| | Event type
4 x 100 metres Medley Relay, Men
| Date | 4 August 1984 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympic Swim Stadium, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California |
| Participants | 94 from 21 countries |
It had been 1970 since a nation other than the United States had held the world record in this event, that being East Germany. Except for 1980, when they were not present, the USA had never lost this race at the Olympics. This was the last event of the 1984 swimming program and the result was expected to be the same. The USA had won gold in world record times at the 1982 World Championships and the 1983 Pan American Games. On the opening leg of the final backstroker Rick Carey went out in 55.41, finally erasing John Naber’s Olympic record for the 100 back. That put the USA well in front, and the race was all but over. On each leg, the US swimmers opened up more of a lead, eventually winning by almost four seconds over Canada, setting a world record of 3:39.30 in the process. Australia won bronze, with West Germany trailing in fourth. As the pro-USA audience cheered their boys wildly, on the side of the pool, American breaststroker Steve Lundquist unfurled a towel, on which he had printed, “America … than you for a dream come true!”
Round One (4 August 1984 — 9:55)
Fastest eight advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Canada |  CAN | 3:46.12 | |||||
| Mike West | – | 58.11 | 58.11 (1) | ||||||
| Victor Davis | – | 1:02.54 | 2:00.65 (1) | ||||||
| Tom Ponting | – | 54.22 | 2:54.87 (1) | ||||||
| Sandy Goss | – | 51.25 | 3:46.12 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 1 | New Zealand |  NZL | 3:50.56 | |||||
| Paul Kingsman | – | 58.73 | 58.73 (2) | ||||||
| Brett Austin | – | 1:04.83 | 2:03.56 (2) | ||||||
| Anthony Mosse | – | 54.93 | 2:58.49 (2) | ||||||
| Gary Hurring | – | 52.07 | 3:50.56 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 5 | France |  FRA | 3:50.75 | |||||
| Frédéric Delcourt | – | 59.11 | 59.11 (3) | ||||||
| Thierry Pata | – | 1:04.91 | 2:04.02 (3) | ||||||
| Xavier Savin | – | 55.98 | 3:00.00 (3) | ||||||
| Stéphan Caron | – | 50.75 | 3:50.75 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 3 | Venezuela |  VEN | 3:55.12 | |||||
| Giovanni Frigo | – | 59.85 | 59.85 (4) | ||||||
| Jorge Henao | – | 1:08.54 | 2:08.39 (5) | ||||||
| Rafael Vidal | – | 55.51 | 3:03.90 (4) | ||||||
| Alberto Mestre | – | 51.22 | 3:55.12 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 6 | Mexico |  MEX | 3:56.11 | |||||
| Ernesto Vela | – | 1:01.08 | 1:01.08 (5) | ||||||
| Eduardo Morillo | – | 1:06.02 | 2:07.10 (4) | ||||||
| Carlos Romo | – | 57.13 | 3:04.23 (5) | ||||||
| Ramiro Estrada | – | 51.88 | 3:56.11 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 7 | Guatemala |  GUA | 4:16.94 | |||||
| Ernesto José Degenhart | – | 1:05.10 | 1:05.10 (6) | ||||||
| Fernando Marroquín | – | 1:09.91 | 2:15.01 (6) | ||||||
| Roberto Granados | – | 1:03.35 | 3:18.36 (6) | ||||||
| Rodrigo Leal | – | 58.58 | 4:16.94 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 8 | Honduras |  HON | 4:22.72 | |||||
| Salvador Covelo | – | 1:08.53 | 1:08.53 (7) | ||||||
| David Galo | – | 1:12.56 | 2:21.09 (7) | ||||||
| Juan José Pino | – | 1:02.62 | 3:23.71 (7) | ||||||
| Rodolfo Torres | – | 59.01 | 4:22.72 (7) | ||||||
| 2 | Turkey |  TUR | – | 4 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | West Germany |  FRG | 3:49.75 | |||||
| Stefan Peter | – | 58.43 | 58.43 (1) | ||||||
| Gerald Mörken | – | 1:05.49 | 2:03.92 (2) | ||||||
| Andreas Behrend | – | 55.23 | 2:59.15 (2) | ||||||
| Alexander Schowtka | – | 50.60 | 3:49.75 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 5 | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:49.86 | |||||
| Neil Harper | – | 59.12 | 59.12 (4) | ||||||
| Adrian Moorhouse | – | 1:04.95 | 2:04.07 (3) | ||||||
| Andy Jameson | – | 54.66 | 2:58.73 (1) | ||||||
| David Lowe | – | 51.13 | 3:49.86 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 6 | People's Republic of China |  CHN | 3:51.71 | |||||
| Wang Hao | – | 58.87 | 58.87 (3) | ||||||
| Jin Fu | – | 1:04.74 | 2:03.61 (1) | ||||||
| Zheng Jian | – | 56.78 | 3:00.39 (3) | ||||||
| Mu Lati | – | 51.32 | 3:51.71 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 1 | Brazil |  BRA | 3:53.49 | |||||
| Ricardo Prado | – | 58.82 | 58.82 (2) | ||||||
| Luiz Carvalho | – | 1:06.21 | 2:05.03 (4) | ||||||
| Marcelo Jucá | – | 57.24 | 3:02.27 (4) | ||||||
| Cyro Delgado | – | 51.22 | 3:53.49 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | Singapore |  SGP | 4:00.07 | |||||
| David Lim | – | 1:00.59 | 1:00.59 (5) | ||||||
| Oon Jin Teik | – | 1:08.25 | 2:08.84 (5) | ||||||
| Ang Peng Siong | – | 57.83 | 3:06.67 (5) | ||||||
| Oon Jin Gee | – | 53.40 | 4:00.07 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 7 | United States Virgin Islands |  ISV | 4:16.18 | |||||
| Erik Rosskopf | – | 1:03.71 | 1:03.71 (6) | ||||||
| Harrell Woolard | – | 1:13.50 | 2:17.21 (6) | ||||||
| Scott Newkirk | – | 1:02.70 | 3:19.91 (6) | ||||||
| Collier Woolard | – | 56.27 | 4:16.18 (6) | ||||||
| 3 | Italy |  ITA | – | ||||||
| Paolo Falchini | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Gianni Minervini | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Fabrizio Rampazzo | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Marcello Guarducci | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| 8 | Lebanon |  LBN | – | 5 |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Australia |  AUS | 3:43.93 | |||||
| Mark Kerry | – | 57.41 | 57.41 (2) | ||||||
| Peter Evans | – | 1:02.67 | 2:00.08 (2) | ||||||
| Jon Sieben | – | 54.24 | 2:54.32 (1) | ||||||
| Neil Brooks | – | 49.61 | 3:43.93 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 4 | United States |  USA | 3:44.33 | |||||
| Dave Wilson | – | 57.06 | 57.06 (1) | ||||||
| Rich Schroeder | – | 1:02.66 | 1:59.72 (1) | ||||||
| Mike Heath | – | 54.60 | 2:54.32 (1) | ||||||
| Tom Jager | – | 50.01 | 3:44.33 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | Switzerland |  SUI | 3:48.13 | |||||
| Patrick Ferland | – | 58.68 | 58.68 (4) | ||||||
| Étienne Dagon | – | 1:03.87 | 2:02.55 (4) | ||||||
| Théophile David | – | 55.24 | 2:57.79 (3) | ||||||
| Dano Halsall | – | 50.34 | 3:48.13 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 8 | Sweden |  SWE | 3:49.76 | |||||
| Michael Söderlund | – | 58.79 | 58.79 (5) | ||||||
| Peter Berggren | – | 1:05.22 | 2:04.01 (5) | ||||||
| Bengt Baron | – | 54.98 | 2:58.99 (5) | ||||||
| Per Johansson | – | 50.77 | 3:49.76 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 6 | Japan |  JPN | 3:50.14 | |||||
| Daichi Suzuki | – | 58.31 | 58.31 (3) | ||||||
| Shigehiro Takahashi | – | 1:04.05 | 2:02.36 (3) | ||||||
| Taihei Saka | – | 55.66 | 2:58.02 (4) | ||||||
| Hiroshi Sakamoto | – | 52.12 | 3:50.14 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 2 | Egypt |  EGY | 3:59.31 | |||||
| Sharif Nour | – | 59.09 | 59.09 (6) | ||||||
| Ayman Nadim | – | 1:09.53 | 2:08.62 (6) | ||||||
| Ahmed Said | – | 57.73 | 3:06.35 (6) | ||||||
| Mohamed Youssef | – | 52.96 | 3:59.31 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 1 | Jamaica |  JAM | 4:05.35 | |||||
| Allan Marsh | – | 1:00.53 | 1:00.53 (7) | ||||||
| Andrew Phillips | – | 1:09.63 | 2:10.16 (7) | ||||||
| Deryck Marks | – | 1:00.35 | 3:10.51 (7) | ||||||
| Gordon Scarlett | – | 54.84 | 4:05.35 (7) | ||||||
| 7 | Hong Kong |  HKG | – | 6 |
Final (4 August 1984 — 18:00)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | United States | USA | 3:39.30 | |||||
| Rick Carey | – | 55.41 | 55.41 (1) | ||||||
| Steve Lundquist | – | 1:01.86 | 1:57.27 (1) | ||||||
| Pablo Morales | – | 52.87 | 2:50.14 (1) | ||||||
| Rowdy Gaines | – | 49.16 | 3:39.30 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | Canada | CAN | 3:43.23 | |||||
| Mike West | – | 56.61 | 56.61 (2) | ||||||
| Victor Davis | – | 1:02.33 | 1:58.94 (2) | ||||||
| Tom Ponting | – | 54.01 | 2:52.95 (2) | ||||||
| Sandy Goss | – | 50.28 | 3:43.23 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 4 | Australia | AUS | 3:43.25 | |||||
| Mark Kerry | – | 57.12 | 57.12 (3) | ||||||
| Peter Evans | – | 1:02.29 | 1:59.41 (3) | ||||||
| Glenn Buchanan | – | 54.68 | 2:54.09 (3) | ||||||
| Mark Stockwell | – | 49.16 | 3:43.25 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 2 | West Germany | FRG | 3:44.26 | |||||
| Stefan Peter | – | 58.21 | 58.21 (5) | ||||||
| Gerald Mörken | – | 1:03.55 | 2:01.76 (4) | ||||||
| Michael Groß | – | 52.81 | 2:54.57 (4) | ||||||
| Dirk Korthals | – | 49.69 | 3:44.26 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 7 | Sweden | SWE | 3:47.13 | |||||
| Bengt Baron | – | 57.16 | 57.16 (4) | ||||||
| Peter Berggren | – | 1:05.00 | 2:02.16 (6) | ||||||
| Thomas Lejdström | – | 54.98 | 2:57.14 (6) | ||||||
| Per Johansson | – | 49.99 | 3:47.13 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 1 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:47.39 | |||||
| Neil Harper | – | 58.37 | 58.37 (6) | ||||||
| Adrian Moorhouse | – | 1:03.61 | 2:01.98 (5) | ||||||
| Andy Jameson | – | 54.10 | 2:56.08 (5) | ||||||
| Richard Burrell | – | 51.31 | 3:47.39 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 6 | Switzerland | SUI | 3:47.93 | |||||
| Patrick Ferland | – | 58.64 | 58.64 (7) | ||||||
| Étienne Dagon | – | 1:03.70 | 2:02.34 (7) | ||||||
| Théophile David | – | 55.34 | 2:57.68 (7) | ||||||
| Dano Halsall | – | 50.25 | 3:47.93 (7) | ||||||
| 8 | Japan | JPN | – | ||||||
| Daichi Suzuki | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Shigehiro Takahashi | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Taihei Saka | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Hiroshi Sakamoto | – | – | – (AC) |