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| Event type

400 metres Individual Medley, Men

Date25 July 1976
StatusOlympic
LocationPiscine olympique, Montréal, Québec
Participants33 from 20 countries

Since his Munich bronze medal, Hungary’s András Hargitay had been the world’s IM swimmer, winning both the 200 and 400 at the 1975 World Championships, and setting the 400 IM world record in Vienna in 1974 with 4:28.89. That record was broken in April 1976 by his countryman, Zoltán Verraszto, but he was not in Montréal. The US Trials were won in June by Rod Strachan, who was also NCAA Champion in 1976. Hargitay and Strachan were expected to be challenged by Tim McKee, silver medalist in this event in 1972. The opening butterfly leg of the final was led by the third American, Steve Furniss, but Strachan then opened a two-second lead on his strongest leg, the backstroke. Strachan later noted, “I knew I had the weakest breaststroke out there, so I felt I had to have a lead at the end of the backstroke.” And on the third leg, the breaststroke, McKee took back the lead, just over ½-second ahead of Strachan, only to see Strachan race home in the freestyle 100 in under a minute and claim the gold medal in world record time, 4:32.68. McKee settled for a second consecutive silver, while Soviet Andrey Smirnov surprised a tiring Hargitay to win bronze.

PosSwimmerNOCR1Final
1Rod StrachanUSA4:27.15 (1 h3)4:23.68 (1)Gold
2Tim McKeeUSA4:29.14 (1 h2)4:24.62 (2)Silver
3Andrey SmirnovURS4:29.92 (1 h5)4:26.90 (3)Bronze
4András HargitayHUN4:28.96 (1 h4)4:27.13 (4)
5Graham SmithCAN4:31.29 (2 h3)4:28.64 (5)
6Steve FurnissUSA4:27.76 (1 h1)4:29.23 (6)
7Andy RitchieCAN4:31.34 (2 h2)4:29.87 (7)
8HaJo GeislerFRG4:31.37 (2 h4)4:34.95 (8)
9Bill SawchukCAN4:32.65 (2 h1)
10Peter DawsonAUS4:33.01 (3 h4)
11Anatoly SmirnovURS4:33.88 (2 h5)
12Alan McClatcheyGBR4:34.31 (3 h1)
13Csaba SósHUN4:34.72 (4 h4)
14Miloslav RoľkoTCH4:35.21 (3 h3)
15Jeff Van de GraafAUS4:35.83 (4 h3)
16Tsuyoshi YanagidateJPN4:39.27 (3 h2)
17John McConnochieNZL4:40.84 (4 h1)
18Mark TreffersNZL4:40.92 (3 h5)
19Gunnar GundersenNOR4:41.05 (5 h1)
20Jim CarterGBR4:41.25 (4 h5)
21José-Ricardo de JesúsPUR4:42.07 (4 h2)
22Duncan CleworthGBR4:42.25 (5 h3)
23François DeleyBEL4:43.09 (6 h3)
24Ricardo MarmolejoMEX4:45.30 (5 h4)
25Julio AbreuPAR4:46.69 (5 h5)
26Ronald WouteringNED4:46.76 (5 h2)
27Dov NismanISR4:47.13 (6 h4)
28Zoltán VerrasztóHUN4:48.51 (6 h5)
29Guillermo ZavalaMEX4:49.55 (7 h5)
30Edwin BorjaPHI4:52.21 (7 h4)
31António Botelho de MeloPOR5:11.48 (7 h3)
DQPatrick NovarettiMON– (DQ h1)
DQMikhail GorelikURS– (DQ h2)
DNSSteven NewkirkISV– (DNS h2)
DNSJorge JaramilloCOL– (DNS h5)

Round One (25 July 1976 — 9:30)

Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Heat One

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14Steve FurnissUSA4:27.76QOR
25Bill SawchukCAN4:32.65
33Alan McClatcheyGBR4:34.31
46John McConnochieNZL4:40.84
52Gunnar GundersenNOR4:41.05
DQ1Patrick NovarettiMON

Heat Two

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14Tim McKeeUSA4:29.14Q
25Andy RitchieCAN4:31.34Q
32Tsuyoshi YanagidateJPN4:39.27
47José-Ricardo de JesúsPUR4:42.07
56Ronald WouteringNED4:46.76
DQ3Mikhail GorelikURS
DNS1Steven NewkirkISV

Heat Three

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14Rod StrachanUSA4:27.15QOR
25Graham SmithCAN4:31.29Q
32Miloslav RoľkoTCH4:35.21
43Jeff Van de GraafAUS4:35.83
56Duncan CleworthGBR4:42.25
67François DeleyBEL4:43.09
71António Botelho de MeloPOR5:11.48

Heat Four

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14András HargitayHUN4:28.96Q
26HaJo GeislerFRG4:31.37Q
33Peter DawsonAUS4:33.01
45Csaba SósHUN4:34.72
52Ricardo MarmolejoMEX4:45.30
68Dov NismanISR4:47.13
71Edwin BorjaPHI4:52.21

Heat Five

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
15Andrey SmirnovURS4:29.92Q
23Anatoly SmirnovURS4:33.88
32Mark TreffersNZL4:40.92
46Jim CarterGBR4:41.25
58Julio AbreuPAR4:46.69
64Zoltán VerrasztóHUN4:48.51
77Guillermo ZavalaMEX4:49.55
DNS1Jorge JaramilloCOL

Final (25 July 1976 — 19:30)

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14Rod StrachanUSA4:23.68WR
26Tim McKeeUSA4:24.62
32Andrey SmirnovURS4:26.90
43András HargitayHUN4:27.13
57Graham SmithCAN4:28.64
65Steve FurnissUSA4:29.23
71Andy RitchieCAN4:29.87
88HaJo GeislerFRG4:34.95