| Date | 3 September 1972 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmhalle, Olympiapark, München |
| Participants | 73 from 16 countries |
The United States was a clear favorite, and they sent out the junior varsity in the first round, but they still had the fastest qualifier, defeating the East Germans in the second heat, although the GDR saved only Kornelia Ender for the final. The final started with Melissa Belote swimming backstroke for the Americans but she barely led over the Netherlands’ Enith Brigitha. On the breaststroke leg, Cathy Carr , the 100 breaststroke champion, put the race away for the United States, opening a big lead over the Soviet Union’s Galina Stepanova, as they moved into second with East Germany third. Deena Deardurff’s butterfly leg pushed the margin to three bodylengths and Sandy Neilson brought the Americans home in a world record 4:20.75, more than four seconds clear of the GDR, with West Germany moving ahead of the Soviet Union for the bronze medal.
| Pos | Number | Competitors | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 4:27.57 (1 h2) | 4:20.75 (1) | Gold | ||
| Backstroke | 1057 | Melissa Belote | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 1058 | Cathy Carr | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 1962 | Deena Deardurff | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 1072 | Sandy Neilson | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | 1053 | Susie Atwood | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | – | Judy Melick | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | – | Dana Shrader | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 1054 | Shirley Babashoff | – | – | ||||
| 1065 | Jenny Kemp DNS | – | – | |||||
| 2 | – | East Germany |  GDR | 4:27.58 (2 h2) | 4:24.91 (2) | Silver | ||
| Backstroke | 793 | Christine Herbst | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 806 | Renate Vogel | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 787 | Roswitha Beier | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 790 | Kornelia Ender | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 808 | Gabriele Wetzko | – | – | ||||
| 797 | Rosemarie Kother DNS | – | – | |||||
| 802 | Brigitte Schuchardt DNS | – | – | |||||
| 3 | – | West Germany |  FRG | 4:33.37 (4 h1) | 4:26.46 (3) | Bronze | ||
| Backstroke | 827 | Silke Pielen | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | – | Vreni Eberle | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 814 | Gudrun Beckmann | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 828 | Heidi Reineck | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | – | Annegret Kober | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 821 | Edeltraud Koch | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 836 | Jutta Weber | – | – | ||||
| 824 | Heike Nagel DNS | – | – | |||||
| 832 | Dagmar Sierck DNS | – | – | |||||
| 4 | – | Soviet Union |  URS | 4:30.35 (1 h1) | 4:27.81 (4) | |||
| Backstroke | 1031 | Tina Lek'veishvili | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 1041 | Galina Stepanova | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 1044 | Irina Ustimenko | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 1045 | Tatyana Zolotnitskaya | – | – | ||||
| 1033 | Nina Petrova DNS | – | – | |||||
| 5 | – | Netherlands |  NED | 4:32.20 (3 h1) | 4:29.99 (5) | |||
| Backstroke | 844 | Enith Brigitha | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 855 | Alie te Riet | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 856 | Anke Rijnders | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | – | Hansje Bunschoten | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 846 | Frieke Buys | – | – | ||||
| 850 | Tineke Hofland DNS | – | – | |||||
| 854 | Atie Radersma DNS | – | – | |||||
| 857 | Annette Segaar DNS | – | – | |||||
| 859 | Marianne Vermaat DNS | – | – | |||||
| 6 | – | Japan |  JPN | 4:30.34 (3 h2) | 4:30.18 (6) | |||
| Backstroke | 916 | Suzuko Matsumura | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 921 | Yoko Yamamoto | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 909 | Mayumi Aoki | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | – | Yoshimi Nishigawa | – | – | ||||
| 913 | Kikuyo Ishii DNS | – | – | |||||
| 914 | Shigeko Kawanishi DNS | – | – | |||||
| 7 | – | Canada |  CAN | 4:31.87 (4 h2) | 4:31.56 (7) | |||
| Backstroke | 694 | Wendy Cook | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 696 | Sylvia Dockerill | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 695 | Marilyn Corson | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 693 | Leslie Cliff | – | – | ||||
| 697 | Donna-Marie Gurr DNS | – | – | |||||
| 708 | Mary Beth Rondeau DNS | – | – | |||||
| 711 | Marian Stuart DNS | – | – | |||||
| 8 | – | Sweden |  SWE | 4:31.88 (2 h1) | 4:32.61 (8) | |||
| Backstroke | 1015 | Diana Olsson | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 1017 | Britt-Marie Smedh | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 1018 | Eva Wikner | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 1019 | Anita Zarnowiecki | – | – | ||||
| 1016 | Jeanette Pettersson DNS | – | – | |||||
| 9 | – | Australia |  AUS | 4:33.96 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 661 | Sue Lewis | – | – | |||||
| – | Beverley Whitfield | – | – | |||||
| 656 | Sue Funch | – | – | |||||
| – | Sharon Booth | – | – | |||||
| 654 | Debra Cain DNS | – | – | |||||
| 655 | Leanne Francis DNS | – | – | |||||
| 657 | Shane Gould DNS | – | – | |||||
| 10 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 4:34.61 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 759 | Pam Bairstow | – | – | |||||
| 767 | Dorothy Harrison | – | – | |||||
| 769 | Jean Jeavons | – | – | |||||
| – | Lesley Allardice | – | – | |||||
| 761 | Jackie Brown DNS | – | – | |||||
| 768 | Christine Jarvis DNS | – | – | |||||
| 11 | – | Switzerland |  SUI | 4:34.69 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 1002 | Susanne Niesner | – | – | |||||
| 1004 | Margrit Thomet | – | – | |||||
| 1003 | Erika Rüegg | – | – | |||||
| 1001 | Françoise Monod | – | – | |||||
| 12 | – | Hungary |  HUN | 4:36.53 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 866 | Ildikó Szekeres | – | – | |||||
| 862 | Ágnes Kaczander-Kiss | – | – | |||||
| 863 | Judit Turóczy | – | – | |||||
| 865 | Magdolna Patóh | – | – | |||||
| 13 | – | France |  FRA | 4:38.62 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 747 | Sylvie Le Noach | – | – | |||||
| 746 | Martine Claret | – | – | |||||
| 745 | Josiane Castiau | – | – | |||||
| – | Claude Mandonnaud | – | – | |||||
| 744 | Guylaine Berger DNS | – | – | |||||
| 14 | – | Ireland |  IRL | 4:45.56 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 878 | Christine Fulcher | – | – | |||||
| 880 | Ann O'Connor | – | – | |||||
| 879 | Brenda McGrory | – | – | |||||
| 881 | Aisling O'Leary | – | – | |||||
| 15 | – | Italy |  ITA | 4:48.25 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 889 | Alessandra Finesso | – | – | |||||
| 892 | Patrizia Miserini | – | – | |||||
| 895 | Donatella Talpo | – | – | |||||
| 893 | Laura Podestà | – | – | |||||
| 888 | Novella Calligaris DNS | – | – | |||||
| 16 | – | Mexico |  MEX | 4:49.23 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 943 | María Teresa Ramírez | – | – | |||||
| 941 | Ana Elena de la Portilla | – | – | |||||
| 935 | Norma Amezcua | – | – | |||||
| – | Marcia Arriaga | – | – | |||||
| 944 | Leonor Urueta DNS | – | – |
| Date | 3 September 1972 — 10:45 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest 8 advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | USA | 4:27.57 | ||
| 2 | East Germany | GDR | 4:27.58 | ||
| 3 | Japan | JPN | 4:30.34 | ||
| 4 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:30.35 | ||
| 5 | Canada | CAN | 4:31.87 | ||
| 6 | Sweden | SWE | 4:31.88 | ||
| 7 | Netherlands | NED | 4:32.20 | ||
| 8 | West Germany | FRG | 4:33.37 | ||
| 9 | Australia | AUS | 4:33.96 | ||
| 10 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:34.61 | ||
| 11 | Switzerland | SUI | 4:34.69 | ||
| 12 | Hungary | HUN | 4:36.53 | ||
| 13 | France | FRA | 4:38.62 | ||
| 14 | Ireland | IRL | 4:45.56 | ||
| 15 | Italy | ITA | 4:48.25 | ||
| 16 | Mexico | MEX | 4:49.23 |
| Pos | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:30.35 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Tina Lek'veishvili | – | 1:06.97 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Galina Stepanova | – | 1:16.01 (1) | 2:22.98 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | Irina Ustimenko | – | 1:06.93 (5) | 3:29.91 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | Tatyana Zolotnitskaya | – | 1:00.42 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | Sweden | SWE | 4:31.88 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Diana Olsson | – | 1:09.35 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Britt-Marie Smedh | – | 1:17.00 (4) | 2:26.35 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | Eva Wikner | – | 1:05.82 (1) | 3:32.17 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | Anita Zarnowiecki | – | 59.70 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | Netherlands | NED | 4:32.20 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Enith Brigitha | – | 1:07.02 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Alie te Riet | – | 1:18.12 (6) | 2:25.14 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | Frieke Buys | – | 1:06.66 (2) | 3:31.80 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | Anke Rijnders | – | 1:00.39 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | West Germany | FRG | 4:33.37 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Annegret Kober | – | 1:08.46 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Vreni Eberle | – | 1:17.19 (5) | 2:25.65 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | Edeltraud Koch | – | 1:06.83 (4) | 3:32.48 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | Jutta Weber | – | 1:00.88 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | Australia | AUS | 4:33.96 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Sue Lewis | – | 1:09.40 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Beverley Whitfield | – | 1:16.74 (2) | 2:26.14 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | Sue Funch | – | 1:06.73 (3) | 3:32.87 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | Sharon Booth | – | 1:01.08 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | Hungary | HUN | 4:36.53 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Ildikó Szekeres | – | 1:11.08 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Ágnes Kaczander-Kiss | – | 1:16.86 (3) | 2:27.94 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | Judit Turóczy | – | 1:08.45 (6) | 3:36.39 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | Magdolna Patóh | – | 1:00.13 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | Ireland | IRL | 4:45.56 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Christine Fulcher | – | 1:10.70 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Ann O'Connor | – | 1:20.35 (7) | 2:31.05 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | Brenda McGrory | – | 1:08.49 (7) | 3:39.54 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | Aisling O'Leary | – | 1:06.02 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | Italy | ITA | 4:48.25 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Alessandra Finesso | – | 1:12.64 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Patrizia Miserini | – | 1:23.06 (8) | 2:35.70 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | Donatella Talpo | – | 1:10.36 (8) | 3:46.06 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | Laura Podestà | – | 1:02.18 (7) | – (–) |
| Pos | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | USA | 4:27.57 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Susie Atwood | – | 1:07.30 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Judy Melick | – | 1:16.48 (4) | 2:23.78 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | Dana Shrader | – | 1:04.71 (3) | 3:28.49 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | Shirley Babashoff | – | 59.08 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | East Germany | GDR | 4:27.58 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Christine Herbst | – | 1:08.36 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Renate Vogel | – | 1:16.38 (2) | 2:24.74 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | Roswitha Beier | – | 1:03.98 (2) | 3:28.72 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | Gabriele Wetzko | – | 58.84 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | Japan | JPN | 4:30.34 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Suzuko Matsumura | – | 1:09.21 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Yoko Yamamoto | – | 1:18.30 (6) | 2:27.51 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | Mayumi Aoki | – | 1:02.62 (1) | 3:30.13 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | Yoshimi Nishigawa | – | 1:00.21 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | Canada | CAN | 4:31.87 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Wendy Cook | – | 1:07.42 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Sylvia Dockerill | – | 1:17.43 (5) | 2:24.85 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | Marilyn Corson | – | 1:05.98 (4) | 3:30.83 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | Leslie Cliff | – | 1:01.03 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:34.61 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Pam Bairstow | – | 1:10.12 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Dorothy Harrison | – | 1:16.39 (3) | 2:26.51 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | Jean Jeavons | – | 1:06.65 (5) | 3:33.16 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | Lesley Allardice | – | 1:01.43 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | Switzerland | SUI | 4:34.69 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Susanne Niesner | – | 1:09.46 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Margrit Thomet | – | 1:16.19 (1) | 2:25.65 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | Erika Rüegg | – | 1:06.96 (6) | 3:32.61 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | Françoise Monod | – | 1:02.07 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | France | FRA | 4:38.62 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | Sylvie Le Noach | – | 1:08.69 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Martine Claret | – | 1:20.16 (7) | 2:28.85 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | Josiane Castiau | – | 1:08.86 (7) | 3:37.71 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | Claude Mandonnaud | – | 1:00.90 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | Mexico | MEX | 4:49.23 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | María Teresa Ramírez | – | 1:09.63 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | Ana Elena de la Portilla | – | 1:21.90 (8) | 2:31.53 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | Norma Amezcua | – | 1:13.28 (8) | 3:44.81 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | Marcia Arriaga | – | 1:04.41 (8) | – (–) |
| Date | 3 September 1972 — 19:05 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 4:20.75 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Melissa Belote | – | 1:06.24 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Cathy Carr | – | 1:13.99 (1) | 2:20.23 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Deena Deardurff | – | 1:02.61 (2) | 3:22.84 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Sandy Neilson | – | 57.90 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 5 | East Germany | GDR | 4:24.91 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Christine Herbst | – | 1:06.89 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Renate Vogel | – | 1:16.58 (4) | 2:23.47 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Roswitha Beier | – | 1:03.34 (3) | 3:26.81 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Kornelia Ender | – | 58.09 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 8 | West Germany | FRG | 4:26.46 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Silke Pielen | – | 1:08.27 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Vreni Eberle | – | 1:15.47 (3) | 2:23.74 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Gudrun Beckmann | – | 1:03.64 (4) | 3:27.38 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Heidi Reineck | – | 59.05 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 6 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:27.81 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Tina Lek'veishvili | – | 1:07.09 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Galina Stepanova | – | 1:14.46 (2) | 2:21.55 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Irina Ustimenko | – | 1:06.19 (7) | 3:27.74 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Tatyana Zolotnitskaya | – | 1:00.05 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 1 | Netherlands | NED | 4:29.99 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Enith Brigitha | – | 1:06.35 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Alie te Riet | – | 1:18.17 (6) | 2:24.52 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Anke Rijnders | – | 1:05.77 (6) | 3:30.29 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Hansje Bunschoten | – | 59.68 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 3 | Japan | JPN | 4:30.18 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Suzuko Matsumura | – | 1:08.60 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Yoko Yamamoto | – | 1:18.72 (8) | 2:27.32 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Mayumi Aoki | – | 1:02.47 (1) | 3:29.79 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Yoshimi Nishigawa | – | 1:00.39 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 2 | Canada | CAN | 4:31.56 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Wendy Cook | – | 1:07.06 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Sylvia Dockerill | – | 1:18.41 (7) | 2:25.47 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Marilyn Corson | – | 1:05.02 (5) | 3:30.49 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Leslie Cliff | – | 1:01.07 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 7 | Sweden | SWE | 4:32.61 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Diana Olsson | – | 1:09.50 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Britt-Marie Smedh | – | 1:16.89 (5) | 2:26.39 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Eva Wikner | – | 1:06.35 (8) | 3:32.74 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Anita Zarnowiecki | – | 59.85 (5) | – (–) |
