Medalists
| Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
 Australia
Emily Seebohm
Leisel Jones
Jessicah Schipper
Lisbeth Trickett
Tarnee White
Felicity Galvez
Shayne Reese |
 United States
Natalie Coughlin
Rebecca Soni
Christine Magnuson
Dara Torres
Margaret Hoelzer
Megan Jendrick
Elaine Breeden
Kara Lynn Joyce |
 China
Zhao Jing
Sun Ye
Zhou Yafei
Pang Jiaying
Xu Tianlongzi |
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World Record |
Australia (AUS)
Emily Seebohm (1:00.79)
Leisel Jones (1:04.94)
Jessicah Schipper (57.18)
Libby Lenton (52.83) |
3:55.74 |
Melbourne, Australia |
31 March 2007 |
| Olympic Record |
Australia (AUS)
Giaan Rooney (1:01.18)
Leisel Jones (1:06.50)
Petria Thomas (56.67)
Jodie Henry (52.97) |
3:57.32 |
Athens, Greece |
21 August 2004 |
Qualification summary
| Pos |
NOC |
Qualification |
| 1 |
United States |
FINA World Championships |
| 2 |
Australia |
| 3 |
Japan |
| 4 |
China |
| 5 |
Germany |
| 6 |
Sweden |
| 7 |
Russia |
| 8 |
Great Britain |
| 9 |
France |
| 10 |
Italy |
| 11 |
Canada |
| 12 |
Ukraine |
| 13 |
South Africa |
4:03.62 |
4 best remaining teams |
| 14 |
Netherlands |
4:04.41 |
| 15 |
Brazil |
4:04.88 |
| 16 |
Spain |
4:05.98 |
Heats
Heat 1
| Rank |
Lane |
NOC |
Name |
Time |
Notes |
| 1 |
4 |
United States |
Margaret Hoelzer 29.12
Megan Jendrick 31.04
Elaine Breeden 27.03
Kara Lynn Joyce 25.79 |
3:59.15 |
Q |
| 2 |
5 |
China |
Tianlongzi Xu 29.94
Ye Sun 31.23
Yafei Zhou 26.32
Jiaying Pang 25.86 |
3:59.21 |
Q, AS |
| 3 |
3 |
Japan |
Hanae Ito 29.50
Asami Kitagawa 31.23
Yuka Kato 26.43
Haruka Ueda 26.32 |
3:59.91 |
Q |
| 4 |
8 |
Germany |
Antje Buschschulte 29.44
Sarah Poewe 31.89
Daniela Samulski 27.32
Britta Steffen 25.44 |
4:02.53 |
|
| 5 |
2 |
Brazil |
Fabiola Molina 29.67
Tatiane Sakemi 33.17
Gabriella Silva 25.91
Tatiana Barbosa 26.11 |
4:02.61 |
|
| 6 |
1 |
France |
Alexianne Castel 30.06
Ronchi Sophie De 31.56
Aurore Mongel 27.34
Alena Popchanka 26.32 |
4:02.95 |
|
| 7 |
6 |
Netherlands |
Femke Heemskerk 30.66
Valkengoed Jolijn Van 32.47
Inge Dekker 26.08
Ranomi Kromowidjojo 25.66 |
4:04.74 |
|
| 8 |
7 |
Spain |
Nina Alexandrovna Zhivanevskaya 29.80
Mireia Belmonte 33.19
Juan Angela San 27.94
Maria Fuster 26.33 |
4:06.40 |
|
Heat 2
| Rank |
Lane |
NOC |
Name |
Time |
Notes |
| 1 |
4 |
Australia |
Emily Seebohm 29.15
Tarnee White 30.36
Felicity Galvez 26.45
Shayne Reese 25.87 |
3:57.94 |
Q |
| 2 |
5 |
Great Britain |
Gemma Spofforth 29.63
Kate Haywood 31.15
Jemma Lowe 26.29
Francesca Halsall 25.56 |
3:59.14 |
Q, ER |
| 3 |
3 |
Russia |
Kseniya Moskvina 29.78
Yuliya Yefimova 30.73
Natalia Sutyagina 26.93
Anastasia Aksenova 25.48 |
3:59.66 |
Q |
| 4 |
7 |
Sweden |
Sarah Sjostrom 30.32
Joline Hostman 31.93
Anna-Karin Kammerling 25.78
Josefin Lillhage 25.55 |
4:02.12 |
Q |
| 5 |
2 |
Canada |
Julia Wilkinson 29.91
Annamay Pierse 31.69
Audrey Lacroix 27.67
Erica Morningstar 25.50 |
4:02.13 |
Q |
| 6 |
6 |
South Africa |
Melissa Corfe 30.57
Biljon Suzaan Van 31.70
Mandy Loots 27.28
Lize-Mari Retief 25.56 |
4:04.20 |
|
| 7 |
8 |
Italy |
Romina Armellini 30.91
Roberta Panara 31.74
Ilaria Bianchi 26.76
Federica Pellegrini 26.88 |
4:04.93 |
|
| 8 |
1 |
Ukraine |
Iryna Amshennikova 30.16
Yuliya Pidlisna 32.21
Kateryna Zubkova 27.17
Darya Stepanyuk 26.40 |
4:08.62 |
|
Final
| Rank |
Lane |
NOC |
Names |
Time |
Notes |
| 1 |
4 |
Australia |
Emily Seebohm 59.33
Leisel Jones 1:04.58
Jessicah Schipper 56.25
Lisbeth Trickett 52.53 |
3:52.69 |
WR |
| 2 |
3 |
United States |
Natalie Coughlin 58.94
Rebecca Soni 1:05.95
Christine Magnuson 56.14
Dara Torres 52.27 |
3:53.30 |
AM |
| 3 |
6 |
China |
Jing Zhao 59.56
Ye Sun 1:06.75
Yafei Zhou 57.4
Jiaying Pang 52.4 |
3:56.11 |
AS |
| 4 |
5 |
Great Britain |
Gemma Spofforth 59.05
Kate Haywood 1:07.51
Jemma Lowe 58.13
Francesca Halsall 52.81 |
3:57.50 |
ER |
| 5 |
2 |
Russia |
Anastasia Zuyeva 59.16
Yuliya Yefimova 1:06.46
Natalia Sutyagina 58.09
Anastasia Aksenova 54.13 |
3:57.84 |
|
| 6 |
7 |
Japan |
Reiko Nakamura 59.74
Asami Kitagawa 1:07.04
Yuka Kato 58.17
Haruka Ueda 54.59 |
3:59.54 |
|
| 7 |
8 |
Canada |
Julia Wilkinson 1:01.35
Annamay Pierse 1:06.91
Audrey Lacroix 59.01
Erica Morningstar 54.08 |
4:01.35 |
|
| = |
1 |
Sweden |
Sarah Sjostrom 1:02.63
Joline Hostman 1:08.11
Anna-Karin Kammerling 58.51
Josefin Lillhage |
DSQ |
|
- Q = Qualified, DSQ = Disqualified
- WR = World Record, OR = Olympic Record
- AF = African Record, AM = Americas Record, AS = Asian Record, ER = European Record, OC = Oceania Record
- CR = Commonwealth Record, NR = National Record
|
