The men'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]
| Men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Sydney International Aquatic Centre | |||||||||
| Date | September 22, 2000 (heats) September 23, 2000 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 102 from 24 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 3:33.73 WR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Having not lost the event once in Olympic competition since its inception in 1960, the U.S. team dominated the race from the start to demolish a four-year-old world record and most importantly, to defend their Olympic title. Lenny Krayzelburg (53.87), Ed Moses (59.84), Ian Crocker (52.10), and Gary Hall, Jr. (47.92, an American record) put together a blazing fast finish of 3:33.73 to cut off their own standard by 1.11 seconds. Moses also produced a mighty effort in the breaststroke leg as he became the first ever swimmer to record a sub one-minute barrier split.[2][3] After accepting their gold medals in front of the Aussie home crowd, the U.S. men unfurled a banner reading: "Sydney 2000. In our hearts forever. Thanks Australia."[4]
The Aussie team of Matt Welsh (54.29), Regan Harrison (1:01.48), Geoff Huegill (51.33), and Michael Klim (48.17) finished behind their greatest rivals by a couple of seconds, but made a surprise packet with the silver in an Oceanian record of 3:35.27. Meanwhile, Stev Theloke (55.07), Jens Kruppa (1:00.52), Thomas Rupprath (52.14), and Torsten Spanneberg (48.15) earned their first medley relay medal for Germany since the nation's reunification in 1990, taking home the bronze in a European record of 3:35.88.[4][5][6]
Netherlands' Klaas-Erik Zwering (56.83), Marcel Wouda (1:01.20), Joris Keizer (52.26), and anchor Pieter van den Hoogenband (47.24, the fastest split of the race) missed the podium by more than a full body length over the Germans with a fourth-place time of 3:37.53. Hungary (3:39.03), Canada (3:39.88), France (3:40.02), and Great Britain (3:40.19) completed a close finish at the rear of the championship finale.[6]
Records
editPrior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  United States (USA)Jeff Rouse (53.95) Jeremy Linn (1:00.32) Mark Henderson (52.39) Gary Hall, Jr. (48.18) | 3:34.84 | Atlanta, United States | 26 July 1996 | [7] |
| Olympic record |  United States (USA)Jeff Rouse (53.95) Jeremy Linn (1:00.32) Mark Henderson (52.39) Gary Hall, Jr. (48.18) | 3:34.84 | Atlanta, United States | 26 July 1996 | [7] |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 23 | Final | Lenny Krayzelburg (53.87) Ed Moses (59.84) Ian Crocker (52.10) Gary Hall, Jr. (47.92) | United States | 3:33.73 | WR |
Results
editHeats
edit
Final
edit| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time behind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 3 | United States | Lenny Krayzelburg (53.87) Ed Moses (59.84) Ian Crocker (52.10) Gary Hall, Jr. (47.92) | 3:33.73 | WR | |
 | 2 |  Australia | Matt Welsh (54.29) Regan Harrison (1:01.48) Geoff Huegill (51.33) Michael Klim (48.17) | 3:35.27 | 1.54 | OC |
 | 4 |  Germany | Stev Theloke (55.07) Jens Kruppa (1:00.52) Thomas Rupprath (52.14) Torsten Spanneberg (48.15) | 3:35.88 | 2.15 | EU |
| 4 | 7 |  Netherlands | Klaas-Erik Zwering (56.83) Marcel Wouda (1:01.20) Joris Keizer (52.26) Pieter van den Hoogenband (47.24) | 3:37.53 | 3.80 | NR |
| 5 | 5 |  Hungary | Péter Horváth (55.90) Károly Güttler (1:01.23) Zsolt Gáspár (52.95) Attila Zubor (49.01) | 3:39.09 | 5.36 | |
| 6 | 8 |  Canada | Chris Renaud (55.66) Morgan Knabe (1:01.23) Mike Mintenko (52.66) Craig Hutchison (50.33) | 3:39.88 | 6.15 | |
| 7 | 1 |  France | Simon Dufour (55.67) Hugues Duboscq (1:01.69) Franck Esposito (52.80) Frédérick Bousquet (49.86) | 3:40.02 | 6.29 | |
| 8 | 6 |  Great Britain | Neil Willey (56.49) Darren Mew (1:01.76) James Hickman (52.53) Sion Brinn (49.41) | 3:40.19 | 6.46 |
References
edit- ^ "Swimming schedule". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (23 September 2000). "U.S. Swimmers Didn't Take A Back Seat Australia Was Expected To Dominate In The Pool At This Olympics. The Americans Proved That Wrong". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ Clarey, Christopher (23 September 2000). "Sydney 2000: Swimming; U.S. Makes Biggest, and the Final, Waves". New York Times. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Thrilling conclusion". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 22 September 2000. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ "Thompson wins eighth gold medal". ESPN. 22 September 2000. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ a b Whitten, Phillip (23 September 2000). "Olympic Day 8 Finals – Complete". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ a b c "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 4×100m Medley Relay Heats" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 349–351. Retrieved 26 June 2013.