| | Event type
400 metres Individual Medley, Women
| Date | 24 – 25 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez, Ciudad de México |
| Participants | 28 from 19 countries |
At Tokyo, Claudia Kolb had won a surprise silver medal in the 200 metre breaststroke, even though she was only 14-years-old. In the ensuing four years she had become the world’s best all-around swimmer, setting six world records in the 200 IM and four in the 400. At the 1967 Pan American Games she won three individual gold medals, in both individual medleys and the 200 butterfly. In Mexico City she was entered only in her two best events, the IMs, and she came through, easily winning two gold medals. On 20 October she won gold in the 200 IM, with the 400 final set for 25 October. She had won the 200 by over four seconds but that paled in comparison to her dominance in this event. Winning by almost 14 seconds, the largest margin in Olympic women’s swimming since before World War II, at the finish Kolb was half-a-pool ahead of the silver medalist, her teammate Lynn Vidali. East German Sabine Steinbach, who had been touched out for bronze in the 200 IM, placed third over the fast closing American Sue Pedersen.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15390 | Claudia Kolb |  USA | 5:17.2 (1 h5) | 5:08.5 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 15399 | Lynn Vidali | USA | 5:28.9 (1 h3) | 5:22.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 23076 | Sabine Steinbach |  GDR | 5:31.3 (1 h2) | 5:25.3 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 15394 | Sue Pedersen | USA | 5:26.4 (1 h1) | 5:25.8 (4) | |||
| 5 | 16692 | Shelagh Ratcliffe |  GBR | 5:33.2 (2 h3) | 5:30.5 (5) | |||
| 6 | 23074 | Marianne Seydel | GDR | 5:30.9 (1 h4) | 5:32.0 (6) | |||
| 7 | 19365 | Tui Shipston |  NZL | 5:33.7 (2 h4) | 5:34.6 (7) | |||
| 8 | 18777 | Laura Vaca |  MEX | 5:33.7 (3 h3) | 5:35.7 (8) | |||
| 9 | – | Eva Sigg |  FIN | 5:37.3 (2 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | 13067 | Dianna Rickard |  AUS | 5:37.8 (2 h5) | – | |||
| 11 | 21054 | Larisa Zakharova |  URS | 5:38.6 (2 h1) | – | |||
| 12 | 17067 | Hennie Penterman |  NED | 5:38.8 (3 h1) | – | |||
| 13 | 23080 | Eva Wittke | GDR | 5:40.6 (3 h4) | – | |||
| 14 | 13059 | Sue Eddy | AUS | 5:42.2 (3 h2) | – | |||
| 15 | 13620 | Mariya Nikolova |  BUL | 5:45.2 (4 h4) | – | |||
| 16 | 18780 | Norma Amezcua | MEX | 5:47.9 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 17 | 18779 | Tamara Oynick | MEX | 5:48.4 (4 h3) | – | |||
| 18 | 12336 | Heli Matzdorf |  FRG | 5:50.5 (3 h5) | – | |||
| 19 | 21969 | Consuelo Changanachi |  PER | 5:52.2 (4 h5) | – | |||
| 20 | 13972 | Patricia Olano |  COL | 5:52.6 (5 h4) | – | |||
| 21 | 17704 | Yvonne Tobis |  ISR | 5:53.8 (6 h4) | – | |||
| 22 | 13289 | Carla Galle |  BEL | 5:55.2 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 23 | 14810 | Kirsten Campbell |  DEN | 5:59.0 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 24 | 13974 | Olga de Ángulo | COL | 6:00.6 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 25 | 21521 | Ruth Apt |  URU | 6:04.5 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 26 | 15889 | Hedy García |  PHI | 6:07.3 (7 h4) | – | |||
| 27 | 13973 | Nelly Syro | COL | 6:13.1 (5 h5) | – | |||
| 28 | 23710 | Shen Bao-Ni |  TPE | 6:21.5 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 16247 | Danièle Dorléans |  FRA | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 22933 | Kristina Moir |  PUR | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 21523 | Felicia Ospitaletche | URU | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 14927 | Donatella Ferracuti |  ESA | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| 12810 | Adriana Comolli |  ARG | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| 17379 | Márta Egerváry |  HUN | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| 17963 | Novella Calligaris |  ITA | – (DNS h5) | – | ||||
| 19364 | Pru Chapman | NZL | – (DNS h5) | – | ||||
| 20262 | Pat Chan |  SGP | – (DNS h5) | – |
Round One
| Date | 24 October 1968 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Claudia Kolb | USA | 5:17.2 | ||
| 2 | – | Sue Pedersen | USA | 5:26.4 | ||
| 3 | – | Lynn Vidali | USA | 5:28.9 | ||
| 4 | – | Marianne Seydel | GDR | 5:30.9 | ||
| 5 | – | Sabine Steinbach | GDR | 5:31.3 | ||
| 6 | – | Shelagh Ratcliffe | GBR | 5:33.2 | ||
| =7 | – | Laura Vaca | MEX | 5:33.7 | ||
| =7 | – | Tui Shipston | NZL | 5:33.7 | ||
| 9 | – | Eva Sigg | FIN | 5:37.3 | ||
| 10 | – | Dianna Rickard | AUS | 5:37.8 | ||
| 11 | – | Larisa Zakharova | URS | 5:38.6 | ||
| 12 | – | Hennie Penterman | NED | 5:38.8 | ||
| 13 | – | Eva Wittke | GDR | 5:40.6 | ||
| 14 | – | Sue Eddy | AUS | 5:42.2 | ||
| 15 | – | Mariya Nikolova | BUL | 5:45.2 | ||
| 16 | – | Norma Amezcua | MEX | 5:47.9 | ||
| 17 | – | Tamara Oynick | MEX | 5:48.4 | ||
| 18 | – | Heli Matzdorf | FRG | 5:50.5 | ||
| 19 | – | Consuelo Changanachi | PER | 5:52.2 | ||
| 20 | – | Patricia Olano | COL | 5:52.6 | ||
| 21 | – | Yvonne Tobis | ISR | 5:53.8 | ||
| 22 | – | Carla Galle | BEL | 5:55.2 | ||
| 23 | – | Kirsten Campbell | DEN | 5:59.0 | ||
| 24 | – | Olga de Ángulo | COL | 6:00.6 | ||
| 25 | – | Ruth Apt | URU | 6:04.5 | ||
| 26 | – | Hedy García | PHI | 6:07.3 | ||
| 27 | – | Nelly Syro | COL | 6:13.1 | ||
| 28 | – | Shen Bao-Ni | TPE | 6:21.5 | ||
| – | Danièle Dorléans | FRA | – | |||
| – | Kristina Moir | PUR | – | |||
| – | Felicia Ospitaletche | URU | – | |||
| – | Donatella Ferracuti | ESA | – | |||
| – | Adriana Comolli | ARG | – | |||
| – | Márta Egerváry | HUN | – | |||
| – | Novella Calligaris | ITA | – | |||
| – | Pru Chapman | NZL | – | |||
| – | Pat Chan | SGP | – |
Heat #1
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Sue Pedersen | USA | 5:26.4 | 1:11.8 (1) | 2:33.2 (1) | 4:12.7 (1) | 1:21.4 (1) | 1:39.5 (3) | 1:13.7 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Larisa Zakharova | URS | 5:38.6 | 1:15.5 (2) | 2:43.0 (2) | 4:21.5 (2) | 1:27.5 (2) | 1:38.5 (2) | 1:17.1 (3) | ||
| 3 | – | Hennie Penterman | NED | 5:38.8 | 1:16.6 (3) | 2:46.0 (3) | 4:23.7 (3) | 1:29.4 (4) | 1:37.7 (1) | 1:15.1 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | Carla Galle | BEL | 5:55.2 | 1:21.9 (4) | 2:49.5 (4) | 4:32.6 (4) | 1:27.6 (3) | 1:43.1 (4) | 1:22.6 (5) | ||
| 5 | – | Olga de Ángulo | COL | 6:00.6 | 1:23.0 (5) | 2:55.5 (5) | 4:40.7 (5) | 1:32.5 (5) | 1:45.2 (5) | 1:19.9 (4) | ||
| – | Danièle Dorléans | FRA | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – | |||
| – | Kristina Moir | PUR | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – | |||
| – | Felicia Ospitaletche | URU | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Sabine Steinbach | GDR | 5:31.3 | 1:12.3 (1) | 2:35.4 (1) | 4:10.8 (1) | 1:23.1 (1) | 1:35.4 (1) | 1:20.5 (4) | ||
| 2 | – | Eva Sigg | FIN | 5:37.3 | 1:15.2 (2) | 2:42.0 (2) | 4:20.9 (2) | 1:26.8 (3) | 1:38.9 (2) | 1:16.4 (1) | ||
| 3 | – | Sue Eddy | AUS | 5:42.2 | 1:17.1 (4) | 2:42.8 (3) | 4:25.6 (3) | 1:25.7 (2) | 1:42.8 (3) | 1:16.6 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | Norma Amezcua | MEX | 5:47.9 | 1:16.1 (3) | 2:43.1 (4) | 4:29.9 (4) | 1:27.0 (4) | 1:46.8 (4) | 1:18.0 (3) | ||
| 5 | – | Ruth Apt | URU | 6:04.5 | 1:19.8 (5) | 2:54.5 (5) | 4:43.0 (5) | 1:34.7 (5) | 1:48.5 (5) | 1:21.5 (5) | ||
| 6 | – | Shen Bao-Ni | TPE | 6:21.5 | 1:23.1 (6) | 2:59.6 (6) | 4:52.0 (6) | 1:36.5 (6) | 1:52.4 (6) | 1:29.5 (6) | ||
| – | Donatella Ferracuti | ESA | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #3
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Lynn Vidali | USA | 5:28.9 | 1:13.3 (1) | 2:37.0 (1) | 4:14.8 (1) | 1:23.7 (1) | 1:37.8 (3) | 1:14.1 (3) | ||
| 2 | – | Shelagh Ratcliffe | GBR | 5:33.2 | 1:14.9 (2) | 2:41.2 (2) | 4:19.5 (2) | 1:26.3 (2) | 1:38.3 (4) | 1:13.7 (2) | ||
| 3 | – | Laura Vaca | MEX | 5:33.7 | 1:15.5 (3) | 2:42.7 (3) | 4:20.4 (3) | 1:27.2 (3) | 1:37.7 (2) | 1:13.3 (1) | ||
| 4 | – | Tamara Oynick | MEX | 5:48.4 | 1:21.0 (4) | 2:54.5 (4) | 4:27.2 (4) | 1:33.5 (5) | 1:32.7 (1) | 1:21.2 (4) | ||
| 5 | – | Kirsten Campbell | DEN | 5:59.0 | 1:22.6 (5) | 2:55.3 (5) | 4:34.8 (5) | 1:32.7 (4) | 1:39.5 (5) | 1:24.2 (5) | ||
| – | Adriana Comolli | ARG | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – | |||
| – | Márta Egerváry | HUN | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #4
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Marianne Seydel | GDR | 5:30.9 | 1:13.3 (1) | 2:39.5 (2) | 4:13.4 (1) | 1:26.2 (2) | 1:33.9 (1) | 1:17.5 (4) | ||
| 2 | – | Tui Shipston | NZL | 5:33.7 | 1:15.5 (2) | 2:38.5 (1) | 4:18.1 (2) | 1:23.0 (1) | 1:39.6 (3) | 1:15.6 (1) | ||
| 3 | – | Eva Wittke | GDR | 5:40.6 | 1:17.5 (5) | 2:46.3 (3) | 4:21.5 (3) | 1:28.8 (4) | 1:35.2 (2) | 1:19.1 (5) | ||
| 4 | – | Mariya Nikolova | BUL | 5:45.2 | 1:16.9 (4) | 2:46.9 (4) | 4:28.1 (4) | 1:30.0 (5) | 1:41.2 (4) | 1:17.1 (3) | ||
| 5 | – | Patricia Olano | COL | 5:52.6 | 1:20.2 (7) | 2:47.6 (5) | 4:35.9 (6) | 1:27.4 (3) | 1:48.3 (7) | 1:16.7 (2) | ||
| 6 | – | Yvonne Tobis | ISR | 5:53.8 | 1:16.2 (3) | 2:47.9 (6) | 4:34.5 (5) | 1:31.7 (6) | 1:46.6 (5) | 1:19.3 (6) | ||
| 7 | – | Hedy García | PHI | 6:07.3 | 1:17.6 (6) | 2:55.0 (7) | 4:43.0 (7) | 1:37.4 (7) | 1:48.0 (6) | 1:24.3 (7) |
Heat #5
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Claudia Kolb | USA | 5:17.2 | 1:09.1 (1) | 2:31.8 (1) | 4:04.0 (1) | 1:22.7 (1) | 1:32.2 (1) | 1:13.2 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Dianna Rickard | AUS | 5:37.8 | 1:18.1 (3) | 2:44.2 (3) | 4:23.2 (2) | 1:26.1 (2) | 1:39.0 (2) | 1:14.6 (2) | ||
| 3 | – | Heli Matzdorf | FRG | 5:50.5 | 1:18.7 (4) | 2:47.2 (4) | 4:29.5 (3) | 1:28.5 (4) | 1:42.3 (3) | 1:21.0 (4) | ||
| 4 | – | Consuelo Changanachi | PER | 5:52.2 | 1:15.2 (2) | 2:41.9 (2) | 4:32.0 (4) | 1:26.7 (3) | 1:50.1 (4) | 1:20.2 (3) | ||
| 5 | – | Nelly Syro | COL | 6:13.1 | 1:23.5 (5) | 2:54.8 (5) | 4:46.7 (5) | 1:31.3 (5) | 1:51.9 (5) | 1:26.4 (5) | ||
| – | Novella Calligaris | ITA | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – | |||
| – | Pru Chapman | NZL | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – | |||
| – | Pat Chan | SGP | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Final Round
| Date | 25 October 1968 — 17:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Claudia Kolb | USA | 5:08.5 | 1:08.2 (1) | 2:27.9 (1) | 3:57.9 (1) | 1:19.7 (1) | 1:30.0 (1) | 1:10.6 (2) | ||
| 2 | – | Lynn Vidali | USA | 5:22.2 | 1:10.2 (2) | 2:31.9 (2) | 4:07.0 (2) | 1:21.7 (3) | 1:35.1 (2) | 1:15.2 (5) | ||
| 3 | – | Sabine Steinbach | GDR | 5:25.3 | 1:11.3 (4) | 2:32.7 (3) | 4:08.4 (3) | 1:21.4 (2) | 1:35.7 (3) | 1:16.9 (8) | ||
| 4 | – | Sue Pedersen | USA | 5:25.8 | 1:11.1 (3) | 2:34.6 (4) | 4:15.3 (4) | 1:23.5 (4) | 1:40.7 (8) | 1:10.5 (1) | ||
| 5 | – | Shelagh Ratcliffe | GBR | 5:30.5 | 1:14.6 (6) | 2:41.9 (7) | 4:19.2 (7) | 1:27.3 (8) | 1:37.3 (5) | 1:11.3 (3) | ||
| 6 | – | Marianne Seydel | GDR | 5:32.0 | 1:14.0 (5) | 2:39.0 (6) | 4:15.5 (5) | 1:25.0 (6) | 1:36.5 (4) | 1:16.5 (7) | ||
| 7 | – | Tui Shipston | NZL | 5:34.6 | 1:14.9 (7) | 2:38.7 (5) | 4:19.0 (6) | 1:23.8 (5) | 1:40.3 (7) | 1:15.6 (6) | ||
| 8 | – | Laura Vaca | MEX | 5:35.7 | 1:15.8 (8) | 2:42.8 (8) | 4:21.8 (8) | 1:27.0 (7) | 1:39.0 (6) | 1:13.9 (4) |