| | Event type

4 x 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Women

Date	25 July 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	94 from 21 countries

The inaugural Olympic women’s 4 x 200 metres freestyle relay competed the USA’s clean sweep of women’s relay titles at the Atlanta Olympics. With the world champions, China, performing well below expectations the only challenge for the Olympic title came from Germany. Franziska van Almsick threw down the gauntlet to the Americans by swimming a time superior to the gold medal swim in the individual 200 metres but her German teammates could not perform to the same standard and gradually the US lead lengthened as the race went on. The American team included Jenny Thompson, who collected her fifth Olympic relay gold, and Sheila Taormina, who swam the anchor leg. Taormina returned to the Olympic Games in 2000 and 2004 as a competitor in triathlon and amazingly made a fourth Olympics in 2008, only this time as a modern pentathlete.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	8:04.99 (1 h2)	7:59.87 (1)	Gold
	Trina Jackson • Cristina Teuscher • Sheila Taormina • Jenny Thompson • Lisa Jacob • Annette Salmeen • Ashley Whitney
2	Germany	GER	8:08.58 (1 h3)	8:01.55 (2)	Silver
	Franziska van Almsick • Kerstin Kielgaß • Anke Scholz • Dagmar Hase • Meike Freitag • Simone Osygus
3	Australia	AUS	8:09.33 (2 h3)	8:05.47 (3)	Bronze
	Julia Greville • Nicole Stevenson • Emma Johnson • Susie O'Neill • Lise Mackie
4	Japan	JPN	8:09.46 (1 h1)	8:07.46 (4)
	Eri Yamanoi • Naoko Imoto • Aiko Miyake • Suzu Chiba
5	Canada	CAN	8:12.03 (2 h2)	8:08.16 (5)
	Marianne Limpert • Shannon Shakespeare • Andrea Schwartz • Jessica Deglau • Joanne Malar • Sophie Simard
6	Netherlands	NED	8:12.78 (2 h1)	8:08.48 (6)
	Carla Geurts • Patricia Stokkers • Minouche Smit • Kirsten Vlieghuis • Karin Brienesse
7	Romania	ROU	8:10.77 (3 h3)	8:10.02 (7)
	Luminița Dobrescu • Loredana Zisu • Lorena Diaconescu • Carla-Creola Negrea
8	People's Republic of China	CHN	8:13.29 (3 h1)	8:15.38 (8)
	Nian Yun • Wang Luna • Chen Yan • Shan Ying • Pu Yiqi
9	Sweden	SWE	8:13.64 (3 h2)	–
	Louise Jöhncke • Josefin Lillhage • Åsa Sandlund • Johanna Sjöberg
10	Great Britain	GBR	8:14.92 (4 h2)	–
	Janine Belton • Vicky Horner • Claire Huddart • Karen Pickering
11	New Zealand	NZL	8:14.98 (5 h2)	–
	Dionne Bainbridge • Sarah Catherwood • Alison Fitch • Anna Wilson
12	Russian Federation	RUS	8:16.06 (4 h3)	–
	Nadezhda Chemezova • Tatyana Litovchenko • Yelena Nazemnova • Inna Yaitskaya
13	Denmark	DEN	8:16.32 (5 h3)	–
	Ditte Jensen • Berit Puggaard • Britt Raaby • Britta Vestergaard
14	France	FRA	8:18.90 (4 h1)	–
	Laëtitia Choux • Solenne Figuès • Marianne Le Verge • Hélène Ricardo
15	Czech Republic	CZE	8:21.19 (6 h3)	–
	Hana Černá • Pavla Chrástová • Kristýna Kyněrová • Olga Šplíchalová
16	Switzerland	SUI	8:21.55 (5 h1)	–
	Dominique Diezi • Sandrine Paquier • Chantal Strasser • Nicole Zahnd
17	Belarus	BLR	8:21.70 (6 h1)	–
	Natallia Baranouskaya • Inha Borodich • Alena Popchanka • Sviatlana Zhidko
18	Republic of Korea	KOR	8:22.90 (6 h2)	–
	Jeong On-Ra • Lee Bo-Eun • Lee Ji-Hyeon • Seo So-Yeong
19	Chinese Taipei	TPE	8:27.61 (7 h2)	–
	Chang Wei-Chia • Hsieh Shu-Ting • Lin Chi-Chan • Tsai Shu-Min
20	Kyrgyzstan	KGZ	8:45.76 (7 h3)	–
	Olga Bogatyreva • Olga Korotayeva • Viktoriya Polyayeva • Olga Titova
21	Argentina	ARG	8:46.36 (7 h1)	–
	Valeria Álvarez • Alicia Barrancos • María Bertellotti • María Pereyra

Round One (25 July 1996)

Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Heat One (11:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	5	Japan	JPN				8:09.46			QOR
		Eri Yamanoi		1:00.77	2:02.64	2:02.64	–	0.83	– (AC)
		Naoko Imoto		58.33	2:01.88	4:04.52	–	-0.01	– (AC)
		Aiko Miyake		1:00.86	2:04.52	6:09.04	–	0.07	– (AC)
		Suzu Chiba		58.52	2:00.42	8:09.46	–	0.39	– (AC)
2	3	Netherlands	NED				8:12.78			Q
		Minouche Smit		59.53	2:03.27	2:03.27	–	0.75	– (AC)
		Patricia Stokkers		59.08	2:03.35	4:06.62	–	0.41	– (AC)
		Karin Brienesse		58.51	2:04.06	6:10.68	–	0.39	– (AC)
		Carla Geurts		59.27	2:02.10	8:12.78	–	0.37	– (AC)
3	4	People's Republic of China	CHN				8:13.29			Q
		Chen Yan		59.85	2:03.63	2:03.63	–	0.84	– (AC)
		Pu Yiqi		1:00.63	2:04.49	4:08.12	–	0.35	– (AC)
		Wang Luna		59.36	2:03.16	6:11.28	–	0.30	– (AC)
		Nian Yun		58.77	2:02.01	8:13.29	–	0.34	– (AC)
4	6	France	FRA				8:18.90
		Marianne Le Verge		1:01.41	2:05.33	2:05.33	–	0.82	– (AC)
		Hélène Ricardo		1:01.63	2:05.50	4:10.83	–	0.36	– (AC)
		Laëtitia Choux		1:00.38	2:04.90	6:15.73	–	0.04	– (AC)
		Solenne Figuès		59.17	2:03.17	8:18.90	–	0.16	– (AC)
5	2	Switzerland	SUI				8:21.55
		Sandrine Paquier		1:00.38	2:05.39	2:05.39	–	0.89	– (AC)
		Dominique Diezi		1:01.05	2:05.38	4:10.77	–	0.07	– (AC)
		Nicole Zahnd		59.49	2:06.10	6:16.87	–	0.19	– (AC)
		Chantal Strasser		59.93	2:04.68	8:21.55	–	0.30	– (AC)
6	7	Belarus	BLR				8:21.70
		Sviatlana Zhidko		1:01.35	2:04.89	2:04.89	–	0.81	– (AC)
		Inha Borodich		1:01.29	2:06.27	4:11.16	–	0.38	– (AC)
		Natallia Baranouskaya		1:01.90	2:05.87	6:17.03	–	0.21	– (AC)
		Alena Popchanka		1:00.25	2:04.67	8:21.70	–	0.12	– (AC)
7	1	Argentina	ARG				8:46.36
		María Pereyra		1:03.15	2:09.42	2:09.42	–	0.80	– (AC)
		Alicia Barrancos		1:02.73	2:08.43	4:17.85	–	0.04	– (AC)
		Valeria Álvarez		1:03.38	2:12.25	6:30.10	–	0.29	– (AC)
		María Bertellotti		1:05.89	2:16.26	8:46.36	–	0.45	– (AC)

Heat Two (11:50)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	United States	USA				8:04.99			QOR
		Lisa Jacob		59.20	2:01.31	2:01.31	–	0.74	– (AC)
		Ashley Whitney		58.60	2:01.77	4:03.08	–	0.38	– (AC)
		Sheila Taormina		58.75	2:00.57	6:03.65	–	0.30	– (AC)
		Annette Salmeen		58.26	2:01.34	8:04.99	–	0.03	– (AC)
2	5	Canada	CAN				8:12.03			Q
		Joanne Malar		1:00.15	2:04.10	2:04.10	–	0.88	– (AC)
		Sophie Simard		59.99	2:02.94	4:07.04	–	0.22	– (AC)
		Marianne Limpert		59.23	2:02.90	6:09.94	–	0.31	– (AC)
		Jessica Deglau		59.85	2:02.09	8:12.03	–	0.25	– (AC)
3	3	Sweden	SWE				8:13.64
		Louise Jöhncke		59.17	2:02.73	2:02.73	–	0.82	– (AC)
		Johanna Sjöberg		59.22	2:03.04	4:05.77	–	0.14	– (AC)
		Josefin Lillhage		59.65	2:03.85	6:09.62	–	0.21	– (AC)
		Åsa Sandlund		59.67	2:04.02	8:13.64	–	0.25	– (AC)
4	6	Great Britain	GBR				8:14.92
		Claire Huddart		1:00.42	2:05.34	2:05.34	–	0.84	– (AC)
		Vicky Horner		59.49	2:03.11	4:08.45	–	0.18	– (AC)
		Janine Belton		59.84	2:04.10	6:12.55	–	0.38	– (AC)
		Karen Pickering		57.89	2:02.37	8:14.92	–	0.20	– (AC)
5	2	New Zealand	NZL				8:14.98
		Sarah Catherwood		1:00.39	2:03.66	2:03.66	–	0.90	– (AC)
		Alison Fitch		1:00.09	2:03.30	4:06.96	–	0.41	– (AC)
		Anna Wilson		1:00.95	2:05.83	6:12.79	–	0.30	– (AC)
		Dionne Bainbridge		59.12	2:02.19	8:14.98	–	0.04	– (AC)
6	1	Republic of Korea	KOR				8:22.90
		Jeong On-Ra		1:01.53	2:06.15	2:06.15	–	0.93	– (AC)
		Lee Bo-Eun		59.26	2:04.32	4:10.47	–	0.32	– (AC)
		Lee Ji-Hyeon		1:00.18	2:05.18	6:15.65	–	0.12	– (AC)
		Seo So-Yeong		1:01.97	2:07.25	8:22.90	–	0.55	– (AC)
7	7	Chinese Taipei	TPE				8:27.61
		Tsai Shu-Min		1:00.68	2:04.61	2:04.61	–	0.83	– (AC)
		Chang Wei-Chia		1:00.89	2:08.07	4:12.68	–	0.46	– (AC)
		Hsieh Shu-Ting		1:02.27	2:09.12	6:21.80	–	0.63	– (AC)
		Lin Chi-Chan		1:01.78	2:05.81	8:27.61	–	0.34	– (AC)

Heat Three (12:10)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	Germany	GER				8:08.58			Q
		Simone Osygus		59.55	2:03.45	2:03.45	–	0.74	– (AC)
		Meike Freitag		58.63	2:02.36	4:05.81	–	0.09	– (AC)
		Anke Scholz		59.15	2:02.14	6:07.95	–	0.18	– (AC)
		Franziska van Almsick		58.70	2:00.63	8:08.58	–	0.39	– (AC)
2	5	Australia	AUS				8:09.33			Q
		Julia Greville		59.52	2:01.48	2:01.48	–	0.79	– (AC)
		Lise Mackie		1:00.30	2:03.75	4:05.23	–	0.28	– (AC)
		Emma Johnson		59.72	2:02.65	6:07.88	–	0.23	– (AC)
		Susie O'Neill		59.41	2:01.45	8:09.33	–	0.42	– (AC)
3	6	Romania	ROU				8:10.77			Q
		Luminița Dobrescu		59.31	2:01.50	2:01.50	–	0.79	– (AC)
		Loredana Zisu		1:00.67	2:05.05	4:06.55	–	0.29	– (AC)
		Lorena Diaconescu		58.26	2:02.25	6:08.80	–	0.49	– (AC)
		Carla-Creola Negrea		58.88	2:01.97	8:10.77	–	0.40	– (AC)
4	2	Russian Federation	RUS				8:16.06
		Tatyana Litovchenko		1:01.76	2:04.96	2:04.96	–	0.89	– (AC)
		Inna Yaitskaya		59.75	2:04.31	4:09.27	–	0.14	– (AC)
		Yelena Nazemnova		1:01.16	2:04.27	6:13.54	–	0.35	– (AC)
		Nadezhda Chemezova		59.45	2:02.52	8:16.06	–	0.53	– (AC)
5	3	Denmark	DEN				8:16.32
		Ditte Jensen		1:00.79	2:04.89	2:04.89	–	0.77	– (AC)
		Britta Vestergaard		59.64	2:04.44	4:09.33	–	0.32	– (AC)
		Britt Raaby		1:00.55	2:03.98	6:13.31	–	0.29	– (AC)
		Berit Puggaard		1:00.45	2:03.01	8:16.32	–	0.25	– (AC)
6	1	Czech Republic	CZE				8:21.19
		Hana Černá		1:00.64	2:02.95	2:02.95	–	0.82	– (AC)
		Kristýna Kyněrová		59.79	2:03.31	4:06.26	–	0.39	– (AC)
		Pavla Chrástová		1:01.89	2:08.02	6:14.28	–	0.35	– (AC)
		Olga Šplíchalová		1:01.55	2:06.91	8:21.19	–	0.45	– (AC)
7	7	Kyrgyzstan	KGZ				8:45.76
		Viktoriya Polyayeva		1:02.86	2:09.68	2:09.68	–	0.87	– (AC)
		Olga Titova		1:05.02	2:13.11	4:22.79	–	0.48	– (AC)
		Olga Korotayeva		1:03.14	2:11.55	6:34.34	–	0.44	– (AC)
		Olga Bogatyreva		1:04.93	2:11.42	8:45.76	–	0.48	– (AC)

Final (25 July 1996 — 21:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	United States	USA				7:59.87			OR
		Trina Jackson		58.26	1:59.71	1:59.71	–	0.71	– (AC)
		Cristina Teuscher		58.33	1:58.86	3:58.57	–	0.29	– (AC)
		Sheila Taormina		59.16	2:01.29	5:59.86	–	0.37	– (AC)
		Jenny Thompson		57.40	2:00.01	7:59.87	–	0.28	– (AC)
2	5	Germany	GER				8:01.55
		Franziska van Almsick		57.12	1:58.14	1:58.14	–	0.77	– (AC)
		Kerstin Kielgaß		58.60	2:00.86	3:59.00	–	0.39	– (AC)
		Anke Scholz		59.15	2:02.47	6:01.47	–	0.35	– (AC)
		Dagmar Hase		59.04	2:00.08	8:01.55	–	0.33	– (AC)
3	3	Australia	AUS				8:05.47
		Julia Greville		58.57	2:01.06	2:01.06	–	0.83	– (AC)
		Nicole Stevenson		1:00.01	2:03.23	4:04.29	–	0.17	– (AC)
		Emma Johnson		58.89	2:01.21	6:05.50	–	0.28	– (AC)
		Susie O'Neill		56.98	1:59.97	8:05.47	–	0.17	– (AC)
4	6	Japan	JPN				8:07.46
		Eri Yamanoi		59.22	2:01.03	2:01.03	–	0.77	– (AC)
		Naoko Imoto		58.68	2:01.47	4:02.50	–	0.04	– (AC)
		Aiko Miyake		59.99	2:04.07	6:06.57	–	0.05	– (AC)
		Suzu Chiba		58.26	2:00.89	8:07.46	–	0.29	– (AC)
5	7	Canada	CAN				8:08.16
		Marianne Limpert		1:00.15	2:03.09	2:03.09	–	0.79	– (AC)
		Shannon Shakespeare		58.13	2:00.72	4:03.81	–	0.31	– (AC)
		Andrea Schwartz		59.45	2:02.01	6:05.82	–	0.12	– (AC)
		Jessica Deglau		1:00.03	2:02.34	8:08.16	–	0.34	– (AC)
6	1	Netherlands	NED				8:08.48
		Carla Geurts		58.71	2:01.53	2:01.53	–	0.75	– (AC)
		Patricia Stokkers		59.22	2:03.00	4:04.53	–	0.47	– (AC)
		Minouche Smit		58.28	2:02.05	6:06.58	–	0.27	– (AC)
		Kirsten Vlieghuis		58.76	2:01.90	8:08.48	–	0.15	– (AC)
7	2	Romania	ROU				8:10.02
		Luminița Dobrescu		58.56	2:01.40	2:01.40	–	0.80	– (AC)
		Loredana Zisu		1:00.14	2:03.20	4:04.60	–	0.13	– (AC)
		Lorena Diaconescu		58.77	2:02.07	6:06.67	–	0.57	– (AC)
		Carla-Creola Negrea		58.94	2:03.35	8:10.02	–	0.37	– (AC)
8	8	People's Republic of China	CHN				8:15.38
		Nian Yun		59.94	2:03.32	2:03.32	–	0.75	– (AC)
		Wang Luna		59.46	2:02.58	4:05.90	–	0.32	– (AC)
		Chen Yan		59.81	2:02.08	6:07.98	–	0.36	– (AC)
		Shan Ying		1:01.16	2:07.40	8:15.38	–	0.59	– (AC)