| Men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Olympic Aquatics Stadium | |||||||||
| Dates | 12 August 2016 (heats) 13 August 2016 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 74 from 16 nations | |||||||||
| Teams | 16 | |||||||||
| Winning time | 3:27.95 OR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ← 20122020 → | ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Qualification | ||
| Freestyle | ||
| 50 m | men | women |
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | women | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| Backstroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Breaststroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Butterfly | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Individual medley | ||
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| Freestyle relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| 4 × 200 m | men | women |
| Medley relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| Marathon | ||
| 10 km | men | women |
The men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place on 12–13 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
Summary
In his final race before retirement, Michael Phelps led the U.S. men's team to a record-breaking triumph in the medley relay at the Games, finishing an illustrious career as the most decorated Olympian of all-time with his twenty-third gold medal and twenty-eighth overall. The American foursome of Ryan Murphy (51.85), Cody Miller (59.03), Phelps (50.33), and Nathan Adrian (46.74) put together a historic ending with a gold-medal time and a new Olympic record of 3:27.95, shaving 1.39 seconds off the previous mark from Beijing 2008 on a since-banned, high-tech bodysuit. Moreover, Murphy erased the 2009 world backstroke record (51.94) from Aaron Peirsol by nine hundredths of a second on the lead-off leg.
Breaststroke world-record holder Adam Peaty threw down the fastest breaststroke split ever in 56.59 to deliver the British team of Chris Walker-Hebborn (53.68), James Guy (51.35), and Duncan Scott (47.62) a brief lead on the second leg, before the Americans edged them out to the front at the remaining laps of the race, leaving Great Britain with a silver medal and a national record in 3:29.24. Meanwhile, Kyle Chalmers produced a sterling freestyle anchor of 46.72 to give the Australian foursome of Mitch Larkin (53.19), Jake Packard (58.84), and David Morgan (51.18) the country's bronze-medal repeat from London 2012 with a final time of 3:29.93.
Outside the podium and the 3:30 club, the Russian quartet of Evgeny Rylov (52.90), Anton Chupkov (59.10), Aleksandr Sadovnikov (52.08), and Vladimir Morozov (47.22) picked up the fourth spot in 3:31.30, with Japan's Ryosuke Irie (53.46), Yasuhiro Koseki (58.65), Takuro Fujii (51.56), and Katsumi Nakamura (48.30) following them by 67-hundredths of a second to finish fifth in 3:31.97. Brazil's Guilherme Guido (54.23), João Gomes Júnior (58.59), Henrique Martins (51.52), and Marcelo Chierighini (48.50) enjoyed racing in front of the home crowd to take the sixth spot with a 3:32.84, while Germany (3:33.50), highlighted by breaststroker and 2015 world champion Marco Koch, rounded out the championship field. China was disqualified from the race, because of an early relay takeover by butterfly swimmer Li Zhuhao.
The medals for the competition were presented by Kirsty Coventry, IOC member, Zimbabwe, and the gifts were presented by Vladimir Salnikov, bureau member of the FINA.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:
| World record |  United States (USA)Aaron Peirsol (52.19) Eric Shanteau (58.57) Michael Phelps (49.72) David Walters (46.80) |
3:27.28 | Rome, Italy | 2 August 2009 | |
| Olympic record |  United States (USA)Aaron Peirsol (53.16) Brendan Hansen (59.27) Michael Phelps (50.15) Jason Lezak (46.76) |
3:29.34 | Beijing, China | 17 August 2008 |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 August | Final | Ryan Murphy | United States |
51.85 | WR |
| 13 August | Final | Ryan Murphy (51.85) Cody Miller (59.03) Michael Phelps (50.33) Nathan Adrian (46.74) |
United States |
3:27.95 | OR |
BK – Backstroke lead-off leg
Competition format
The competition consisted of two rounds: heats and a final. The relay teams with the best 8 times in the heats advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.
Results
Heats
A total of sixteen countries qualified to participate. The best eight from two heats advanced to the final.
Final
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
5 | United States |
Ryan Murphy (51.85) WR Cody Miller (59.03) Michael Phelps (50.33) Nathan Adrian (46.74) |
3:27.95 | OR |
 |
4 |  Great Britain |
Chris Walker-Hebborn (53.68) Adam Peaty (56.59) James Guy (51.35) Duncan Scott (47.62) |
3:29.24 | NR |
 |
6 |  Australia |
Mitch Larkin (53.19) Jake Packard (58.84) David Morgan (51.18) Kyle Chalmers (46.72) |
3:29.93 | |
| 4 | 7 |  Russia |
Evgeny Rylov (52.90) Anton Chupkov (59.10) Aleksandr Sadovnikov (52.08) Vladimir Morozov (47.22) |
3:31.30 | |
| 5 | 3 |  Japan |
Ryosuke Irie (53.46) Yasuhiro Koseki (58.65) Takuro Fujii (51.56) Katsumi Nakamura (48.30) |
3:31.97 | |
| 6 | 1 |  Brazil |
Guilherme Guido (54.23) João Gomes Júnior (58.59) Henrique Martins (51.52) Marcelo Chierighini (48.50) |
3:32.84 | |
| 7 | 8 |  Germany |
Jan-Philip Glania (54.14) Marco Koch (59.63) Steffen Deibler (51.69) Damian Wierling (48.04) |
3:33.50 | |
| 2 |  China |
Xu Jiayu (53.21) Li Xiang (58.59) Li Zhuhao Ning Zetao (47.95) |
DSQ ( |
References
- ^ "Women's 4×100m Medley Relay". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- Fenno, Nathan (13 August 2016). "Michael Phelps ends record-breaking career with 23rd Olympic gold medal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- "Michael Phelps helps U.S. to 4x100m medley relay win in final Rio race". ESPN. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- Lutz, Rachel (13 August 2016). "Michael Phelps wins career Olympic gold No. 23 in medley relay". NBC Olympics. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- Auerbach, Nicole (13 August 2016). "Michael Phelps ends career with 23rd Olympic gold medal as U.S. wins medley relay". USA Today. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- Stubbs, Roman (13 August 2016). "Michael Phelps wins gold in 4×100-meter medley relay in final Olympic race; Ryan Murphy breaks 100 back world record". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- "Ryan Murphy Downs 100 Backstroke World Record to Open 400 Medley Relay". Swimming World Magazine. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- Charles, Andy (13 August 2016). "Michael Phelps wins 23rd Olympic gold as Team GB take silver in medley relay". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- Walters, Mike (13 August 2016). "Adam Peaty leads Great Britain to silver in 4×100 medley relay as Michael Phelps claims 23rd gold". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- Thomsen, Simon (14 August 2016). "Australia wins silver in the women's 4 x 100m medley relay". Business Insider. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- ^ "USA Men Continue Undefeated 400 Medley Streak; New Olympic Record For USA". Swimming World Magazine. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- "Swimming: Japan misses medley relay medal". Yomiuri Shimbun. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- Dillman, Lisa (2 August 2009). "Michael Phelps gets 5th gold as more records fall". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- "Phelps wins 5th gold as U.S. relay team shatters record". CBC Sports. 2 August 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- "Phelps claims Olympic-record eighth gold medal with relay win". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 13 August 2008. Archived from the original on September 3, 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
