Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay: Difference between revisions
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It is also possible for the swimmers in the first leg to break [[World record progression 100 metres freestyle|records for the 100 m freestyle]]. In the heats, [[Amaury Leveaux]] of [[France]] broke the Olympic record, while the world record fell to Australian [[Eamon Sullivan]] in the final. Split times for swimmers not swimming the first leg are ineligible because the incoming swimmer can lean over in front of the blocks and be diving as the preceding swimmer is coming in, whereas the leadoff swimmer is timed from a stationary start. Thus, the world record was Sullivan's, even though five swimmers in the finals alone had faster times, including [[Jason Lezak]], whose 46.06 seconds is the fastest individual leg in a 100 m freestyle or medley relay in history. Two days later, [[Alain Bernard]] reclaimed the record for France, recording a 47.20 time in the first heat of the semifinals of the [[Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metre freestyle|100m freestyle]], only to have Sullivan break the record again, winning the second heat in 47.05 seconds. |
It is also possible for the swimmers in the first leg to break [[World record progression 100 metres freestyle|records for the 100 m freestyle]]. In the heats, [[Amaury Leveaux]] of [[France]] broke the Olympic record, while the world record fell to Australian [[Eamon Sullivan]] in the final. Split times for swimmers not swimming the first leg are ineligible because the incoming swimmer can lean over in front of the blocks and be diving as the preceding swimmer is coming in, whereas the leadoff swimmer is timed from a stationary start. Thus, the world record was Sullivan's, even though five swimmers in the finals alone had faster times, including [[Jason Lezak]], whose 46.06 seconds is the fastest individual leg in a 100 m freestyle or medley relay in history. Two days later, [[Alain Bernard]] reclaimed the record for France, recording a 47.20 time in the first heat of the semifinals of the [[Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metre freestyle|100m freestyle]], only to have Sullivan break the record again, winning the second heat in 47.05 seconds. |
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The final will be forever remembered for its incredible finish with American [[Jason Lezak]] making up more than a full body length over Frenchman [[Alain Bernard]] over the final 50m to win the race. Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines had the call on NBC: |
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{{cquote|The United States trying to hang on to second, they should get the silver, Australia is in Bronze territory right now, but Lezak is closing hard on Bernard, can the veteran pull of a shocker here? There's no doubt that he's tightening up. Bernard is losing some ground, here comes Lezak... UNBELIEVABLE AT THE END, HE'S DONE IT! THE US HAS DONE IT! HE DID IT! HE DID IT! Phelps's hopes are alive!}} |
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{{align|right|-[[Dan Hicks]] and [[Rody Gaines]] calling the final lap of the 4x100m relay.}} |
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Revision as of 14:10, 18 August 2008
| Swimming at the 2008 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 freestyle relay event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10th (qualification) and 11th August (final) at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. This swimming event used freestyle as a relay, with swimmers typically using the front crawl. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, each of the four swimmers completed two lengths of the pool. The first swimmer had to touch the wall before the second could leave the starting block; timing of the starts was thus important.
Two heats were held, with each containing the maximum number of teams (eight). The heat in which a team competed did not formally matter for advancement, as the teams with the top eight times from the entire field qualified for the final; there, they all competed in a single final heat to earn final placements. A team could use different swimmers in the final than had swum in the heats.
There were 16 NOCs competing at this event. These 16 NOCs consisted of the 12 best placed teams at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships plus the 4 best times after the qualifying period.
Medalists
* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  United States (USA)Michael Phelps (48.83) Neil Walker (47.89) Cullen Jones (47.96) Jason Lezak (47.78) |
3:12.46 | Victoria, Canada | 19 August 2006 | [1] |
| Olympic record |  South Africa (RSA)Roland Schoeman (48.17) Lyndon Ferns (48.13) Darian Townsend (48.96) Ryk Neethling (47.91) |
3:13.17 | Athens, Greece | 15 August 2004 | - |
Qualification summary
| Pos | NOC | Qualification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Italy |
FINA World Championships | |
| 2 |  Sweden
| ||
| 3 |  United States
| ||
| 4 |  Australia
| ||
| 5 |  France
| ||
| 6 |  Canada
| ||
| 7 |  Brazil
| ||
| 8 | South Africa
| ||
| 9 |  Great Britain
| ||
| 10 |  Germany
| ||
| 11 |  Switzerland
| ||
| 12 |  Japan
| ||
| 13 |  Russia |
3:15.42 | 4 best remaining teams |
| 14 |  Netherlands |
3:15.88 | |
| 15 |  China |
3:17.07 | |
| 16 |  New Zealand |
3:17.45 | |
Heats
Final
| Rank | Lane | NOC | Names | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | United States |
Michael Phelps (47.51 NR) Garrett Weber-Gale (47.02) Cullen Jones (47.65) Jason Lezak (46.06) |
3:08.24 | WR |
 |
5 | France |
Amaury Leveaux (47.91) Fabien Gilot (47.05) Frederick Bousquet (46.63) Alain Bernard (46.73) |
3:08.32 | ER |
 |
3 | Australia |
Eamon Sullivan (47.24 WR) Andrew Lauterstein (47.87) Ashley Callus (47.55) Matt Targett (47.25) |
3:09.91 | OC |
| 4 | 6 | Italy |
Alessandro Calvi (48.49) Christian Galenda (47.49) Marco Belotti (48.23) Filippo Magnini (47.27) |
3:11.48 | NR |
| 5 | 2 | Sweden |
Petter Stymne (49.17) Lars Frölander (48.02) Stefan Nystrand (47.25) Jonas Persson (47.48) |
3:11.92 | NR |
| 6 | 1 | Canada |
Brent Hayden (47.56) Joel Greenshields (47.77) Colin Russell (48.49) Rick Say (48.44) |
3:12.26 | NR |
| 7 | 7 | South Africa |
Lyndon Ferns (48.15) Darian Townsend (48.11) Roland Schoeman (48.32) Ryk Neethling (48.08) |
3:12.66 | AF |
| 8 | 8 | Great Britain |
Simon Burnett (48.34) Adam Brown (47.75) Benjamin Hockin (48.50) Ross Davenport (48.28) |
3:12.87 | NR |
- Q = Qualified, DSQ = Disqualified
- WR = World Record, OR = Olympic Record
- AF = African Record, AS = Asian Record, ER = European Record, OC = Oceania Record
- CR = Commonwealth Record, NR = National Record
New records and feats
In the heats, the USA team set a world record with a team missing some of America's major stars such as Michael Phelps. France and Australia also went faster than the old record even though they rested Alain Bernard and Eamon Sullivan respectively. During the heats, all five of the continental records were broken.
In the final, the United States, France, Australia, Italy, and Sweden teams all finished within the World Record time set by the American team in the heats, the Canada team finished within what was the World record prior to the 2008 Olympics, and all of the teams finished within what was the Olympic record prior to the 2008 Olympics. The world record time was reduced by over 2% during the course of the heats and the final.
It is also possible for the swimmers in the first leg to break records for the 100 m freestyle. In the heats, Amaury Leveaux of France broke the Olympic record, while the world record fell to Australian Eamon Sullivan in the final. Split times for swimmers not swimming the first leg are ineligible because the incoming swimmer can lean over in front of the blocks and be diving as the preceding swimmer is coming in, whereas the leadoff swimmer is timed from a stationary start. Thus, the world record was Sullivan's, even though five swimmers in the finals alone had faster times, including Jason Lezak, whose 46.06 seconds is the fastest individual leg in a 100 m freestyle or medley relay in history. Two days later, Alain Bernard reclaimed the record for France, recording a 47.20 time in the first heat of the semifinals of the 100m freestyle, only to have Sullivan break the record again, winning the second heat in 47.05 seconds.
The final will be forever remembered for its incredible finish with American Jason Lezak making up more than a full body length over Frenchman Alain Bernard over the final 50m to win the race. Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines had the call on NBC:
The United States trying to hang on to second, they should get the silver, Australia is in Bronze territory right now, but Lezak is closing hard on Bernard, can the veteran pull of a shocker here? There's no doubt that he's tightening up. Bernard is losing some ground, here comes Lezak... UNBELIEVABLE AT THE END, HE'S DONE IT! THE US HAS DONE IT! HE DID IT! HE DID IT! Phelps's hopes are alive!
| Date | Round | Name | NOC | Record | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 11 2008 | Final | Eamon Sullivan | Australia
|
47.24 | World Record (100 m freestyle) |
| August 11 2008 | Final | Michael Phelps | United States
|
47.51 | National Record (100 m freestyle) |
| August 11 2008 | Final | Brent Hayden | Canada
|
47.56 | National Record (100 m freestyle) |
| August 10 2008 | Heat 2 | Amaury Leveaux | France
|
47.76 | Olympic Record (100 m freestyle) |
| August 10 2008 | Heat 2 | Simon Burnett | Great Britain
|
48.20 | National Record (100 m freestyle) |
References
- ^ Shipley, Amy (2006-08-20). "Peirsol sets backstroke record, Phelps fades". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
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