The men's 4×200 metre freestyle relay took place on 17 August at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the

Athens Olympic Sports Complex The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens Spiros Louis ( el, Ολυμπιακό Αθλητικό Κέντρο Αθηνών "Σπύρος Λούης", ''Olympiakó Athlitikó Kéntro Athinón "Spýros Loúis"'') or OACA ()), is a sport facilities c ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Team USA had a satisfactory triumph over the Australians with a gold medal for the first time since the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Klete Keller Klete Derik Keller (born March 21, 1982) is an American convicted felon and former competitive swimmer. Before retiring from swimming in 2008, Keller won five Olympic medals, including two golds, at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics in ...

, along with

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...

, Ryan Lochte, and

Peter Vanderkaay Peter William Vanderkaay (born February 12, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in middle-distance freestyle events and is a four-time Olympic medalist. He was a member of the United States Olympic team in 2004, 2008, ...

of the Team USA, edged out the Australians, led by

Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...

, to a first-place finish by 0.13 of a second, in an American record time of 7:07.33. As the defending Olympic champions from Sydney, the Australian team of Thorpe,

Michael Klim Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, Nicholas Sprenger, and

Grant Hackett Grant George Hackett OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him to ...

earned a silver medal in 7:07.46. The Italians got the bronze in 7:11.83, after a powerful second leg from former Olympic silver medalist

Massimiliano Rosolino Massimiliano "Massi" Rosolino (born 11 July 1978) is an Italian retired competitive swimmer. Biography Born in Naples to an Italian father, Salvatore, and an Australian mother, Carolyn, he moved to Australia at the age of three, coming back to ...

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

Results

Heats

Final

References

External links

Official Olympic Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming At The 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's 4 X 200 Metre Freestyle Relay M 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay Men's events at the 2004 Summer Olympics