| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Medley Relay, Women

Date	20 – 21 August 2004
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympiako Kentro Ugrou Stivou, Olympiako Athletiko Kentro Athinon Spiros Loues, Athina (Main Pool)
Participants	77 from 16 countries

The medley relay at the 2004 Olympics boiled down into two separate contests, one between Australia and the USA for the gold medal and another between all the others for the bronze. The contest for the title neatly split into two halves as Natalie Coughlin and Amanda Beard put America into a clear lead at halfway but newly crowned Olympic champions Petria Thomas and Jodie Henry were still to come. Thomas closed down on Jenny Thompson and handed over to Henry with a lead that was built upon by Henry on the final leg for Australia to claim the Olympic title.

This marked the first time that a nation other the USA or the German Democratic Republic had won the gold medal in this event. With silver in this race, Jenny Thompson won a historic 12th medal. This beat the American record of 11 for any Olympic sport set by Mark Spitz in 1968-72 and lasted until Michael Phelps won his 13th career medal in Beijing.

Pos	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	Australia	AUS	4:01.17 (1 h2)	3:57.32 (1)	Gold
Breaststroke	Brooke Hanson		–	–
Freestyle	Jodie Henry		–	–
Breaststroke	Leisel Jones		–	–
Freestyle	Alice Mills		–	–
Backstroke	Giaan Rooney		–	–
Butterfly	Jess Schipper		–	–
Butterfly	Petria Thomas		–	–
2	United States	USA	4:02.82 (1 h1)	3:59.12 (2)	Silver
Breaststroke	Amanda Beard		–	–
Breaststroke	Tara Kirk		–	–
Butterfly	Rachel Komisarz		–	–
Freestyle	Amanda Weir		–	–
Backstroke	Haley Cope		–	–
Backstroke	Natalie Coughlin		–	–
Freestyle	Kara Lynn Joyce		–	–
Butterfly	Jenny Thompson		–	–
3	Germany	GER	4:04.16 (2 h1)	4:00.72 (3)	Bronze
Backstroke	Antje Buschschulte		–	–
Freestyle	Daniela Götz		–	–
Breaststroke	Sarah Poewe		–	–
Butterfly	Franziska van Almsick		–	–
4	People's Republic of China	CHN	4:05.97 (3 h2)	4:03.35 (4)
Backstroke	Chen Xiujun		–	–
Breaststroke	Luo Xuejuan		–	–
Butterfly	Zhou Yafei		–	–
Freestyle	Zhu Yingwen		–	–
Breaststroke	Qi Hui		–	–
Backstroke	Zhan Shu		–	–
5	Japan	JPN	4:05.99 (3 h1)	4:04.83 (5)
Backstroke	Noriko Inada		–	–
Freestyle	Tomoko Nagai		–	–
Backstroke	Reiko Nakamura		–	–
Butterfly	Junko Onishi		–	–
Breaststroke	Masami Tanaka		–	–
6	Netherlands	NED	4:08.72 (5 h2)	4:07.36 (6)
Breaststroke	Madelon Baans		–	–
Butterfly	Inge de Bruijn		–	–
Backstroke	Stefanie Luiken		–	–
Freestyle	Marleen Veldhuis		–	–
Butterfly	Chantal Groot		–	–
7	Spain	ESP	4:06.90 (4 h2)	4:07.61 (7)
Butterfly	María Peláez		–	–
Breaststroke	Sara Pérez		–	–
Freestyle	Tatiana Rouba		–	–
Backstroke	Nina Zhivanevskaya		–	–
8	Great Britain	GBR	4:05.63 (2 h2)	– (DQ)
Breaststroke	Kirsty Balfour		–	–
Freestyle	Kathryn Evans		–	–
Butterfly	Georgina Lee		–	–
Freestyle	Melanie Marshall		–	–
Backstroke	Sarah Price		–	–
Backstroke	Katy Sexton		–	–
9	Denmark	DEN	4:08.89 (4 h1)	–
Butterfly	Mette Jacobsen		–	–
Backstroke	Louise Ørnstedt		–	–
Freestyle	Jeanette Ottesen Gray		–	–
Breaststroke	Majken Thorup		–	–
10	Ukraine	UKR	4:09.79 (5 h1)	–
Breaststroke	Svitlana Bondarenko		–	–
Butterfly	Yana Klochkova		–	–
Freestyle	Olha Mukomol		–	–
Backstroke	Kateryna Zubkova		–	–
11	Canada	CAN	4:09.84 (6 h2)	–
Butterfly	Jennifer Fratesi		–	–
Backstroke	Erin Gammel		–	–
Freestyle	Brittany Reimer		–	–
Breaststroke	Lauren Van Oosten		–	–
12	Russian Federation	RUS	4:10.18 (7 h2)	–
Breaststroke	Yelena Bogomazova		–	–
Freestyle	Nataliya Shalagina		–	–
Butterfly	Nataliya Sutyagina		–	–
Backstroke	Oksana Verevka		–	–
13	New Zealand	NZL	4:10.37 (6 h1)	–
Breaststroke	Annabelle Carey		–	–
Butterfly	Elizabeth Coster		–	–
Freestyle	Alison Fitch		–	–
Backstroke	Hannah McLean		–	–
14	France	FRA	4:11.42 (8 h2)	–
Freestyle	Malia Metella		–	–
Butterfly	Aurore Mongel		–	–
Backstroke	Alexandra Putra		–	–
Breaststroke	Laurie Thomassin		–	–
15	Switzerland	SUI	4:15.54 (7 h1)	–
Backstroke	Dominique Diezi		–	–
Breaststroke	Carmela Schlegel		–	–
Butterfly	Carla Stampfli		–	–
Freestyle	Nicole Zahnd		–	–
DQ	Italy	ITA	– (DQ h1)	–
Breaststroke	Chiara Boggiatto		–	–
Backstroke	Alessandra Cappa		–	–
Butterfly	Ambra Migliori		–	–
Freestyle	Federica Pellegrini		–	–

Round One

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

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	–	Australia	AUS	4:01.17	Q
2	–	United States	USA	4:02.82	Q
3	–	Germany	GER	4:04.16	Q
4	–	Great Britain	GBR	4:05.63	Q
5	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	4:05.97	Q
6	–	Japan	JPN	4:05.99	Q
7	–	Spain	ESP	4:06.90	Q
8	–	Netherlands	NED	4:08.72	Q
9	–	Denmark	DEN	4:08.89
10	–	Ukraine	UKR	4:09.79
11	–	Canada	CAN	4:09.84
12	–	Russian Federation	RUS	4:10.18
13	–	New Zealand	NZL	4:10.37
14	–	France	FRA	4:11.42
15	–	Switzerland	SUI	4:15.54
DQ	–	Italy	ITA	–		1

Heat #1

Time	11:55

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	United States	USA	4:02.82	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Haley Cope		–	0.68	30.68	1:01.96 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Tara Kirk		–	0.39	31.41	1:07.08 (1)	2:09.04 (1)
Butterfly	–	Rachel Komisarz		–	0.44	27.81	58.75 (1)	3:07.79 (1)
Freestyle	–	Amanda Weir		–	0.42	26.50	55.03 (2)	– (–)
2	–	Germany	GER	4:04.16	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Antje Buschschulte		–	0.68	30.78	1:02.47 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Sarah Poewe		–	0.32	31.72	1:07.31 (2)	2:09.78 (2)
Butterfly	–	Franziska van Almsick		–	0.00	27.90	59.77 (4)	3:09.55 (2)
Freestyle	–	Daniela Götz		–	0.36	26.25	54.61 (1)	– (–)
3	–	Japan	JPN	4:05.99	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Noriko Inada		–	0.65	29.76	1:02.14 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Masami Tanaka		–	0.13	32.57	1:09.17 (3)	2:11.31 (3)
Butterfly	–	Junko Onishi		–	0.18	28.09	59.45 (3)	3:10.76 (3)
Freestyle	–	Tomoko Nagai		–	0.19	26.29	55.23 (3)	– (–)
4	–	Denmark	DEN	4:08.89	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Louise Ørnstedt		–	0.71	30.71	1:02.71 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Majken Thorup		–	0.32	33.26	1:11.46 (6)	2:14.17 (6)
Butterfly	–	Mette Jacobsen		–	0.30	27.69	59.21 (2)	3:13.38 (5)
Freestyle	–	Jeanette Ottesen Gray		–	0.21	26.88	55.51 (4)	– (–)
5	–	Ukraine	UKR	4:09.79	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Kateryna Zubkova		–	0.69	30.75	1:03.66 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Svitlana Bondarenko		–	0.45	33.08	1:09.36 (4)	2:13.02 (5)
Butterfly	–	Yana Klochkova		–	0.41	27.85	1:00.16 (5)	3:13.18 (4)
Freestyle	–	Olha Mukomol		–	0.53	27.02	56.61 (7)	– (–)
6	–	New Zealand	NZL	4:10.37	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Hannah McLean		–	0.68	30.39	1:02.40 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Annabelle Carey		–	0.30	33.28	1:11.98 (7)	2:14.38 (7)
Butterfly	–	Elizabeth Coster		–	0.41	28.09	1:00.38 (6)	3:14.76 (6)
Freestyle	–	Alison Fitch		–	0.37	26.87	55.61 (5)	– (–)
7	–	Switzerland	SUI	4:15.54	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Dominique Diezi		–	0.62	30.89	1:04.06 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Carmela Schlegel		–	0.32	33.55	1:12.04 (8)	2:16.10 (8)
Butterfly	–	Carla Stampfli		–	0.42	28.53	1:03.37 (7)	3:19.47 (7)
Freestyle	–	Nicole Zahnd		–	0.05	26.78	56.07 (6)	– (–)
DQ	–	Italy	ITA	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)		2
Backstroke	–	Alessandra Cappa		–	[0.68]	[30.42]	[1:03.11] ([6])	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Chiara Boggiatto		–	[0.10]	[32.76]	[1:09.66] ([5])	[2:12.77] ([4])
Butterfly	–	Ambra Migliori		–	[-0.06]	–	– (–)	– (–)
Freestyle	–	Federica Pellegrini		–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	12:01

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	Australia	AUS	4:01.17	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Giaan Rooney		–	0.70	30.55	1:01.99 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Brooke Hanson		–	0.36	31.74	1:07.55 (1)	2:09.54 (1)
Butterfly	–	Jess Schipper		–	0.32	27.07	58.09 (1)	3:07.63 (1)
Freestyle	–	Alice Mills		–	0.22	25.62	53.54 (1)	– (–)
2	–	Great Britain	GBR	4:05.63	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Sarah Price		–	0.72	30.32	1:01.90 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Kirsty Balfour		–	0.14	32.33	1:09.19 (3)	2:11.09 (2)
Butterfly	–	Georgina Lee		–	0.23	27.99	59.56 (4)	3:10.65 (2)
Freestyle	–	Melanie Marshall		–	0.21	26.33	54.98 (5)	– (–)
3	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	4:05.97	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Zhan Shu		–	0.72	30.21	1:01.92 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Qi Hui		–	0.36	32.93	1:09.90 (6)	2:11.82 (4)
Butterfly	–	Zhou Yafei		–	0.31	27.73	59.13 (3)	3:10.95 (3)
Freestyle	–	Zhu Yingwen		–	0.27	26.27	55.02 (6)	– (–)
4	–	Spain	ESP	4:06.90	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Nina Zhivanevskaya		–	0.66	29.76	1:01.08 (1)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Sara Pérez		–	0.17	33.02	1:10.52 (7)	2:11.60 (3)
Butterfly	–	María Peláez		–	0.09	28.00	1:00.34 (5)	3:11.94 (4)
Freestyle	–	Tatiana Rouba		–	0.22	26.58	54.96 (4)	– (–)
5	–	Netherlands	NED	4:08.72	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Backstroke	–	Stefanie Luiken		–	0.79	31.33	1:04.13 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Madelon Baans		–	0.09	31.86	1:09.53 (4)	2:13.66 (7)
Butterfly	–	Chantal Groot		–	0.28	28.07	1:00.51 (7)	3:14.17 (7)
Freestyle	–	Marleen Veldhuis		–	0.19	25.62	54.55 (3)	– (–)
6	–	Canada	CAN	4:09.84	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Erin Gammel		–	0.60	30.56	1:02.57 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Lauren Van Oosten		–	0.17	32.94	1:09.57 (5)	2:12.14 (5)
Butterfly	–	Jennifer Fratesi		–	0.15	28.83	1:01.60 (8)	3:13.74 (6)
Freestyle	–	Brittany Reimer		–	0.24	26.64	56.10 (7)	– (–)
7	–	Russian Federation	RUS	4:10.18	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Oksana Verevka		–	0.69	31.62	1:05.09 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Yelena Bogomazova		–	0.19	32.12	1:08.51 (2)	2:13.60 (6)
Butterfly	–	Nataliya Sutyagina		–	0.25	27.67	58.98 (2)	3:12.58 (5)
Freestyle	–	Nataliya Shalagina		–	0.27	27.28	57.60 (8)	– (–)
8	–	France	FRA	4:11.42	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Alexandra Putra		–	0.71	31.70	1:04.81 (7)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Laurie Thomassin		–	0.34	32.92	1:12.16 (8)	2:16.97 (8)
Butterfly	–	Aurore Mongel		–	0.22	28.02	1:00.40 (6)	3:17.37 (8)
Freestyle	–	Malia Metella		–	0.23	25.66	54.05 (2)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	21 August 2004 — 20:10

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 metre Time	Split	Exchange
1	–	Australia	AUS	3:57.32	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Backstroke	–	Giaan Rooney		–	0.71	30.04	1:01.18 (4)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Leisel Jones		–	0.24	30.94	1:06.50 (2)	2:07.68 (2)
Butterfly	–	Petria Thomas		–	0.37	26.54	56.67 (1)	3:04.35 (1)
Freestyle	–	Jodie Henry		–	0.28	25.61	52.97 (1)	– (–)
2	–	United States	USA	3:59.12	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Natalie Coughlin		–	0.60	29.07	59.68 (1)	– (–)	IOR
Breaststroke	–	Amanda Beard		–	0.19	31.20	1:06.32 (1)	2:06.00 (1)
Butterfly	–	Jenny Thompson		–	0.26	27.43	58.81 (4)	3:04.81 (2)
Freestyle	–	Kara Lynn Joyce		–	0.19	25.78	54.31 (3)	– (–)
3	–	Germany	GER	4:00.72	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Antje Buschschulte		–	0.66	29.56	1:00.72 (2)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Sarah Poewe		–	0.27	31.45	1:07.08 (3)	2:07.80 (3)
Butterfly	–	Franziska van Almsick		–	0.30	27.15	58.54 (3)	3:06.34 (3)
Freestyle	–	Daniela Götz		–	0.30	26.13	54.38 (4)	– (–)
4	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	4:03.35	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Chen Xiujun		–	0.59	29.68	1:02.00 (6)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Luo Xuejuan		–	0.27	31.89	1:08.82 (5)	2:10.82 (6)
Butterfly	–	Zhou Yafei		–	0.22	27.10	58.10 (2)	3:08.92 (4)
Freestyle	–	Zhu Yingwen		–	0.08	25.61	54.43 (5)	– (–)
5	–	Japan	JPN	4:04.83	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Reiko Nakamura		–	0.64	29.56	1:01.05 (3)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Masami Tanaka		–	0.15	32.30	1:09.09 (6)	2:10.14 (4)
Butterfly	–	Junko Onishi		–	0.21	27.87	59.14 (6)	3:09.28 (5)
Freestyle	–	Tomoko Nagai		–	0.24	26.44	55.55 (7)	– (–)
6	–	Netherlands	NED	4:07.36	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Stefanie Luiken		–	0.73	31.36	1:04.83 (8)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Madelon Baans		–	0.21	31.97	1:09.55 (7)	2:14.38 (8)
Butterfly	–	Inge de Bruijn		–	0.28	26.80	58.85 (5)	3:13.23 (8)
Freestyle	–	Marleen Veldhuis		–	0.12	25.24	54.13 (2)	– (–)
7	–	Spain	ESP	4:07.61	–	–	– (–)	– (–)
Backstroke	–	Nina Zhivanevskaya		–	0.68	29.81	1:01.29 (5)	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Sara Pérez		–	0.27	33.24	1:10.62 (8)	2:11.91 (7)
Butterfly	–	María Peláez		–	0.37	28.27	1:00.74 (8)	3:12.65 (7)
Freestyle	–	Tatiana Rouba		–	0.14	26.15	54.96 (6)	– (–)
DQ	–	Great Britain	GBR	–	–	–	– (–)	– (–)		3
Backstroke	–	Katy Sexton		–	[0.76]	[30.70]	[1:02.36] ([7])	– (–)
Breaststroke	–	Kirsty Balfour		–	[0.12]	[31.98]	[1:07.98] ([4])	[2:10.34] ([5])
Butterfly	–	Georgina Lee		–	[0.36]	[28.31]	[59.63] ([7])	[3:09.97] ([6])
Freestyle	–	Kathryn Evans		–	[-0.05]	–	– (–)	– (–)