Updated through 5/24/2012; European Championship 400 Free Relays/Women's 800 Free Relay
A lot of questions have arisen recently about the Olympic relay qualifying, so we've taken a moment to throw together the current seeding for the Olympic Games.
The first priority is the top 12 teams from last year's World Championships, who earn automatic Olympic bids. After that, the next four spots (for a maximum of 16 per event) come from the best four countries starting March 1, 2011, including the World Championships, and running through the June 1st, 2012 deadline. There is no other qualifying standard, but individual swims may not be aggregated for an entry time either.
We've done our best to go through and pick out the current relays that are in position to earn those last four spots, but there's a chance we've missed someone (FINA has not published official lists). If you think there's a country we missed, leave it in the comments. We've also struck-through the countries we could think of (namely, Brazil) where a country has not met its own internal standards.
Keep in mind that these lists are changing rapidly at the European Championships – as is evident from the 400 free relays, where many countries have put up qualifying-worthy times. We will update after each of the relays. There's no official word on other countries swimming, but a few more could try to squeeze in qualifiers in the next week.
Update 5/24: Poland's women's 800 free relay gets bumped out; meaning that they'll stand-pat at only 1 woman on their Olympic Team, barring a relay or two declining their bids.
Women's 400 Free Relay
In:
USA
Netherlands
China
Germany
Australia
Canada
Japan
Denmark
Great Britain
Sweden
Russia
Belarus
On Deck:
Italy – 3:39.84 (European Championships)
New Zealand – 3:41.10 (New Zealand Nationals)*
Hungary – 3:41.36 (European Championships)
Greece – 3:42.09 (European Championships)
Brazil – 3:44.62 (Worlds/Pan Ams)
Norway – 3:44.09 (European Championships)
New Zealand – 3:44.64 (World University Games)
*Swim has not been publicly acknowledged by FINA
Women's 800 Free Relay
In:
USA
Australia
China
Canada
Hungary
France
Great Britain
New Zealand
Japan
Germany
Russia
Sweden
On Deck:
Italy – 7:52.90 (European Championships)
Slovenia – 7:59.53 (European Championships)
Spain – 8:00.69 (Dutch Open – December)
Netherlands – 8:02.39 (Eindhoven)
Poland – 8:05.07 (Polish Trials)
Ukraine – 8:06.42 (Worlds)
Austria – 8:06.67 (Worlds)
Ireland – 8:07.66 (Worlds)
Women's 400 Medley
In:
USA
Russia
China
Australia
Great Britain
Japan
Canada
Germany
Denmark
Sweden
Netherlands
Spain
On Deck:
France – 4:04.05 (Worlds)
Italy – 4:04.74 (Worlds)
South Africa – 4:04.97 (Worlds)
Finland – 4:08.47 (Worlds)
Men's 400 Free Relay
In:
France
USA
Russia
Italy
Australia
Germany
South Africa
Great Britain
Brazil
Japan
Sweden
Canada
On Deck:
Belgium – 3:15.34 (European Championships)
Hungary – 3:17.23 (European Championships)
China – 3:17.56 (Worlds)
Venezuela – 3:19.18 (Worlds)
Sweden – 3:17.07 (European Championships)
Venezuela – 3:19.18 (Worlds)
Switzerland – 3:20.00 (European Championships)
Serbia – 3:21.93 (European Championships)
New Zealand – 3:22.05 (World University Games)
Men's 800 Free Relay
In:
USA
Japan
France
Australia
Italy
China
Great Britain
Germany
Austria
Canada
Russia
South Africa
On Deck:
New Zealand – 7:14.05 (New Zealand Nationals)
Denmark – 7:15.38 (Danish Nationals)
Belgium – 7:17.39 (Worlds)
Poland – 7:18.43 (Polish Nationals)
Brazil – 7:18.44 (Worlds)Netherlands – 7:21.01 (Dutch Open – December)
Venezuela – 7:21.75 (Worlds)
Czech Republic – 7:24.46 (Worlds)
Men's 400 Medley Relay
In:
USA
Germany
Netherlands
Japan
Australia
Canada
Poland
Great Britain
France
South Africa
Italy
Russia
On Deck:
Brazil – 3:34.58 (Pan Ams)
New Zealand – 3:35.09 (New Zealand Nationals)*
China – 3:36.92 (Worlds)
Hungary – 3:37.87 (Hungarian Nationals)
Sweden – 3:38.34 (Worlds)
Lithuania – 3:38.57 (Worlds)
*Swim not yet publicly recognized by FINA