The Ducth quartet Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk and Marleen Veldhuis lit the pool on fire in Bejing on Sunday and won the gold in the women's 4X100 freestyle relay.

The foursome embraced each other in jubilation after completing the swim in three minutes 33.76 seconds, shaving almost one second off the previous record set by Australia in Athens.

The United States ranked second. Athens champion Australia, after a slow start, fought to the bronze.

The Ducth ranked seventh after the first leg. Kromowidjojo bridged the gap and stormed to the second after her turn. Heemskerk edged German swimmer Daniela Gotz to the first and Veldhuis kept the lead to the finish.

German team, who was in the lead after the first two legs, was overtaken in the third leg and edged to the fifth.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2008)