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Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics

Dates 11 – 18 October 1964
Medal Events 18

The 1964 swimming events were held at the Kokuritsu Yoyogi Kyogijo, or the Yoyogi National Stadium. It was built specifically for the 1964 Olympics and still exists, although it is now used primarily for basketball, futsal, and ice hockey competition.

Both the men’s and women’s programs were expanded in 1964. The men’s program now consisted of 10 events, with the 400 individual medley and the 4x100 metre freestyle relay added. In addition, the 100 metre backstroke was eliminated, but was replaced by the 200 metre backstroke. Women had 8 events in 1964, adding the 400 individual medley.

The United States dominance in 1964 swimming was almost complete, winning 13 of 18 gold medals, and 29 of 54 available medals. Their men won 7 of 10 events and 14 of 30 medals, while the US women won 6 of 8 events and 15 of 24 medals.

Don Schollander (USA) was the swim star of the 1964 Olympics, winning four gold medals, even though his best event, the 200 freestyle, was not yet on the Olympic Program. Two other Americans, Sharon Stouder and Steve Clark, won three gold medals. Three swimmers besides Schollander won four medals – Stouder, Kathy Ellis (USA), and Hans-Joachim Klein (GER).

Events

Event Status Date Participants NOCs
100 metres Freestyle, Men Olympic 11 – 12 October 1964 66 33
400 metres Freestyle, Men Olympic 14 – 15 October 1964 49 27
1,500 metres Freestyle, Men Olympic 16 – 17 October 1964 31 21
4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Men Olympic 13 – 14 October 1964 56 13
4 x 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men Olympic 17 – 18 October 1964 67 15
200 metres Backstroke, Men Olympic 11 – 13 October 1964 34 21
200 metres Breaststroke, Men Olympic 13 – 15 October 1964 33 20
200 metres Butterfly, Men Olympic 16 – 18 October 1964 32 19
400 metres Individual Medley, Men Olympic 12 – 14 October 1964 30 18
4 x 100 metres Medley Relay, Men Olympic 15 – 16 October 1964 63 14
100 metres Freestyle, Women Olympic 12 – 13 October 1964 44 22
400 metres Freestyle, Women Olympic 17 – 18 October 1964 31 16
4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Women Olympic 14 – 15 October 1964 46 10
100 metres Backstroke, Women Olympic 13 – 14 October 1964 31 17
200 metres Breaststroke, Women Olympic 11 – 12 October 1964 27 15
100 metres Butterfly, Women Olympic 14 – 16 October 1964 31 16
400 metres Individual Medley, Women Olympic 15 – 17 October 1964 22 12
4 x 100 metres Medley Relay, Women Olympic 16 – 18 October 1964 43 9
405 (243/162) 42 (41/27)

Medals

Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 metres Freestyle, Men Don SchollanderUSA Bobby McGregorGBR Hans-Joachim KleinGER
400 metres Freestyle, Men Don SchollanderUSA Frank WiegandGER Allan WoodAUS
1,500 metres Freestyle, Men Bob WindleAUS John NelsonUSA Allan WoodAUS
4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Men United StatesUSA Unified Team of GermanyGER AustraliaAUS
4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men United StatesUSA Unified Team of GermanyGER JapanJPN
200 metres Backstroke, Men Jed GraefUSA Gary DilleyUSA Bob BennettUSA
200 metres Breaststroke, Men Ian O'BrienAUS Georgy ProkopenkoURS Chet JastremskiUSA
200 metres Butterfly, Men Kevin BerryAUS Carl RobieUSA Fred SchmidtUSA
400 metres Individual Medley, Men Dick RothUSA Roy SaariUSA Gerhard HetzGER
4 × 100 metres Medley Relay, Men United StatesUSA Unified Team of GermanyGER AustraliaAUS
100 metres Freestyle, Women Dawn FraserAUS Sharon StouderUSA Kathy EllisUSA
400 metres Freestyle, Women Ginny DuenkelUSA Marilyn RamenofskyUSA Terri Lee SticklesUSA
4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Women United StatesUSA AustraliaAUS NetherlandsNED
100 metres Backstroke, Women Cathy FergusonUSA Kiki CaronFRA Ginny DuenkelUSA
200 metres Breaststroke, Women Galina ProzumenshchikovaURS Claudia KolbUSA Svetlana BabaninaURS
100 metres Butterfly, Women Sharon StouderUSA Ada KokNED Kathy EllisUSA
400 metres Individual Medley, Women Donna de VaronaUSA Sharon FinneranUSA Martha RandallUSA
4 × 100 metres Medley Relay, Women United StatesUSA NetherlandsNED Soviet UnionURS

Medal table

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
United States USA 13 8 8 29
Australia AUS 4 1 4 9
Soviet Union URS 1 1 2 4
Germany GER 0 4 2 6
Netherlands NED 0 2 1 3
France FRA 0 1 0 1
Great Britain GBR 0 1 0 1
Japan JPN 0 0 1 1