| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Medley Relay, Men

Date	20 – 21 August 2004
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympiako Kentro Ugrou Stivou, Olympiako Athletiko Kentro Athinon Spiros Loues, Athina (Main Pool)
Participants	73 from 16 countries

One simple statistic explains the history of this event at the Olympic Games namely that the USA had won 20 of the 22 heats and finals in which they have competed. Add the fact that their two defeats came in heat swims where sub-strength teams idled to easy qualifications and you fully explain the domination that America has over the medley relay. The golden streak was easily maintained in Athens despite the decision of Michael Phelps, the 100 metre butterfly champion, to give up his place in the final to silver medallist Ian Crocker. After Aaron Peirsol broke his own world record in the backstroke lead there was no way back for rest of the field and each American increased the team’s lead as the race progressed. The winning time of 3:30.68 took 0.86 of a second off the world record that the same quartet of Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker and Lezak had set at the World Championships in Barcelona a year later. Germany, who won silver, and third placed Japan both set continental records.

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	3:35.10 (1 h2)	3:30.68 (1)	Gold
Butterfly	Ian Crocker		–	–
Breaststroke	Brendan Hansen		–	–
Freestyle	Jason Lezak		–	–
Backstroke	Aaron Peirsol		–	–
Breaststroke	Mark Gangloff		–	–
Backstroke	Lenny Krayzelburg		–	–
Butterfly	Michael Phelps		–	–
Freestyle	Neil Walker		–	–
2	Germany	GER	3:36.65 (2 h2)	3:33.62 (2)	Silver
Freestyle	Lars Conrad		–	–
Backstroke	Steffen Driesen		–	–
Breaststroke	Jens Kruppa		–	–
Butterfly	Thomas Rupprath		–	–
Butterfly	Helge Meeuw		–	–
3	Japan	JPN	3:37.04 (4 h2)	3:35.22 (3)	Bronze
Breaststroke	Kosuke Kitajima		–	–
Backstroke	Tomomi Morita		–	–
Freestyle	Yoshihiro Okumura		–	–
Butterfly	Takashi Yamamoto		–	–
4	Russian Federation	RUS	3:38.07 (1 h1)	3:35.91 (4)
Butterfly	Igor Marchenko		–	–
Freestyle	Aleksandr Popov		–	–
Breaststroke	Roman Sludnov		–	–
Backstroke	Arkady Vyatchanin		–	–
Freestyle	Andrey Kapralov		–	–
Butterfly	Yevgeny Korotyshkin		–	–
5	France	FRA	3:37.60 (6 h2)	3:36.57 (5)
Freestyle	Fréd Bousquet		–	–
Breaststroke	Hugues Duboscq		–	–
Backstroke	Simon Dufour		–	–
Butterfly	Franck Esposito		–	–
6	Ukraine	UKR	3:38.85 (2 h1)	3:36.87 (6)
Backstroke	Pavlo Illichov		–	–
Breaststroke	Oleh Lisohor		–	–
Butterfly	Andriy Serdinov		–	–
Freestyle	Yuriy Yehoshyn		–	–
Breaststroke	Valeriy Dymo		–	–
Butterfly	Denys Sylantiev		–	–
7	Hungary	HUN	3:37.27 (5 h2)	3:37.46 (7)
Breaststroke	Richárd Bodor		–	–
Backstroke	László Cseh, Jr.		–	–
Butterfly	Zsolt Gáspár		–	–
Freestyle	Attila Zubor		–	–
8	Great Britain	GBR	3:36.94 (3 h2)	3:37.77 (8)
Breaststroke	James Gibson		–	–
Butterfly	James Hickman		–	–
Freestyle	Matthew Kidd		–	–
Backstroke	Gregor Tait		–	–
9	Australia	AUS	3:39.14 (3 h1)	–
Freestyle	Michael Klim		–	–
Butterfly	Adam Pine		–	–
Breaststroke	Jim Piper		–	–
Backstroke	Matt Welsh		–	–
10	Canada	CAN	3:39.36 (4 h1)	–
Breaststroke	Mike Brown		–	–
Freestyle	Brent Hayden		–	–
Backstroke	Riley Janes		–	–
Butterfly	Mike Mintenko		–	–
11	Finland	FIN	3:41.64 (5 h1)	–
Butterfly	Jere Hård		–	–
Breaststroke	Jarno Pihlava		–	–
Freestyle	Matti Rajakylä		–	–
Backstroke	Jani Sievinen		–	–
12	New Zealand	NZL	3:42.74 (7 h2)	–
Freestyle	Cam Gibson		–	–
Breaststroke	Ben Labowitch		–	–
Butterfly	Corney Swanepoel		–	–
Backstroke	Scott Talbot		–	–
13	South Africa	RSA	3:43.94 (8 h2)	–
Butterfly	Eugene Botes		–	–
Breaststroke	Terence Parkin		–	–
Freestyle	Karl Otto Thaning		–	–
Backstroke	Gerhard Zandberg		–	–
14	Slovenia	SLO	3:44.17 (6 h1)	–
Freestyle	Jernej Godec		–	–
Butterfly	Peter Mankoč		–	–
Backstroke	Blaž Medvešek		–	–
Breaststroke	Emil Tahirovič		–	–
15	Brazil	BRA	3:44.41 (7 h1)	–
Butterfly	Kaio Márcio		–	–
Breaststroke	Eduardo Fischer		–	–
Backstroke	Paulo Machado		–	–
Freestyle	Jader Souza		–	–
DQ	Italy	ITA	– (DQ h1)	–
Breaststroke	Paolo Bossini		–	–
Backstroke	Emanuele Merisi		–	–
Butterfly	Mattia Nalesso		–	–
Freestyle	Giacomo Vassanelli		–	–

Round One

Date	20 August 2004
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	–	United States	USA	3:35.10	Q
2	–	Germany	GER	3:36.65	Q
3	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:36.94	Q
4	–	Japan	JPN	3:37.04	Q
5	–	Hungary	HUN	3:37.27	Q
6	–	France	FRA	3:37.60	Q
7	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:38.07	Q
8	–	Ukraine	UKR	3:38.85	Q
9	–	Australia	AUS	3:39.14
10	–	Canada	CAN	3:39.36
11	–	Finland	FIN	3:41.64
12	–	New Zealand	NZL	3:42.74
13	–	South Africa	RSA	3:43.94
14	–	Slovenia	SLO	3:44.17
15	–	Brazil	BRA	3:44.41
DQ	–	Italy	ITA	–		1

Heat #1

Time	12:08

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:38.07	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Arkady Vyatchanin		–	0.84	27.72	55.47 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Roman Sludnov		–	0.36	28.62	1:01.22 (1)	1:56.69 (1)
Butterfly	–	Yevgeny Korotyshkin		–	0.15	24.42	52.35 (1)	2:49.04 (1)
Freestyle	–	Andrey Kapralov		–	0.06	22.75	49.03 (4)	– (–)
2	–	Ukraine	UKR	3:38.85	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Pavlo Illichov		–	0.72	27.62	56.40 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Valeriy Dymo		–	0.09	28.78	1:01.23 (2)	1:57.63 (3)
Butterfly	–	Denys Sylantiev		–	0.23	24.33	52.41 (2)	2:50.04 (2)
Freestyle	–	Yuriy Yehoshyn		–	0.00	23.05	48.81 (2)	– (–)
3	–	Australia	AUS	3:39.14	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Matt Welsh		–	0.64	26.92	55.36 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Jim Piper		–	0.35	28.95	1:02.10 (5)	1:57.46 (2)
Butterfly	–	Adam Pine		–	0.00	24.63	53.02 (4)	2:50.48 (4)
Freestyle	–	Michael Klim		–	0.19	23.40	48.66 (1)	– (–)
4	–	Canada	CAN	3:39.36	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Riley Janes		–	0.70	27.13	56.17 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Mike Brown		–	0.18	29.29	1:01.73 (4)	1:57.90 (4)
Butterfly	–	Mike Mintenko		–	0.12	24.02	52.48 (3)	2:50.38 (3)
Freestyle	–	Brent Hayden		–	0.10	23.36	48.98 (3)	– (–)
5	–	Finland	FIN	3:41.64	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Jani Sievinen		–	0.59	27.70	56.84 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Jarno Pihlava		–	0.12	28.36	1:01.39 (3)	1:58.23 (5)
Butterfly	–	Jere Hård		–	-0.01	24.03	53.19 (5)	2:51.42 (5)
Freestyle	–	Matti Rajakylä		–	0.18	23.37	50.22 (5)	– (–)
6	–	Slovenia	SLO	3:44.17	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Blaž Medvešek		–	0.76	27.68	56.47 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Emil Tahirovič		–	0.23	28.56	1:02.52 (6)	1:58.99 (6)
Butterfly	–	Peter Mankoč		–	0.20	24.97	53.75 (7)	2:52.74 (6)
Freestyle	–	Jernej Godec		–	0.34	24.12	51.43 (7)	– (–)
7	–	Brazil	BRA	3:44.41	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Paulo Machado		–	0.63	28.20	57.33 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Eduardo Fischer		–	0.29	28.86	1:02.58 (7)	1:59.91 (7)
Butterfly	–	Kaio Márcio		–	0.28	24.91	53.52 (6)	2:53.43 (7)
Freestyle	–	Jader Souza		–	0.49	24.44	50.98 (6)	– (–)
DQ	–	Italy	ITA	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)		2
Backstroke	–	Emanuele Merisi		–	[0.61]	[27.46]	[56.55] ([6])	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Paolo Bossini		–	[-0.06]	–	– (–)	– (–)
Butterfly	–	Mattia Nalesso		–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Freestyle	–	Giacomo Vassanelli		–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	12:14

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	3:35.10	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Lenny Krayzelburg		–	0.63	26.26	54.27 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Mark Gangloff		–	0.19	27.77	1:00.27 (3)	1:54.54 (2)
Butterfly	–	Michael Phelps		–	0.28	24.95	52.43 (3)	2:46.97 (1)
Freestyle	–	Neil Walker		–	0.38	22.63	48.13 (1)	– (–)
2	–	Germany	GER	3:36.65	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Steffen Driesen		–	0.72	26.72	54.75 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Jens Kruppa		–	0.45	27.88	1:00.80 (6)	1:55.55 (4)
Butterfly	–	Helge Meeuw		–	0.41	24.57	52.73 (6)	2:48.28 (4)
Freestyle	–	Lars Conrad		–	0.30	23.17	48.37 (2)	– (–)
3	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:36.94	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Gregor Tait		–	0.64	26.83	55.36 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	James Gibson		–	0.09	27.47	1:00.30 (4)	1:55.66 (5)
Butterfly	–	James Hickman		–	0.06	24.23	52.23 (1)	2:47.89 (3)
Freestyle	–	Matthew Kidd		–	0.21	23.25	49.05 (4)	– (–)
4	–	Japan	JPN	3:37.04	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Tomomi Morita		–	0.53	26.83	54.63 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Kosuke Kitajima		–	0.23	27.99	59.69 (1)	1:54.32 (1)
Butterfly	–	Takashi Yamamoto		–	0.18	24.83	52.66 (5)	2:46.98 (2)
Freestyle	–	Yoshihiro Okumura		–	0.33	24.50	50.06 (7)	– (–)
5	–	Hungary	HUN	3:37.27	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	László Cseh, Jr.		–	0.62	26.72	55.22 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Richárd Bodor		–	0.21	28.22	1:00.31 (5)	1:55.53 (3)
Butterfly	–	Zsolt Gáspár		–	0.26	24.31	52.96 (7)	2:48.49 (6)
Freestyle	–	Attila Zubor		–	0.30	23.45	48.78 (3)	– (–)
6	–	France	FRA	3:37.60	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Simon Dufour		–	0.69	27.43	55.69 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Hugues Duboscq		–	0.06	27.96	1:00.10 (2)	1:55.79 (6)
Butterfly	–	Franck Esposito		–	0.20	24.53	52.52 (4)	2:48.31 (5)
Freestyle	–	Fréd Bousquet		–	0.17	23.21	49.29 (6)	– (–)
7	–	New Zealand	NZL	3:42.74	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Scott Talbot		–	0.64	27.39	56.11 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Ben Labowitch		–	0.09	29.17	1:03.88 (7)	1:59.99 (7)
Butterfly	–	Corney Swanepoel		–	0.00	24.03	52.41 (2)	2:52.40 (7)
Freestyle	–	Cam Gibson		–	0.28	23.91	50.34 (8)	– (–)
8	–	South Africa	RSA	3:43.94	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Gerhard Zandberg		–	0.73	26.47	56.23 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Terence Parkin		–	0.46	29.86	1:03.89 (8)	2:00.12 (8)
Butterfly	–	Eugene Botes		–	0.35	25.32	54.57 (8)	2:54.69 (8)
Freestyle	–	Karl Otto Thaning		–	0.03	22.88	49.25 (5)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	21 August 2004 — 20:30

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	3:30.68	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Backstroke	–	Aaron Peirsol		–	0.66	26.02	53.45 (1)	– (–)	IWR
Breaststroke	–	Brendan Hansen		–	0.28	27.83	59.37 (2)	1:52.82 (1)
Butterfly	–	Ian Crocker		–	0.04	23.05	50.28 (1)	2:43.10 (1)
Freestyle	–	Jason Lezak		–	0.07	22.26	47.58 (2)	– (–)
2	–	Germany	GER	3:33.62	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Steffen Driesen		–	0.72	26.66	54.26 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Jens Kruppa		–	0.28	27.67	1:00.50 (6)	1:54.76 (3)
Butterfly	–	Thomas Rupprath		–	0.13	23.37	51.40 (3)	2:46.16 (3)
Freestyle	–	Lars Conrad		–	0.25	22.37	47.46 (1)	– (–)
3	–	Japan	JPN	3:35.22	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Tomomi Morita		–	0.54	26.63	54.25 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Kosuke Kitajima		–	0.28	27.87	59.35 (1)	1:53.60 (2)
Butterfly	–	Takashi Yamamoto		–	0.13	24.13	51.87 (5)	2:45.47 (2)
Freestyle	–	Yoshihiro Okumura		–	0.28	23.89	49.75 (8)	– (–)
4	–	Russian Federation	RUS	3:35.91	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Arkady Vyatchanin		–	0.83	27.11	55.15 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Roman Sludnov		–	0.31	28.13	1:01.00 (8)	1:56.15 (7)
Butterfly	–	Igor Marchenko		–	0.17	23.79	51.74 (4)	2:47.89 (4)
Freestyle	–	Aleksandr Popov		–	0.26	22.65	48.02 (3)	– (–)
5	–	France	FRA	3:36.57	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Simon Dufour		–	0.66	27.04	55.74 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Hugues Duboscq		–	0.19	27.67	1:00.07 (3)	1:55.81 (5)
Butterfly	–	Franck Esposito		–	0.18	24.09	52.22 (6)	2:48.03 (6)
Freestyle	–	Fréd Bousquet		–	0.17	23.05	48.54 (4)	– (–)
6	–	Ukraine	UKR	3:36.87	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Pavlo Illichov		–	0.75	27.15	56.19 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Oleh Lisohor		–	0.25	28.33	1:00.99 (7)	1:57.18 (8)
Butterfly	–	Andriy Serdinov		–	0.25	23.48	50.80 (2)	2:47.98 (5)
Freestyle	–	Yuriy Yehoshyn		–	0.18	23.16	48.89 (5)	– (–)
7	–	Hungary	HUN	3:37.46	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	László Cseh, Jr.		–	0.66	26.75	54.89 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Richárd Bodor		–	0.10	28.02	1:00.25 (4)	1:55.14 (4)
Butterfly	–	Zsolt Gáspár		–	0.22	24.27	53.32 (8)	2:48.46 (7)
Freestyle	–	Attila Zubor		–	0.31	23.35	49.00 (6)	– (–)
8	–	Great Britain	GBR	3:37.77	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Gregor Tait		–	0.65	26.82	55.69 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	James Gibson		–	0.08	27.46	1:00.30 (5)	1:55.99 (6)
Butterfly	–	James Hickman		–	0.05	24.17	52.64 (7)	2:48.63 (8)
Freestyle	–	Matthew Kidd		–	0.15	22.72	49.14 (7)	– (–)