| Date | 30 August – 2 September 1960 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto, Roma |
| Participants | 56 from 12 countries |
This event was new to the Olympic Program in 1960. Between 1956 and 1960 Dutch teams had set three world records, but the heavy favorites in Rome were the United States, led by Chris von Saltza , swimming freestyle, and Lynn Burke and Carolyn Schuler, winners of gold in the backstroke and butterfly in Rome. A USA team had set the current world record of 4:44.6 at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago. In the end they won Olympic gold easily, breaking the world record with 4:41.1, after Burke started the team off with a 100 metre backstroke world record of 1:09.0. Burke and von Saltza were best friends who trained together under coach George Haines. Australia placed second with Germany third, and the Dutch women trailing in fourth.
| Pos | Competitors | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |  USA | 4:49.3 (2 h1) | 4:41.1 (1) | Gold | ||
| Backstroke | Lynn Burke | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Patty Kempner | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Carolyn Schuler | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Chris von Saltza | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Anne Warner | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Carolyn Wood | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Joan Spillane | – | – | ||||
| 2 | Australia |  AUS | 4:55.7 (4 h2) | 4:45.9 (2) | Silver | ||
| Backstroke | Marilyn Wilson | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Rosemary Lassig | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Jan Andrew | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Dawn Fraser | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | Gerganiya Beckitt | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Ilsa Konrads | – | – | ||||
| 3 | Unified Team of Germany |  GER | 4:49.6 (3 h1) | 4:47.6 (3) | Bronze | ||
| Backstroke | Ingrid Schmidt | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Ursula Küper | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Bärbel Fuhrmann | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Ursel Brunner | – | – | ||||
| 4 | Netherlands |  NED | 4:47.4 (1 h2) | 4:47.6 (4) | |||
| Backstroke | Ria van Velsen | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Ada den Haan | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Marianne Heemskerk | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Erica Terpstra | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Tineke Lagerberg | – | – | ||||
| 5 | Great Britain |  GBR | 4:49.0 (1 h1) | 4:47.6 (5) | |||
| Backstroke | Sylvia Lewis | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Anita Lonsbrough | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Sheila Watt | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Natalie Steward | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Jean Oldroyd | – | – | ||||
| 6 | Hungary |  HUN | 4:52.8 (4 h1) | 4:53.7 (6) | |||
| Backstroke | Magda Dávid | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Klára Killermann-Bartos | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Márta Egerváry | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Csilla Madarász | – | – | ||||
| 7 | Japan |  JPN | 4:54.5 (3 h2) | 4:56.4 (7) | |||
| Backstroke | Satoko Tanaka | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Yoshiko Takamatsu | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Shizue Miyabe | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Yoshiko Sato | – | – | ||||
| 8 | Soviet Union |  URS | 4:54.4 (2 h2) | 4:58.1 (8) | |||
| Backstroke | Larisa Viktorova | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | Lyudmila Korobova | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Zinaida Belovetskaya | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | Marina Shamal | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | Valentina Poznyak | – | – | ||||
| 9 | Canada |  CAN | 4:59.5 (5 h2) | – | |||
| Sara Barber | – | – | |||||
| Judith McHale | – | – | |||||
| Margaret Iwasaki | – | – | |||||
| Mary Beth Stewart | – | – | |||||
| 10 | France |  FRA | 4:59.7 (5 h1) | – | |||
| Rosy Piacentini | – | – | |||||
| Michèle Pialat | – | – | |||||
| Annie Caron | – | – | |||||
| Héda Frost | – | – | |||||
| 11 | Italy |  ITA | 5:04.4 (6 h1) | – | |||
| Daniela Serpilli | – | – | |||||
| Elena Zennaro | – | – | |||||
| Anna Beneck | – | – | |||||
| Paola Saini | – | – | |||||
| 12 | Rhodesia |  RHO | 5:12.9 (6 h2) | – | |||
| Lynette Cooper | – | – | |||||
| Meg Miners | – | – | |||||
| Hillary Wilson | – | – | |||||
| Dottie Sutcliffe | – | – |
| Date | 30 August 1960 — 15:55 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest 8 advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Netherlands | NED | 4:47.4 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:49.0 | ||
| 3 | 4 | United States | USA | 4:49.3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Unified Team of Germany | GER | 4:49.6 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Hungary | HUN | 4:52.8 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:54.4 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Japan | JPN | 4:54.5 | ||
| 8 | 4 | Australia | AUS | 4:55.7 | ||
| 9 | 6 | Canada | CAN | 4:59.5 | ||
| 10 | 2 | France | FRA | 4:59.7 | ||
| 11 | 7 | Italy | ITA | 5:04.4 | ||
| 12 | 7 | Rhodesia | RHO | 5:12.9 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:49.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Sylvia Lewis | – | 1:11.7 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Anita Lonsbrough | – | 1:21.0 (=2) | 2:32.7 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Jean Oldroyd | – | 1:13.2 (3) | 3:45.9 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Natalie Steward | – | 1:03.1 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 4 | United States | USA | 4:49.3 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lynn Burke | – | 1:10.3 (1) | – (–) | IOR | ||
| Breaststroke | – | Anne Warner | – | 1:24.8 (6) | 2:35.1 (=4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Carolyn Wood | – | 1:10.5 (1) | 3:45.6 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Joan Spillane | – | 1:03.7 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 3 | Unified Team of Germany | GER | 4:49.6 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Ingrid Schmidt | – | 1:12.1 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Ursula Küper | – | 1:19.6 (1) | 2:31.7 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Bärbel Fuhrmann | – | 1:13.1 (2) | 3:44.8 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Ursel Brunner | – | 1:04.8 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 6 | Hungary | HUN | 4:52.8 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Magda Dávid | – | 1:13.5 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Klára Killermann-Bartos | – | 1:21.0 (=2) | 2:34.5 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Márta Egerváry | – | 1:15.7 (4) | 3:50.2 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Csilla Madarász | – | 1:02.6 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 2 | France | FRA | 4:59.7 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Rosy Piacentini | – | 1:11.5 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Michèle Pialat | – | 1:23.6 (5) | 2:35.1 (=4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Annie Caron | – | 1:18.9 (6) | 3:54.0 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Héda Frost | – | 1:05.7 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 7 | Italy | ITA | 5:04.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Daniela Serpilli | – | 1:19.4 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Elena Zennaro | – | 1:22.2 (4) | 2:41.6 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Anna Beneck | – | 1:17.4 (5) | 3:59.0 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Paola Saini | – | 1:05.4 (5) | – (–) |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Netherlands | NED | 4:47.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Ria van Velsen | – | 1:11.1 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Ada den Haan | – | 1:22.8 (3) | 2:33.9 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Tineke Lagerberg | – | 1:10.2 (1) | 3:44.1 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Erica Terpstra | – | 1:03.3 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 3 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:54.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Larisa Viktorova | – | 1:12.7 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Lyudmila Korobova | – | 1:23.6 (4) | 2:36.3 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Valentina Poznyak | – | 1:13.0 (2) | 3:49.3 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Marina Shamal | – | 1:05.1 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 2 | Japan | JPN | 4:54.5 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Satoko Tanaka | – | 1:11.2 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Yoshiko Takamatsu | – | 1:21.9 (2) | 2:33.1 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Shizue Miyabe | – | 1:15.7 (4) | 3:48.8 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Yoshiko Sato | – | 1:05.7 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 4 | Australia | AUS | 4:55.7 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Gerganiya Beckitt | – | 1:15.3 (=5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Rosemary Lassig | – | 1:20.6 (1) | 2:35.9 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Jan Andrew | – | 1:16.7 (5) | 3:52.6 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Ilsa Konrads | – | 1:03.1 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 6 | Canada | CAN | 4:59.5 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Sara Barber | – | 1:12.2 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Judith McHale | – | 1:26.4 (5) | 2:38.6 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Margaret Iwasaki | – | 1:13.5 (3) | 3:52.1 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Mary Beth Stewart | – | 1:07.4 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 7 | Rhodesia | RHO | 5:12.9 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lynette Cooper | – | 1:15.3 (=5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Meg Miners | – | 1:32.1 (6) | 2:47.4 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Hillary Wilson | – | 1:18.0 (6) | 4:05.4 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Dottie Sutcliffe | – | 1:07.5 (6) | – (–) |
| Date | 2 September 1960 — 21:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | United States | USA | 4:41.1 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lynn Burke | – | 1:09.0 (1) | – (–) | IOR | ||
| Breaststroke | – | Patty Kempner | – | 1:20.9 (3) | 2:29.9 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Carolyn Schuler | – | 1:08.9 (1) | 3:38.8 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Chris von Saltza | – | 1:02.3 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 8 | Australia | AUS | 4:45.9 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Marilyn Wilson | – | 1:13.9 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Rosemary Lassig | – | 1:20.1 (2) | 2:34.0 (=5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Jan Andrew | – | 1:10.6 (2) | 3:44.6 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Dawn Fraser | – | 1:01.3 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 6 | Unified Team of Germany | GER | 4:47.6 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Ingrid Schmidt | – | 1:11.4 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Ursula Küper | – | 1:19.3 (1) | 2:30.7 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Bärbel Fuhrmann | – | 1:11.8 (5) | 3:42.5 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Ursel Brunner | – | 1:05.1 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 4 | Netherlands | NED | 4:47.6 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Ria van Velsen | – | 1:11.2 (=2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Ada den Haan | – | 1:22.8 (7) | 2:34.0 (=5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Marianne Heemskerk | – | 1:10.9 (3) | 3:44.9 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Erica Terpstra | – | 1:02.7 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 5 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:47.6 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Sylvia Lewis | – | 1:11.9 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Anita Lonsbrough | – | 1:21.0 (=4) | 2:32.9 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Sheila Watt | – | 1:11.5 (4) | 3:44.4 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Natalie Steward | – | 1:03.2 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 2 | Hungary | HUN | 4:53.7 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Magda Dávid | – | 1:14.2 (=7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Klára Killermann-Bartos | – | 1:21.0 (=4) | 2:35.2 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Márta Egerváry | – | 1:16.0 (7) | 3:51.2 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Csilla Madarász | – | 1:02.5 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 1 | Japan | JPN | 4:56.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Satoko Tanaka | – | 1:11.2 (=2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Yoshiko Takamatsu | – | 1:22.5 (6) | 2:33.7 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Shizue Miyabe | – | 1:17.1 (8) | 3:50.8 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Yoshiko Sato | – | 1:05.6 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 7 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:58.1 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Larisa Viktorova | – | 1:14.2 (=7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Lyudmila Korobova | – | 1:24.5 (8) | 2:38.7 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Zinaida Belovetskaya | – | 1:14.0 (6) | 3:52.7 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Marina Shamal | – | 1:05.4 (7) | – (–) |
