| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Women

Date	22 July 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	81 from 19 countries

In 1994 the Chinese team had been runaway winners of the world title as they dominated the entire championships. Two years later the tables had turned the USA had returned to its’ position as world leader in this event.

Individual 100 metres champion Le Jingyi got China off to a good start but Amy Van Dyken delivered the killer blow on the second leg and the US headed off into the distance and recorded a clear win over China with the Germans following in third.

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	3:42.36 (1 h2)	3:39.29 (1)	Gold
	Angel Martino		–	–
	Amy Van Dyken		–	–
	Catherine Fox		–	–
	Jenny Thompson		–	–
	Lisa Jacob		–	–
	Melanie Valerio		–	–
2	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:44.06 (1 h3)	3:40.48 (2)	Silver
	Le Jingyi		–	–
	Chao Na		–	–
	Nian Yun		–	–
	Shan Ying		–	–
3	Germany	GER	3:44.17 (2 h3)	3:41.48 (3)	Bronze
	Sandra Völker		–	–
	Simone Osygus		–	–
	Antje Buschschulte		–	–
	Franziska van Almsick		–	–
	Meike Freitag		–	–
4	Netherlands	NED	3:43.63 (2 h2)	3:42.40 (4)
	Marianne Muis		–	–
	Minouche Smit		–	–
	Wilma van Hofwegen		–	–
	Karin Brienesse		–	–
	Manon Masseurs		–	–
5	Sweden	SWE	3:45.39 (3 h2)	3:44.91 (5)
	Linda Olofsson		–	–
	Louise Jöhncke		–	–
	Louise Karlsson		–	–
	Johanna Sjöberg		–	–
6	Australia	AUS	3:47.94 (2 h1)	3:45.31 (6)
	Sarah Ryan		–	–
	Julia Greville		–	–
	Lise Mackie		–	–
	Susie O'Neill		–	–
	Anna Windsor		–	–
7	Canada	CAN	3:45.66 (3 h3)	3:46.27 (7)
	Shannon Shakespeare		–	–
	Julie Howard		–	–
	Andrea Moody		–	–
	Marianne Limpert		–	–
8	Russian Federation	RUS	3:47.33 (1 h1)	– (DQ)
	Yelena Nazemnova		–	–
	Svetlana Leshukova		–	–
	Nataliya Meshcheryakova		–	–
	Nataliya Sorokina		–	–
9	Great Britain	GBR	3:48.26 (3 h1)	–
	Karen Pickering		–	–
	Sue Rolph		–	–
	Alison Sheppard		–	–
	Carrie Willmott		–	–
10	France	FRA	3:48.30 (4 h1)	–
	Jacqueline Delord		–	–
	Solenne Figuès		–	–
	Casey Legler		–	–
	Marianne Le Verge		–	–
11	Romania	ROU	3:48.43 (4 h2)	–
	Lorena Diaconescu		–	–
	Luminița Dobrescu		–	–
	Carmen Herea		–	–
	Andreea Trufașu		–	–
12	Japan	JPN	3:48.77 (5 h2)	–
	Suzu Chiba		–	–
	Naoko Imoto		–	–
	Sumika Minamoto		–	–
	Eri Yamanoi		–	–
13	Denmark	DEN	3:48.93 (4 h3)	–
	Karen Egdal		–	–
	Mette Jacobsen		–	–
	Ditte Jensen		–	–
	Mette Nørskov Nielsen		–	–
14	Spain	ESP	3:49.47 (5 h3)	–
	Blanca Cerón		–	–
	Claudia Franco		–	–
	Susana Garabatos		–	–
	Fátima Madrid		–	–
15	Belarus	BLR	3:50.22 (6 h3)	–
	Natallia Baranouskaya		–	–
	Inha Borodich		–	–
	Alena Popchanka		–	–
	Sviatlana Zhidko		–	–
16	Finland	FIN	3:50.33 (5 h1)	–
	Paula Harmokivi		–	–
	Marja Heikkilä		–	–
	Marja Pärssinen-Päivinen		–	–
	Minna Salmela		–	–
17	Switzerland	SUI	3:53.30 (6 h2)	–
	Dominique Diezi		–	–
	Sandrine Paquier		–	–
	Lara Preacco		–	–
	Nicole Zahnd		–	–
18	Chinese Taipei	TPE	3:56.39 (7 h3)	–
	Chang Wei-Chia		–	–
	Lin Chien-Ju		–	–
	Lin Chi-Chan		–	–
	Tsai Shu-Min		–	–
19	Republic of Korea	KOR	3:57.83 (6 h1)	–
	Jeong On-Ra		–	–
	Lee Bo-Eun		–	–
	Lee Ji-Hyeon		–	–
	Seo So-Yeong		–	–

Round One

Date	22 July 1996
Format	Fastest 8 advanced to the final round.

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	4	United States	USA	3:42.36	Q
2	2	Netherlands	NED	3:43.63	Q
3	4	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:44.06	Q
4	5	Germany	GER	3:44.17	Q
5	3	Sweden	SWE	3:45.39	Q
6	3	Canada	CAN	3:45.66	Q
7	5	Russian Federation	RUS	3:47.33	Q
8	4	Australia	AUS	3:47.94	Q
9	3	Great Britain	GBR	3:48.26
10	6	France	FRA	3:48.30
11	6	Romania	ROU	3:48.43
12	5	Japan	JPN	3:48.77
13	6	Denmark	DEN	3:48.93
14	2	Spain	ESP	3:49.47
15	1	Belarus	BLR	3:50.22
16	2	Finland	FIN	3:50.33
17	7	Switzerland	SUI	3:53.30
18	7	Chinese Taipei	TPE	3:56.39
19	7	Republic of Korea	KOR	3:57.83

Heat #1

Time	12:00

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	5	Russian Federation	RUS	3:47.33	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Svetlana Leshukova		–	0.80	27.74	57.31 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Nataliya Sorokina		–	0.32	26.74	57.07 (2)	1:54.38 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Yelena Nazemnova		–	0.22	27.33	56.59 (1)	2:50.97 (1)
Anchor	–	Nataliya Meshcheryakova		–	0.26	25.94	56.36 (3)	– (–)
2	4	Australia	AUS	3:47.94	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Anna Windsor		–	0.76	27.89	59.03 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sarah Ryan		–	0.16	27.02	55.59 (1)	1:54.62 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Lise Mackie		–	0.23	27.02	57.02 (3)	2:51.64 (2)
Anchor	–	Julia Greville		–	0.39	27.18	56.30 (2)	– (–)
3	3	Great Britain	GBR	3:48.26	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sue Rolph		–	0.84	27.50	56.61 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Alison Sheppard		–	0.16	27.10	57.52 (3)	1:54.13 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Carrie Willmott		–	0.22	27.38	58.10 (5)	2:52.23 (5)
Anchor	–	Karen Pickering		–	0.24	27.06	56.03 (1)	– (–)
4	6	France	FRA	3:48.30	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Solenne Figuès		–	0.74	27.94	57.12 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Jacqueline Delord		–	0.35	27.80	57.56 (=4)	1:54.68 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Casey Legler		–	0.44	26.97	56.98 (2)	2:51.66 (3)
Anchor	–	Marianne Le Verge		–	0.01	27.12	56.64 (4)	– (–)
5	2	Finland	FIN	3:50.33	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Minna Salmela		–	0.82	27.70	57.13 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Paula Harmokivi		–	0.27	27.69	57.56 (=4)	1:54.69 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Marja Pärssinen-Päivinen		–	0.26	27.10	57.16 (4)	2:51.85 (4)
Anchor	–	Marja Heikkilä		–	0.31	28.03	58.48 (5)	– (–)
6	7	Republic of Korea	KOR	3:57.83	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Lee Bo-Eun		–	0.83	27.82	58.77 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Seo So-Yeong		–	0.37	28.23	58.72 (6)	1:57.49 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Lee Ji-Hyeon		–	0.25	28.73	59.38 (6)	2:56.87 (6)
Anchor	–	Jeong On-Ra		–	0.40	29.47	1:00.96 (6)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	12:15

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	United States	USA	3:42.36	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Jenny Thompson		–	0.79	26.58	55.04 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Catherine Fox		–	0.15	26.06	55.03 (1)	1:50.07 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Lisa Jacob		–	0.30	26.73	56.31 (3)	2:46.38 (1)
Anchor	–	Melanie Valerio		–	0.26	26.59	55.98 (2)	– (–)
2	2	Netherlands	NED	3:43.63	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Marianne Muis		–	0.73	26.69	55.60 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Manon Masseurs		–	0.18	27.08	56.54 (2)	1:52.14 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Wilma van Hofwegen		–	0.36	26.19	55.24 (1)	2:47.38 (2)
Anchor	–	Minouche Smit		–	0.26	27.16	56.25 (4)	– (–)
3	3	Sweden	SWE	3:45.39	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Louise Jöhncke		–	0.79	27.21	56.81 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Johanna Sjöberg		–	0.22	26.51	56.63 (3)	1:53.44 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Louise Karlsson		–	0.30	26.42	56.23 (2)	2:49.67 (3)
Anchor	–	Linda Olofsson		–	0.31	26.16	55.72 (1)	– (–)
4	6	Romania	ROU	3:48.43	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Lorena Diaconescu		–	0.85	27.43	56.89 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Carmen Herea		–	0.43	28.19	58.16 (5)	1:55.05 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Andreea Trufașu		–	0.21	27.74	57.18 (4)	2:52.23 (4)
Anchor	–	Luminița Dobrescu		–	0.29	26.89	56.20 (3)	– (–)
5	5	Japan	JPN	3:48.77	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sumika Minamoto		–	0.71	27.45	57.48 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Naoko Imoto		–	0.12	27.36	56.81 (4)	1:54.29 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Eri Yamanoi		–	0.41	28.04	58.19 (5)	2:52.48 (5)
Anchor	–	Suzu Chiba		–	0.48	27.12	56.29 (5)	– (–)
6	7	Switzerland	SUI	3:53.30	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Dominique Diezi		–	0.86	27.66	57.60 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Nicole Zahnd		–	0.22	27.50	58.35 (6)	1:55.95 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Lara Preacco		–	0.31	27.89	58.83 (6)	2:54.78 (6)
Anchor	–	Sandrine Paquier		–	0.21	28.02	58.52 (6)	– (–)

Heat #3

Time	12:30

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:44.06	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Shan Ying		–	0.81	27.16	56.03 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Chao Na		–	0.52	27.07	56.57 (3)	1:52.60 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Nian Yun		–	0.14	26.18	55.80 (1)	2:48.40 (1)
Anchor	–	Le Jingyi		–	0.40	26.82	55.66 (1)	– (–)
2	5	Germany	GER	3:44.17	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Simone Osygus		–	0.76	27.10	56.50 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Antje Buschschulte		–	0.11	26.31	55.49 (1)	1:51.99 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Meike Freitag		–	0.18	26.56	56.43 (2)	2:48.42 (2)
Anchor	–	Franziska van Almsick		–	0.40	27.00	55.75 (2)	– (–)
3	3	Canada	CAN	3:45.66	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Shannon Shakespeare		–	0.80	27.35	56.05 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Julie Howard		–	0.09	27.07	56.79 (4)	1:52.84 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Andrea Moody		–	0.23	26.83	56.55 (3)	2:49.39 (3)
Anchor	–	Marianne Limpert		–	0.36	27.10	56.27 (4)	– (–)
4	6	Denmark	DEN	3:48.93	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Mette Nørskov Nielsen		–	0.81	27.44	57.85 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Mette Jacobsen		–	0.47	27.03	56.01 (2)	1:53.86 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Karen Egdal		–	0.28	27.56	57.63 (4)	2:51.49 (4)
Anchor	–	Ditte Jensen		–	0.19	27.61	57.44 (6)	– (–)
5	2	Spain	ESP	3:49.47	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Blanca Cerón		–	0.76	27.95	57.52 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Fátima Madrid		–	0.14	27.62	57.85 (6)	1:55.37 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Susana Garabatos		–	0.11	27.45	57.91 (6)	2:53.28 (5)
Anchor	–	Claudia Franco		–	0.02	26.76	56.19 (3)	– (–)
6	1	Belarus	BLR	3:50.22	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sviatlana Zhidko		–	0.80	28.14	58.11 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Inha Borodich		–	0.00	27.47	57.49 (5)	1:55.60 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Natallia Baranouskaya		–	0.23	27.98	57.90 (5)	2:53.50 (6)
Anchor	–	Alena Popchanka		–	0.18	27.40	56.72 (5)	– (–)
7	7	Chinese Taipei	TPE	3:56.39	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Chang Wei-Chia		–	0.77	28.30	58.49 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Tsai Shu-Min		–	0.62	29.06	59.79 (7)	1:58.28 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Lin Chien-Ju		–	0.46	27.87	58.38 (7)	2:56.66 (7)
Anchor	–	Lin Chi-Chan		–	0.61	29.10	59.73 (7)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	22 July 1996 — 21:00

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	United States	USA	3:39.29	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	OR
Lead-off	–	Angel Martino		–	0.68	26.44	55.34 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Amy Van Dyken		–	0.18	25.31	53.91 (1)	1:49.25 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Catherine Fox		–	0.31	26.34	55.93 (4)	2:45.18 (1)
Anchor	–	Jenny Thompson		–	0.17	26.24	54.11 (1)	– (–)
2	3	People's Republic of China	CHN	3:40.48	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Le Jingyi		–	0.79	26.79	54.79 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Chao Na		–	0.25	26.33	55.40 (2)	1:50.19 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Nian Yun		–	0.01	26.20	55.42 (2)	2:45.61 (2)
Anchor	–	Shan Ying		–	0.34	26.32	54.87 (3)	– (–)
3	6	Germany	GER	3:41.48	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sandra Völker		–	0.85	26.62	55.70 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Simone Osygus		–	0.02	26.34	56.05 (3)	1:51.75 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Antje Buschschulte		–	0.00	26.23	55.20 (1)	2:46.95 (3)
Anchor	–	Franziska van Almsick		–	0.25	26.36	54.53 (2)	– (–)
4	5	Netherlands	NED	3:42.40	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Marianne Muis		–	0.77	26.70	55.73 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Minouche Smit		–	0.42	26.79	56.15 (4)	1:51.88 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Wilma van Hofwegen		–	0.30	26.29	55.53 (3)	2:47.41 (4)
Anchor	–	Karin Brienesse		–	0.24	26.14	54.99 (4)	– (–)
5	2	Sweden	SWE	3:44.91	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Linda Olofsson		–	0.82	27.00	55.75 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Louise Jöhncke		–	0.23	26.90	56.32 (6)	1:52.07 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Louise Karlsson		–	0.23	25.96	56.07 (5)	2:48.14 (5)
Anchor	–	Johanna Sjöberg		–	0.14	26.39	56.77 (7)	– (–)
6	8	Australia	AUS	3:45.31	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sarah Ryan		–	0.75	27.11	56.06 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Julia Greville		–	0.40	27.26	56.27 (5)	1:52.33 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Lise Mackie		–	0.32	27.23	57.03 (7)	2:49.36 (6)
Anchor	–	Susie O'Neill		–	0.31	26.35	55.95 (5)	– (–)
7	7	Canada	CAN	3:46.27	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Shannon Shakespeare		–	0.84	27.36	56.07 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Julie Howard		–	0.30	27.07	57.03 (7)	1:53.10 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Andrea Moody		–	0.27	26.85	56.74 (6)	2:49.84 (7)
Anchor	–	Marianne Limpert		–	0.38	26.78	56.43 (6)	– (–)
DQ	1	Russian Federation	RUS	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)		1
Lead-off	–	Yelena Nazemnova		–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Svetlana Leshukova		–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
3rd Leg	–	Nataliya Meshcheryakova		–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Anchor	–	Nataliya Sorokina		–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)