| Event: | Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay |
| Games: | 2000 Summer |
| Venue: | Sydney International Aquatic Centre |
| Date: | September 22, 2000 (heats) September 23, 2000 (final) |
| Competitors: | 81 |
| Nations: | 18 |
| Win Value: | 3:58.30 |
| Gold: | Barbara Bedford, Megan Quann, Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres, Courtney Shealy*, Staciana Stitts*, Ashley Tappin*, Amy Van Dyken* |
| Silver: | Dyana Calub, Leisel Jones, Petria Thomas, Susie O'Neill, Giaan Rooney*, Tarnee White*, Sarah Ryan* |
| Bronze: | Mai Nakamura, Masami Tanaka, Junko Onishi, Sumika Minamoto *Indicates the swimmer only competed in the preliminary heats. |
| Prev: | 1996 |
| Next: | 2004 |
The women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 22–23 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.[1]
The U.S. women's team established a new world record to defend their Olympic title in the event for the third consecutive streak. Leading the race from the start, Barbara Bedford (1:01.39), Megan Quann (1:06.29), Jenny Thompson (57.25), and Dara Torres (53.37) put together in a sterling time of 3:58.30 to clear the four-minute barrier and to smash China's six-year-old world record by 3.37 seconds.[2] [3] Capturing another relay title for the Americans, Thompson also picked up her eighth gold medal and tenth career as the nation's most successful female athlete in Olympic history.[4] [5]
The Aussie team of Dyana Calub (1:01.83), Leisel Jones (1:08.08), Petria Thomas (57.39), and Susie O'Neill (54.29) finished behind their greatest rivals by over three seconds, but powered home with the silver in an Oceanian record of 4:01.59. Meanwhile, Japan's Mai Nakamura (1:02.08), Masami Tanaka (1:08.65), Junko Onishi (58.72), and Sumika Minamoto (54.71) moved from fifth at the start to produce a spectacular fashion for the bronze in a national record of 4:04.16, holding off a mighty German team of Antje Buschschulte (1:02.05), Sylvia Gerasch (1:08.67), Franziska van Almsick (59.67), and Katrin Meissner (54.04) by 17-hundredths of a second, a time of 4:04.33.[6] [7]
South Africa's Charlene Wittstock (1:02.74), Sarah Poewe (1:07.83), Mandy Loots (59.81), and Helene Muller (54.77) established an African standard to strike the field with a fifth-place effort in 4:05.15. Canada (4:07.55), Great Britain (4:07.61), and China (4:07.83) completed a close finish at the rear of the championship finale.[7]
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 | Giaan Rooney (1:02.94) Tarnee White (1:09.19) Petria Thomas (57.71) Sarah Ryan (54.91) | 4:04.75 | Q | ||
| 2 | 2 | 5 | Mai Nakamura (1:01.61) Masami Tanaka (1:09.37) Junko Onishi (59.25) Sumika Minamoto (55.53) | 4:05.76 | Q, NR | ||
| 3 | 3 | 3 | Antje Buschschulte (1:02.35) Sylvia Gerasch (1:09.67) Franziska van Almsick (59.20) Katrin Meissner (54.80) | 4:06.02 | Q | ||
| 4 | 3 | 4 | Courtney Shealy (1:02.61) Staciana Stitts (1:09.54) Ashley Tappin (59.58) Amy Van Dyken (54.43) | 4:06.16 | Q | ||
| 5 | 1 | 5 | Charlene Wittstock (1:02.57) Sarah Poewe (1:08.89) Mandy Loots (1:00.57) Helene Muller (55.16) | 4:07.19 | Q, AF | ||
| 6 | 1 | 4 | Katy Sexton (1:02.22) Heidi Earp (1:10.04) Sue Rolph (1:00.11) Karen Pickering (55.15) | 4:07.52 | Q | ||
| 7 | 2 | 6 | Zhan Shu (1:03.06) Qi Hui (1:09.59) Liu Limin (59.22) Han Xue (56.40) | 4:08.27 | Q | ||
| 8 | 2 | 3 | Michelle Lischinsky (1:03.32) Christin Petelski (1:10.12) Jen Button (59.86) Laura Nicholls (55.17) | 4:08.47 | Q | ||
| 9 | 2 | 2 | Oxana Verevka (1:03.69) Olga Bakaldina (1:11.25) Natalya Sutyagina (58.39) Inna Yaitskaya (56.31) | 4:09.64 | |||
| 10 | 3 | 5 | Camilla Johansson (1:05.18) Emma Igelström (1:10.93) Johanna Sjöberg (58.56) Louise Jöhncke (55.71) | 4:10.38 | |||
| 11 | 1 | 3 | Sofie Wolfs (1:05.15) Brigitte Becue (1:08.88) Fabienne Dufour (1:00.99) Nina van Koeckhoven (55.96) | 4:10.98 | |||
| 12 | 1 | 2 | Aleksandra Miciul (1:04.18) Alicja Pęczak (1:09.19) Anna Uryniuk (1:01.81) Otylia Jędrzejczak (55.90) | 4:11.08 | NR | ||
| 13 | 1 | 7 | Annamária Kiss (1:06.15) Ágnes Kovács (1:07.75) Orsolya Ferenczy (1:00.61) Gyöngyver Lakos (56.60) | 4:11.11 | |||
| 14 | 1 | 6 | Brenda Starink (1:06.93) Madelon Baans (1:08.90) Chantal Groot (1:01.09) Thamar Henneken (55.39) | 4:12.31 | |||
| 15 | 3 | 2 | Ivette María (1:03.15) María Carmen Collado (1:13.29) Mireia García (1:01.11) Laura Roca (56.99) | 4:14.54 | |||
| 16 | 3 | 7 | Nadiya Beshevli (1:04.52) Svitlana Bondarenko (1:10.13) Olena Grytsyuk (1:02.77) Valentyna Tregub (58.22) | 4:15.64 | |||
| 17 | 2 | 7 | Shim Min-ji (1:03.14) Ku Hyo-jin (1:10.89) Lee Bo-eun (1:03.15) Chang Hee-jin (59.75) | 4:16.93 | |||
| 18 | 3 | 6 | Raluca Udroiu (1:04.44) Simona Păduraru (1:17.54) Florina Herea (1:03.75) Ioana Diaconescu (57.83) | 4:23.56 |
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time behind | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Barbara Bedford (1:01.39) Megan Quann (1:06.29) Jenny Thompson (57.25) Dara Torres (53.37) | 3:58.30 | |||||
| 4 | Dyana Calub (1:01.83) Leisel Jones (1:08.08) Petria Thomas (57.39) Susie O'Neill (54.29) | 4:01.59 | 3.29 | OC | |||
| 5 | Mai Nakamura (1:02.08) Masami Tanaka (1:08.65) Junko Onishi (58.72) Sumika Minamoto (54.71) | 4:04.16 | 5.86 | NR | |||
| 4 | 3 | Antje Buschschulte (1:02.05) Sylvia Gerasch (1:08.57) Franziska van Almsick (59.67) Katrin Meissner (54.04) | 4:04.33 | 6.03 | NR | ||
| 5 | 2 | Charlene Wittstock (1:02.74) Sarah Poewe (1:07.83) Mandy Loots (59.81) Helene Muller (54.77) | 4:05.15 | 6.85 | AF | ||
| 6 | 8 | Kelly Stefanyshyn (1:02.73) Christin Petelski (1:09.14) Jen Button (1:00.13) Marianne Limpert (55.55) | 4:07.55 | 9.23 | NR | ||
| 7 | 7 | Katy Sexton (1:02.05) Heidi Earp (1:10.25) Sue Rolph (1:00.05) Karen Pickering (55.26) | 4:07.61 | 9.31 | NR | ||
| 8 | 1 | Zhan Shu (1:02.70) Qi Hui (1:09.40) Liu Limin (59.33) Han Xue (56.40) | 4:07.83 | 9.53 |