| | Event type

4 x 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men

Date	28 – 29 July 1952
Status	Olympic
Location	Helsingin Uimastadion, Helsinki
Participants	74 from 17 countries

The United States were hot favourites for this event with only Japan considered to be a threat. The Japanese team applied a tactical approach to the final and put their fastest swimmer on the opening leg and held back their slowest man until the final leg. With the Americans choosing the more common approach of using their faster men over the last two legs, Japan took an early lead and then increased it over the second leg. Ford Konno closed the gap on leg three but it was not until the final leg that the American team, in the form of Jimmy McLane took the lead that they were to maintain to the finish. The battle for bronze mirrored the battle for gold with France overhauling Sweden in the latter stages.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	8:50.9 (1 h2)	8:31.1 (1)	Gold
	Wayne Moore • Bill Woolsey • Ford Konno • Jimmy McLane • Wally Wolf • Don Sheff • Frank Dooley • Bumpy Jones • Frank Chamberlain (DNS) • Gaither Rosser (DNS)
2	Japan	JPN	8:42.1 (1 h3)	8:33.5 (2)	Silver
	Hiroshi Suzuki • Yoshihiro Hamaguchi • Toru Goto • Teijiro Tanikawa • Mitsuru Asano (DNS) • Hiroshi Nishi (DNS) • Mamoru Tanaka (DNS)
3	France	FRA	8:55.9 (1 h1)	8:45.9 (3)	Bronze
	Jo Bernardo • Aldo Eminente • Alex Jany • Jean Boiteux • René Million (DNS) • Michel Vandamme (DNS)
4	Sweden	SWE	8:52.3 (2 h3)	8:46.8 (4)
	Lars Svantesson • Göran Larsson • Per-Olof Östrand • Olle Johansson • Rolf Olander
5	Hungary	HUN	8:54.6 (2 h2)	8:52.6 (5)
	László Gyöngyösi • György Csordás • Géza Kádas • Imre Nyéki • Gusztáv Kettesi
6	Great Britain	GBR	8:59.7 (2 h1)	8:52.9 (6)
	Roy Botham • Ronnie Burns • Douglas Welsh • Jack Wardrop • Peter Head (DNS) • Athole Still (DNS)
7	South Africa	RSA	8:58.7 (3 h2)	8:55.1 (7)
	Graham Johnston • Dennis Ford • John Durr • Peter Duncan
8	Argentina	ARG	8:59.3 (3 h3)	8:56.9 (8)
	Federico Zwanck • Marcelo Trabucco • Pedro Galvão • Alfredo Yantorno • Carlos Alberto Bonacich (DNS)
9	Australia	AUS	9:01.4 (3 h1)	–
	Rex Aubrey • Frank O'Neill • Garrick Agnew • John Marshall • Frank Jordan (DNS)
10	Soviet Union	URS	9:01.9 (4 h1)	–
	Viktor Drobinsky • Vasily Karmanov • Leonid Meshkov • Lev Balandin • Endel Edasi (DNS) • Vladimir Skomarovsky (DNS)
11	Canada	CAN	9:10.9 (4 h3)	–
	Gerry McNamee • Lucien Beaumont • Leo Portelance • Allen Gilchrist • Peter Salmon (DNS)
12	Poland	POL	9:13.7 (5 h3)	–
	Gotfryd Gremlowski • Antoni Tołkaczewski • Józef Lewicki • Jerzy Boniecki • S. Cieźki (DNS)
13	Mexico	MEX	9:15.7 (6 h3)	–
	Alberto Isaac • Efrén Fierro • César Borja • Tonatiuh Gutiérrez • Juan Lans (DNS) • René Muñiz (DNS)
14	Italy	ITA	9:17.9 (5 h1)	–
	Carlo Pedersoli • Egidio Massaria • Angelo Romani • Gianni Paliaga • Alfonso Buonocore (DNS) • Costantino Dennerlein (DNS)
15	Brazil	BRA	9:19.0 (4 h2)	–
	Haroldo Lara • Sylvio dos Santos • Aram Boghossian • João Gonçalves Filho • Tetsuo Okamoto (DNS) • Ricardo Esberard (DNS)
16	Finland	FIN	9:26.6 (6 h1)	–
	Pentti Ikonen • Pentti Paatsalo • Mauno Valkeinen • Leo Telivuo • Einari Aalto (DNS)
17	Belgium	BEL	9:45.5 (5 h2)	–
	Kamiel Reynders • Joseph Anthoon • Marcel Anthoon • Alfons Bierebeek • André Laurent (DNS)
DNS	Egypt	EGY	– (DNS h1)	–
	Dorri Abdel Kader • Jack Hakim • Taha El-Gamal • Abdel Aziz El-Shafei • Samir Gharbo • Yehia El-Bahnasawy
DNS	Spain	ESP	– (DNS h2)	–
	Ricardo Conde • Enrique Granados • Roberto Queralt • Juan Luis Abellán • Josep Bazán

Round One (28 July 1952 — 10:00)

Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Exchange (Pos)
1	3	France	FRA				8:55.9		Q
		Jo Bernardo		–	–	–	2:17.1	2:17.1 (4)
		Aldo Eminente		–	–	–	2:19.4	4:36.5 (4)
		Alex Jany		–	–	–	2:11.6	6:48.1 (3)
		Jean Boiteux		–	–	–	2:07.8	8:55.9 (1)
2	1	Great Britain	GBR				8:59.7		Q
		Roy Botham		–	–	–	2:20.8	2:20.8 (6)
		Ronnie Burns		–	–	–	2:14.2	4:35.0 (3)
		Douglas Welsh		–	–	–	2:15.2	6:50.2 (4)
		Jack Wardrop		–	–	–	2:09.5	8:59.7 (2)
3	5	Australia	AUS				9:01.4
		Rex Aubrey		–	–	–	2:15.6	2:15.6 (2)
		Frank O'Neill		–	–	–	2:14.1	4:29.7 (1)
		Garrick Agnew		–	–	–	2:18.0	6:47.7 (1)
		John Marshall		–	–	–	2:13.7	9:01.4 (3)
4	7	Soviet Union	URS				9:01.9
		Viktor Drobinsky		–	–	–	2:14.2	2:14.2 (1)
		Vasily Karmanov		–	–	–	2:18.3	4:32.5 (2)
		Leonid Meshkov		–	–	–	2:15.3	6:47.8 (2)
		Lev Balandin		–	–	–	2:14.1	9:01.9 (4)
5	4	Italy	ITA				9:17.9
		Carlo Pedersoli		–	–	–	2:17.5	2:17.5 (5)
		Egidio Massaria		–	–	–	2:21.3	4:38.8 (6)
		Angelo Romani		–	–	–	2:21.6	7:00.4 (5)
		Gianni Paliaga		–	–	–	2:17.5	9:17.9 (5)
6	2	Finland	FIN				9:26.6
		Pentti Ikonen		–	–	–	2:16.2	2:16.2 (3)
		Pentti Paatsalo		–	–	–	2:22.2	4:38.4 (5)
		Mauno Valkeinen		–	–	–	2:23.0	7:01.4 (6)
		Leo Telivuo		–	–	–	2:25.2	9:26.6 (6)
DNS	6	Egypt	EGY				–
		Dorri Abdel Kader (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)
		Jack Hakim (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)
		Taha El-Gamal (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)
		Abdel Aziz El-Shafei (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)
		Samir Gharbo (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)
		Yehia El-Bahnasawy (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Exchange (Pos)
1	7	United States	USA				8:50.9		Q
		Wally Wolf		–	–	–	2:11.4	2:11.4 (1)
		Don Sheff		–	–	–	2:12.9	4:24.3 (1)
		Frank Dooley		–	–	–	2:14.7	6:39.0 (1)
		Bumpy Jones		–	–	–	2:11.9	8:50.9 (1)
2	3	Hungary	HUN				8:54.6		Q
		György Csordás		–	–	–	2:13.2	2:13.2 (2)
		László Gyöngyösi		–	–	–	2:14.1	4:27.3 (2)
		Gusztáv Kettesi		–	–	–	2:15.0	6:42.3 (2)
		Imre Nyéki		–	–	–	2:12.3	8:54.6 (2)
3	4	South Africa	RSA				8:58.7		Q
		Graham Johnston		–	–	–	2:15.3	2:15.3 (3)
		Dennis Ford		–	–	–	2:14.0	4:29.3 (3)
		John Durr		–	–	–	2:17.7	6:47.0 (3)
		Peter Duncan		–	–	–	2:11.7	8:58.7 (3)
4	6	Brazil	BRA				9:19.0			1
		Haroldo Lara		–	–	–	2:15.6	2:15.6 (4)
		Sylvio dos Santos		–	–	–	2:19.0	4:34.6 (4)
		Aram Boghossian		–	–	–	2:26.6	7:01.2 (4)
		João Gonçalves Filho		–	–	–	2:17.8	9:19.0 (4)
5	2	Belgium	BEL				9:45.5
		Kamiel Reynders		–	–	–	2:22.3	2:22.3 (5)
		Joseph Anthoon		–	–	–	2:25.5	4:47.8 (5)
		Marcel Anthoon		–	–	–	2:28.6	7:16.4 (5)
		Alfons Bierebeek		–	–	–	2:29.1	9:45.5 (5)
DNS	5	Spain	ESP				–
		Ricardo Conde (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)
		Enrique Granados (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)
		Roberto Queralt (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)
		Juan Luis Abellán (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)
		Josep Bazán (DNS)		–	–	–	–	– (–)

Heat Three

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Exchange (Pos)
1	5	Japan	JPN				8:42.1		QOR
		Yoshihiro Hamaguchi		–	–	–	2:10.1	2:10.1 (1)
		Hiroshi Suzuki		–	–	–	2:08.5	4:18.6 (1)
		Toru Goto		–	–	–	2:14.0	6:32.6 (1)
		Teijiro Tanikawa		–	–	–	2:09.5	8:42.1 (1)
2	4	Sweden	SWE				8:52.3		Q
		Rolf Olander		–	–	–	2:17.7	2:17.7 (3)
		Göran Larsson		–	–	–	2:12.1	4:29.8 (2)
		Olle Johansson		–	–	–	2:13.5	6:43.3 (2)
		Per-Olof Östrand		–	–	–	2:09.0	8:52.3 (2)
3	6	Argentina	ARG				8:59.3		Q
		Federico Zwanck		–	–	–	2:18.0	2:18.0 (4)
		Marcelo Trabucco		–	–	–	2:14.0	4:32.0 (3)
		Pedro Galvão		–	–	–	2:12.9	6:44.9 (3)
		Alfredo Yantorno		–	–	–	2:14.4	8:59.3 (3)
4	7	Canada	CAN				9:10.9
		Gerry McNamee		–	–	–	2:16.6	2:16.6 (2)
		Lucien Beaumont		–	–	–	2:20.5	4:37.1 (4)
		Leo Portelance		–	–	–	2:17.9	6:55.0 (4)
		Allen Gilchrist		–	–	–	2:15.9	9:10.9 (4)
5	3	Poland	POL				9:13.7
		Gotfryd Gremlowski		–	–	–	2:22.9	2:22.9 (6)
		Antoni Tołkaczewski		–	–	–	2:19.7	4:42.6 (6)
		Józef Lewicki		–	–	–	2:14.2	6:56.8 (5)
		Jerzy Boniecki		–	–	–	2:16.9	9:13.7 (5)
6	2	Mexico	MEX				9:15.7			2
		Alberto Isaac		–	–	–	2:20.3	2:20.3 (5)
		Efrén Fierro		–	–	–	2:21.0	4:41.3 (5)
		César Borja		–	–	–	2:18.3	6:59.6 (6)
		Tonatiuh Gutiérrez		–	–	–	2:17.1	9:16.7 (6)

Final (29 July 1952 — 17:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Exchange (Pos)
1	–	United States	USA				8:31.1		OR
		Wayne Moore		–	–	–	2:08.7	2:08.7 (2)
		Bill Woolsey		–	–	–	2:09.3	4:18.0 (2)
		Ford Konno		–	–	–	2:06.9	6:24.9 (2)
		Jimmy McLane		–	–	–	2:06.2	8:31.1 (1)
2	–	Japan	JPN				8:33.5
		Hiroshi Suzuki		–	–	–	2:07.0	2:07.0 (1)
		Yoshihiro Hamaguchi		–	–	–	2:08.1	4:15.1 (1)
		Toru Goto		–	–	–	2:09.1	6:24.2 (1)
		Teijiro Tanikawa		–	–	–	2:09.3	8:33.5 (2)
3	–	France	FRA				8:45.9
		Jo Bernardo		–	–	–	2:14.0	2:14.0 (3)
		Aldo Eminente		–	–	–	2:14.3	4:28.3 (4)
		Alex Jany		–	–	–	2:11.2	6:39.5 (4)
		Jean Boiteux		–	–	–	2:06.4	8:45.9 (3)
4	–	Sweden	SWE				8:46.8
		Lars Svantesson		–	–	–	2:15.8	2:15.8 (=6)
		Göran Larsson		–	–	–	2:10.4	4:26.2 (3)
		Per-Olof Östrand		–	–	–	2:09.4	6:35.6 (3)
		Olle Johansson		–	–	–	2:11.2	8:46.8 (4)
5	–	Hungary	HUN				8:52.6
		László Gyöngyösi		–	–	–	2:15.8	2:15.8 (=6)
		György Csordás		–	–	–	2:12.9	4:28.7 (5)
		Géza Kádas		–	–	–	2:12.3	6:41.0 (5)
		Imre Nyéki		–	–	–	2:11.6	8:52.6 (5)
6	–	Great Britain	GBR				8:52.9
		Roy Botham		–	–	–	2:15.9	2:15.9 (8)
		Ronnie Burns		–	–	–	2:13.4	4:29.3 (7)
		Douglas Welsh		–	–	–	2:13.9	6:43.2 (7)
		Jack Wardrop		–	–	–	2:09.7	8:52.9 (6)
7	–	South Africa	RSA				8:55.1
		Graham Johnston		–	–	–	2:14.7	2:14.7 (5)
		Dennis Ford		–	–	–	2:14.7	4:29.4 (8)
		John Durr		–	–	–	2:15.6	6:45.0 (8)
		Peter Duncan		–	–	–	2:10.1	8:55.1 (7)
8	–	Argentina	ARG				8:56.9
		Federico Zwanck		–	–	–	2:14.6	2:14.6 (4)
		Marcelo Trabucco		–	–	–	2:14.6	4:29.2 (6)
		Pedro Galvão		–	–	–	2:13.9	6:43.1 (6)
		Alfredo Yantorno		–	–	–	2:13.8	8:56.9 (8)