| | Event type

4 × 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	Competitors	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

Date	25 July 1996
Format	Fastest 8 advanced to the final round.

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	4	United States	USA	8:04.99	QOR
2	4	Germany	GER	8:08.58	Q
3	5	Australia	AUS	8:09.33	Q
4	5	Japan	JPN	8:09.46	QOR
5	6	Romania	ROU	8:10.77	Q
6	5	Canada	CAN	8:12.03	Q
7	3	Netherlands	NED	8:12.78	Q
8	4	People's Republic of China	CHN	8:13.29	Q
9	3	Sweden	SWE	8:13.64
10	6	Great Britain	GBR	8:14.92
11	2	New Zealand	NZL	8:14.98
12	2	Russian Federation	RUS	8:16.06
13	3	Denmark	DEN	8:16.32
14	6	France	FRA	8:18.90
15	1	Czech Republic	CZE	8:21.19
16	2	Switzerland	SUI	8:21.55
17	7	Belarus	BLR	8:21.70
18	1	Republic of Korea	KOR	8:22.90
19	7	Chinese Taipei	TPE	8:27.61
20	7	Kyrgyzstan	KGZ	8:45.76
21	1	Argentina	ARG	8:46.36

Heat #1

Time	11:30

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	100 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	5	Japan	JPN	8:09.46	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	QOR
Lead-off	–	Eri Yamanoi		–	0.83	29.16	1:00.77	2:02.64 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Naoko Imoto		–	-0.01	–	58.33	2:01.88 (1)	4:04.52 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Aiko Miyake		–	0.07	–	1:00.86	2:04.52 (3)	6:09.04 (1)
Anchor	–	Suzu Chiba		–	0.39	–	58.52	2:00.42 (1)	– (–)
2	3	Netherlands	NED	8:12.78	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Minouche Smit		–	0.75	28.45	59.53	2:03.27 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Patricia Stokkers		–	0.41	–	59.08	2:03.35 (2)	4:06.62 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Karin Brienesse		–	0.39	–	58.51	2:04.06 (2)	6:10.68 (2)
Anchor	–	Carla Geurts		–	0.37	–	59.27	2:02.10 (3)	– (–)
3	4	People's Republic of China	CHN	8:13.29	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Chen Yan		–	0.84	29.16	59.85	2:03.63 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Pu Yiqi		–	0.35	–	1:00.63	2:04.49 (3)	4:08.12 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Wang Luna		–	0.30	–	59.36	2:03.16 (1)	6:11.28 (3)
Anchor	–	Nian Yun		–	0.34	–	58.77	2:02.01 (2)	– (–)
4	6	France	FRA	8:18.90	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Marianne Le Verge		–	0.82	29.80	1:01.41	2:05.33 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Hélène Ricardo		–	0.36	–	1:01.63	2:05.50 (5)	4:10.83 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Laëtitia Choux		–	0.04	–	1:00.38	2:04.90 (4)	6:15.73 (4)
Anchor	–	Solenne Figuès		–	0.16	–	59.17	2:03.17 (4)	– (–)
5	2	Switzerland	SUI	8:21.55	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sandrine Paquier		–	0.89	29.38	1:00.38	2:05.39 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Dominique Diezi		–	0.07	–	1:01.05	2:05.38 (4)	4:10.77 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Nicole Zahnd		–	0.19	–	59.49	2:06.10 (6)	6:16.87 (5)
Anchor	–	Chantal Strasser		–	0.30	–	59.93	2:04.68 (6)	– (–)
6	7	Belarus	BLR	8:21.70	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sviatlana Zhidko		–	0.81	29.75	1:01.35	2:04.89 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Inha Borodich		–	0.38	–	1:01.29	2:06.27 (6)	4:11.16 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Natallia Baranouskaya		–	0.21	–	1:01.90	2:05.87 (5)	6:17.03 (6)
Anchor	–	Alena Popchanka		–	0.12	–	1:00.25	2:04.67 (5)	– (–)
7	1	Argentina	ARG	8:46.36	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	María Pereyra		–	0.80	30.71	1:03.15	2:09.42 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Alicia Barrancos		–	0.04	–	1:02.73	2:08.43 (7)	4:17.85 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Valeria Álvarez		–	0.29	–	1:03.38	2:12.25 (7)	6:30.10 (7)
Anchor	–	María Bertellotti		–	0.45	–	1:05.89	2:16.26 (7)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	11:50

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	100 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	United States	USA	8:04.99	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	QOR
Lead-off	–	Lisa Jacob		–	0.74	28.84	59.20	2:01.31 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Ashley Whitney		–	0.38	–	58.60	2:01.77 (1)	4:03.08 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Sheila Taormina		–	0.30	–	58.75	2:00.57 (1)	6:03.65 (1)
Anchor	–	Annette Salmeen		–	0.03	–	58.26	2:01.34 (1)	– (–)
2	5	Canada	CAN	8:12.03	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Joanne Malar		–	0.88	29.06	1:00.15	2:04.10 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Sophie Simard		–	0.22	–	59.99	2:02.94 (2)	4:07.04 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Marianne Limpert		–	0.31	–	59.23	2:02.90 (2)	6:09.94 (3)
Anchor	–	Jessica Deglau		–	0.25	–	59.85	2:02.09 (2)	– (–)
3	3	Sweden	SWE	8:13.64	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Louise Jöhncke		–	0.82	28.31	59.17	2:02.73 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Johanna Sjöberg		–	0.14	–	59.22	2:03.04 (3)	4:05.77 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Josefin Lillhage		–	0.21	–	59.65	2:03.85 (3)	6:09.62 (2)
Anchor	–	Åsa Sandlund		–	0.25	–	59.67	2:04.02 (5)	– (–)
4	6	Great Britain	GBR	8:14.92	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Claire Huddart		–	0.84	29.15	1:00.42	2:05.34 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Vicky Horner		–	0.18	–	59.49	2:03.11 (4)	4:08.45 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Janine Belton		–	0.38	–	59.84	2:04.10 (4)	6:12.55 (4)
Anchor	–	Karen Pickering		–	0.20	–	57.89	2:02.37 (4)	– (–)
5	2	New Zealand	NZL	8:14.98	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Sarah Catherwood		–	0.90	29.31	1:00.39	2:03.66 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Alison Fitch		–	0.41	–	1:00.09	2:03.30 (5)	4:06.96 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Anna Wilson		–	0.30	–	1:00.95	2:05.83 (6)	6:12.79 (5)
Anchor	–	Dionne Bainbridge		–	0.04	–	59.12	2:02.19 (3)	– (–)
6	1	Republic of Korea	KOR	8:22.90	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Jeong On-Ra		–	0.93	30.15	1:01.53	2:06.15 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Lee Bo-Eun		–	0.32	–	59.26	2:04.32 (6)	4:10.47 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Lee Ji-Hyeon		–	0.12	–	1:00.18	2:05.18 (5)	6:15.65 (6)
Anchor	–	Seo So-Yeong		–	0.55	–	1:01.97	2:07.25 (7)	– (–)
7	7	Chinese Taipei	TPE	8:27.61	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Tsai Shu-Min		–	0.83	29.48	1:00.68	2:04.61 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Chang Wei-Chia		–	0.46	–	1:00.89	2:08.07 (7)	4:12.68 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Hsieh Shu-Ting		–	0.63	–	1:02.27	2:09.12 (7)	6:21.80 (7)
Anchor	–	Lin Chi-Chan		–	0.34	–	1:01.78	2:05.81 (6)	– (–)

Heat #3

Time	12:10

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	100 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	Germany	GER	8:08.58	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Simone Osygus		–	0.74	28.43	59.55	2:03.45 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Meike Freitag		–	0.09	–	58.63	2:02.36 (1)	4:05.81 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Anke Scholz		–	0.18	–	59.15	2:02.14 (1)	6:07.95 (2)
Anchor	–	Franziska van Almsick		–	0.39	–	58.70	2:00.63 (1)	– (–)
2	5	Australia	AUS	8:09.33	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Julia Greville		–	0.79	28.46	59.52	2:01.48 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Lise Mackie		–	0.28	–	1:00.30	2:03.75 (3)	4:05.23 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Emma Johnson		–	0.23	–	59.72	2:02.65 (3)	6:07.88 (1)
Anchor	–	Susie O'Neill		–	0.42	–	59.41	2:01.45 (2)	– (–)
3	6	Romania	ROU	8:10.77	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	–	Luminița Dobrescu		–	0.79	28.43	59.31	2:01.50 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Loredana Zisu		–	0.29	–	1:00.67	2:05.05 (6)	4:06.55 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Lorena Diaconescu		–	0.49	–	58.26	2:02.25 (2)	6:08.80 (3)
Anchor	–	Carla-Creola Negrea		–	0.40	–	58.88	2:01.97 (3)	– (–)
4	2	Russian Federation	RUS	8:16.06	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Tatyana Litovchenko		–	0.89	30.35	1:01.76	2:04.96 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Inna Yaitskaya		–	0.14	–	59.75	2:04.31 (4)	4:09.27 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Yelena Nazemnova		–	0.35	–	1:01.16	2:04.27 (5)	6:13.54 (5)
Anchor	–	Nadezhda Chemezova		–	0.53	–	59.45	2:02.52 (4)	– (–)
5	3	Denmark	DEN	8:16.32	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Ditte Jensen		–	0.77	29.61	1:00.79	2:04.89 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Britta Vestergaard		–	0.32	–	59.64	2:04.44 (5)	4:09.33 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Britt Raaby		–	0.29	–	1:00.55	2:03.98 (4)	6:13.31 (4)
Anchor	–	Berit Puggaard		–	0.25	–	1:00.45	2:03.01 (5)	– (–)
6	1	Czech Republic	CZE	8:21.19	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Hana Černá		–	0.82	29.62	1:00.64	2:02.95 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Kristýna Kyněrová		–	0.39	–	59.79	2:03.31 (2)	4:06.26 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Pavla Chrástová		–	0.35	–	1:01.89	2:08.02 (6)	6:14.28 (6)
Anchor	–	Olga Šplíchalová		–	0.45	–	1:01.55	2:06.91 (6)	– (–)
7	7	Kyrgyzstan	KGZ	8:45.76	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Viktoriya Polyayeva		–	0.87	30.00	1:02.86	2:09.68 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Olga Titova		–	0.48	–	1:05.02	2:13.11 (7)	4:22.79 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Olga Korotayeva		–	0.44	–	1:03.14	2:11.55 (7)	6:34.34 (7)
Anchor	–	Olga Bogatyreva		–	0.48	–	1:04.93	2:11.42 (7)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	25 July 1996 — 21:00

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m Time	100 m Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	United States	USA	7:59.87	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	OR
Lead-off	–	Trina Jackson		–	0.71	28.00	58.26	1:59.71 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Cristina Teuscher		–	0.29	–	58.33	1:58.86 (1)	3:58.57 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Sheila Taormina		–	0.37	–	59.16	2:01.29 (2)	5:59.86 (1)
Anchor	–	Jenny Thompson		–	0.28	–	57.40	2:00.01 (2)	– (–)
2	5	Germany	GER	8:01.55	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Franziska van Almsick		–	0.77	27.33	57.12	1:58.14 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Kerstin Kielgaß		–	0.39	–	58.60	2:00.86 (3)	3:59.00 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Anke Scholz		–	0.35	–	59.15	2:02.47 (7)	6:01.47 (2)
Anchor	–	Dagmar Hase		–	0.33	–	59.04	2:00.08 (3)	– (–)
3	3	Australia	AUS	8:05.47	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Julia Greville		–	0.83	28.20	58.57	2:01.06 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Nicole Stevenson		–	0.17	–	1:00.01	2:03.23 (8)	4:04.29 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Emma Johnson		–	0.28	–	58.89	2:01.21 (1)	6:05.50 (3)
Anchor	–	Susie O'Neill		–	0.17	–	56.98	1:59.97 (1)	– (–)
4	6	Japan	JPN	8:07.46	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Eri Yamanoi		–	0.77	28.40	59.22	2:01.03 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Naoko Imoto		–	0.04	–	58.68	2:01.47 (4)	4:02.50 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Aiko Miyake		–	0.05	–	59.99	2:04.07 (8)	6:06.57 (5)
Anchor	–	Suzu Chiba		–	0.29	–	58.26	2:00.89 (4)	– (–)
5	7	Canada	CAN	8:08.16	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Marianne Limpert		–	0.79	28.73	1:00.15	2:03.09 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Shannon Shakespeare		–	0.31	–	58.13	2:00.72 (2)	4:03.81 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Andrea Schwartz		–	0.12	–	59.45	2:02.01 (3)	6:05.82 (4)
Anchor	–	Jessica Deglau		–	0.34	–	1:00.03	2:02.34 (6)	– (–)
6	1	Netherlands	NED	8:08.48	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Carla Geurts		–	0.75	28.03	58.71	2:01.53 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Patricia Stokkers		–	0.47	–	59.22	2:03.00 (6)	4:04.53 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Minouche Smit		–	0.27	–	58.28	2:02.05 (4)	6:06.58 (6)
Anchor	–	Kirsten Vlieghuis		–	0.15	–	58.76	2:01.90 (5)	– (–)
7	2	Romania	ROU	8:10.02	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Luminița Dobrescu		–	0.80	27.79	58.56	2:01.40 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Loredana Zisu		–	0.13	–	1:00.14	2:03.20 (7)	4:04.60 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Lorena Diaconescu		–	0.57	–	58.77	2:02.07 (5)	6:06.67 (7)
Anchor	–	Carla-Creola Negrea		–	0.37	–	58.94	2:03.35 (7)	– (–)
8	8	People's Republic of China	CHN	8:15.38	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Nian Yun		–	0.75	28.26	59.94	2:03.32 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Wang Luna		–	0.32	–	59.46	2:02.58 (5)	4:05.90 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Chen Yan		–	0.36	–	59.81	2:02.08 (6)	6:07.98 (8)
Anchor	–	Shan Ying		–	0.59	–	1:01.16	2:07.40 (8)	– (–)