# Swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay

The women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay event at the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on 24 July at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, United States.

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record | China (CHN) He Cihong (1:00.16) Dai Guohong (1:09.04) Liu Limin (58.66) Le Jingyi (53.81) | 4:01.67 | Rome, Italy | 10 September 1994 |
| Olympic record | United States (USA) Lea Loveless (1:00.82) Anita Nall (1:08.67) Crissy Ahmann-Leighton (58.58) Jenny Thompson (54.47) | 4:02.54 | Barcelona, Spain | 30 July 1992 |

## Results
### Heats

Rule: The eight fastest teams advance to the final (Q).
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | 4 | United States | Whitney Hedgepeth (1:01.45) Kristine Quance (1:10.40) Jenny Thompson (58.53) Catherine Fox (55.42) | 4:05.80 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | 4 | Australia | Nicole Stevenson (1:03.07) Helen Denman (1:09.62) Angela Kennedy (1:00.45) Sarah Ryan (55.73) | 4:08.87 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | Germany | Antje Buschschulte (1:02.83) Kathrin Dumitru (1:11.51) Franziska van Almsick (59.71) Sandra Völker (54.90) | 4:08.95 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | 4 | China | Chen Yan (1:02.88) Han Xue (1:11.28) Cai Huijue (59.78) Shan Ying (55.29) | 4:09.23 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | 6 | South Africa | Marianne Kriel (1:02.74) Penny Heyns (1:07.78) Mandy Loots (1:02.44) Helene Muller (56.51) | 4:09.47 | Q, AF |
| 6 | 2 | 5 | Canada | Julie Howard (1:04.01) Guylaine Cloutier (1:08.80) Sarah Evanetz (1:01.02) Shannon Shakespeare (55.67) | 4:09.50 | Q |
| 7 | 3 | 2 | Italy | Lorenza Vigarani (1:03.88) Manuela Dalla Valle (1:09.30) Ilaria Tocchini (1:01.03) Cecilia Vianini (56.36) | 4:10.57 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | 5 | Russia | Nina Zhivanevskaya (1:02.40) Yelena Makarova (1:10.89) Svetlana Pozdeyeva (1:00.90) Natalya Meshcheryakova (56.46) | 4:10.65 | Q |
| 9 | 3 | 5 | Japan | Mai Nakamura (1:02.95) Masami Tanaka (1:10.82) Ayari Aoyama (1:00.87) Suzu Chiba (56.07) | 4:10.71 | |
| 10 | 2 | 3 | Sweden | Therese Alshammar (1:03.80) Hanna Jaltner (1:10.06) Johanna Sjöberg (1:00.77) Louise Jöhncke (56.25) | 4:10.88 | |
| 11 | 1 | 3 | Hungary | Krisztina Egerszegi (1:01.05) Ágnes Kovács (1:09.83) Edit Klocker (1:03.18) Anna Nyíri (56.86) | 4:10.92 | |
| 12 | 1 | 7 | Netherlands | Brenda Starink (1:03.82) Madelon Baans (1:10.13) Wilma van Hofwegen (1:01.13) Karin Brienesse (56.56) | 4:11.64 | |
| 13 | 2 | 6 | Great Britain | Helen Slatter (1:03.87) Jaime King (1:11.15) Caroline Foot (1:01.75) Karen Pickering (56.98) | 4:13.75 | |
| 14 | 1 | 2 | Finland | Anu Koivisto (1:04.19) Mia Hagman (1:11.33) Marja Pärssinen (1:02.01) Minna Salmela (56.61) | 4:14.14 | NR |
| 15 | 2 | 2 | Spain | Eva Piñera (1:04.92) María Olay (1:12.65) María Peláez (1:01.38) Claudia Franco (56.68) | 4:15.63 | |
| 16 | 1 | 6 | France | Hélène Ricardo (1:04.10) Karine Brémond (1:11.93) Cécile Jeanson (1:02.73) Solenne Figuès (56.93) | 4:15.69 | |
| 17 | 2 | 7 | Romania | Cătălina Cășaru (1:05.06) Beatrice Câșlaru (1:12.31) Loredana Zisu (1:02.65) Luminiţa Dobrescu (56.16) | 4:16.18 | |
| 18 | 2 | 1 | South Korea | Lee Ji-hyun (1:04.55) Byun Hye-young (1:13.22) Park Woo-hee (1:04.48) Lee Bo-eun (56.73) | 4:18.98 | NR |
| 19 | 3 | 7 | New Zealand | Lydia Lipscombe (1:04.29) Anna Wilson (1:13.82) Anna Simcic (1:04.95) Alison Fitch (56.77) | 4:19.83 | |
| 20 | 2 | 8 | Czech Republic | Kateřina Pivoňková (1:05.76) Lenka Maňhalová (1:13.41) Marcela Kubalčíková (1:04.34) Kristýna Kyněrová (57.54 ) | 4:21.05 | |
| 21 | 3 | 1 | Portugal | Maria Santos (1:05.70) Joana Soutinho (1:13.73) Ana Francisco (1:04.29) Ana Alegria (57.89) | 4:21.61 | |
| 22 | 3 | 8 | Greece | Aikaterini Klepkou (1:05.76) Aikaterini Sarakatsani (1:15.59) Marina Karystinou (1:05.42) Antonia Machaira (58.03) | 4:24.80 | |
| 23 | 1 | 8 | Argentina | Valeria Álvarez (1:05.69) María Carolina Santa Cruz (1:15.13) María del Pilar Pereyra (1:04.33) María Bertelloti (1:02.84) | 4:27.99 | |
| 24 | 1 | 1 | Chinese Taipei | Lin Chien-ju (1:10.67) Mou Ying-hsin (1:20.41) Hsieh Shu-ting (1:05.09) Tsai Shu-min (1:02.73) | 4:38.90 | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Notes |
| | 4 | United States | Beth Botsford (1:01.67) Amanda Beard (1:08.34) Angel Martino (58.70) Amy Van Dyken (54.17) | 4:02.88 | |
| | 5 | Australia | Nicole Stevenson (1:02.65) Samantha Riley (1:08.19) Susie O'Neill (59.03) Sarah Ryan (55.21) | 4:05.08 | |
| | 6 | China | Chen Yan (1:02.48) Han Xue (1:09.92) Cai Huijue (59.92) Shan Ying (55.02) | 4:07.34 | |
| 4 | 2 | South Africa | Marianne Kriel (1:02.39) Penny Heyns (1:07.41) Mandy Loots (1:02.33) Helene Muller (56.03) | 4:08.16 | AF |
| 5 | 7 | Canada | Julie Howard (1:03.54) Guylaine Cloutier (1:08.79) Sarah Evanetz (1:00.85) Shannon Shakespeare (55.11) | 4:08.29 | |
| 6 | 3 | Germany | Antje Buschschulte (1:02.61) Kathrin Dumitru (1:11.68) Franziska van Almsick (1:00.42) Sandra Völker (54.51) | 4:09.22 | |
| 7 | 8 | Russia | Nina Zhivanevskaya (1:02.08) Yelena Makarova (1:11.76) Yelena Nazemnova (1:00.80) Natalya Meshcheryakova (55.92) | 4:10.56 | |
| 8 | 1 | Italy | Lorenza Vigarani (1:03.73) Manuela Dalla Valle (1:09.42) Ilaria Tocchini (1:01.01) Cecilia Vianini (56.43) | 4:10.59 | |