SYDNEY -- Japan's women's 400-meter medley relay team won bronze in a new national record time as the U.S. team smashed the world record in the event on the last day of the swimming competition at the Sydney Olympics on Saturday.

The team of Mai Nakamura, Masami Tanaka, Junko Onishi and Sumika Minamoto came home in 4:04.16 -- shaving more than a second and a half off the national record of 4:05.76 they set Friday night.

Nakamura, who won silver in the women's backstroke, led the field out over the first 50 meters but dropped back to fifth at the end of her second lap.

Tanaka swam back into third place in her first 50 meters but Japan was struggling in fifth as she touched to end the breaststroke leg.

It was Junko Onishi who clawed Japan back into third in the butterfly leg and Minamoto who brought them home .17 of a second ahead of the German team.

"We worked as four members of the team, not individuals, to win this prize," Nakamura said.

"We saw the support from the crowd and that may have been one of the reasons we won the bronze."

The U.S. team of B.J. Bedford, Megan Quann, Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres obliterated the world record of 04:01.67, set by China in Rome in September 1994.

Australians Dyana Calub, Liesel Jones, Petria Thomas and Susie O'Neill also beat that time to take the silver in 4:01.59.

The Australians were also cheering Saturday as Grant Hackett and Kieren Perkins, who took gold and silver in the 1,500-meters freestyle to continue the nation's dominance in the event Perkins won in both Barcelona and Atlanta.

But the U.S. had the most to celebrate as their men's 400 medley relay team of Lenny Krayzelburg, Ed Moses, Ian Crocker and Hall won in 3:33.73, beating the world record of 3:34.84, also set by the U.S. at Atlanta.

Sumika Minamoto swam 25.65 to finish eighth in the women's 50-meter freestyle final.

Inge de Brujin of the Netherlands touched in 24.32 for her third Olympic gold medal. She also won the 100-meter freestyle and butterfly finals.

Back from oblivion

Japan finished the meet with two silver medals and two bronze medals -- short of the national team's expectations of bringing home at least one gold medal.

They had plenty of chances. Yasuko Tajima went into the 4x100-meter individual medley relay last Saturday with the fastest time of the year, 4:39.13. Even though she swam a new national record of 4:35.96, she had to settle for silver behind Yana Klochkkova of Ukraine, who set a world record in 4:33.59.

Mai Nakamura also held the fastest time of the year in the 100-meter backstroke, 1:0078, and improved on that Monday, swimming 1:00.55. But Romania's Diana Mocanu came from nowhere to post an Olympic record in 1:00.21.

Masami Tanaka was Japan's other hope for gold, holding the second fastest time of 2000 in the 100-meters breaststroke, 1:07.27, and the fastest time this year in the 200-meters breaststroke with 2:24.12.

But she was blown out of the pool in both finals, with a 100-meters final in sixth place time of 1:08.37 Monday and managing just 2:26.98 to finish the 200-meters in seventh Thursday. Her personal best times, set at the national championships in April, would have won her silver and gold respectively.

Backstroke duo Miki Nako and Tomoko Hagiwara fought valiantly in Friday's 200-meter backstroke final -- Nakao taking bronze and Hagiwara coming in fourth in the event where they were ranked second and third going into the Olympics.

The team's result in Sydney is vastly better than in Atlanta -- when it failed to medal at all.

But there is cause for concern over the failure of many swimmers to match their personal bests -- Nakao and Hagiwara, among them, although those times would not have altered the outcome of the race.

However, it does raise questions about Japan's selection process. While the U.S. leaves its Olympic qualifications until the leadup to the Olympics, Japan decided its team in April, five months before the Games.

There is a good argument for saying that the athletes were forced to peak too early, and the evidence shows that many could not maintain their form through to September.