| | Event type

4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men

Date	10 – 11 August 1936
Status	Olympic
Location	Schwimmstadion, Reichssportfeld, Berlin
Participants	74 from 18 countries

Although 18 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 events 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 Alfred Nakache. Nakache returned to the Olympic arena 12 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.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	–	Japan	JPN	8:56.1 (1 h3)	8:51.5 (1)	Gold
	206	Masanori Yusa		–	–
	229	Shigeo Sugiura		–	–
	205	Masaharu Taguchi		–	–
	204	Shigeo Arai		–	–
	230	Rokuhei Shimma DNS		–	–
	231	Sakae Tsuruoka DNS		–	–
2	–	United States	USA	9:10.4 (1 h2)	9:03.0 (2)	Silver
	448	Ralph Flanagan		–	–
	445	John Macionis		–	–
	471	Paul Wolf		–	–
	446	Jack Medica		–	–
	469	Ralph Gilman		–	–
	470	Charles Hutter		–	–
3	–	Hungary	HUN	9:20.8 (2 h2)	9:12.3 (3)	Bronze
	400	Árpád Lengyel		–	–
	395	Oszkár Abay-Nemes		–	–
	–	Ödön Gróf		–	–
	396	Ferenc Csík		–	–
	402	István Angyal DNS		–	–
	–	Gyula Zolyomy DNS		–	–
4	–	France	FRA	9:21.7 (1 h1)	9:18.2 (4)
	–	Alfred Nakache		–	–
	109	Christian Talli		–	–
	105	René Cavalero		–	–
	–	Jean Taris		–	–
	106	Claude Desusclade DNS		–	–
	113	Marco Diener DNS		–	–
5	–	Germany	GER	9:21.4 (2 h3)	9:19.0 (5)
	518	Werner Plath		–	–
	516	Wolfgang Heimlich		–	–
	–	Hermann Heibel		–	–
	485	Helmut Fischer		–	–
	487	Heiko Schwartz DNS		–	–
	517	Gerhard Nüske DNS		–	–
6	–	Great Britain	GBR	9:30.8 (3 h2)	9:21.5 (6)
	–	Mickey Ffrench-Williams		–	–
	128	Rom Gabrielsen		–	–
	131	Bobby Leivers		–	–
	133	Norman Wainwright		–	–
	126	Freddie Dove DNS		–	–
	132	Willie Pearson DNS		–	–
7	–	Canada	CAN	9:40.0 (2 h1)	9:27.5 (7)
	56	Munroe Bourne		–	–
	57	Bob Hamerton		–	–
	62	Robert Hooper		–	–
	63	Bob Pirie		–	–
	58	George Larson DNS		–	–
8	–	Sweden	SWE	9:35.3 (3 h3)	9:37.5 (8)
	333	Björn Borg		–	–
	339	Sten-Olof Bolldén		–	–
	342	Sven Pettersson		–	–
	343	Gunnar Werner		–	–
	341	Åke Julin DNS		–	–
9	–	Denmark	DEN	9:39.6 (4 h2)	–
	–	Poul Petersen		–	–
	87	Jørgen Jørgensen		–	–
	86	Aage Hellstrøm		–	–
	80	John Christensen		–	–
	82	Børge Bæth DNS		–	–
	83	Finn Jensen DNS		–	–
10	–	Yugoslavia	YUG	9:40.3 (4 h3)	–
	–	Draško Vilfan		–	–
	249	Tonko Gazzari		–	–
	250	Zmaj Defilipis		–	–
	251	Tone Cerer		–	–
	248	Luka Ciganović DNS		–	–
	252	Mirko Simović DNS		–	–
11	–	Brazil	BRA	9:42.5 (3 h1)	–
	–	Aluizio Lage		–	–
	44	Leônidas da Silva		–	–
	45	Manoel Villar		–	–
	–	Isaac Moraes		–	–
	51	João Havelange DNS		–	–
12	–	Philippines	PHI	9:45.8 (4 h1)	–
	323	Jikirum Adjaluddin		–	–
	327	Arasad Alpad		–	–
	325	Nils Christiansen		–	–
	324	José Obial		–	–
	326	Teófilo Yldefonso DNS		–	–
13	–	Egypt	EGY	10:05.3 (5 h3)	–
	14	Higazi Said		–	–
	15	Fadl Ibrahim		–	–
	7	Qadri Mahmud		–	–
	6	Zaki Saad al-Dine		–	–
14	–	Bermuda	BER	10:50.5 (5 h1)	–
	41	Edmund Cooper		–	–
	36	Leonard Spence		–	–
	42	Dudley Spurling		–	–
	37	John Young		–	–
	38	Foster Cooper DNS		–	–
	–	Ross Doe DNS		–	–
15	–	Greece	GRE	10:51.0 (6 h1)	–
	1	Richardos Brousalis		–	–
	2	Spyridon Mavrogiorgos		–	–
	4	Panagiotis Provatopoulos		–	–
	5	Angelos Vlachos		–	–
16	–	Austria	AUT	10:58.4 (5 h2)	–
	299	Herbert Hnatek		–	–
	289	Franz Seltenheim		–	–
	–	Edmund Pader		–	–
	284	Günther Zobernig		–	–
	298	Hans Schiller DNS		–	–
	297	Gerhard Seefranz DNS		–	–
17	–	Luxembourg	LUX	10:59.8 (6 h2)	–
	264	Norbert Franck		–	–
	265	Pierre Hastert		–	–
	263	Marcel Neuman		–	–
	267	Georges Tandel		–	–
	266	Boyty Staudt DNS		–	–
DQ	–	Poland	POL	– (DQ h2)	–
	328	Kazimierz Bocheński		–	–
	329	Helmut Barysz		–	–
	330	Joachim Karliczek		–	–
	332	Ilja Szrajbman		–	–
	331	Kazimierz Karpiński DNS		–	–
DNS	–	Chile	CHI	– (DNS h1)	–
	74	Jorge Berroeta DNS		–	–
	73	Alfonso Casasempere DNS		–	–
	76	Washington Guzmán DNS		–	–
	–	Carlos Reed DNS		–	–
DNS	–	Peru	PER	– (DNS h3)	–
	314	Alfredo Álvarez Calderón DNS		–	–
	320	Arturo Álvarez Calderón DNS		–	–
	319	Walter Ledgard Jiménez DNS		–	–
	316	Juan Paz DNS		–	–
	317	Daniel Carpio DNS		–	–

Round One

Date	10 August 1936 — 10:30
Format	Top 2 in each heat and the next 2 fastest advanced to the final round.

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	5	Japan	JPN	8:56.1	QOR
2	2	United States	USA	9:10.4	Q
3	5	Hungary	HUN	9:20.8	Q
4	3	Germany	GER	9:21.4	Q
5	4	France	FRA	9:21.7	Q
6	1	Great Britain	GBR	9:30.8	q
7	1	Sweden	SWE	9:35.3	q
8	7	Denmark	DEN	9:39.6
9	2	Canada	CAN	9:40.0	Q
10	2	Yugoslavia	YUG	9:40.3
11	1	Brazil	BRA	9:42.5
12	7	Philippines	PHI	9:45.8
13	4	Egypt	EGY	10:05.3
14	6	Bermuda	BER	10:50.5
15	3	Greece	GRE	10:51.0
16	6	Austria	AUT	10:58.4
17	4	Luxembourg	LUX	10:59.8
DQ	3	Poland	POL	–
DNS	5	Chile	CHI	–
DNS	6	Peru	PER	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time
1	4	France	FRA	9:21.7	Q
Lead-off	–	René Cavalero		–
2nd Leg	–	Alfred Nakache		–
3rd Leg	–	Christian Talli		–
Anchor	–	Jean Taris		–
2	2	Canada	CAN	9:40.0	Q
Lead-off	–	Munroe Bourne		–
2nd Leg	–	Bob Hamerton		–
3rd Leg	–	Robert Hooper		–
Anchor	–	Bob Pirie		–
3	1	Brazil	BRA	9:42.5
Lead-off	–	Aluizio Lage		–
2nd Leg	–	Leônidas da Silva		–
3rd Leg	–	Manoel Villar		–
Anchor	–	Isaac Moraes		–
4	7	Philippines	PHI	9:45.8
Lead-off	–	Jikirum Adjaluddin		–
2nd Leg	–	Arasad Alpad		–
3rd Leg	–	Nils Christiansen		–
Anchor	–	José Obial		–
5	6	Bermuda	BER	10:50.5
Lead-off	–	Edmund Cooper		–
2nd Leg	–	Leonard Spence		–
3rd Leg	–	Dudley Spurling		–
Anchor	–	John Young		–
6	3	Greece	GRE	10:51.0
Lead-off	–	Richardos Brousalis		–
2nd Leg	–	Spyridon Mavrogiorgos		–
3rd Leg	–	Panagiotis Provatopoulos		–
Anchor	–	Angelos Vlachos		–
DNS	5	Chile	CHI	–
	–	Jorge Berroeta DNS		–
	–	Alfonso Casasempere DNS		–
	–	Washington Guzmán DNS		–
	–	Carlos Reed DNS		–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time
1	2	United States	USA	9:10.4	Q
Lead-off	–	Ralph Gilman		–
2nd Leg	–	Charles Hutter		–
3rd Leg	–	Jack Medica		–
Anchor	–	Paul Wolf		–
2	5	Hungary	HUN	9:20.8	Q
Lead-off	–	Oszkár Abay-Nemes		–
2nd Leg	–	Ferenc Csík		–
3rd Leg	–	Ödön Gróf		–
Anchor	–	Árpád Lengyel		–
3	1	Great Britain	GBR	9:30.8	q
Lead-off	–	Mickey Ffrench-Williams		–
2nd Leg	–	Rom Gabrielsen		–
3rd Leg	–	Bobby Leivers		–
Anchor	–	Norman Wainwright		–
4	7	Denmark	DEN	9:39.6
Lead-off	–	Poul Petersen		–
2nd Leg	–	Jørgen Jørgensen		–
3rd Leg	–	Aage Hellstrøm		–
Anchor	–	John Christensen		–
5	6	Austria	AUT	10:58.4
Lead-off	–	Herbert Hnatek		–
2nd Leg	–	Franz Seltenheim		–
3rd Leg	–	Edmund Pader		–
Anchor	–	Günther Zobernig		–
6	4	Luxembourg	LUX	10:59.8
Lead-off	–	Norbert Franck		–
2nd Leg	–	Pierre Hastert		–
3rd Leg	–	Marcel Neuman		–
Anchor	–	Georges Tandel		–
DQ	3	Poland	POL	–
Lead-off	–	Kazimierz Bocheński		–
2nd Leg	–	Helmut Barysz		–
3rd Leg	–	Joachim Karliczek		–
Anchor	–	Ilja Szrajbman		–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time
1	5	Japan	JPN	8:56.1	QOR
Lead-off	–	Shigeo Arai		–
2nd Leg	–	Shigeo Sugiura		–
3rd Leg	–	Masaharu Taguchi		–
Anchor	–	Masanori Yusa		–
2	3	Germany	GER	9:21.4	Q
Lead-off	–	Helmut Fischer		–
2nd Leg	–	Hermann Heibel		–
3rd Leg	–	Wolfgang Heimlich		–
Anchor	–	Werner Plath		–
3	1	Sweden	SWE	9:35.3	q
Lead-off	–	Björn Borg		–
2nd Leg	–	Sten-Olof Bolldén		–
3rd Leg	–	Sven Pettersson		–
Anchor	–	Gunnar Werner		–
4	2	Yugoslavia	YUG	9:40.3
Lead-off	–	Draško Vilfan		–
2nd Leg	–	Tonko Gazzari		–
3rd Leg	–	Zmaj Defilipis		–
Anchor	–	Tone Cerer		–
5	4	Egypt	EGY	10:05.3
Lead-off	–	Higazi Said		–
2nd Leg	–	Fadl Ibrahim		–
3rd Leg	–	Qadri Mahmud		–
Anchor	–	Zaki Saad al-Dine		–
DNS	6	Peru	PER	–
	–	Alfredo Álvarez Calderón DNS		–
	–	Arturo Álvarez Calderón DNS		–
	–	Walter Ledgard Jiménez DNS		–
	–	Juan Paz DNS		–
	–	Daniel Carpio DNS		–

Final Round

Date	11 August 1936 — 15:30

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time
1	2	Japan	JPN	8:51.5	WR
Lead-off	–	Masanori Yusa		–
2nd Leg	–	Shigeo Sugiura		–
3rd Leg	–	Masaharu Taguchi		–
Anchor	–	Shigeo Arai		–
2	5	United States	USA	9:03.0
Lead-off	–	Ralph Flanagan		–
2nd Leg	–	John Macionis		–
3rd Leg	–	Paul Wolf		–
Anchor	–	Jack Medica		–
3	4	Hungary	HUN	9:12.3
Lead-off	–	Árpád Lengyel		–
2nd Leg	–	Oszkár Abay-Nemes		–
3rd Leg	–	Ödön Gróf		–
Anchor	–	Ferenc Csík		–
4	8	France	FRA	9:18.2
Lead-off	–	Alfred Nakache		–
2nd Leg	–	Christian Talli		–
3rd Leg	–	René Cavalero		–
Anchor	–	Jean Taris		–
5	1	Germany	GER	9:19.0
Lead-off	–	Werner Plath		–
2nd Leg	–	Wolfgang Heimlich		–
3rd Leg	–	Hermann Heibel		–
Anchor	–	Helmut Fischer		–
6	7	Great Britain	GBR	9:21.5
Lead-off	–	Mickey Ffrench-Williams		–
2nd Leg	–	Rom Gabrielsen		–
3rd Leg	–	Bobby Leivers		–
Anchor	–	Norman Wainwright		–
7	6	Canada	CAN	9:27.5
Lead-off	–	Munroe Bourne		–
2nd Leg	–	Bob Hamerton		–
3rd Leg	–	Robert Hooper		–
Anchor	–	Bob Pirie		–
8	3	Sweden	SWE	9:37.5
Lead-off	–	Björn Borg		–
2nd Leg	–	Sten-Olof Bolldén		–
3rd Leg	–	Sven Pettersson		–
Anchor	–	Gunnar Werner		–