| | Event type

4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men

Date	31 August 1972
Status	Olympic
Location	Schwimmhalle, Olympiapark, München
Participants	67 from 14 countries

The United States was considered unbeatable, as Mark Spitz was looking to win his fifth gold medal in Munich. One hour before the final he had won gold in the 100 butterfly. The US sent out there B team for the prelims, but they still posted the fastest qualifier by 2.61 seconds over Australia. The opening leg of the final was a shocker, however, as Soviet swimmer Igor Grivennikov led American John Kinsella by half a bodylength. On the second leg, Fred Tyler gave the Americans a bodylength lead over West Germany at 400 metres, the Soviets dropping back. But Steve Genter then put the race away with a 1:52.78 split to give Spitz a big lead for the anchor. Spitz came home in a somewhat pedestrian 1:54.24 but it was good enough for the gold medal, a world record 7:35.78, and nearly a six-second margin over the West Germans. The USSR held on to win the bronze medal.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	–	United States	USA	7:46.42 (1 h2)	7:35.78 (1)	Gold
	564	John Kinsella		–	–
	573	Fred Tyler		–	–
	558	Steve Genter		–	–
	571	Mark Spitz		–	–
	–	Gary Conelly		–	–
	566	Tom McBreen		–	–
	549	Mike Burton		–	–
2	–	West Germany	FRG	7:53.98 (4 h2)	7:41.69 (2)	Silver
	244	Klaus Steinbach		–	–
	236	Werner Lampe		–	–
	249	Hans-Günther Vosseler		–	–
	224	Hans Faßnacht		–	–
	–	Gerhard Schiller		–	–
	238	Folkert Meeuw		–	–
3	–	Soviet Union	URS	7:51.44 (3 h2)	7:45.76 (3)	Bronze
	–	Igor Grivennikov		–	–
	533	Viktor Mazanov		–	–
	532	Georgijs Kuļikovs		–	–
	524	Vladimir Bure		–	–
	522	Viktor Aboimov		–	–
	536	Aleksandr Samsonov		–	–
4	–	Sweden	SWE	7:57.54 (5 h2)	7:47.37 (4)
	498	Bengt Gingsjö		–	–
	500	Hans Ljungberg		–	–
	497	Anders Bellbring		–	–
	499	Gunnar Larsson		–	–
	501	Rolf Pettersson DNS		–	–
5	–	Australia	AUS	7:49.03 (1 h1)	7:48.66 (5)
	19	Mike Wenden		–	–
	21	Graham Windeatt		–	–
	15	Robert Nay		–	–
	8	Brad Cooper		–	–
	–	Bruce Featherston		–	–
	20	Graham White		–	–
6	–	East Germany	GDR	7:51.11 (2 h2)	7:49.11 (6)
	200	Wilfried Hartung		–	–
	196	Peter Bruch		–	–
	209	Udo Poser		–	–
	214	Lutz Unger		–	–
	210	Roger Pyttel		–	–
7	–	Canada	CAN	7:57.69 (2 h1)	7:53.61 (7)
	85	Bruce Robertson		–	–
	84	Brian Phillips		–	–
	82	Ian MacKenzie		–	–
	76	Ralph Hutton		–	–
	70	Dean Buckborough		–	–
8	–	Great Britain	GBR	7:58.33 (3 h1)	7:55.59 (8)
	–	Brian Brinkley		–	–
	180	John Mills		–	–
	169	Michael Bailey		–	–
	173	Colin Cunningham		–	–
9	–	France	FRA	8:00.79 (6 h2)	–
	154	Pierre Caland		–	–
	–	Pierre-Yves Copin		–	–
	160	Jean-Jacques Moine		–	–
	162	Michel Rousseau		–	–
	163	Gilles Vigne DNS		–	–
10	–	Netherlands	NED	8:00.87 (4 h1)	–
	274	Peter Prijdekker		–	–
	272	Bert Bergsma		–	–
	276	Roger van Hamburg		–	–
	273	Hans Elzerman		–	–
11	–	Italy	ITA	8:03.98 (7 h2)	–
	332	Roberto Pangaro		–	–
	321	Arnaldo Cinquetti		–	–
	329	Lorenzo Marugo		–	–
	333	Riccardo Targetti		–	–
	326	Sandro Grassi DNS		–	–
12	–	Mexico	MEX	8:08.39 (5 h1)	–
	380	Guillermo García		–	–
	389	Roberto Strauss		–	–
	384	José Luis Prado		–	–
	390	Jorge Urreta		–	–
13	–	Brazil	BRA	8:17.91 (6 h1)	–
	50	Fedola		–	–
	45	Ruy Oliveira		–	–
	53	Paulo Zanetti		–	–
	48	José Roberto Aranha		–	–
14	–	Philippines	PHI	8:44.01 (7 h1)	–
	423	Luis Ayesa DNS		–	–
	426	Dae Imlani		–	–
	–	Edwin Borja		–	–
	425	Carlos Brosas		–	–
	427	Jairulla Jaitulla		–	–
DNS	–	El Salvador	ESA	– (DNS h2)	–
	–	Antonio Ferracuti DNS		–	–
	–	Sergio Hasbún DNS		–	–
	–	Tomás Rengifo DNS		–	–
	–	Salvador Vilanova DNS		–	–
DNS	–	Ecuador	ECU	–	–
	117	Jorge Delgado DNS		–	–
	118	Fernando González DNS		–	–
	119	Eduardo Orejuela DNS		–	–
	120	Daniel Pinargote DNS		–	–
DNS	–	Rhodesia	RHO	–	–
	454	Ken Borain DNS		–	–
	456	Paul Broster DNS		–	–
	457	Rod Hamilton DNS		–	–
	461	Andrew Young DNS		–	–

Round One

Date	31 August 1972 — 10:00
Format	Fastest 8 advanced to the final round.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time
1	United States	USA	7:46.42	QOR
2	Australia	AUS	7:49.03	QOR
3	East Germany	GDR	7:51.11	Q
4	Soviet Union	URS	7:51.44	Q
5	West Germany	FRG	7:53.98	Q
6	Sweden	SWE	7:57.54	Q
7	Canada	CAN	7:57.69	Q
8	Great Britain	GBR	7:58.33	Q
9	France	FRA	8:00.79
10	Netherlands	NED	8:00.87
11	Italy	ITA	8:03.98
12	Mexico	MEX	8:08.39
13	Brazil	BRA	8:17.91
14	Philippines	PHI	8:44.01
DNS	El Salvador	ESA	–

Heat #1

Pos	Competitors	NOC	Time	Split	Exchange
1	Australia	AUS	7:49.03	– (–)	– (–)	QOR
Lead-off	Graham Windeatt		–	1:57.34 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Bruce Featherston		–	1:58.42 (1)	3:55.76 (1)
3rd Leg	Graham White		–	1:58.08 (1)	5:53.84 (1)
Anchor	Mike Wenden		–	1:55.18 (1)	– (–)
2	Canada	CAN	7:57.69	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	Ralph Hutton		–	1:57.97 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Dean Buckborough		–	2:00.20 (4)	3:58.17 (3)
3rd Leg	Ian MacKenzie		–	1:59.54 (2)	5:57.71 (2)
Anchor	Brian Phillips		–	1:59.97 (2)	– (–)
3	Great Britain	GBR	7:58.33	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	Brian Brinkley		–	1:57.49 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	John Mills		–	1:59.03 (2)	3:56.52 (2)
3rd Leg	Michael Bailey		–	2:01.35 (4)	5:57.87 (3)
Anchor	Colin Cunningham		–	2:00.44 (3)	– (–)
4	Netherlands	NED	8:00.87	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Peter Prijdekker		–	1:59.40 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Bert Bergsma		–	1:59.56 (3)	3:58.96 (4)
3rd Leg	Roger van Hamburg		–	2:00.38 (3)	5:59.34 (4)
Anchor	Hans Elzerman		–	2:01.52 (4)	– (–)
5	Mexico	MEX	8:08.39	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Guillermo García		–	1:58.58 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Roberto Strauss		–	2:02.90 (6)	4:01.48 (5)
3rd Leg	José Luis Prado		–	2:04.93 (5)	6:06.41 (5)
Anchor	Jorge Urreta		–	2:01.97 (5)	– (–)
6	Brazil	BRA	8:17.91	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Fedola		–	2:01.20 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Ruy Oliveira		–	2:02.06 (5)	4:03.26 (6)
3rd Leg	Paulo Zanetti		–	2:05.85 (6)	6:09.11 (6)
Anchor	José Roberto Aranha		–	2:08.80 (7)	– (–)
7	Philippines	PHI	8:44.01	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Dae Imlani		–	2:06.23 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Edwin Borja		–	2:14.31 (7)	4:20.54 (7)
3rd Leg	Carlos Brosas		–	2:15.92 (7)	6:36.46 (7)
Anchor	Jairulla Jaitulla		–	2:07.54 (6)	– (–)

Heat #2

Pos	Competitors	NOC	Time	Split	Exchange
1	United States	USA	7:46.42	– (–)	– (–)	QOR
Lead-off	Gary Conelly		–	1:54.11 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Tom McBreen		–	1:57.34 (1)	3:51.45 (1)
3rd Leg	Mike Burton		–	1:57.73 (2)	5:49.18 (1)
Anchor	John Kinsella		–	1:57.23 (2)	– (–)
2	East Germany	GDR	7:51.11	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	Wilfried Hartung		–	1:57.75 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Udo Poser		–	1:57.39 (2)	3:55.14 (2)
3rd Leg	Roger Pyttel		–	1:58.32 (3)	5:53.46 (2)
Anchor	Lutz Unger		–	1:57.64 (3)	– (–)
3	Soviet Union	URS	7:51.44	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	Viktor Aboimov		–	1:58.92 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Aleksandr Samsonov		–	1:57.83 (4)	3:56.75 (4)
3rd Leg	Viktor Mazanov		–	1:56.93 (1)	5:53.68 (3)
Anchor	Georgijs Kuļikovs		–	1:57.74 (4)	– (–)
4	West Germany	FRG	7:53.98	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	Hans Faßnacht		–	1:57.70 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Gerhard Schiller		–	1:58.12 (5)	3:55.82 (3)
3rd Leg	Folkert Meeuw		–	1:58.46 (4)	5:54.28 (4)
Anchor	Hans-Günther Vosseler		–	1:59.69 (5)	– (–)
5	Sweden	SWE	7:57.54	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	Hans Ljungberg		–	2:00.39 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Bengt Gingsjö		–	1:57.46 (3)	3:57.85 (5)
3rd Leg	Anders Bellbring		–	1:59.06 (5)	5:56.91 (5)
Anchor	Gunnar Larsson		–	2:00.62 (7)	– (–)
6	France	FRA	8:00.79	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Pierre Caland		–	1:59.91 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Pierre-Yves Copin		–	2:03.16 (7)	4:03.07 (7)
3rd Leg	Jean-Jacques Moine		–	2:01.45 (6)	6:04.52 (7)
Anchor	Michel Rousseau		–	1:56.26 (1)	– (–)
7	Italy	ITA	8:03.98	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Roberto Pangaro		–	2:00.31 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Arnaldo Cinquetti		–	2:01.39 (6)	4:01.70 (6)
3rd Leg	Lorenzo Marugo		–	2:01.81 (7)	6:03.51 (6)
Anchor	Riccardo Targetti		–	2:00.46 (6)	– (–)
DNS	El Salvador	ESA	–	– (–)	– (–)
	Antonio Ferracuti DNS		–	– (–)	– (–)
	Sergio Hasbún DNS		–	– (–)	– (–)
	Tomás Rengifo DNS		–	– (–)	– (–)
	Salvador Vilanova DNS		–	– (–)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	31 August 1972 — 18:20

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Split	Exchange
1	4	United States	USA	7:35.78	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Lead-off	–	John Kinsella		–	1:54.49 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Fred Tyler		–	1:54.32 (2)	3:48.81 (2)
3rd Leg	–	Steve Genter		–	1:52.72 (1)	5:41.53 (1)
Anchor	–	Mark Spitz		–	1:54.24 (2)	– (–)
2	2	West Germany	FRG	7:41.69	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Klaus Steinbach		–	1:54.62 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Werner Lampe		–	1:53.49 (1)	3:48.11 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Hans-Günther Vosseler		–	1:57.45 (=5)	5:45.56 (2)
Anchor	–	Hans Faßnacht		–	1:56.11 (4)	– (–)
3	6	Soviet Union	URS	7:45.76	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Igor Grivennikov		–	1:56.24 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Viktor Mazanov		–	1:57.28 (4)	3:53.52 (4)
3rd Leg	–	Georgijs Kuļikovs		–	1:56.92 (3)	5:50.44 (3)
Anchor	–	Vladimir Bure		–	1:55.30 (3)	– (–)
4	7	Sweden	SWE	7:47.37	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Bengt Gingsjö		–	1:56.88 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Hans Ljungberg		–	1:59.18 (7)	3:56.06 (7)
3rd Leg	–	Anders Bellbring		–	1:57.45 (=5)	5:53.51 (6)
Anchor	–	Gunnar Larsson		–	1:53.84 (1)	– (–)
5	5	Australia	AUS	7:48.66	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Mike Wenden		–	1:56.41 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Graham Windeatt		–	1:57.03 (3)	3:53.44 (3)
3rd Leg	–	Robert Nay		–	1:57.68 (7)	5:51.12 (4)
Anchor	–	Brad Cooper		–	1:57.54 (6)	– (–)
6	3	East Germany	GDR	7:49.11	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Wilfried Hartung		–	1:56.76 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Peter Bruch		–	1:58.88 (5)	3:55.64 (5)
3rd Leg	–	Udo Poser		–	1:56.84 (2)	5:52.48 (5)
Anchor	–	Lutz Unger		–	1:56.61 (5)	– (–)
7	1	Canada	CAN	7:53.61	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Bruce Robertson		–	1:57.55 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	Brian Phillips		–	2:00.46 (8)	3:58.01 (8)
3rd Leg	–	Ian MacKenzie		–	1:57.42 (4)	5:55.43 (8)
Anchor	–	Ralph Hutton		–	1:58.17 (7)	– (–)
8	8	Great Britain	GBR	7:55.59	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	–	Brian Brinkley		–	1:56.75 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	–	John Mills		–	1:58.91 (6)	3:55.66 (6)
3rd Leg	–	Michael Bailey		–	1:59.61 (8)	5:55.27 (7)
Anchor	–	Colin Cunningham		–	2:00.30 (8)	– (–)		1