Swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay

Did You Know?

• In the heats, Israel beat and lowered their national record to 7:08.43.
• The United States won the first heat with the second fastest qualifying time of 7:05.57, while Great Britain won the second heat with the fastest qualifying time of 7:05.11.

Background

Great Britain had won the event at the previous Olympics and returned the same four swimmers: Matt Richards, Duncan Scott, Tom Dean and James Guy. They also won the 2023 World Championships and held the fastest sum of personal best splits at 6:58.06. The United States had the second fastest sum at 6:58.66, and South Korea the third at 7:00.99. Australia and China were also medal contenders. SwimSwam and Swimming World both predicted a British gold and American silver, but differed on the bronze: SwimSwam picked South Korea, while Swimming World chose Australia.

Final

The final began at 22:15 on 30 July. Great Britain and the United States traded the lead throughout, with Great Britain ahead at every exchange. Duncan Scott recorded the fastest individual split of the race (1:43.95), securing the gold for Great Britain in 6:59.43. The United States finished second in 7:00.78, Australia third in 7:01.98, and China fourth in 7:04.37. The quartet became the first team of any nationality to win the event in consecutive Olympic Games with the same four final swimmers.