# Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay

The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay took place on 14 August at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece.
For the first time in 48 years, Australia (Alice Mills, Lisbeth Lenton, Petria Thomas, and Jodie Henry) won the gold medal in the event, overhauling Team USA on the final leg. When Henry touched the wall at 3:35.94, the Australians broke a new world record under a 0.06-second mark set by the Germans in 2002 (3:36.00). Henry also unleashed a remarkable relay split of 52.95, the fastest of all-time in Olympic history.
The U.S. team of Kara Lynn Joyce, Natalie Coughlin, Amanda Weir, and Jenny Thompson finished out an American record of 3:36.39 to earn a silver medal, while the Dutch took home the bronze in 3:37.59, after Inge de Bruijn swam a split of 53.37 to hold off the Germans anchored by Franziska van Almsick.

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record | Germany (GER) Katrin Meissner (54.82) Petra Dallmann (53.95) Sandra Völker (53.59) Franziska van Almsick (53.64) | 3:36.00 | Berlin, Germany | 29 July 2002 |
| Olympic record | United States (USA) Amy Van Dyken (55.08) Dara Torres (53.51) Courtney Shealy (54.40) Jenny Thompson (53.62) | 3:36.61 | Sydney, Australia | 16 September 2000 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
| August 14 | Final | Alice Mills (54.75) Lisbeth Lenton (53.57) Petria Thomas (54.67) Jodie Henry (52.95) | Australia | 3:35.94 | WR |

## Results
### Heats

| Rank | Heat | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | 5 | Australia | Alice Mills (54.77) Libby Lenton (54.48) Sarah Ryan (54.97) Jodie Henry (54.04) | 3:38.26 | Q, OC |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | United States | Amanda Weir (54.50) Colleen Lanne (55.42) Lindsay Benko (54.80) Maritza Correia (54.74) | 3:39.46 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | Netherlands | Inge Dekker (55.56) Annabel Kosten (55.24) Marleen Veldhuis (54.61) Chantal Groot (54.52) | 3:39.93 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | 4 | Germany | Petra Dallmann (55.49) Britta Steffen (56.31) Daniela Götz (55.04) Antje Buschschulte (54.35) | 3:41.19 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | 6 | Sweden | Josefin Lillhage (55.72) Cathrin Carlzon (56.05) Therese Alshammar (54.33) Johanna Sjöberg (55.41) | 3:41.51 | Q |
| 6 | 1 | 3 | Great Britain | Alison Sheppard (56.35) Kathryn Evans (55.21) Karen Pickering (55.57) Melanie Marshall (54.83) | 3:41.96 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | 5 | France | Solenne Figuès (55.61) Céline Couderc (55.84) Aurore Mongel (56.25) Malia Metella (54.72) | 3:42.42 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | 6 | China | Cheng Jiaru (56.14) Xu Yanwei (55.43) Zhu Yingwen (55.08) Yang Yu (56.19) | 3:42.84 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | 7 | South Korea | Sun So-eun (56.86) Ryu Yoon-ji (55.24) Shim Min-ji (56.91) Kim Hyun-joo (55.83) | 3:44.84 | |
| 10 | 1 | 2 | Italy | Cecilia Vianini (56.53) Cristina Chiuso (56.33) Sara Parise (57.38) Federica Pellegrini (54.64) | 3:44.88 | |
| 11 | 2 | 2 | Belarus | Hanna Shcherba (56.10) Maryia Shcherba (56.78) Iryna Niafedava (56.46) Sviatlana Khakhlova (56.04) | 3:45.38 | |
| 11 | 2 | 7 | Brazil | Rebeca Gusmão (56.56) Tatiana Lima (56.67) Renata Burgos (56.32) Flávia Cazziolato (55.83) | 3:45.38 | |
| 13 | 1 | 8 | Czech Republic | Jana Myšková (56.02) Petra Klosová (56.49) Ilona Hlaváčková (56.42) Sandra Kazíková (57.90) | 3:46.83 | |
| 14 | 1 | 1 | Spain | Tatiana Rouba (56.41) Ana Belén Palomo (56.64) Laura Roca (56.83) Melissa Caballero (57.59) | 3:47.47 | |
| 15 | 2 | 8 | Switzerland | Dominique Diezi (56.78) Marjorie Sagne (57.17) Seraina Prünte (58.16) Nicole Zahnd (56.50) | 3:48.61 | |
| | 2 | 1 | Greece | Nery Mantey Niangkouara (55.79) Zoi Dimoschaki (56.09) Martha Matsa Eleni Kosti | DSQ | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time behind | Notes |
| | 4 | Australia | Alice Mills (54.75) Lisbeth Lenton (53.57) Petria Thomas (54.67) Jodie Henry (52.95) | 3:35.94 | | WR |
| | 5 | United States | Kara Lynn Joyce (54.74) Natalie Coughlin (53.83) Amanda Weir (54.05) Jenny Thompson (53.77) | 3:36.39 | 0.45 | AM |
| | 3 | Netherlands | Chantal Groot (55.45) Inge Dekker (54.66) Marleen Veldhuis (54.11) Inge de Bruijn (53.37) | 3:37.59 | 1.65 | |
| 4 | 6 | Germany | Antje Buschschulte (54.67) Petra Dallmann (54.79) Daniela Götz (53.99) Franziska van Almsick (54.49) | 3:37.94 | 2.00 | |
| 5 | 1 | France | Solenne Figuès (55.36) Céline Couderc (55.20) Aurore Mongel (55.72) Malia Metella (53.95) | 3:40.23 | 4.29 | |
| 6 | 7 | Great Britain | Melanie Marshall (55.42) Kathryn Evans (54.33) Karen Pickering (55.58) Lisa Chapman (55.49) | 3:40.82 | 4.88 | |
| 7 | 2 | Sweden | Josefin Lillhage (55.77) Johanna Sjöberg (55.90) Therese Alshammar (54.18) Anna-Karin Kammerling (55.37) | 3:41.22 | 5.28 | |
| 8 | 8 | China | Cheng Jiaru (56.20) Xu Yanwei (55.19) Yang Yu (56.08) Zhu Yingwen (55.43) | 3:42.90 | 6.96 | |