| Date | 4 September 1972 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmhalle, Olympiapark, München |
| Participants | 76 from 17 countries |
This was the final swimming event of the 1972 Olympics. Mark Spitz was to swim the butterfly leg, the third leg, for the American team in the final. He had already won six gold medals in Munich, having won the 100 freestyle the day before. The United States’ team was the overwhelming favorite and the only way they could lose, it was thought, was to false start or take off early on an exchange. Unsurprisingly, however, East Germany led on the opening backstroke leg, as Roland Matthes, the top backstroker in the world, set a world 100 metre backstroke record with 56.30, as American Mike Stamm was 1.67 seconds back in second place. But Tom Bruce made up the margin on the breaststroke leg, giving Spitz a slight lead, as he and East German Hartmut Flöckner started the butterfly leg almost together. So much for that race. Spitz beat Flöckner by over two seconds in the butterfly, and anchor freestyler Jerry Heidenreich poured it on for the US, winning for four seconds over East Germany in a world record 3:48.16.
For Mark Spitz it had been a pretty good Olympics. Seven events. Seven gold medals. Seven world records. His Olympic total from 1968 and 1972 increased to 11 Olympic medals and 9 gold medals. The day after the medley relay, Palestine terrorists from the Black September group would attack the Israeli Olympic team in the Olympic Village, eventually killing 11 of them. The Olympics and world sport would never be the same. Mark Spitz was Jewish and quickly left Munich, fearing for his fame and his heritage.
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 3:51.98 (1 h3) | 3:48.16 (1) | Gold | ||
| Backstroke | 572 | Mike Stamm | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 548 | Tom Bruce | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 571 | Mark Spitz | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 560 | Jerry Heidenreich | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | 562 | Mitch Ivey | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 561 | John Hencken | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 559 | Gary Hall | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | – | Dave Fairbank | – | – | ||||
| 2 | – | East Germany |  GDR | 3:55.23 (1 h2) | 3:52.12 (2) | Silver | ||
| Backstroke | 207 | Roland Matthes | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 203 | Klaus Katzur | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | – | Hartmut Flöckner | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 214 | Lutz Unger | – | – | ||||
| 210 | Roger Pyttel DNS | – | – | |||||
| 3 | – | Canada |  CAN | 3:57.05 (2 h1) | 3:52.26 (3) | Bronze | ||
| Backstroke | 73 | Erik Fish | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 83 | Bill Mahony | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 85 | Bruce Robertson | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 79 | Bob Kasting | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | 80 | Bill Kennedy | – | – | ||||
| 72 | Clay Evans DNS | – | – | |||||
| 84 | Brian Phillips DNS | – | – | |||||
| 4 | – | Soviet Union |  URS | 3:56.57 (1 h1) | 3:53.26 (4) | |||
| Backstroke | – | Igor Grivennikov | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 534 | Nikolay Pankin | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 537 | Viktor Sharygin | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 524 | Vladimir Bure | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 539 | Viktor Stulikov | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 522 | Viktor Aboimov | – | – | ||||
| 5 | – | Brazil |  BRA | 3:58.56 (2 h2) | 3:57.89 (5) | |||
| Backstroke | 46 | Rômulo Arantes | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 49 | José Sylvio Fiolo | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 52 | Sérgio Waismann | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 48 | José Roberto Aranha | – | – | ||||
| 45 | Ruy Oliveira DNS | – | – | |||||
| 6 | – | Japan |  JPN | 3:59.55 (3 h2) | 3:58.23 (6) | |||
| Backstroke | 340 | Tadashi Honda | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 343 | Nobutaka Taguchi | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 341 | Yasuhiro Komazaki | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 342 | Jiro Sasaki | – | – | ||||
| 7 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:58.97 (2 h3) | 3:58.82 (7) | |||
| Backstroke | 173 | Colin Cunningham | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 189 | David Wilkie | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 180 | John Mills | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 190 | Malcolm Windeatt | – | – | ||||
| 182 | Malcolm O'Connell DNS | – | – | |||||
| 8 | – | Hungary |  HUN | 3:59.86 (3 h1) | 3:59.07 (8) | |||
| Backstroke | 285 | László Cseh, Sr. | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 290 | Sándor Szabó | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 291 | István Szentirmay | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 284 | Attila Császári | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 287 | András Hargitay | – | – | ||||
| 9 | 3 | Australia |  AUS | 4:00.16 (3 h3) | – | |||
| – | Brad Cooper | – | – | |||||
| 12 | Paul Jarvie | – | – | |||||
| 17 | Neil Rogers | – | – | |||||
| 19 | Mike Wenden | – | – | |||||
| 10 | 4 | France |  FRA | 4:00.50 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 153 | Jean-Paul Berjeau | – | – | |||||
| 159 | Roger-Philippe Menu | – | – | |||||
| 161 | Alain Mosconi | – | – | |||||
| 162 | Michel Rousseau | – | – | |||||
| 11 | 5 | West Germany |  FRG | 4:00.56 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 250 | Andreas Weber | – | – | |||||
| 234 | Walter Kusch | – | – | |||||
| 245 | Lutz Stoklasa | – | – | |||||
| 244 | Klaus Steinbach | – | – | |||||
| 12 | 3 | Spain |  ESP | 4:03.73 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 139 | Enrique Melo | – | – | |||||
| 133 | Pedro Balcells | – | – | |||||
| 138 | Arturo Lang-Lenton | – | – | |||||
| 134 | Jorge Comas | – | – | |||||
| 13 | 6 | Mexico |  MEX | 4:05.61 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 388 | José Joaquín Santibáñez | – | – | |||||
| – | Felipe Muñoz | – | – | |||||
| – | Hugo Valencia | – | – | |||||
| 380 | Guillermo García | – | – | |||||
| 387 | Gustavo Salcedo DNS | – | – | |||||
| 389 | Roberto Strauss DNS | – | – | |||||
| 14 | 2 | Sweden |  SWE | 4:06.67 (4 h3) | – | |||
| 502 | Anders Sandberg | – | – | |||||
| 499 | Gunnar Larsson | – | – | |||||
| 500 | Hans Ljungberg | – | – | |||||
| 497 | Anders Bellbring | – | – | |||||
| 498 | Bengt Gingsjö DNS | – | – | |||||
| 15 | 5 | Poland |  POL | 4:07.87 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 437 | Piotr Dłucik | – | – | |||||
| 440 | Cezary Śmiglak | – | – | |||||
| 436 | Andrzej Chudziński | – | – | |||||
| 438 | Zbigniew Pacelt | – | – | |||||
| 16 | 2 | Philippines |  PHI | 4:13.62 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 429 | Gerardo Rosario | – | – | |||||
| 428 | Amman Jalmaani | – | – | |||||
| 425 | Carlos Brosas | – | – | |||||
| 423 | Luis Ayesa | – | – | |||||
| 17 | 7 | Cambodia |  CAM | 4:20.71 (6 h3) | – | |||
| – | Sarun Van | – | – | |||||
| 353 | Sokhon Yi | – | – | |||||
| 350 | Chhay-Kheng Nhem | – | – | |||||
| 351 | Samnang Prak | – | – | |||||
| – | El Salvador |  ESA | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| – | Antonio Ferracuti DNS | – | – | |||||
| – | Piero Ferracuti DNS | – | – | |||||
| – | Sergio Hasbún DNS | – | – | |||||
| – | Salvador Vilanova DNS | – | – | |||||
| – | Rhodesia |  RHO | – | – | ||||
| 454 | Ken Borain DNS | – | – | |||||
| 455 | Kim Brant DNS | – | – | |||||
| 457 | Rod Hamilton DNS | – | – | |||||
| 458 | Bob Hatherly DNS | – | – |
| Date | 4 September 1972 — 11:05 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest 8 advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:51.98 | ||
| 2 | 4 | East Germany | GDR | 3:55.23 | ||
| 3 | 7 | Soviet Union | URS | 3:56.57 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Canada | CAN | 3:57.05 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Brazil | BRA | 3:58.56 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:58.97 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Japan | JPN | 3:59.55 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Hungary | HUN | 3:59.86 | ||
| 9 | 3 | Australia | AUS | 4:00.16 | ||
| 10 | 4 | France | FRA | 4:00.50 | ||
| 11 | 5 | West Germany | FRG | 4:00.56 | ||
| 12 | 3 | Spain | ESP | 4:03.73 | ||
| 13 | 6 | Mexico | MEX | 4:05.61 | ||
| 14 | 2 | Sweden | SWE | 4:06.67 | ||
| 15 | 5 | Poland | POL | 4:07.87 | ||
| 16 | 2 | Philippines | PHI | 4:13.62 | ||
| 17 | 7 | Cambodia | CAM | 4:20.71 | ||
| – | El Salvador | ESA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Soviet Union | URS | 3:56.57 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Igor Grivennikov | – | 1:00.82 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Viktor Stulikov | – | 1:05.92 (1) | 2:06.74 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Viktor Sharygin | – | 57.03 (2) | 3:03.77 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Viktor Aboimov | – | 52.79 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 5 | Canada | CAN | 3:57.05 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Bill Kennedy | – | 1:01.32 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Bill Mahony | – | 1:06.46 (2) | 2:07.78 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Bruce Robertson | – | 56.41 (1) | 3:04.19 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Bob Kasting | – | 52.84 (=2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 3 | Hungary | HUN | 3:59.86 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | László Cseh, Sr. | – | 1:00.27 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Sándor Szabó | – | 1:07.20 (3) | 2:07.47 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | András Hargitay | – | 58.78 (4) | 3:06.25 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | István Szentirmay | – | 53.60 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 4 | France | FRA | 4:00.50 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Jean-Paul Berjeau | – | 1:01.27 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Roger-Philippe Menu | – | 1:08.11 (5) | 2:09.38 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Alain Mosconi | – | 58.27 (3) | 3:07.65 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Michel Rousseau | – | 52.84 (=2) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 6 | Mexico | MEX | 4:05.61 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | José Joaquín Santibáñez | – | 1:02.48 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Felipe Muñoz | – | 1:08.05 (4) | 2:10.53 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Hugo Valencia | – | 59.25 (5) | 3:09.78 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Guillermo García | – | 55.83 (5) | – (–) | |||
| – | El Salvador | ESA | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| – | Antonio Ferracuti DNS | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||||
| – | Piero Ferracuti DNS | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||||
| – | Sergio Hasbún DNS | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||||
| – | Salvador Vilanova DNS | – | – (–) | – (–) |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | East Germany | GDR | 3:55.23 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Roland Matthes | – | 58.08 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Klaus Katzur | – | 1:06.44 (3) | 2:04.52 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Hartmut Flöckner | – | 56.69 (1) | 3:01.21 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Lutz Unger | – | 54.00 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 6 | Brazil | BRA | 3:58.56 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Rômulo Arantes | – | 1:02.21 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | José Sylvio Fiolo | – | 1:05.81 (2) | 2:08.02 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Sérgio Waismann | – | 57.33 (2) | 3:05.35 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | José Roberto Aranha | – | 53.20 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 7 | Japan | JPN | 3:59.55 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Tadashi Honda | – | 1:00.23 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Nobutaka Taguchi | – | 1:04.90 (1) | 2:05.13 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Yasuhiro Komazaki | – | 58.14 (3) | 3:03.27 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jiro Sasaki | – | 56.27 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 5 | West Germany | FRG | 4:00.56 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Andreas Weber | – | 1:02.14 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Walter Kusch | – | 1:07.98 (4) | 2:10.12 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Lutz Stoklasa | – | 58.35 (4) | 3:08.47 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Klaus Steinbach | – | 52.08 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 3 | Spain | ESP | 4:03.73 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Enrique Melo | – | 1:02.33 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Pedro Balcells | – | 1:09.30 (6) | 2:11.63 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Arturo Lang-Lenton | – | 58.52 (5) | 3:10.15 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jorge Comas | – | 53.56 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 2 | Philippines | PHI | 4:13.62 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Gerardo Rosario | – | 1:06.24 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Amman Jalmaani | – | 1:08.19 (5) | 2:14.43 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Carlos Brosas | – | 1:03.85 (6) | 3:18.28 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Luis Ayesa | – | 55.33 (5) | – (–) |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:51.98 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Mitch Ivey | – | 58.72 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | John Hencken | – | 1:05.10 (1) | 2:03.82 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Gary Hall | – | 55.39 (1) | 2:59.21 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Dave Fairbank | – | 52.75 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 6 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:58.97 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Colin Cunningham | – | 1:01.16 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | David Wilkie | – | 1:06.15 (2) | 2:07.31 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | John Mills | – | 57.88 (2) | 3:05.19 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Malcolm Windeatt | – | 53.77 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 3 | Australia | AUS | 4:00.16 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Brad Cooper | – | 1:00.77 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Paul Jarvie | – | 1:08.97 (4) | 2:09.74 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Neil Rogers | – | 58.19 (3) | 3:07.93 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Mike Wenden | – | 52.22 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 2 | Sweden | SWE | 4:06.67 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Anders Sandberg | – | 1:00.96 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Gunnar Larsson | – | 1:09.23 (5) | 2:10.19 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Hans Ljungberg | – | 1:00.53 (5) | 3:10.72 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Anders Bellbring | – | 55.94 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 5 | Poland | POL | 4:07.87 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Piotr Dłucik | – | 1:01.95 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Cezary Śmiglak | – | 1:10.88 (6) | 2:12.83 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Andrzej Chudziński | – | 59.63 (4) | 3:12.46 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Zbigniew Pacelt | – | 55.39 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 7 | Cambodia | CAM | 4:20.71 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Sarun Van | – | 1:07.51 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Sokhon Yi | – | 1:08.54 (3) | 2:16.05 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Chhay-Kheng Nhem | – | 1:06.57 (6) | 3:22.62 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Samnang Prak | – | 58.08 (6) | – (–) |
| Date | 4 September 1972 — 19:10 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:48.16 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Mike Stamm | – | 57.97 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Tom Bruce | – | 1:04.22 (1) | 2:02.19 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Mark Spitz | – | 54.28 (1) | 2:56.47 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jerry Heidenreich | – | 51.67 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 5 | East Germany | GDR | 3:52.12 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Roland Matthes | – | 56.30 (1) | – (–) | =IWR | ||
| Breaststroke | – | Klaus Katzur | – | 1:06.02 (6) | 2:02.32 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Hartmut Flöckner | – | 56.36 (3) | 2:58.68 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Lutz Unger | – | 53.43 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 6 | Canada | CAN | 3:52.26 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Erik Fish | – | 59.61 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Bill Mahony | – | 1:05.89 (4) | 2:05.50 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Bruce Robertson | – | 54.48 (2) | 2:59.98 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Bob Kasting | – | 52.28 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 3 | Soviet Union | URS | 3:53.26 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Igor Grivennikov | – | 59.22 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Nikolay Pankin | – | 1:05.20 (3) | 2:04.42 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Viktor Sharygin | – | 57.44 (4) | 3:01.86 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Vladimir Bure | – | 51.38 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 2 | Brazil | BRA | 3:57.89 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Rômulo Arantes | – | 1:01.87 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | José Sylvio Fiolo | – | 1:05.92 (5) | 2:07.79 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Sérgio Waismann | – | 57.99 (6) | 3:05.78 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | – | José Roberto Aranha | – | 52.09 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 1 | Japan | JPN | 3:58.23 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Tadashi Honda | – | 59.83 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Nobutaka Taguchi | – | 1:04.33 (2) | 2:04.16 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Yasuhiro Komazaki | – | 58.10 (8) | 3:02.26 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jiro Sasaki | – | 55.96 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 7 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:58.82 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Colin Cunningham | – | 1:01.02 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | David Wilkie | – | 1:06.27 (7) | 2:07.29 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | John Mills | – | 57.53 (5) | 3:04.82 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Malcolm Windeatt | – | 53.98 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 8 | Hungary | HUN | 3:59.07 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | László Cseh, Sr. | – | 1:00.54 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Sándor Szabó | – | 1:06.99 (8) | 2:07.53 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | István Szentirmay | – | 58.02 (7) | 3:05.55 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Attila Császári | – | 53.50 (6) | – (–) |
