| Date | 17 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez, Ciudad de México |
| Participants | 69 from 16 countries |
The last five world records in this event had been set by USA teams and it was really a matter of how much they would win by in Mexico City. The race was held on the first day of swimming at the 1968 Olympics. On the first leg of the final, Zac Zorn opened two body lengths on Frank Wiegand of East Germany and the race was over. Steve Rerych, who had suffered from the tourista in Mexico City and had to withdraw from the 200 final, streaked 52.8 on the second leg and nobody was close. Mark Spitz increased the lead on the third leg and Ken Walsh brought them home in a world record 3:31.7 to win by 2.5 seconds over the Soviet Union.
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 3:35.4 (1 h2) | 3:31.7 (1) | Gold | ||
| 15373 | Zac Zorn | – | – | |||||
| 15362 | Steve Rerych | – | – | |||||
| 15367 | Mark Spitz | – | – | |||||
| 15371 | Ken Walsh | – | – | |||||
| 15354 | William Johnson | – | – | |||||
| 15353 | David Johnson | – | – | |||||
| 15370 | Mike Wall | – | – | |||||
| 15366 | Don Schollander | – | – | |||||
| 2 | – | Soviet Union |  URS | 3:37.8 (1 h1) | 3:34.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 21209 | Semyon Belits-Geyman | – | – | |||||
| 21038 | Viktor Mazanov | – | – | |||||
| 21028 | Georgijs Kuļikovs | – | – | |||||
| 21027 | Leonid Ilyichov | – | – | |||||
| 21036 | Sergey Gusev | – | – | |||||
| 3 | – | Australia |  AUS | 3:38.0 (2 h2) | 3:34.7 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 13050 | Greg Rogers | – | – | |||||
| 13047 | Robert Cusack | – | – | |||||
| 13054 | Bob Windle | – | – | |||||
| 13052 | Mike Wenden | – | – | |||||
| 4 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:40.4 (3 h1) | 3:38.4 (4) | |||
| 16759 | Mike Turner | – | – | |||||
| – | Bobby McGregor | – | – | |||||
| 16687 | David Hembrow | – | – | |||||
| 16681 | Tony Jarvis | – | – | |||||
| 5 | – | East Germany |  GDR | 3:40.5 (4 h2) | 3:38.8 (5) | |||
| 23079 | Frank Wiegand | – | – | |||||
| 23046 | Horst-Günter Gregor | – | – | |||||
| 23067 | Udo Poser | – | – | |||||
| 23045 | Lothar Gericke | – | – | |||||
| 6 | – | West Germany |  FRG | 3:40.2 (3 h2) | 3:39.0 (6) | |||
| 12252 | Peter Schorning | – | – | |||||
| 12245 | Wolfgang Kremer | – | – | |||||
| 12251 | Olaf, Baron von Schilling | – | – | |||||
| 12238 | Hans Faßnacht | – | – | |||||
| 7 | – | Canada |  CAN | 3:40.3 (2 h1) | 3:39.2 (7) | |||
| – | Glen Finch | – | – | |||||
| 13937 | George Smith | – | – | |||||
| 13938 | Ralph Hutton | – | – | |||||
| – | Sandy Gilchrist | – | – | |||||
| 8 | – | Japan |  JPN | 3:41.8 (4 h1) | 3:41.5 (8) | |||
| – | Kunihiro Iwasaki | – | – | |||||
| 18146 | Masayuki Osawa | – | – | |||||
| 18145 | Satoru Nakano | – | – | |||||
| 18144 | Teruhiko Kitani | – | – | |||||
| 9 | 6 | Hungary |  HUN | 3:42.4 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 17294 | Péter Lázár | – | – | |||||
| 17296 | István Szentirmay | – | – | |||||
| 17289 | Csaba Csatlós | – | – | |||||
| 17293 | Gábor Kucsera | – | – | |||||
| 10 | 8 | Spain |  ESP | 3:42.7 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 15078 | José Antonio Chicoy | – | – | |||||
| 15079 | Juan Fortuny | – | – | |||||
| 15087 | Juan Martínez | – | – | |||||
| 15086 | Diego Martel | – | – | |||||
| 11 | 2 | Sweden |  SWE | 3:43.9 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 20401 | Lester Eriksson | – | – | |||||
| – | Ingvar Eriksson | – | – | |||||
| 20410 | Bo Westergren | – | – | |||||
| 20407 | Gunnar Larsson | – | – | |||||
| 12 | 3 | Mexico |  MEX | 3:46.1 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 18762 | Salvador Ruiz | – | – | |||||
| 18758 | Mario Santibáñez | – | – | |||||
| 18759 | Eduardo Alanís | – | – | |||||
| 18757 | Rafaél Cal | – | – | |||||
| 13 | 5 | Puerto Rico |  PUR | 3:47.0 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 19850 | Jorge González | – | – | |||||
| 19845 | Michael Goodner | – | – | |||||
| – | Gary Goodner | – | – | |||||
| 19844 | José Ferraioli | – | – | |||||
| 14 | 1 | Philippines |  PHI | 3:47.8 (8 h2) | – | |||
| – | Roosevelt Abdulgafur | – | – | |||||
| 15884 | Amman Jalmaani | – | – | |||||
| 15865 | Tony Asamli | – | – | |||||
| 15888 | Luis Ayesa | – | – | |||||
| 15 | 3 | Colombia |  COL | 3:51.5 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 13967 | Julio Arango | – | – | |||||
| 13968 | Tomás Becerra | – | – | |||||
| 13970 | Federico Sicard | – | – | |||||
| 13969 | Ricardo González | – | – | |||||
| 16 | 1 | El Salvador |  ESA | 4:08.3 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 14930 | Salvador Vilanova | – | – | |||||
| 14934 | Rubén Guerrero | – | – | |||||
| 14937 | José Alvarado | – | – | |||||
| 14935 | Ernesto Durón | – | – |
| Date | 17 October 1968 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest 8 advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:35.4 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Soviet Union | URS | 3:37.8 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Australia | AUS | 3:38.0 | ||
| 4 | 8 | West Germany | FRG | 3:40.2 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Canada | CAN | 3:40.3 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:40.4 | ||
| 7 | 7 | East Germany | GDR | 3:40.5 | ||
| 8 | 4 | Japan | JPN | 3:41.8 | ||
| 9 | 6 | Hungary | HUN | 3:42.4 | ||
| 10 | 8 | Spain | ESP | 3:42.7 | ||
| 11 | 2 | Sweden | SWE | 3:43.9 | ||
| 12 | 3 | Mexico | MEX | 3:46.1 | ||
| 13 | 5 | Puerto Rico | PUR | 3:47.0 | ||
| 14 | 1 | Philippines | PHI | 3:47.8 | ||
| 15 | 3 | Colombia | COL | 3:51.5 | ||
| 16 | 1 | El Salvador | ESA | 4:08.3 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Soviet Union | URS | 3:37.8 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Leonid Ilyichov | – | 54.4 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Sergey Gusev | – | 54.7 (3) | 1:49.1 (1) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Viktor Mazanov | – | 54.6 (1) | 2:43.7 (1) | |||
| Anchor | – | Semyon Belits-Geyman | – | 54.1 (=1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 6 | Canada | CAN | 3:40.3 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Glen Finch | – | 57.5 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | George Smith | – | 53.2 (1) | 1:50.7 (2) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Ralph Hutton | – | 54.8 (2) | 2:45.5 (2) | |||
| Anchor | – | Sandy Gilchrist | – | 54.8 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 7 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:40.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mike Turner | – | 55.5 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Bobby McGregor | – | 55.0 (4) | 1:50.5 (3) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | David Hembrow | – | 55.8 (3) | 2:46.3 (3) | |||
| Anchor | – | Tony Jarvis | – | 54.1 (=1) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 4 | Japan | JPN | 3:41.8 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Kunihiro Iwasaki | – | 55.8 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Masayuki Osawa | – | 54.5 (2) | 1:50.3 (4) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Satoru Nakano | – | 55.9 (4) | 2:46.2 (4) | |||
| Anchor | – | Teruhiko Kitani | – | 55.6 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 8 | Spain | ESP | 3:42.7 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | José Antonio Chicoy | – | 55.1 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Juan Fortuny | – | 56.3 (6) | 1:51.4 (5) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Juan Martínez | – | 56.2 (6) | 2:47.6 (5) | |||
| Anchor | – | Diego Martel | – | 55.1 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 2 | Sweden | SWE | 3:43.9 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Lester Eriksson | – | 55.7 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Ingvar Eriksson | – | 55.9 (5) | 1:51.6 (6) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Bo Westergren | – | 56.1 (5) | 2:47.7 (6) | |||
| Anchor | – | Gunnar Larsson | – | 56.2 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 3 | Colombia | COL | 3:51.5 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Julio Arango | – | 56.0 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Tomás Becerra | – | 59.7 (7) | 1:55.7 (7) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Federico Sicard | – | 58.8 (7) | 2:54.5 (7) | |||
| Anchor | – | Ricardo González | – | 57.0 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 1 | El Salvador | ESA | 4:08.3 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Salvador Vilanova | – | 55.9 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Rubén Guerrero | – | 1:05.9 (8) | 2:01.8 (8) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | José Alvarado | – | 1:02.4 (8) | 3:04.2 (8) | |||
| Anchor | – | Ernesto Durón | – | 1:04.1 (8) | – (–) |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:35.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | William Johnson | – | 54.5 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | David Johnson | – | 53.1 (1) | 1:47.6 (1) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Mike Wall | – | 54.0 (2) | 2:41.6 (1) | |||
| Anchor | – | Don Schollander | – | 53.8 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 2 | Australia | AUS | 3:38.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Greg Rogers | – | 55.3 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Robert Cusack | – | 55.7 (=5) | 1:51.0 (2) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Bob Windle | – | 53.9 (1) | 2:44.9 (2) | |||
| Anchor | – | Mike Wenden | – | 53.1 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 8 | West Germany | FRG | 3:40.2 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Peter Schorning | – | 55.1 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Wolfgang Kremer | – | 54.8 (=3) | 1:49.9 (3) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Olaf, Baron von Schilling | – | 54.9 (3) | 2:44.8 (=3) | |||
| Anchor | – | Hans Faßnacht | – | 55.4 (=4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 7 | East Germany | GDR | 3:40.5 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Frank Wiegand | – | 55.4 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Horst-Günter Gregor | – | 54.4 (2) | 1:49.8 (4) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Udo Poser | – | 55.0 (4) | 2:44.8 (=3) | |||
| Anchor | – | Lothar Gericke | – | 55.7 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 6 | Hungary | HUN | 3:42.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Péter Lázár | – | 56.0 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | István Szentirmay | – | 56.0 (7) | 1:52.0 (5) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Csaba Csatlós | – | 55.9 (6) | 2:47.9 (5) | |||
| Anchor | – | Gábor Kucsera | – | 54.5 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 3 | Mexico | MEX | 3:46.1 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Salvador Ruiz | – | 57.1 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Mario Santibáñez | – | 55.7 (=5) | 1:52.8 (6) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Eduardo Alanís | – | 57.8 (7) | 2:50.6 (6) | |||
| Anchor | – | Rafaél Cal | – | 55.5 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 5 | Puerto Rico | PUR | 3:47.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Jorge González | – | 55.0 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Michael Goodner | – | 1:00.4 (8) | 1:55.4 (7) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Gary Goodner | – | 55.6 (5) | 2:51.0 (7) | |||
| Anchor | – | José Ferraioli | – | 56.0 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 1 | Philippines | PHI | 3:47.8 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Roosevelt Abdulgafur | – | 59.7 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Amman Jalmaani | – | 54.8 (=3) | 1:54.5 (8) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Tony Asamli | – | 57.9 (8) | 2:52.4 (8) | |||
| Anchor | – | Luis Ayesa | – | 55.4 (=4) | – (–) |
| Date | 17 October 1968 — 17:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:31.7 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Zac Zorn | – | 53.4 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Steve Rerych | – | 52.8 (1) | 1:46.2 (1) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Mark Spitz | – | 52.7 (1) | 2:38.9 (1) | |||
| Anchor | – | Ken Walsh | – | 52.8 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 5 | Soviet Union | URS | 3:34.2 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Semyon Belits-Geyman | – | 54.7 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Viktor Mazanov | – | 54.0 (2) | 1:48.7 (2) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Georgijs Kuļikovs | – | 52.9 (2) | 2:41.6 (2) | |||
| Anchor | – | Leonid Ilyichov | – | 52.6 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 3 | Australia | AUS | 3:34.7 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Greg Rogers | – | 55.2 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Robert Cusack | – | 54.1 (3) | 1:49.3 (3) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Bob Windle | – | 53.7 (3) | 2:43.0 (3) | |||
| Anchor | – | Mike Wenden | – | 51.7 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 7 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:38.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mike Turner | – | 55.5 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Bobby McGregor | – | 54.2 (4) | 1:49.7 (4) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | David Hembrow | – | 55.4 (=6) | 2:45.1 (4) | |||
| Anchor | – | Tony Jarvis | – | 53.3 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 1 | East Germany | GDR | 3:38.8 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Frank Wiegand | – | 54.3 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Horst-Günter Gregor | – | 54.3 (5) | 1:48.6 (5) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Udo Poser | – | 55.4 (=6) | 2:44.0 (5) | |||
| Anchor | – | Lothar Gericke | – | 54.8 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 6 | West Germany | FRG | 3:39.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Peter Schorning | – | 54.5 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Wolfgang Kremer | – | 55.2 (6) | 1:49.7 (4) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Olaf, Baron von Schilling | – | 54.7 (5) | 2:44.4 (6) | |||
| Anchor | – | Hans Faßnacht | – | 54.6 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 2 | Canada | CAN | 3:39.2 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Glen Finch | – | 55.3 (=6) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | George Smith | – | 55.3 (7) | 1:50.6 (7) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Ralph Hutton | – | 54.2 (4) | 2:44.8 (7) | |||
| Anchor | – | Sandy Gilchrist | – | 54.4 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 8 | Japan | JPN | 3:41.5 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Kunihiro Iwasaki | – | 55.3 (=6) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Masayuki Osawa | – | 55.4 (8) | 1:50.7 (8) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Satoru Nakano | – | 55.9 (8) | 2:46.6 (8) | |||
| Anchor | – | Teruhiko Kitani | – | 54.9 (8) | – (–) |
