| Date | 17 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez, Ciudad de México |
| Participants | 70 from 16 countries |
The American team of Kaye Hall, Catie Ball, Ellie Daniel, and Sue Pedersen had set the world record of 4:28.1 only a few weeks before the Olympics, at a meet in Colorado Springs. They were heavily favored but had a bit of a tussle with the Australians. The race opened the Olympic meet, with Hall swimming the opening backstroke leg, leading Australian Lynne Watson by 0.7 seconds. Catie Ball swam the second breaststroke leg, but she had a poor Olympics for her, suffering from a viral infection throughout, and Australian Judy Playfair, only 14-years-old, closed the lead down to 0.3 seconds. Daniel opened it a little bit on the butterfly, racing the eventual 100 fly champion Lyn McClements, but the race was still in doubt as Sue Pedersen took the anchor leg freestyle against Jenny Steinbeck. And then it was over. Pedersen pulled away to give the Americans a gold by 1.7 seconds. Far back in third was West Germany, followed by the Soviet Union and East Germany.
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 4:34.7 (1 h1) | 4:28.3 (1) | Gold | ||
| Backstroke | 15384 | Kaye Hall | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 15376 | Catie Ball | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 15381 | Ellie Daniel | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 15394 | Sue Pedersen | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | 15397 | Jane Swagerty | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 15388 | Suzy Jones | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 15396 | Susan Shields | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 15385 | Jan Henne | – | – | ||||
| 2 | – | Australia |  AUS | 4:34.6 (1 h2) | 4:30.0 (2) | Silver | ||
| Backstroke | 13069 | Lynne Watson | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 13066 | Judy Playfair | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 13062 | Lyn McClements | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 13068 | Jenny Steinbeck | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 13056 | Lyn Bell | – | – | ||||
| 3 | – | West Germany |  FRG | 4:39.5 (3 h2) | 4:36.4 (3) | Bronze | ||
| Backstroke | 12334 | Angelika Kraus | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 12331 | Uta Frommater | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 12333 | Heike Hustede | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 12338 | Heidi Reineck | – | – | ||||
| 4 | – | Soviet Union |  URS | 4:39.5 (3 h1) | 4:37.0 (4) | |||
| Backstroke | 21067 | Tina Lek'veishvili | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 21058 | Alla Grebennikova | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 21056 | Tatyana Devyatova | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 21063 | Lidiya Grebets | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 21054 | Larisa Zakharova | – | – | ||||
| 5 | – | East Germany |  GDR | 4:39.3 (2 h1) | 4:38.0 (5) | |||
| Backstroke | 23126 | Martina Grunert | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 23080 | Eva Wittke | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | – | Helga Lindner | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | – | Uta Schmuck | – | – | ||||
| 6 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 4:40.4 (4 h1) | 4:38.3 (6) | |||
| Backstroke | 16694 | Wendy Burrell | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 16698 | Dorothy Harrison | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 16699 | Margaret Auton | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 16703 | Alex Jackson | – | – | ||||
| 7 | – | Netherlands |  NED | 4:39.4 (2 h2) | 4:38.7 (7) | |||
| Backstroke | 17075 | Cobie Buter | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | – | Klenie Bimolt | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 17070 | Ada Kok | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 17071 | Nel Bos | – | – | ||||
| 8 | – | Hungary |  HUN | 4:41.2 (4 h2) | 4:42.9 (8) | |||
| Backstroke | 17382 | Mária Balla-Lantos | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 17381 | Edit Kovács | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | – | Andrea Gyarmati | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 17385 | Judit Turóczy | – | – | ||||
| 9 | 4 | Japan |  JPN | 4:41.4 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 18159 | Yukiko Goushi | – | – | |||||
| 18155 | Kiyoe Nakagawa | – | – | |||||
| 18160 | Yasuko Fujii | – | – | |||||
| 18153 | Miwako Kobayashi | – | – | |||||
| 10 | 4 | Canada |  CAN | 4:43.1 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 13885 | Elaine Tanner | – | – | |||||
| 13883 | Anne Walton | – | – | |||||
| 13887 | Jeanne Warren | – | – | |||||
| 13884 | Marion Lay | – | – | |||||
| 11 | 8 | New Zealand |  NZL | 4:49.0 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 19366 | Glenda Stirling | – | – | |||||
| 19364 | Pru Chapman | – | – | |||||
| 19367 | Sandra Whittleston | – | – | |||||
| 19365 | Tui Shipston | – | – | |||||
| 12 | 2 | Mexico |  MEX | 4:51.0 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 18778 | Lidia Ramírez | – | – | |||||
| 18779 | Tamara Oynick | – | – | |||||
| 18781 | Patricia Obregón | – | – | |||||
| 18776 | María Teresa Ramírez | – | – | |||||
| 13 | 6 | Uruguay |  URU | 4:56.0 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 21523 | Felicia Ospitaletche | – | – | |||||
| 21520 | Ana María Norbis | – | – | |||||
| 21521 | Ruth Apt | – | – | |||||
| 21524 | Mónica E. Figueroa | – | – | |||||
| 14 | 7 | El Salvador |  ESA | 5:12.6 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 14929 | Rosa Hasbún | – | – | |||||
| 14928 | María Moreno | – | – | |||||
| 14926 | Carmen Ferracuti | – | – | |||||
| 14927 | Donatella Ferracuti | – | – | |||||
| 15 | 5 | Puerto Rico |  PUR | 5:18.2 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 22935 | Ana Marcial | – | – | |||||
| – | Liana Vicens | – | – | |||||
| 22933 | Kristina Moir | – | – | |||||
| – | Lorna Blake | – | – | |||||
| 8 | Yugoslavia |  YUG | – (DQ h2) | – | ||||
| 21689 | Zdenka Gašparac | – | – | |||||
| – | Đurđica Bjedov | – | – | |||||
| 21692 | Mirjana Šegrt | – | – | |||||
| 21690 | Ana Boban | – | – |
| Date | 17 October 1968 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest 8 advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Australia | AUS | 4:34.6 | ||
| 2 | 5 | United States | USA | 4:34.7 | ||
| 3 | 1 | East Germany | GDR | 4:39.3 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Netherlands | NED | 4:39.4 | ||
| =5 | 3 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:39.5 | ||
| =5 | 7 | West Germany | FRG | 4:39.5 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:40.4 | ||
| 8 | 1 | Hungary | HUN | 4:41.2 | ||
| 9 | 4 | Japan | JPN | 4:41.4 | ||
| 10 | 4 | Canada | CAN | 4:43.1 | ||
| 11 | 8 | New Zealand | NZL | 4:49.0 | ||
| 12 | 2 | Mexico | MEX | 4:51.0 | ||
| 13 | 6 | Uruguay | URU | 4:56.0 | ||
| 14 | 7 | El Salvador | ESA | 5:12.6 | ||
| 15 | 5 | Puerto Rico | PUR | 5:18.2 | ||
| 8 | Yugoslavia | YUG | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | United States | USA | 4:34.7 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Jane Swagerty | – | 1:10.3 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Suzy Jones | – | 1:17.0 (1) | 2:27.3 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Susan Shields | – | 1:05.9 (1) | 3:33.2 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jan Henne | – | 1:01.5 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 1 | East Germany | GDR | 4:39.3 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Martina Grunert | – | 1:10.7 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Eva Wittke | – | 1:19.7 (3) | 2:30.4 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Helga Lindner | – | 1:07.1 (=2) | 3:37.5 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Uta Schmuck | – | 1:01.8 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 3 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:39.5 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Tina Lek'veishvili | – | 1:11.8 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Alla Grebennikova | – | 1:17.2 (2) | 2:29.0 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Larisa Zakharova | – | 1:08.4 (4) | 3:37.4 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Lidiya Grebets | – | 1:02.1 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 6 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:40.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Wendy Burrell | – | 1:11.2 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Dorothy Harrison | – | 1:21.2 (4) | 2:32.4 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Margaret Auton | – | 1:07.1 (=2) | 3:39.5 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Alex Jackson | – | 1:00.9 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 4 | Canada | CAN | 4:43.1 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Elaine Tanner | – | 1:07.6 (1) | – (–) | IOR | ||
| Breaststroke | – | Anne Walton | – | 1:25.1 (6) | 2:32.7 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Jeanne Warren | – | 1:09.9 (6) | 3:42.6 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Marion Lay | – | 1:00.5 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 8 | New Zealand | NZL | 4:49.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Glenda Stirling | – | 1:10.2 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Pru Chapman | – | 1:25.2 (7) | 2:35.4 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Sandra Whittleston | – | 1:09.0 (5) | 3:44.4 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Tui Shipston | – | 1:04.6 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 2 | Mexico | MEX | 4:51.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lidia Ramírez | – | 1:14.1 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Tamara Oynick | – | 1:22.0 (5) | 2:36.1 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Patricia Obregón | – | 1:12.1 (7) | 3:48.2 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | María Teresa Ramírez | – | 1:02.8 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 7 | El Salvador | ESA | 5:12.6 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Rosa Hasbún | – | 1:22.2 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | María Moreno | – | 1:26.8 (8) | 2:49.0 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Carmen Ferracuti | – | 1:15.6 (8) | 4:04.6 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Donatella Ferracuti | – | 1:08.0 (8) | – (–) |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Australia | AUS | 4:34.6 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lynne Watson | – | 1:09.6 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Judy Playfair | – | 1:17.7 (5) | 2:27.3 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Lyn McClements | – | 1:06.4 (2) | 3:33.7 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Lyn Bell | – | 1:00.9 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 2 | Netherlands | NED | 4:39.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Cobie Buter | – | 1:10.1 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Klenie Bimolt | – | 1:21.0 (6) | 2:31.1 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Ada Kok | – | 1:06.1 (1) | 3:37.2 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Nel Bos | – | 1:02.2 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 7 | West Germany | FRG | 4:39.5 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Angelika Kraus | – | 1:12.7 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Uta Frommater | – | 1:16.5 (2) | 2:29.2 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Heike Hustede | – | 1:07.4 (4) | 3:36.6 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Heidi Reineck | – | 1:02.9 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 1 | Hungary | HUN | 4:41.2 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Mária Balla-Lantos | – | 1:11.1 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Edit Kovács | – | 1:21.7 (7) | 2:32.8 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Andrea Gyarmati | – | 1:07.2 (3) | 3:40.0 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Judit Turóczy | – | 1:01.2 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 4 | Japan | JPN | 4:41.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Yukiko Goushi | – | 1:11.4 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Kiyoe Nakagawa | – | 1:17.0 (4) | 2:28.4 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Yasuko Fujii | – | 1:10.0 (5) | 3:38.4 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Miwako Kobayashi | – | 1:03.0 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 6 | Uruguay | URU | 4:56.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Felicia Ospitaletche | – | 1:17.8 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Ana María Norbis | – | 1:16.4 (1) | 2:34.2 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Ruth Apt | – | 1:15.8 (7) | 3:50.0 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Mónica E. Figueroa | – | 1:06.0 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 5 | Puerto Rico | PUR | 5:18.2 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Ana Marcial | – | 1:22.7 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Liana Vicens | – | 1:25.8 (8) | 2:48.5 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Kristina Moir | – | 1:17.6 (8) | 4:06.1 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Lorna Blake | – | 1:12.1 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | Yugoslavia | YUG | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Backstroke | – | Zdenka Gašparac | – | [1:10.8] ([3]) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Đurđica Bjedov | – | [1:16.8] ([3]) | [2:27.6] ([−]) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Mirjana Šegrt | – | [1:11.3] ([6]) | [3:38.9] ([−]) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Ana Boban | – | [1:04.3] ([6]) | – (–) |
| Date | 17 October 1968 — 17:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | United States | USA | 4:28.3 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Kaye Hall | – | 1:07.8 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Catie Ball | – | 1:16.3 (3) | 2:24.1 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Ellie Daniel | – | 1:04.8 (1) | 3:28.9 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Sue Pedersen | – | 59.4 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 4 | Australia | AUS | 4:30.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lynne Watson | – | 1:08.5 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Judy Playfair | – | 1:15.9 (2) | 2:24.4 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Lyn McClements | – | 1:05.0 (2) | 3:29.4 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jenny Steinbeck | – | 1:00.6 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 7 | West Germany | FRG | 4:36.4 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Angelika Kraus | – | 1:12.6 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Uta Frommater | – | 1:15.7 (1) | 2:28.3 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Heike Hustede | – | 1:06.1 (4) | 3:34.4 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Heidi Reineck | – | 1:02.0 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 2 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:37.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Tina Lek'veishvili | – | 1:10.9 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Alla Grebennikova | – | 1:17.2 (4) | 2:28.1 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Tatyana Devyatova | – | 1:07.0 (7) | 3:35.1 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Lidiya Grebets | – | 1:01.9 (=4) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 3 | East Germany | GDR | 4:38.0 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Martina Grunert | – | 1:10.1 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Eva Wittke | – | 1:19.2 (5) | 2:29.3 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Helga Lindner | – | 1:06.8 (=5) | 3:36.1 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Uta Schmuck | – | 1:01.9 (=4) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 1 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:38.3 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Wendy Burrell | – | 1:11.3 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Dorothy Harrison | – | 1:19.3 (6) | 2:30.6 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Margaret Auton | – | 1:06.8 (=5) | 3:37.4 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Alex Jackson | – | 1:00.9 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 6 | Netherlands | NED | 4:38.7 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Cobie Buter | – | 1:10.3 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Klenie Bimolt | – | 1:20.7 (7) | 2:31.0 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Ada Kok | – | 1:05.5 (3) | 3:36.5 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Nel Bos | – | 1:02.2 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 8 | Hungary | HUN | 4:42.9 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Mária Balla-Lantos | – | 1:11.2 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Edit Kovács | – | 1:22.0 (8) | 2:33.2 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Andrea Gyarmati | – | 1:07.6 (8) | 3:40.8 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Judit Turóczy | – | 1:02.1 (7) | – (–) |
