World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay
This article includes the world record progression for the 4×100 metres freestyle relay, and it shows the chronological history of world record times in that competitive swimming event. The 4×100 metres freestyle relay is a relay event in which each of four swimmers on a team swims a 100-metre freestyle leg in sequence. The world records are recognized by and maintained by FINA, the international competitive swimming and aquatics federation that overseas the sport in international competition.
World records in swimming were first recognized by FINA in 1908. The long course world records are historically older than the short course records. FINA amended its regulations governing the recognition of world records in 1956; specifically, FINA mandated that only record times that were contested in 50-metre pools were eligible for recognition after that time. The short-course world records have been separately recognized since 1991. On July 25, 2013 FINA Technical Swimming Congress voted to allow world records in the long course mixed 400 free relay and mixed 400 medley relay, as well as in six events in short course meters: the mixed 200 medley and 200 free relays, as well as the men's and women's 200 free relays and the men's and women's 200 medley relays. In October 2013 FINA decided to establish "standards" before something can be recognized as the first world record in these events. But later on March 13, 2014 FINA has officially ratified the eight world records set by Indiana University swimmers at the IU Relay Rally held on September 26, 2013 in Bloomington.
The women's 4×100-metre event was first contested at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, but the men's 4×100-metre event did not appear until the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Prior to 1964, the longer 4×200-metre freestyle relay was the only men's relay event staged.
The men's 4×100-metre freestyle is often considered "swimming’s indisputably best event at the Olympics", as "It is also the Alpha Dog moment in water. Our Country is faster than Your Country". Nathan Adrian was quoted as saying “Every American swimmer dreams of getting up there in the 4x100 free relay and winning a gold medal.” The Australians won the event at the 2000 Summer Olympics which they hosted and celebrated by playing air guitar, while the Australian relay team was dubbed "Weapons of Mass Destruction" after winning in the 2011 World Aquatics Championships. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, Frenchman Alain Bernard famously said he would "smash the Americans" but he was overtaken at the very end of the anchor leg by American Jason Lezak.
Men
Men's long course
Men's short course
Women
Women's long course
Women's short course
Mixed
FINA recognizes only long-course world records for mixed relays in this event.All-time top 10 by country
Men
- Correct as of December 2019
| Pos | Time | Swimmer | Nationality | Date | Venue |
| 1 | 3:08.24 | Michael Phelps Garrett Weber-Gale Cullen Jones Jason Lezak | United States | 11 August 2008 | China |
| 2 | 3:08.32 | Amaury Leveaux Fabien Gilot Frédérick Bousquet Alain Bernard | France | 11 August 2008 | China |
| 3 | 3:09.52 | Yevgeny Lagunov Andrey Grechin Danila Izotov Alexander Sukhorukov | Russia | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 4 | 3:09.91 | Eamon Sullivan Andrew Lauterstein Ashley Callus Matt Targett | Australia | 11 August 2008 | China |
| 5 | 3:10.34 | Gabriel Santos Marcelo Chierighini César Cielo Bruno Fratus | Brazil | 23 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 6 | 3:11.39 | Santo Condorelli Manuel Frigo Luca Dotto Alessandro Miressi | Italy | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 7 | 3:11.62 | Adam Brown Simon Burnett Liam Tancock Ross Davenport | Great Britain | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 8 | 3:11.92 | Petter Stymne Lars Frölander Stefan Nystrand Jonas Persson | Sweden | 11 August 2008 | China |
| 9 | 3:11.93 | Lyndon Ferns Graeme Moore Darian Townsend Roland Schoeman | South Africa | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 10 | 3:11.99 | Dominik Kozma Nándor Németh Péter Holoda Richárd Bohus | Hungary | 23 July 2017 | Hungary |
Women
- Correct as of December 2019
| Pos | Time | Swimmer | Nationality | Date | Venue |
| 1 | 3:30.05 | Shayna Jack Bronte Campbell Emma McKeon Cate Campbell | Australia | 5 April 2018 | Australia |
| 2 | 3:31.02 | Mallory Comerford Abbey Weitzeil Kelsi Dahlia Simone Manuel | United States | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 3 | 3:31.72 | Inge Dekker Ranomi Kromowidjojo Femke Heemskerk Marleen Veldhuis | Netherlands | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 4 | 3:31.78 | Kayla Sanchez Taylor Ruck Penny Oleksiak Maggie MacNeil | Canada | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 5 | 3:31.83 | Britta Steffen Daniela Samulski Petra Dallmann Daniela Schreiber | Germany | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 6 | 3:33.94 | Sarah Sjöström Michelle Coleman Ida Lindborg Louise Hansson | Sweden | 23 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 7 | 3:35.63 | Li Zhesi Zhu Qianwei Tang Yi Pang Jiaying | China | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 8 | 3:35.72 | Siobhan-Marie O'Connor Francesca Halsall Amy Smith Rebecca Turner | Great Britain | 24 July 2014 | Scotland |
| 9 | 3:35.90 | Erika Ferraioli Silvia Di Pietro Aglaia Pezzato Federica Pellegrini | Italy | 6 August 2016 | Brazil |
| 10 | 3:36.17 | Rika Omoto Tomomi Aoki Aya Sato Rio Shirai | Japan | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
All-time top 25
Men
- Correct as of July 2019
| Pos | Time | Swimmer | Nationality | Date | Venue |
| 1 | 3:08.24 | Michael Phelps Garrett Weber-Gale Cullen Jones Jason Lezak | United States | 11 August 2008 | China |
| 2 | 3:08.32 | Amaury Leveaux Fabien Gilot Frédérick Bousquet Alain Bernard | France | 11 August 2008 | China |
| 3 | 3:09.06 | Caeleb Dressel Blake Pieroni Zach Apple Nathan Adrian | United States | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 4 | 3:09.21 | Michael Phelps Ryan Lochte Matt Grevers Nathan Adrian | United States | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 5 | 3:09.52 | Yevgeny Lagunov Andrey Grechin Danila Izotov Alexander Sukhorukov | Russia | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 6 | 3:09.89 | Fabien Gilot Alain Bernard Grégory Mallet Frédérick Bousquet | France | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 7 | 3:09.91 | Eamon Sullivan Andrew Lauterstein Ashley Callus Matt Targett | Australia | 11 August 2008 | China |
| 8 | 3:09.92 | Caeleb Dressel Michael Phelps Ryan Held Nathan Adrian | United States | 7 August 2016 | Brazil |
| 9 | 3:09.93 | Amaury Leveaux Fabien Gilot Clément Lefert Yannick Agnel | France | 29 July 2012 | Great Britain |
| 10 | 3:09.97 | Vladislav Grinev Vladimir Morozov Kliment Kolesnikov Evgeny Rylov | Russia | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 11 | 3:10.06 | Caeleb Dressel Townley Haas Blake Pieroni Nathan Adrian | United States | 23 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 12 | 3:10.34 | Gabriel Santos Marcelo Chierighini César Cielo Bruno Fratus | Brazil | 23 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 13 | 3:10.38 | Nathan Adrian Michael Phelps Cullen Jones Ryan Lochte | United States | 29 July 2012 | Great Britain |
| 14 | 3:10.53 | Mehdy Metella Fabien Gilot Florent Manaudou Jérémy Stravius | France | 7 August 2016 | Brazil |
| 15 | 3:10.74 | Mehdy Metella Florent Manaudou Fabien Gilot Jérémy Stravius | France | 2 August 2015 | Russia |
| 16 | 3:10.80 | César Cielo Nicolas Oliveira Guilherme Roth Fernando Silva | Brazil | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 17 | 3:10.88 | Andrey Grechin Nikita Lobintsev Vladimir Morozov Danila Izotov | Russia | 10 July 2013 | Russia |
| 18 | 3:11.00 | James Magnussen Matthew Targett Matthew Abood Eamon Sullivan | Australia | 24 July 2011 | China |
| 19 | 3:11.03 | Zach Apple Dean Farris Robert Howard Tate Jackson | United States | 4 July 2019 | Italy |
| 20 | 3:11.14 | Alain Bernard Jérémy Stravius William Meynard Fabien Gilot | France | 24 July 2011 | China |
| 21 | 3:11.18 | Yannick Agnel Florent Manaudou Fabien Gilot Jérémy Stravius | France | 28 July 2013 | Spain |
| 22 | 3:11.19 | Andrey Grechin Nikita Lobintsev Vladimir Morozov Alexandr Sukhorukov | Russia | 2 August 2015 | Russia |
| 23 | 3:11.22 | Cameron McEvoy Clyde Lewis Alexander Graham Kyle Chalmers | Australia | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 24 | 3:11.26 | César Cielo Nicolas Oliveira Guilherme Roth Fernando Silva | Brazil | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 25 | 3:11.31 | Townley Haas Blake Pieroni Michael Chadwick Zach Apple | United States | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
Women
- Correct as of July 2019
| Pos | Time | Swimmer | Nationality | Date | Venue |
| 1 | 3:30.05 | Shayna Jack Bronte Campbell Emma McKeon Cate Campbell | Australia | 5 April 2018 | Australia |
| 2 | 3:30.21 | Bronte Campbell Brianna Throssell Emma McKeon Cate Campbell | Australia | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 3 | 3:30.65 | Emma McKeon Brittany Elmslie Bronte Campbell Cate Campbell | Australia | 6 August 2016 | Brazil |
| 4 | 3:30.98 | Bronte Campbell Melanie Schlanger Emma McKeon Cate Campbell | Australia | 24 July 2014 | Great Britain |
| 5 | 3:31.02 | Mallory Comerford Abbey Weitzeil Kelsi Dahlia Simone Manuel | United States | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 6 | 3:31.48 | Emily Seebohm Emma McKeon Bronte Campbell Cate Campbell | Australia | 2 August 2015 | Russia |
| 7 | 3:31.58 | Emily Seebohm Shayna Jack Emma McKeon Cate Campbell | Australia | 9 August 2018 | Japan |
| 8 | 3:31.72 | Inge Dekker Ranomi Kromowidjojo Femke Heemskerk Marleen Veldhuis | Netherlands | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 8 | 3:31.72 | Mallory Comerford Kelsi Worrell Katie Ledecky Simone Manuel | United States | 23 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 10 | 3:31.78 | Kayla Sanchez Taylor Ruck Penny Oleksiak Maggie MacNeil | Canada | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 11 | 3:31.83 | Britta Steffen Daniela Samulski Petra Dallmann Daniela Schreiber | Germany | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 12 | 3:31.89 | Simone Manuel Abbey Weitzeil Dana Vollmer Katie Ledecky | United States | 6 August 2016 | Brazil |
| 13 | 3:32.01 | Shayna Jack Bronte Campbell Brittany Elmslie Emma McKeon | Australia | 23 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 14 | 3:32.31 | Missy Franklin Natalie Coughlin Shannon Vreeland Megan Romano | United States | 28 July 2013 | Spain |
| 15 | 3:32.39 | Madison Wilson Brittany Elmslie Bronte Campbell Cate Campbell | Australia | 6 August 2016 | Brazil |
| 16 | 3:32.43 | Cate Campbell Bronte Campbell Emma McKeon Alicia Coutts | Australia | 28 July 2013 | Spain |
| 17 | 3:32.46 | Cate Campbell Brittany Elmslie Melanie Schlanger Bronte Campbell | Australia | 21 August 2014 | Australia |
| 18 | 3:32.64 | Kim Busch Femke Heemskerk Maud van der Meer Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands | 23 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 19 | 3:32.89 | Sandrine Mainville Chantal Van Landeghem Taylor Ruck Penny Oleksiak | Canada | 6 August 2016 | Brazil |
| 20 | 3:33.01 | Libby Trickett Marieke Guehrer Shayne Reese Felicity Galvez | Australia | 26 July 2009 | Italy |
| 21 | 3:33.15 | Alicia Coutts Cate Campbell Brittany Elmslie Melanie Schlanger | Australia | 28 July 2012 | Great Britain |
| 22 | 3:33.35 | Lia Neal Kelsi Worrell Olivia Smoliga Mallory Comerford | United States | 23 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 23 | 3:33.39 | Cate Campbell Brianna Throssell Madison Wilson Bronte Campbell | Australia | 21 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 24 | 3:33.45 | Mallory Comerford Margo Geer Kelsi Dahlia Simone Manuel | United States | 9 August 2018 | Japan |
| 25 | 3:33.59 | Amanda Weir Lia Neal Allison Schmitt Katie Ledecky | United States | 6 August 2016 | Brazil |
Mixed
- Correct as of July 2019
| Pos | Time | Swimmer | Nationality | Date | Venue |
| 1 | 3:19.40 | Caeleb Dressel Zach Apple Mallory Comerford Simone Manuel | United States | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 2 | 3:19.60 | Caeleb Dressel Nathan Adrian Mallory Comerford Simone Manuel | United States | 29 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 3 | 3:19.97 | Kyle Chalmers Clyde Lewis Emma McKeon Bronte Campbell | Australia | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 4 | 3:21.81 | Ben Schwietert Kyle Stolk Femke Heemskerk Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands | 29 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 5 | 3:22.07 | Jérémy Stravius Mehdy Metella Marie Wattel Charlotte Bonnet | France | 8 August 2018 | Great Britain |
| 6 | 3:22.11 | Clément Mignon Mehdy Metella Charlotte Bonnet Marie Wattel | France | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 7 | 3:22.54 | Markus Thormeyer Yuri Kisil Taylor Ruck Penny Oleksiak | Canada | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 8 | 3:22.70 | Blake Pieroni Nathan Adrian Katie McLaughlin Abbey Weitzeil | United States | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 9 | 3:22.72 | Vladislav Grinev Vladimir Morozov Maria Kameneva Daria Ustinova | Russia | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 10 | 3:23.05 | Ryan Lochte Nathan Adrian Simone Manuel Missy Franklin | United States | 8 August 2015 | Russia |
| 11 | 3:23.10 | Sebastiaan Verschuren Joost Reijns Ranomi Kromowidjojo Femke Heemskerk | Netherlands | 8 August 2015 | Russia |
| 12 | 3:23.29 | Tommaso D'Orsogna Cate Campbell James Magnussen Bronte Campbell | Australia | 1 February 2014 | Australia |
| 13 | 3:23.48 | Kyle Stolk Jesse Puts Femke Heemskerk Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 14 | 3:23.55 | Yuri Kisil Javier Acevedo Chantal Van Landeghem Penny Oleksiak | Canada | 29 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 15 | 3:23.59 | Santo Condorelli Yuri Kisil Chantal Van Landeghem Sandrine Mainville | Canada | 8 August 2015 | Russia |
| 16 | 3:23.64 | Sebastiaan Verschuren Ben Schwietert Maud van der Meer Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands | 20 May 2016 | Great Britain |
| 17 | 3:23.77 | Cameron McEvoy Alexander Graham Brianna Throssell Madison Wilson | Australia | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 18 | 3:23.89 | Ben Schwietert Kyle Stolk Femke Heemskerk Maud van der Meer | Netherlands | 29 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 19 | 3:23.93 | Blake Pieroni Townley Haas Lia Neal Kelsi Worrell | United States | 29 July 2017 | Hungary |
| 20 | 3:23.97 | Nyls Korstanje Stan Pijnenburg Femke Heemskerk Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands | 8 August 2018 | Great Britain |
| 21 | 3:24.09 | Markus Thormeyer Yuri Kisil Kayla Sanchez Maggie MacNeil | Canada | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 22 | 3:24.21 | Vladimir Morozov Alexandr Sukhorukov Veronika Popova Nataliya Lovtsova | Russia | 8 August 2015 | Russia |
| 23 | 3:24.27 | Clément Mignon Maxime Grousset Charlotte Bonnet Béryl Gastaldello | France | 27 July 2019 | South Korea |
| 24 | 3:24.50 | Kliment Kolesnikov Vladislav Grinev Maria Kameneva Arina Openysheva | Russia | 8 August 2018 | Great Britain |
| 25 | 3:24.51 | Conor Dwyer Ryan Lochte Margo Geer Abbey Weitzeil | United States | 8 August 2015 | Russia |