| | Event type

400 metres Individual Medley, Men

Date	25 July 1976
Status	Olympic
Location	Piscine olympique, Montréal, Québec
Participants	33 from 20 countries

Since his München bronze medal, Hungary’s András Hargitay had been the world’s IM swimmer, winning both the 200 and 400 at the 1975 World Championships, and setting the 400 IM world record in Vienna in 1974, with 4:28.89. That record was broken in April 1976 by his countryman, Zoltán Verrasztó, but he was not in Montréal. The US Trials were won in June by Rod Strachan, who was also NCAA Champion in 1976. Hargitay and Strachan were expected to be challenged by Tim McKee, silver medalist in this event in 1972.

The opening butterfly leg of the final was led by the third American, Steve Furniss, but Strachan then opened a two-second lead on his strongest leg, the backstroke. Strachan later noted, “I knew I had the weakest breaststroke out there, so I felt I had to have a lead at the end of the backstroke.” On the third leg, the breaststroke, McKee took back the lead, just over ½-second ahead of Strachan, only to see Strachan race home in the freestyle 100 in under a minute and claim the gold medal in world record time, 4:32.68. McKee settled for a second consecutive silver, while Soviet Andrey Smirnov surprised a tiring Hargitay to win bronze.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	Final
1	433	Rod Strachan	USA	4:27.15 (1 h3)	4:23.68 (1)	Gold
2	426	Tim McKee	USA	4:29.14 (1 h2)	4:24.62 (2)	Silver
3	401	Andrey Smirnov	URS	4:29.92 (1 h5)	4:26.90 (3)	Bronze
4	211	András Hargitay	HUN	4:28.96 (1 h4)	4:27.13 (4)
5	78	Graham Smith	CAN	4:31.29 (2 h3)	4:28.64 (5)
6	415	Steve Furniss	USA	4:27.76 (1 h1)	4:29.23 (6)
7	72	Andy Ritchie	CAN	4:31.34 (2 h2)	4:29.87 (7)
8	161	HaJo Geisler	FRG	4:31.37 (2 h4)	4:34.95 (8)
9	75	Bill Sawchuk	CAN	4:32.65 (2 h1)	–
10	–	Peter Dawson	AUS	4:33.01 (3 h4)	–
11	400	Anatoly Smirnov	URS	4:33.88 (2 h5)	–
12	134	Alan McClatchey	GBR	4:34.31 (3 h1)	–
13	220	Csaba Sós	HUN	4:34.72 (4 h4)	–
14	362	Miloslav Roľko	TCH	4:35.21 (3 h3)	–
15	22	Jeff Van de Graaf	AUS	4:35.83 (4 h3)	–
16	274	Tsuyoshi Yanagidate	JPN	4:39.27 (3 h2)	–
17	312	John McConnochie	NZL	4:40.84 (4 h1)	–
18	314	Mark Treffers	NZL	4:40.92 (3 h5)	–
19	307	Gunnar Gundersen	NOR	4:41.05 (5 h1)	–
20	124	Jim Carter	GBR	4:41.25 (4 h5)	–
21	331	José-Ricardo de Jesús	PUR	4:42.07 (4 h2)	–
22	125	Duncan Cleworth	GBR	4:42.25 (5 h3)	–
23	33	François Deley	BEL	4:43.09 (6 h3)	–
24	291	Ricardo Marmolejo	MEX	4:45.30 (5 h4)	–
25	–	Julio Abreu	PAR	4:46.69 (5 h5)	–
26	202	Ronald Woutering	NED	4:46.76 (5 h2)	–
27	241	Dov Nisman	ISR	4:47.13 (6 h4)	–
28	223	Zoltán Verrasztó	HUN	4:48.51 (6 h5)	–
29	300	Guillermo Zavala	MEX	4:49.55 (7 h5)	–
30	–	Edwin Borja	PHI	4:52.21 (7 h4)	–
31	322	António Botelho de Melo	POR	5:11.48 (7 h3)	–
DQ	301	Patrick Novaretti	MON	– (DQ h1)	–
DQ	375	Mikhail Gorelik	URS	– (DQ h2)	–
DNS	243	Steven Newkirk	ISV	– (DNS h2)	–
DNS	82	Jorge Jaramillo	COL	– (DNS h5)	–

Round One

Date	25 July 1976 — 9:30
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Rod Strachan	USA	4:27.15	QOR
2	4	Steve Furniss	USA	4:27.76	QOR
3	4	András Hargitay	HUN	4:28.96	Q
4	4	Tim McKee	USA	4:29.14	Q
5	5	Andrey Smirnov	URS	4:29.92	Q
6	5	Graham Smith	CAN	4:31.29	Q
7	5	Andy Ritchie	CAN	4:31.34	Q
8	6	HaJo Geisler	FRG	4:31.37	Q
9	5	Bill Sawchuk	CAN	4:32.65
10	3	Peter Dawson	AUS	4:33.01
11	3	Anatoly Smirnov	URS	4:33.88
12	3	Alan McClatchey	GBR	4:34.31
13	5	Csaba Sós	HUN	4:34.72
14	2	Miloslav Roľko	TCH	4:35.21
15	3	Jeff Van de Graaf	AUS	4:35.83
16	2	Tsuyoshi Yanagidate	JPN	4:39.27
17	6	John McConnochie	NZL	4:40.84
18	2	Mark Treffers	NZL	4:40.92
19	2	Gunnar Gundersen	NOR	4:41.05
20	6	Jim Carter	GBR	4:41.25
21	7	José-Ricardo de Jesús	PUR	4:42.07
22	6	Duncan Cleworth	GBR	4:42.25
23	7	François Deley	BEL	4:43.09
24	2	Ricardo Marmolejo	MEX	4:45.30
25	8	Julio Abreu	PAR	4:46.69
26	6	Ronald Woutering	NED	4:46.76
27	8	Dov Nisman	ISR	4:47.13
28	4	Zoltán Verrasztó	HUN	4:48.51
29	7	Guillermo Zavala	MEX	4:49.55
30	1	Edwin Borja	PHI	4:52.21
31	1	António Botelho de Melo	POR	5:11.48
DQ	1	Patrick Novaretti	MON	–
DQ	3	Mikhail Gorelik	URS	–
DNS	1	Steven Newkirk	ISV	–
DNS	1	Jorge Jaramillo	COL	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	Steve Furniss	USA	4:27.76	59.53 (1)	2:07.20 (1)	3:25.73 (1)	1:07.67 (1)	1:18.53 (1)	1:02.03 (3)	QOR
2	5	Bill Sawchuk	CAN	4:32.65	1:00.78 (2)	2:10.68 (2)	3:31.05 (2)	1:09.90 (3)	1:20.37 (3)	1:01.60 (2)
3	3	Alan McClatchey	GBR	4:34.31	1:01.38 (4)	2:10.95 (3)	3:33.35 (3)	1:09.57 (2)	1:22.40 (4)	1:00.96 (1)
4	6	John McConnochie	NZL	4:40.84	1:01.36 (3)	2:12.08 (4)	3:36.89 (5)	1:10.72 (4)	1:24.81 (5)	1:03.95 (4)
5	2	Gunnar Gundersen	NOR	4:41.05	1:02.84 (5)	2:15.97 (5)	3:35.61 (4)	1:13.13 (5)	1:19.64 (2)	1:05.44 (5)
DQ	1	Patrick Novaretti	MON	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	Tim McKee	USA	4:29.14	1:01.11 (2)	2:09.42 (1)	3:27.10 (1)	1:08.31 (1)	1:17.68 (2)	1:02.04 (2)	Q
2	5	Andy Ritchie	CAN	4:31.34	1:00.58 (1)	2:11.77 (2)	3:28.31 (2)	1:11.19 (2)	1:16.54 (1)	1:03.03 (3)	Q
3	2	Tsuyoshi Yanagidate	JPN	4:39.27	1:01.78 (5)	2:13.87 (4)	3:37.37 (3)	1:12.09 (4)	1:23.50 (3)	1:01.90 (1)
4	7	José-Ricardo de Jesús	PUR	4:42.07	1:01.69 (4)	2:13.21 (3)	3:37.39 (4)	1:11.52 (3)	1:24.18 (4)	1:04.68 (4)
5	6	Ronald Woutering	NED	4:46.76	1:01.67 (3)	2:16.62 (5)	3:41.95 (5)	1:14.95 (5)	1:25.33 (5)	1:04.81 (5)
DQ	3	Mikhail Gorelik	URS	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)
DNS	1	Steven Newkirk	ISV	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	Rod Strachan	USA	4:27.15	1:01.18 (1)	2:06.86 (1)	3:25.98 (1)	1:05.68 (1)	1:19.12 (2)	1:01.17 (1)	QOR
2	5	Graham Smith	CAN	4:31.29	1:02.16 (4)	2:12.57 (3)	3:28.54 (2)	1:10.41 (3)	1:15.97 (1)	1:02.75 (3)	Q
3	2	Miloslav Roľko	TCH	4:35.21	1:01.21 (2)	2:11.26 (2)	3:32.75 (4)	1:10.05 (2)	1:21.49 (4)	1:02.46 (2)
4	3	Jeff Van de Graaf	AUS	4:35.83	1:01.89 (3)	2:12.75 (4)	3:32.18 (3)	1:10.86 (4)	1:19.43 (3)	1:03.65 (4)
5	6	Duncan Cleworth	GBR	4:42.25	1:04.53 (6)	2:15.83 (6)	3:38.55 (6)	1:11.30 (6)	1:22.72 (6)	1:03.70 (5)
6	7	François Deley	BEL	4:43.09	1:04.33 (5)	2:15.31 (5)	3:37.97 (5)	1:10.98 (5)	1:22.66 (5)	1:05.12 (6)
7	1	António Botelho de Melo	POR	5:11.48	1:08.98 (7)	2:27.30 (7)	4:02.72 (7)	1:18.32 (7)	1:35.42 (7)	1:08.76 (7)

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	András Hargitay	HUN	4:28.96	1:02.31 (4)	2:10.56 (1)	3:29.98 (1)	1:08.25 (1)	1:19.42 (4)	58.98 (1)	Q
2	6	HaJo Geisler	FRG	4:31.37	1:01.36 (1)	2:12.32 (2)	3:30.54 (3)	1:10.96 (3)	1:18.22 (2)	1:00.83 (2)	Q
3	3	Peter Dawson	AUS	4:33.01	1:01.63 (2)	2:12.63 (3)	3:31.75 (4)	1:11.00 (4)	1:19.12 (3)	1:01.26 (3)
4	5	Csaba Sós	HUN	4:34.72	1:01.89 (3)	2:12.82 (4)	3:30.18 (2)	1:10.93 (2)	1:17.36 (1)	1:04.54 (4)
5	2	Ricardo Marmolejo	MEX	4:45.30	1:03.99 (=6)	2:17.65 (5)	3:39.55 (5)	1:13.66 (5)	1:21.90 (5)	1:05.75 (7)
6	8	Dov Nisman	ISR	4:47.13	1:03.99 (=6)	2:19.67 (6)	3:41.97 (6)	1:15.68 (6)	1:22.30 (6)	1:05.16 (5)
7	1	Edwin Borja	PHI	4:52.21	1:03.78 (5)	2:20.00 (7)	3:46.72 (7)	1:16.22 (7)	1:26.72 (7)	1:05.49 (6)

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	5	Andrey Smirnov	URS	4:29.92	1:01.74 (1)	2:10.82 (2)	3:27.70 (1)	1:09.08 (2)	1:16.88 (1)	1:02.22 (1)	Q
2	3	Anatoly Smirnov	URS	4:33.88	1:02.02 (2)	2:11.45 (3)	3:30.76 (2)	1:09.43 (3)	1:19.31 (2)	1:03.12 (2)
3	2	Mark Treffers	NZL	4:40.92	1:04.18 (7)	2:15.91 (6)	3:37.78 (5)	1:11.73 (5)	1:21.87 (3)	1:03.14 (3)
4	6	Jim Carter	GBR	4:41.25	1:03.37 (5)	2:13.13 (4)	3:35.43 (3)	1:09.76 (4)	1:22.30 (4)	1:05.82 (5)
5	8	Julio Abreu	PAR	4:46.69	1:03.06 (4)	2:15.88 (5)	3:40.69 (6)	1:12.82 (6)	1:24.81 (5)	1:06.00 (6)
6	4	Zoltán Verrasztó	HUN	4:48.51	1:02.81 (3)	2:10.02 (1)	3:36.11 (4)	1:07.21 (1)	1:26.09 (7)	1:12.40 (7)
7	7	Guillermo Zavala	MEX	4:49.55	1:04.06 (6)	2:18.84 (7)	3:44.15 (7)	1:14.78 (7)	1:25.31 (6)	1:05.40 (4)
DNS	1	Jorge Jaramillo	COL	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	25 July 1976 — 19:30

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	Rod Strachan	USA	4:23.68	1:00.61 (=4)	2:05.92 (1)	3:23.92 (2)	1:05.31 (1)	1:18.00 (5)	59.76 (1)	WR
2	6	Tim McKee	USA	4:24.62	1:00.61 (=4)	2:07.92 (4)	3:23.40 (1)	1:07.31 (2)	1:15.48 (2)	1:01.22 (4)
3	2	Andrey Smirnov	URS	4:26.90	1:00.22 (3)	2:08.97 (5)	3:26.51 (5)	1:08.75 (5)	1:17.54 (4)	1:00.39 (2)
4	3	András Hargitay	HUN	4:27.13	1:00.09 (2)	2:07.74 (3)	3:26.35 (3)	1:07.65 (4)	1:18.61 (6)	1:00.78 (3)
5	7	Graham Smith	CAN	4:28.64	1:01.46 (7)	2:12.10 (6)	3:26.38 (4)	1:10.64 (6)	1:14.28 (1)	1:02.26 (6)
6	5	Steve Furniss	USA	4:29.23	59.72 (1)	2:07.29 (2)	3:26.80 (6)	1:07.57 (3)	1:19.51 (8)	1:02.43 (7)
7	1	Andy Ritchie	CAN	4:29.87	1:00.87 (6)	2:12.37 (7)	3:28.21 (7)	1:11.50 (8)	1:15.84 (3)	1:01.66 (5)
8	8	HaJo Geisler	FRG	4:34.95	1:01.69 (8)	2:12.81 (8)	3:31.49 (8)	1:11.12 (7)	1:18.68 (7)	1:03.46 (8)