| | Event type
4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Men
| Date | 2 August 1984 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympic Swim Stadium, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California |
| Participants | 99 from 23 countries |
It had been 1962 since the world records was held by a nation other than the United States. The current world mark was set by the US team that won the 1982 World Championships, and with this history, there was little reason to expect a different conclusion. In the heats the USA sent out their B team, and unlike in other years, when they were good enough to qualify first, this time they placed only second to move on to the final. The Americans won once again, and bettered their own world record with a time of 3:19.03. But it was close this time. Australia placed second, only .65 seconds behind the gold medalists. The American team led through most of the race although Australia edged ahead at the end of the second leg, and on the anchor, Mark Stockwell passed the US’s Rowdy Gaines just before the final turn, forcing Gaines to claw back with a strong second lap to secure the gold.
KUWRound One (2 August 1984 — 10:45)
Fastest eight advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | West Germany |  FRG | 3:24.69 | |||||
| Dirk Korthals | – | 51.31 | 51.31 (2) | ||||||
| Alexander Schowtka | – | 50.90 | 1:42.21 (2) | ||||||
| Nicolaj Klapkarek | – | 51.27 | 2:33.48 (1) | ||||||
| Andreas Schmidt | – | 51.21 | 3:24.69 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 5 | Switzerland |  SUI | 3:26.61 | |||||
| Dano Halsall | – | 51.68 | 51.68 (3) | ||||||
| Stéfan Voléry | – | 50.24 | 1:41.92 (1) | ||||||
| Thierry Jacot | – | 52.33 | 2:34.25 (2) | ||||||
| Roger Birrer | – | 52.36 | 3:26.61 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | Venezuela |  VEN | 3:30.24 | |||||
| Alberto Mestre | – | 51.18 | 51.18 (1) | ||||||
| Alberto José Umaña | – | 53.13 | 1:44.31 (3) | ||||||
| Rafael Vidal | – | 53.15 | 2:37.46 (3) | ||||||
| Jean-Marie François | – | 52.78 | 3:30.24 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 6 | People's Republic of China |  CHN | 3:30.82 | |||||
| Mu Lati | – | 52.21 | 52.21 (4) | ||||||
| Feng Dawei | – | 52.81 | 1:45.02 (4) | ||||||
| Chen Qin | – | 53.31 | 2:38.33 (4) | ||||||
| Shen Jianqiang | – | 52.49 | 3:30.82 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | Mexico |  MEX | 3:33.86 | |||||
| José Medina | – | 54.12 | 54.12 (6) | ||||||
| Ramiro Estrada | – | 52.39 | 1:46.51 (5) | ||||||
| César Sánchez | – | 54.05 | 2:40.56 (6) | ||||||
| Carlos Romo | – | 53.30 | 3:33.86 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 1 | Jamaica |  JAM | 3:34.87 | |||||
| Andrew Phillips | – | 52.97 | 52.97 (5) | ||||||
| Deryck Marks | – | 54.44 | 1:47.41 (6) | ||||||
| Allan Marsh | – | 52.97 | 2:40.38 (5) | ||||||
| Gordon Scarlett | – | 54.49 | 3:34.87 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | United States Virgin Islands |  ISV | 3:43.49 | |||||
| Erik Rosskopf | – | 55.40 | 55.40 (7) | ||||||
| Brian Farlow | – | 57.77 | 1:53.17 (7) | ||||||
| Collier Woolard | – | 55.76 | 2:48.93 (7) | ||||||
| Scott Newkirk | – | 54.56 | 3:43.49 (7) |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Sweden |  SWE | 3:23.86 | |||||
| Rikard Milton | – | 51.80 | 51.80 (2) | ||||||
| Michael Söderlund | – | 50.98 | 1:42.78 (2) | ||||||
| Mikael Örn | – | 50.89 | 2:33.67 (2) | ||||||
| Per Johansson | – | 50.19 | 3:23.86 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 5 | France |  FRA | 3:24.68 | |||||
| Stéphan Caron | – | 50.83 | 50.83 (1) | ||||||
| Laurent Neuville | – | 50.84 | 1:41.67 (1) | ||||||
| Dominique Bataille | – | 51.77 | 2:33.44 (1) | ||||||
| Bruno Lesaffre | – | 51.24 | 3:24.68 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 1 | Brazil |  BRA | 3:27.33 | |||||
| Cyro Delgado | – | 52.10 | 52.10 (5) | ||||||
| Jorge Fernandes | – | 51.39 | 1:43.49 (3) | ||||||
| Djan Madruga | – | 52.44 | 2:35.93 (3) | ||||||
| Ronald Menezes | – | 51.40 | 3:27.33 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 3 | Netherlands |  NED | 3:27.60 | |||||
| Edsard Schlingemann | – | 51.94 | 51.94 (4) | ||||||
| Peter Drost | – | 52.69 | 1:44.63 (5) | ||||||
| Frank Drost | – | 51.59 | 2:36.22 (4) | ||||||
| Hans Kroes | – | 51.38 | 3:27.60 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | Japan |  JPN | 3:30.45 | |||||
| Hiroshi Sakamoto | – | 52.31 | 52.31 (6) | ||||||
| Shigeo Ogata | – | 52.22 | 1:44.53 (4) | ||||||
| Taihei Saka | – | 52.85 | 2:37.38 (5) | ||||||
| Satoshi Sumida | – | 53.07 | 3:30.45 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | Puerto Rico |  PUR | 3:30.66 | |||||
| Fernando Canales | – | 51.90 | 51.90 (3) | ||||||
| Miguel Figueroa | – | 53.63 | 1:45.53 (6) | ||||||
| Tony Portela | – | 51.92 | 2:37.45 (6) | ||||||
| Rafael Gandarillas | – | 53.21 | 3:30.66 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 8 | Honduras |  HON | 3:55.87 | |||||
| Salvador Covelo | – | 58.20 | 58.20 (7) | ||||||
| Juan José Pino | – | 59.92 | 1:58.12 (7) | ||||||
| David Galo | – | 58.66 | 2:56.78 (7) | ||||||
| Rodolfo Torres | – | 59.09 | 3:55.87 (7) | ||||||
| 7 | Egypt |  EGY | – | ||||||
| Mohamed Youssef | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Sharif Nour | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Ahmed Ibrahim | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Ahmed Said | – | – | – (AC) |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Australia |  AUS | 3:19.94 | |||||
| Neil Brooks | – | 50.36 | 50.36 (1) | ||||||
| Greg Fasala | – | 50.35 | 1:40.71 (2) | ||||||
| Michael Delany | – | 50.03 | 2:30.74 (2) | ||||||
| Mark Stockwell | – | 49.20 | 3:19.94 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 4 | United States |  USA | 3:20.14 | |||||
| Matt Biondi | – | 50.50 | 50.50 (2) | ||||||
| Chris Cavanaugh | – | 49.94 | 1:40.44 (1) | ||||||
| Tom Jager | – | 49.89 | 2:30.33 (1) | ||||||
| Robin Leamy | – | 49.81 | 3:20.14 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 6 | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:24.59 | |||||
| David Lowe | – | 51.51 | 51.51 (5) | ||||||
| Roland Lee | – | 51.37 | 1:42.88 (3) | ||||||
| Paul Easter | – | 51.03 | 2:33.91 (3) | ||||||
| Richard Burrell | – | 50.68 | 3:24.59 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 8 | Italy |  ITA | 3:25.37 | |||||
| Marcello Guarducci | – | 51.49 | 51.49 (4) | ||||||
| Raffaele Franceschi | – | 51.51 | 1:43.00 (5) | ||||||
| Metello Savino | – | 51.00 | 2:34.00 (4) | ||||||
| Marco Colombo | – | 51.37 | 3:25.37 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 3 | Canada |  CAN | 3:25.94 | |||||
| Sandy Goss | – | 51.82 | 51.82 (6) | ||||||
| Alex Baumann | – | 51.14 | 1:42.96 (4) | ||||||
| Blair Hicken | – | 51.23 | 2:34.19 (5) | ||||||
| Levente Mady | – | 51.75 | 3:25.94 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 2 | Singapore |  SGP | 3:34.63 | |||||
| Ang Peng Siong | – | 51.18 | 51.18 (3) | ||||||
| Oon Jin Teik | – | 54.53 | 1:45.71 (6) | ||||||
| David Lim | – | 54.70 | 2:40.41 (6) | ||||||
| Oon Jin Gee | – | 54.22 | 3:34.63 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | Turkey |  TUR | 3:36.54 | |||||
| Kemal Sadri Özün | – | 53.50 | 53.50 (7) | ||||||
| İhsan Sabri Özün | – | 53.94 | 1:47.44 (7) | ||||||
| Ahmet Nakkaş | – | 54.59 | 2:42.03 (7) | ||||||
| Gökhan Attaroğlu | – | 54.51 | 3:36.54 (7) | ||||||
| 8 | 1 | Guatemala |  GUA | 3:52.18 | |||||
| Rodrigo Leal | – | 58.39 | 58.39 (8) | ||||||
| Fernando Marroquín | – | 58.33 | 1:56.72 (8) | ||||||
| Roberto Granados | – | 58.56 | 2:55.28 (8) | ||||||
| Ernesto José Degenhart | – | 56.90 | 3:52.18 (8) |
Final (2 August 1984 — 17:15)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | United States | USA | 3:19.03 | |||||
| Chris Cavanaugh | – | 50.83 | 50.83 (1) | ||||||
| Mike Heath | – | 49.60 | 1:40.43 (2) | ||||||
| Matt Biondi | – | 49.67 | 2:30.10 (1) | ||||||
| Rowdy Gaines | – | 48.93 | 3:19.03 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 4 | Australia | AUS | 3:19.68 | |||||
| Greg Fasala | – | 51.00 | 51.00 (2) | ||||||
| Neil Brooks | – | 49.36 | 1:40.36 (1) | ||||||
| Michael Delany | – | 50.26 | 2:30.62 (2) | ||||||
| Mark Stockwell | – | 49.06 | 3:19.68 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | Sweden | SWE | 3:22.69 | |||||
| Thomas Lejdström | – | 51.29 | 51.29 (5) | ||||||
| Bengt Baron | – | 50.83 | 1:42.12 (3) | ||||||
| Mikael Örn | – | 51.28 | 2:33.40 (4) | ||||||
| Per Johansson | – | 49.29 | 3:22.69 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 7 | West Germany | FRG | 3:22.98 | |||||
| Dirk Korthals | – | 51.11 | 51.11 (4) | ||||||
| Andreas Schmidt | – | 51.48 | 1:42.59 (6) | ||||||
| Alexander Schowtka | – | 50.91 | 2:33.50 (5) | ||||||
| Michael Groß | – | 49.48 | 3:22.98 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 6 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:23.61 | |||||
| David Lowe | – | 51.38 | 51.38 (6) | ||||||
| Roland Lee | – | 51.17 | 1:42.55 (5) | ||||||
| Paul Easter | – | 50.82 | 2:33.37 (3) | ||||||
| Richard Burrell | – | 50.24 | 3:23.61 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 2 | France | FRA | 3:24.63 | |||||
| Stéphan Caron | – | 51.03 | 51.03 (3) | ||||||
| Laurent Neuville | – | 51.38 | 1:42.41 (4) | ||||||
| Dominique Bataille | – | 51.17 | 2:33.58 (6) | ||||||
| Bruno Lesaffre | – | 51.05 | 3:24.63 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 8 | Canada | CAN | 3:24.70 | |||||
| Dave Churchill | – | 51.73 | 51.73 (8) | ||||||
| Blair Hicken | – | 51.13 | 1:42.86 (8) | ||||||
| Alex Baumann | – | 51.28 | 2:34.14 (7) | ||||||
| Sandy Goss | – | 50.56 | 3:24.70 (7) | ||||||
| 8 | 1 | Italy | ITA | 3:24.97 | |||||
| Marcello Guarducci | – | 51.53 | 51.53 (7) | ||||||
| Marco Colombo | – | 51.21 | 1:42.74 (7) | ||||||
| Metello Savino | – | 51.54 | 2:34.28 (8) | ||||||
| Fabrizio Rampazzo | – | 50.69 | 3:24.97 (8) |