| Date | 10 – 11 August 1936 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmstadion, Reichssportfeld, Berlin |
| Participants | 74 from 18 countries |
Although eighteen teams took part in the relay competition, only two teams could realistically challenge for the championship. Once again it fell between the United States and Japan to fight for gold. Japan fielded three of the first finishers from the individual and soon moved clear of the Americans to break their own world record and finish ten seconds ahead. Masanori Yusa swam the relay only three times in international competition breaking the world record each time. Hungary finished clear of France for the bronze medals with Germany back in fifth. One of the more remarkable stories in Olympic history concerns French team member Artem Nakache. Nakache returned to the Olympic arena twelve years later in London despite having spent time as a prisoner at Auschwitz extermination camp. He is the only known Olympian to have competed before and after internment in a concentration camp.
| Date | 10 August 1936 — 10:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the next two fastest advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Japan | JPN | 8:56.1 | ||
| 2 | – | United States | USA | 9:10.4 | ||
| 3 | – | Hungary | HUN | 9:20.8 | ||
| 4 | – | Germany | GER | 9:21.4 | ||
| 5 | – | France | FRA | 9:21.7 | ||
| 6 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 9:30.8 | ||
| 7 | – | Sweden | SWE | 9:35.3 | ||
| 8 | – | Denmark | DEN | 9:39.6 | ||
| 9 | – | Canada | CAN | 9:40.0 | ||
| 10 | – | Yugoslavia | YUG | 9:40.3 | ||
| 11 | – | Brazil | BRA | 9:42.5 | ||
| 12 | – | Philippines | PHI | 9:45.8 | ||
| 13 | – | Egypt | EGY | 10:05.3 | ||
| 14 | – | Bermuda | BER | 10:50.5 | ||
| 15 | – | Greece | GRE | 10:51.0 | ||
| 16 | – | Austria | AUT | 10:58.4 | ||
| 17 | – | Luxembourg | LUX | 10:59.8 | ||
| – | Poland | POL | – | |||
| – | Chile | CHI | – | |||
| – | Peru | PER | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | France | FRA | 9:21.7 | ||
| Lead-off | – | René Cavalero | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Alfred Nakache | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Christian Talli | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Jean Taris | – | |||
| 2 | – | Canada | CAN | 9:40.0 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Munroe Bourne | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Bob Hamerton | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Robert Hooper | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Bob Pirie | – | |||
| 3 | – | Brazil | BRA | 9:42.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Aluizio Lage | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Leônidas da Silva | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Manoel Villar | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Isaac Moraes | – | |||
| 4 | – | Philippines | PHI | 9:45.8 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Jikirum Adjaluddin | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Arasad Alpad | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Nils Christiansen | – | |||
| Anchor | – | José Obial | – | |||
| 5 | – | Bermuda | BER | 10:50.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Edmund Cooper | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Leonard Spence | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Dudley Spurling | – | |||
| Anchor | – | John Young | – | |||
| 6 | – | Greece | GRE | 10:51.0 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Richardos Brousalis | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Spyridon Mavrogiorgos | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Panagiotis Provatopoulos | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Angelos Vlachos | – | |||
| – | Chile | CHI | – | |||
| – | Jorge Berroeta DNS | – | ||||
| – | Alfonso Casasempere DNS | – | ||||
| – | Washington Guzmán DNS | – | ||||
| – | Carlos Reed DNS | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States | USA | 9:10.4 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Ralph Gilman | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Charles Hutter | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Jack Medica | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Paul Wolf | – | |||
| 2 | – | Hungary | HUN | 9:20.8 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Oszkár Abay-Nemes | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Ferenc Csík | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Ödön Gróf | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Árpád Lengyel | – | |||
| 3 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 9:30.8 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mickey Ffrench-Williams | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Rom Gabrielsen | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Bobby Leivers | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Norman Wainwright | – | |||
| 4 | – | Denmark | DEN | 9:39.6 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Poul Petersen | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Jørgen Jørgensen | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Aage Hellstrøm | – | |||
| Anchor | – | John Christensen | – | |||
| 5 | – | Austria | AUT | 10:58.4 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Herbert Hnatek | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Franz Seltenheim | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Edmund Pader | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Günther Zobernig | – | |||
| 6 | – | Luxembourg | LUX | 10:59.8 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Norbert Franck | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Pierre Hastert | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Marcel Neumann | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Georges Tandel | – | |||
| – | Poland | POL | – | |||
| Lead-off | – | Kazimierz Bocheński | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Helmut Barysz | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Joachim Karliczek | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Ilja Szrajbman | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Japan | JPN | 8:56.1 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Shigeo Arai | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Shigeo Sugiura | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Masaharu Taguchi | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Masanori Yusa | – | |||
| 2 | – | Germany | GER | 9:21.4 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Helmut Fischer | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Hermann Heibel | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Wolfgang Heimlich | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Werner Plath | – | |||
| 3 | – | Sweden | SWE | 9:35.3 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Björn Borg | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Sten-Olof Bolldén | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Sven Pettersson | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Gunnar Werner | – | |||
| 4 | – | Yugoslavia | YUG | 9:40.3 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Draško Vilfan | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Tonko Gazzari | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Zmaj Defilipis | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Tone Cerer | – | |||
| 5 | – | Egypt | EGY | 10:05.3 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Higazi Said | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Fadl Ibrahim | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Qadri Mahmud | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Zaki Saad al-Dine | – | |||
| – | Peru | PER | – | |||
| – | Alfredo Álvarez Calderón DNS | – | ||||
| – | Arturo Álvarez Calderón DNS | – | ||||
| – | Walter Ledgard Jiménez DNS | – | ||||
| – | Juan Paz DNS | – | ||||
| – | Daniel Carpio DNS | – |
| Date | 11 August 1936 — 15:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Japan | JPN | 8:51.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Masanori Yusa | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Shigeo Sugiura | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Masaharu Taguchi | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Shigeo Arai | – | |||
| 2 | – | United States | USA | 9:03.0 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Ralph Flanagan | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | John Macionis | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Paul Wolf | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Jack Medica | – | |||
| 3 | – | Hungary | HUN | 9:12.3 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Árpád Lengyel | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Oszkár Abay-Nemes | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Ödön Gróf | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Ferenc Csík | – | |||
| 4 | – | France | FRA | 9:18.2 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Alfred Nakache | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Christian Talli | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | René Cavalero | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Jean Taris | – | |||
| 5 | – | Germany | GER | 9:19.0 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Werner Plath | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Wolfgang Heimlich | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Hermann Heibel | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Helmut Fischer | – | |||
| 6 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 9:21.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mickey Ffrench-Williams | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Rom Gabrielsen | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Bobby Leivers | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Norman Wainwright | – | |||
| 7 | – | Canada | CAN | 9:27.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Munroe Bourne | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Bob Hamerton | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Robert Hooper | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Bob Pirie | – | |||
| 8 | – | Sweden | SWE | 9:37.5 | ||
| Lead-off | – | Björn Borg | – | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Sten-Olof Bolldén | – | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Sven Pettersson | – | |||
| Anchor | – | Gunnar Werner | – |