| Event: | Men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay |
| Games: | 2000 Summer |
| Venue: | Sydney International Aquatic Centre |
| Date: | September 22, 2000 (heats) September 23, 2000 (final) |
| Competitors: | 102 |
| Nations: | 24 |
| Win Value: | 3:33.73 |
| Gold: | Lenny Krayzelburg, Ed Moses, Ian Crocker, Gary Hall, Jr., Neil Walker*, Tommy Hannan*, Jason Lezak* |
| Silver: | Matt Welsh, Regan Harrison, Geoff Huegill, Michael Klim, Josh Watson*, Ryan Mitchell*, Adam Pine*, Ian Thorpe* |
| Bronze: | Stev Theloke, Jens Kruppa, Thomas Rupprath, Torsten Spanneberg *Indicates the swimmer only competed in the preliminary heats. |
| Prev: | 1996 |
| Next: | 2004 |
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]
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]
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Time behind | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lenny Krayzelburg (53.87) Ed Moses (59.84) Ian Crocker (52.10) Gary Hall, Jr. (47.92) | 3:33.73 | |||||
| 2 | Matt Welsh (54.29) Regan Harrison (1:01.48) Geoff Huegill (51.33) Michael Klim (48.17) | 3:35.27 | 1.54 | OC | |||
| 4 | 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 | 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 | Péter Horváth (55.90) Károly Güttler (1:01.23) Zsolt Gáspár (52.95) Attila Zubor (49.01) | 3:39.09 | 5.36 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Chris Renaud (55.66) Morgan Knabe (1:01.23) Mike Mintenko (52.66) Craig Hutchison (50.33) | 3:39.88 | 6.15 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Simon Dufour (55.67) Hugues Duboscq (1:01.69) Franck Esposito (52.80) Frédérick Bousquet (49.86) | 3:40.02 | 6.29 | |||
| 8 | 6 | Neil Willey (56.49) Darren Mew (1:01.76) James Hickman (52.53) Sion Brinn (49.41) | 3:40.19 | 6.46 |