	–
	–	Patience Sherman		–	–
2	–	Australia	AUS	4:11.8 (1 h2)	4:06.9 (2)	Silver
	–	Robyn Thorn		–	–
	–	Jan Murphy		–	–
	–	Lyn Bell		–	–
	–	Dawn Fraser		–	–
	–	Jan Turner		–	–
3	–	Netherlands	NED	4:14.8 (3 h1)	4:12.0 (3)	Bronze
	–	Pauline van der Wildt		–	–
	–	Toos Beumer		–	–
	–	Winnie van Weerdenburg		–	–
	–	Erica Terpstra		–	–
4	–	Hungary	HUN	4:13.4 (2 h2)	4:12.1 (4)
	–	Judit Turóczy		–	–
	–	Éva Erdélyi		–	–
	–	Katalin Takács		–	–
	–	Csilla Madarász-Dobay		–	–
	–	Mária Frank		–	–
5	–	Sweden	SWE	4:13.5 (2 h1)	4:14.0 (5)
	–	Ann-Charlotte Lilja		–	–
	–	Lotten Andersson		–	–
	–	Ulla Jäfvert		–	–
	–	Ann-Christine Hagberg		–	–
6	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	4:14.9 (3 h2)	4:15.0 (6)
	–	Martina Grunert		–	–
	–	Traudi Beierlein		–	–
	–	Rita Schumacher		–	–
	–	Heidi Pechstein		–	–
7	–	Canada	CAN	4:14.9 (4 h1)	4:15.9 (7)
	–	Mary Beth Stewart		–	–
	–	Patty Thompson		–	–
	–	Louise Kennedy		–	–
	–	Marion Lay		–	–
8	–	Italy	ITA	4:15.0 (4 h2)	4:17.2 (8)
	7	Paola Saini		–	–
	1	Maria Cristina Pacifici		–	–
	–	Mara Sacchi		–	–
	–	Daniela Beneck		–	–
9	3	Great Britain	GBR	4:15.1 (5 h2)	–
	–	Sandra Keen		–	–
	–	Pauline Sillett		–	–
	–	Liz Long		–	–
	–	Diana Wilkinson		–	–
10	4	Japan	JPN	4:19.2 (5 h1)	–
	–	Ryoko Urakami		–	–
	–	Michiko Kihara		–	–
	–	Toyoko Kimura		–	–
	–	Miyoko Azuma		–	–

Round One

Date	14 October 1964 — 13:35
Format	Fastest 8 advanced to the final round.

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	2	Australia	AUS	4:11.8	Q
2	2	United States	USA	4:12.2	Q
3	4	Hungary	HUN	4:13.4	Q
4	3	Sweden	SWE	4:13.5	Q
5	5	Netherlands	NED	4:14.8	Q
=6	6	Canada	CAN	4:14.9	Q
=6	6	Unified Team of Germany	GER	4:14.9	Q
8	5	Italy	ITA	4:15.0	Q
9	3	Great Britain	GBR	4:15.1
10	4	Japan	JPN	4:19.2

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Split	Exchange
1	2	United States	USA	4:12.2	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Jeanne Hallock		–	1:02.8 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Erika Bricker		–	1:04.0 (2)	2:06.8 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Lynne Allsup		–	1:02.8 (1)	3:09.6 (1)
Anchor	–	Patience Sherman		–	1:02.6 (4)	– (–)
2	3	Sweden	SWE	4:13.5	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Ann-Charlotte Lilja		–	1:04.1 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Lotten Andersson		–	1:04.4 (=4)	2:08.5 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Ulla Jäfvert		–	1:03.5 (2)	3:12.0 (2)
Anchor	–	Ann-Christine Hagberg		–	1:01.5 (1)	– (–)
3	5	Netherlands	NED	4:14.8	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Pauline van der Wildt		–	1:04.2 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Toos Beumer		–	1:04.2 (3)	2:08.4 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Winnie van Weerdenburg		–	1:04.3 (5)	3:12.7 (3)
Anchor	–	Erica Terpstra		–	1:02.1 (3)	– (–)
4	6	Canada	CAN	4:14.9	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Patty Thompson		–	1:04.5 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Mary Beth Stewart		–	1:04.4 (=4)	2:08.9 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Louise Kennedy		–	1:04.1 (4)	3:13.0 (4)
Anchor	–	Marion Lay		–	1:01.9 (2)	– (–)
5	4	Japan	JPN	4:19.2	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Ryoko Urakami		–	1:05.5 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Michiko Kihara		–	1:03.7 (1)	2:09.2 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Toyoko Kimura		–	1:04.0 (3)	3:13.2 (5)
Anchor	–	Miyoko Azuma		–	1:06.0 (5)	– (–)

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Split	Exchange
1	2	Australia	AUS	4:11.8	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Robyn Thorn		–	1:03.7 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Jan Murphy		–	1:02.6 (1)	2:06.3 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Jan Turner		–	1:03.5 (4)	3:09.8 (1)
Anchor	–	Lyn Bell		–	1:02.0 (=1)	– (–)
2	4	Hungary	HUN	4:13.4	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Judit Turóczy		–	1:03.9 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Mária Frank		–	1:04.1 (4)	2:08.0 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Éva Erdélyi		–	1:03.4 (3)	3:11.4 (2)
Anchor	–	Csilla Madarász-Dobay		–	1:02.0 (=1)	– (–)
3	6	Unified Team of Germany	GER	4:14.9	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Heidi Pechstein		–	1:04.6 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Traudi Beierlein		–	1:03.9 (3)	2:08.5 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Martina Grunert		–	1:03.2 (=1)	3:11.7 (3)
Anchor	–	Rita Schumacher		–	1:03.2 (4)	– (–)
4	5	Italy	ITA	4:15.0	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Paola Saini		–	1:04.5 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Maria Cristina Pacifici		–	1:03.3 (2)	2:07.8 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Mara Sacchi		–	1:04.7 (5)	3:12.5 (4)
Anchor	–	Daniela Beneck		–	1:02.5 (3)	– (–)
5	3	Great Britain	GBR	4:15.1	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sandra Keen		–	1:03.8 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Pauline Sillett		–	1:04.2 (5)	2:08.0 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Liz Long		–	1:03.2 (=1)	3:11.2 (5)
Anchor	–	Diana Wilkinson		–	1:03.9 (5)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	15 October 1964 — 21:15

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Split	Exchange
1	5	United States	USA	4:03.8	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Lead-off	–	Sharon Stouder		–	1:01.2 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Donna de Varona		–	1:00.9 (1)	2:02.1 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Pokey Watson		–	1:00.7 (1)	3:02.8 (1)
Anchor	–	Kathy Ellis		–	1:01.0 (=2)	– (–)
2	4	Australia	AUS	4:06.9	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Robyn Thorn		–	1:03.8 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Jan Murphy		–	1:02.9 (2)	2:06.7 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Lyn Bell		–	1:01.6 (2)	3:08.3 (2)
Anchor	–	Dawn Fraser		–	58.6 (1)	– (–)
3	2	Netherlands	NED	4:12.0	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Pauline van der Wildt		–	1:04.6 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Toos Beumer		–	1:03.8 (3)	2:08.4 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Winnie van Weerdenburg		–	1:02.6 (3)	3:11.0 (3)
Anchor	–	Erica Terpstra		–	1:01.0 (=2)	– (–)
4	3	Hungary	HUN	4:12.1	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Judit Turóczy		–	1:03.2 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Éva Erdélyi		–	1:04.2 (=4)	2:07.4 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Katalin Takács		–	1:03.0 (5)	3:10.4 (4)
Anchor	–	Csilla Madarász-Dobay		–	1:01.7 (5)	– (–)
5	6	Sweden	SWE	4:14.0	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Ann-Charlotte Lilja		–	1:04.5 (=5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Lotten Andersson		–	1:04.7 (7)	2:09.2 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Ulla Jäfvert		–	1:03.3 (6)	3:12.5 (5)
Anchor	–	Ann-Christine Hagberg		–	1:01.5 (4)	– (–)
6	7	Unified Team of Germany	GER	4:15.0	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Martina Grunert		–	1:03.5 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Traudi Beierlein		–	1:05.1 (8)	2:08.6 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Rita Schumacher		–	1:02.9 (4)	3:11.5 (6)
Anchor	–	Heidi Pechstein		–	1:03.5 (7)	– (–)
7	1	Canada	CAN	4:15.9	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Mary Beth Stewart		–	1:05.5 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Patty Thompson		–	1:04.3 (6)	2:09.8 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Louise Kennedy		–	1:03.6 (7)	3:13.4 (7)
Anchor	–	Marion Lay		–	1:02.5 (6)	– (–)
8	8	Italy	ITA	4:17.2	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Paola Saini		–	1:04.5 (=5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Maria Cristina Pacifici		–	1:04.2 (=4)	2:08.7 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Mara Sacchi		–	1:04.6 (8)	3:13.3 (8)
Anchor	–	Daniela Beneck		–	1:03.9 (8)	– (–)