| | Event type

4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Men

Date	29 July 1992
Status	Olympic
Location	Piscinas Bernat Picornell, Barcelona
Participants	81 from 18 countries

The USA had never lost this event at the Olympics and had won the 1991 Worlds and Pan Pacs, but the remnants of the Soviet Union won the 1991 World Championships, and had already won the 4 x 200 in Barcelona, and qualified first for the final in this event, despite resting their best sprinter, Aleksandr Popov. In the final the Unified Team went ahead on the opener, with Pavlo Khnykin splitting 49.92, but Matt Biondi split 48.69 on the second leg, opening more than a full second lead on the Unifieds. The anchor saw the Unified Team put Popov on the blocks, but the US lead by then was 1.27 seconds. Popov split 47.83 on the anchor, not nearly enough as Jon Olsen came home in 48.28 to win gold for the USA. The final time of 3:16.74 was the second fastest ever, trailing only the winning time from Seoul. This was the first time that the Americans did not set the world record in winning the event at the Olympics.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	Final
1	United States	USA	3:18.50 (1 h1)	3:16.74 (1)	Gold
	Joe Hudepohl • Matt Biondi • Tom Jager • Jon Olsen • Shaun Jordan • Joel Thomas
2	Unified Team	EUN	3:17.48 (1 h3)	3:17.56 (2)	Silver
	Pavlo Khnykin • Gennady Prigoda • Iurie Bașcatov • Aleksandr Popov • Vladimir Pyshnenko • Veniamin Tayanovich
3	Germany	GER	3:19.61 (2 h2)	3:17.90 (3)	Bronze
	Christian Tröger • Dirk Richter • Steffen Zesner • Mark Pinger • Andreas Szigat • Bengt Zikarsky
4	France	FRA	3:22.01 (2 h3)	3:19.16 (4)
	Christophe Kalfayan • Franck Schott • Frédéric Lefèvre • Stéphan Caron • Ludovic Dépickère • Bruno Gutzeit
5	Sweden	SWE	3:18.92 (1 h2)	3:20.10 (5)
	Tom Werner • Håkan Karlsson • Fredrik Letzler • Anders Holmertz • Göran Titus
6	Brazil	BRA	3:20.50 (2 h1)	3:20.99 (6)
	José Carlos Souza • Gustavo Borges • Emanuel Fortes • Cristiano Michelena
7	Great Britain	GBR	3:21.41 (3 h2)	3:21.75 (7)
	Roland Lee • Mark Foster • Mike Fibbens • Paul Howe
8	Australia	AUS	3:22.24 (3 h3)	3:22.04 (8)
	Chris Fydler • Andrew Baildon • Tom Stachewicz • Darren Lange
9	New Zealand	NZL	3:23.09 (4 h2)	–
	John Steel • Nick Sanders • Trent Bray • Mark Weldon
10	Italy	ITA	3:23.43 (3 h1)	–
	Giorgio Lamberti • Emanuele Idini • Roberto Gleria • Massimo Trevisan
11	South Africa	RSA	3:23.53 (4 h3)	–
	Darryl Cronje • Peter Williams • Seddon Keyter • Craig Jackson
12	Puerto Rico	PUR	3:30.48 (4 h1)	–
	Manuel Guzmán • Jorge Herrera • David Monasterio • Ricardo Busquets
13	Guam	GUM	3:42.31 (5 h1)	–
	Adrian Romero • Ray Flores • Frank Flores • Patrick Sagisi
14	Finland	FIN	3:25.47 (5 h2)	–
	Jani Sievinen • Janne Vermasheinä • Janne Blomqvist • Vesa Hanski
15	Hong Kong	HKG	3:30.61 (6 h2)	–
	Arthur Li • Wu Tat Cheung • Kelvin Li • Michael Wright
16	Bermuda	BER	3:31.17 (5 h3)	–
	Ian Raynor • Mike Cash • Craig Morbey • Geri Mewett
17	Guatemala	GUA	3:42.53 (6 h3)	–
	Andrés Sedano • Roberto Bonilla • Helder Torres • Gustavo Búcaro
18	United Arab Emirates	UAE	3:51.60 (7 h2)	–
	Ahmad Faraj • Obaid Al-Rumaithi • Abdullah Sultan • Mohamed Bin Abid

Round One (29 July 1992 — 12:30)

Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	United States	USA		3:18.50		Q
		Joe Hudepohl		23.94	49.78	49.78 (1)
		Shaun Jordan		23.55	49.94	1:39.72 (1)
		Joel Thomas		23.83	50.04	2:29.76 (1)
		Jon Olsen		23.14	48.74	3:18.50 (1)
2	3	Brazil	BRA		3:20.50		Q
		José Carlos Souza		24.35	51.24	51.24 (3)
		Gustavo Borges		23.26	49.07	1:40.31 (2)
		Emanuel Fortes		23.93	49.72	2:30.03 (2)
		Cristiano Michelena		24.22	50.47	3:20.50 (2)
3	5	Italy	ITA		3:23.43
		Giorgio Lamberti		24.51	51.12	51.12 (2)
		Emanuele Idini		24.52	51.43	1:42.55 (3)
		Roberto Gleria		24.50	50.82	2:33.37 (3)
		Massimo Trevisan		24.11	50.06	3:23.43 (3)
4	2	Puerto Rico	PUR		3:30.48
		Manuel Guzmán		24.87	51.90	51.90 (4)
		Jorge Herrera		25.82	54.62	1:46.52 (4)
		David Monasterio		25.08	52.77	2:39.29 (4)
		Ricardo Busquets		24.84	51.19	3:30.48 (4)
5	7	Guam	GUM		3:42.31
		Adrian Romero		26.52	55.37	55.37 (5)
		Ray Flores		26.70	57.61	1:52.98 (5)
		Frank Flores		26.96	55.69	2:48.67 (5)
		Patrick Sagisi		25.12	53.64	3:42.31 (5)

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Exchange (Pos)
1	5	Sweden	SWE		3:18.92		Q
		Håkan Karlsson		24.31	50.20	50.20 (2)
		Göran Titus		23.63	50.54	1:40.74 (2)
		Fredrik Letzler		23.25	49.18	2:29.92 (2)
		Tom Werner		23.61	49.00	3:18.92 (1)
2	4	Germany	GER		3:19.61		Q
		Mark Pinger		23.80	49.75	49.75 (1)
		Andreas Szigat		24.45	50.27	1:40.02 (1)
		Dirk Richter		23.45	49.73	2:29.75 (1)
		Bengt Zikarsky		23.53	49.86	3:19.61 (2)
3	3	Great Britain	GBR		3:21.41		Q
		Mike Fibbens		24.86	51.23	51.23 (4)
		Mark Foster		23.19	49.93	1:41.16 (3)
		Paul Howe		24.07	50.31	2:31.47 (3)
		Roland Lee		23.80	49.94	3:21.41 (3)
4	6	New Zealand	NZL		3:23.09
		John Steel		24.87	50.76	50.76 (3)
		Nick Sanders		23.65	50.50	1:41.26 (4)
		Trent Bray		24.25	51.31	2:32.57 (4)
		Mark Weldon		23.73	50.52	3:23.09 (4)
5	2	Finland	FIN		3:25.47
		Jani Sievinen		24.81	51.53	51.53 (5)
		Janne Vermasheinä		25.04	51.76	1:43.29 (5)
		Janne Blomqvist		24.57	51.39	2:34.68 (5)
		Vesa Hanski		24.07	50.79	3:25.47 (5)
6	7	Hong Kong	HKG		3:30.61
		Arthur Li		25.12	51.93	51.93 (6)
		Wu Tat Cheung		25.62	53.28	1:45.21 (6)
		Kelvin Li		25.04	53.38	2:38.59 (6)
		Michael Wright		24.72	52.02	3:30.61 (6)
7	1	United Arab Emirates	UAE		3:51.60
		Ahmad Faraj		27.32	56.03	56.03 (7)
		Obaid Al-Rumaithi		28.15	59.79	1:55.82 (7)
		Abdullah Sultan		28.08	58.64	2:54.46 (7)
		Mohamed Bin Abid		28.03	57.14	3:51.60 (7)

Heat Three

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Exchange (Pos)
1	4	Unified Team	EUN		3:17.48		Q
		Pavlo Khnykin		24.01	49.82	49.82 (1)
		Vladimir Pyshnenko		23.58	49.31	1:39.13 (1)
		Veniamin Tayanovich		23.52	49.52	2:28.65 (1)
		Iurie Bașcatov		23.26	48.83	3:17.48 (1)
2	3	France	FRA		3:22.01		Q
		Stéphan Caron		24.45	50.33	50.33 (2)
		Frédéric Lefèvre		23.63	50.29	1:40.62 (2)
		Ludovic Dépickère		24.62	51.02	2:31.64 (2)
		Bruno Gutzeit		24.27	50.37	3:22.01 (2)
3	5	Australia	AUS		3:22.24		Q
		Chris Fydler		24.65	50.67	50.67 (3)
		Andrew Baildon		24.55	50.68	1:41.35 (4)
		Tom Stachewicz		24.48	50.56	2:31.91 (3)
		Darren Lange		23.97	50.33	3:22.24 (3)
4	2	South Africa	RSA		3:23.53
		Darryl Cronje		24.66	51.07	51.07 (4)
		Peter Williams		23.47	50.06	1:41.13 (3)
		Seddon Keyter		24.69	51.12	2:32.25 (4)
		Craig Jackson		24.09	51.28	3:23.53 (4)
5	7	Bermuda	BER		3:31.17
		Ian Raynor		25.23	53.07	53.07 (5)
		Mike Cash		25.05	52.35	1:45.42 (5)
		Craig Morbey		25.25	53.51	2:38.93 (5)
		Geri Mewett		24.88	52.24	3:31.17 (5)
6	1	Guatemala	GUA		3:42.53
		Andrés Sedano		26.75	55.51	55.51 (6)
		Roberto Bonilla		26.56	55.68	1:51.19 (6)
		Helder Torres		27.13	56.95	2:48.14 (6)
		Gustavo Búcaro		26.18	54.39	3:42.53 (6)

Final (29 July 1992 — 20:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Exchange (Pos)
1	5	United States	USA		3:16.74
		Joe Hudepohl		24.09	50.05	50.05 (4)
		Matt Biondi		22.82	48.69	1:38.74 (1)
		Tom Jager		23.24	49.72	2:28.46 (1)
		Jon Olsen		22.86	48.28	3:16.74 (1)
2	4	Unified Team	EUN		3:17.56
		Pavlo Khnykin		23.99	49.92	49.92 (1)
		Gennady Prigoda		22.55	50.05	1:39.97 (4)
		Iurie Bașcatov		23.87	49.76	2:29.73 (3)
		Aleksandr Popov		22.98	47.83	3:17.56 (2)
3	7	Germany	GER		3:17.90
		Christian Tröger		24.26	49.97	49.97 (3)
		Dirk Richter		23.51	49.35	1:39.32 (2)
		Steffen Zesner		23.83	49.78	2:29.10 (2)
		Mark Pinger		22.95	48.80	3:17.90 (3)
4	1	France	FRA		3:19.16
		Christophe Kalfayan		24.41	50.21	50.21 (5)
		Franck Schott		23.96	49.83	1:40.04 (5)
		Frédéric Lefèvre		24.12	50.47	2:30.51 (6)
		Stéphan Caron		23.27	48.65	3:19.16 (4)
5	3	Sweden	SWE		3:20.10
		Tom Werner		24.44	49.93	49.93 (2)
		Håkan Karlsson		23.78	49.88	1:39.81 (3)
		Fredrik Letzler		24.26	50.60	2:30.41 (5)
		Anders Holmertz		23.75	49.69	3:20.10 (5)
6	2	Brazil	BRA		3:20.99
		José Carlos Souza		25.00	51.15	51.15 (8)
		Gustavo Borges		23.35	48.90	1:40.05 (6)
		Emanuel Fortes		23.81	50.01	2:30.06 (4)
		Cristiano Michelena		24.11	50.93	3:20.99 (6)
7	7	Great Britain	GBR		3:21.75
		Roland Lee		24.79	50.97	50.97 (7)
		Mark Foster		23.01	50.00	1:40.97 (7)
		Mike Fibbens		23.83	50.45	2:31.42 (7)
		Paul Howe		24.11	50.33	3:21.75 (7)
8	8	Australia	AUS		3:22.04
		Chris Fydler		24.65	50.38	50.38 (6)
		Andrew Baildon		23.94	50.70	1:41.08 (8)
		Tom Stachewicz		24.35	50.65	2:31.73 (8)
		Darren Lange		24.23	50.31	3:22.04 (8)