| | Event type
400 metres Individual Medley, Men
| Date | 20 – 21 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul |
| Participants | 34 from 24 countries |
Hungarian Tamás Darnyi was the favorite, having been the best in the world in the IMs since 1985. His biggest competition was expected to come from American Dave Wharton, who had broken the world record in August 1987, only to have Darnyi better that five days later at the European Championships. They were an interesting pair. Darnyi was legally blind in his left eye after an injury to it in a snowball fight as a teenager, while Wharton was born almost completely deaf.
In the final Wharton had a slight lead on the opening butterfly leg, but Darnyi then crushed the backstroke, outswimming Wharton by 3.38 seconds and opening up a 2½ second lead. Wharton could never recover, although he would hang on to win the silver medal. Darnyi maintained his lead, finishing in 4:14.75 for a world record, over 2½ seconds ahead of Wharton. The bronze went to Italy’s Stefano Battistelli.
A few days later, Darnyi and Wharton were expected to meet again in the 200 IM, but Wharton swam poorly in prelims and did not qualify. Darnyi also won that gold medal, doubling in the IM, which he would repeat at Barcelona in 1992.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | B Final | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 305 | Tamás Darnyi |  HUN | 4:16.55 (1 h5) | – | 4:14.75 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 582 | Dave Wharton |  USA | 4:20.84 (1 h4) | – | 4:17.36 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 344 | Stefano Battistelli |  ITA | 4:20.43 (2 h5) | – | 4:18.01 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 320 | József Szabó | HUN | 4:20.85 (2 h4) | – | 4:18.15 (4) | |||
| 5 | 261 | Patrick Kühl |  GDR | 4:18.60 (1 h3) | – | 4:18.44 (5) | |||
| 6 | 199 | Jens-Peter Berndt |  FRG | 4:20.93 (3 h4) | – | 4:21.71 (6) | |||
| 7 | 371 | Luca Sacchi | ITA | 4:23.37 (4 h5) | – | 4:23.23 (7) | |||
| 8 | 198 | Peter Bermel | FRG | 4:22.78 (3 h5) | – | 4:24.02 (8) | |||
| 9 | 568 | Jeff Kostoff | USA | 4:24.10 (3 h3) | 4:22.95 (1) | – | |||
| 10 | 168 | Christophe Bordeau |  FRA | 4:23.46 (2 h3) | 4:23.39 (2) | – | |||
| 11 | 10 | Robert Bruce |  AUS | 4:25.15 (4 h3) | 4:24.33 (3) | – | |||
| 12 | 81 | Jon Kelly |  CAN | 4:24.62 (5 h5) | 4:25.02 (4) | – | |||
| 13 | 542 | Mikhail Zubkov |  URS | 4:25.30 (5 h3) | 4:25.44 (5) | – | |||
| 14 | 33 | Rob Woodhouse | AUS | 4:25.60 (6 h5) | 4:26.14 (6) | – | |||
| 15 | 233 | Paul Brew |  GBR | 4:27.22 (4 h4) | 4:26.77 (7) | – | |||
| 16 | 276 | Charalampos Papanikolaou |  GRE | 4:26.72 (7 h5) | 4:27.95 (8) | – | |||
| 17 | 381 | Yoshiyuki Mizumoto |  JPN | 4:28.11 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 18 | 185 | Laurent Journet | FRA | 4:29.03 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 19 | 490 | Ondřej Bureš |  TCH | 4:29.62 (1 h2) | – | – | |||
| 20 | 458 | Sal Vassallo |  PUR | 4:30.37 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 21 | 422 | Javier Careaga |  MEX | 4:30.71 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 22 | 447 | Rui Borges |  POR | 4:30.79 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 23 | 82 | Mike Meldrum | CAN | 4:31.74 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| 24 | 62 | Renato Ramalho |  BRA | 4:31.95 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 25 | 376 | Takahiro Fujimoto | JPN | 4:33.03 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 26 | 451 | Diogo Madeira | POR | 4:35.00 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 27 | 152 | Martín López-Zubero |  ESP | 4:35.68 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 28 | 400 | Lee Jae-Su |  KOR | 4:40.46 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 29 | 284 | Jonathan Sakovich |  GUM | 4:44.78 (1 h1) | – | – | |||
| 30 | 441 | René Concepcion |  PHI | 4:48.00 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 31 | 413 | Sultan Al-Otaibi |  KUW | 4:50.16 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 32 | 466 | Julian Bolling |  SRI | 4:53.61 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 236 | John Davey | GBR | – (DQ h4) | – | – | ||||
| 460 | Desmond Koh |  SGP | – (DQ h2) | – | – | ||||
| 476 | Jan Bidrman |  SWE | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
Round One
| Date | 20 September 1988 — 9:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Tamás Darnyi | HUN | 4:16.55 | ||
| 2 | – | Patrick Kühl | GDR | 4:18.60 | ||
| 3 | – | Stefano Battistelli | ITA | 4:20.43 | ||
| 4 | – | Dave Wharton | USA | 4:20.84 | ||
| 5 | – | József Szabó | HUN | 4:20.85 | ||
| 6 | – | Jens-Peter Berndt | FRG | 4:20.93 | ||
| 7 | – | Peter Bermel | FRG | 4:22.78 | ||
| 8 | – | Luca Sacchi | ITA | 4:23.37 | ||
| 9 | – | Christophe Bordeau | FRA | 4:23.46 | ||
| 10 | – | Jeff Kostoff | USA | 4:24.10 | ||
| 11 | – | Jon Kelly | CAN | 4:24.62 | ||
| 12 | – | Robert Bruce | AUS | 4:25.15 | ||
| 13 | – | Mikhail Zubkov | URS | 4:25.30 | ||
| 14 | – | Rob Woodhouse | AUS | 4:25.60 | ||
| 15 | – | Charalampos Papanikolaou | GRE | 4:26.72 | ||
| 16 | – | Paul Brew | GBR | 4:27.22 | ||
| 17 | – | Yoshiyuki Mizumoto | JPN | 4:28.11 | ||
| 18 | – | Laurent Journet | FRA | 4:29.03 | ||
| 19 | – | Ondřej Bureš | TCH | 4:29.62 | ||
| 20 | – | Sal Vassallo | PUR | 4:30.37 | ||
| 21 | – | Javier Careaga | MEX | 4:30.71 | ||
| 22 | – | Rui Borges | POR | 4:30.79 | ||
| 23 | – | Mike Meldrum | CAN | 4:31.74 | ||
| 24 | – | Renato Ramalho | BRA | 4:31.95 | ||
| 25 | – | Takahiro Fujimoto | JPN | 4:33.03 | ||
| 26 | – | Diogo Madeira | POR | 4:35.00 | ||
| 27 | – | Martín López-Zubero | ESP | 4:35.68 | ||
| 28 | – | Lee Jae-Su | KOR | 4:40.46 | ||
| 29 | – | Jonathan Sakovich | GUM | 4:44.78 | ||
| 30 | – | René Concepcion | PHI | 4:48.00 | ||
| 31 | – | Sultan Al-Otaibi | KUW | 4:50.16 | ||
| 32 | – | Julian Bolling | SRI | 4:53.61 | ||
| – | Desmond Koh | SGP | – | |||
| – | John Davey | GBR | – | |||
| – | Jan Bidrman | SWE | – |
Heat #1
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Jonathan Sakovich | GUM | 4:44.78 | 1:04.74 (3) | 2:19.63 (3) | 3:43.11 (2) | 1:14.89 (2) | 1:23.48 (2) | 1:01.67 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Sultan Al-Otaibi | KUW | 4:50.16 | 1:02.82 (1) | 2:19.18 (2) | 3:42.17 (1) | 1:16.36 (3) | 1:22.99 (1) | 1:07.99 (3) | ||
| 3 | – | Julian Bolling | SRI | 4:53.61 | 1:03.80 (2) | 2:18.60 (1) | 3:46.96 (3) | 1:14.80 (1) | 1:28.36 (3) | 1:06.65 (2) |
Heat #2
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Ondřej Bureš | TCH | 4:29.62 | 59.03 (1) | 2:07.82 (1) | 3:25.52 (1) | 1:08.79 (3) | 1:17.70 (3) | 1:04.10 (4) | ||
| 2 | – | Javier Careaga | MEX | 4:30.71 | 1:00.00 (2) | 2:11.81 (5) | 3:26.76 (2) | 1:11.81 (5) | 1:14.95 (1) | 1:03.95 (3) | ||
| 3 | – | Rui Borges | POR | 4:30.79 | 1:01.70 (5) | 2:10.40 (2) | 3:27.49 (3) | 1:08.70 (1) | 1:17.09 (2) | 1:03.30 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | Renato Ramalho | BRA | 4:31.95 | 1:01.89 (6) | 2:10.64 (4) | 3:30.09 (=4) | 1:08.75 (2) | 1:19.45 (4) | 1:01.86 (1) | ||
| 5 | – | Diogo Madeira | POR | 4:35.00 | 1:00.20 (3) | 2:10.55 (3) | 3:30.09 (=4) | 1:10.35 (4) | 1:19.54 (5) | 1:04.91 (6) | ||
| 6 | – | Lee Jae-Su | KOR | 4:40.46 | 1:01.35 (4) | 2:15.33 (6) | 3:36.22 (6) | 1:13.98 (6) | 1:20.89 (6) | 1:04.24 (5) | ||
| 7 | – | René Concepcion | PHI | 4:48.00 | 1:03.14 (7) | 2:19.97 (7) | 3:41.05 (7) | 1:16.83 (7) | 1:21.08 (7) | 1:06.95 (7) | ||
| – | Desmond Koh | SGP | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #3
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Patrick Kühl | GDR | 4:18.60 | 58.48 (1) | 2:04.50 (1) | 3:18.28 (1) | 1:06.02 (1) | 1:13.78 (1) | 1:00.32 (2) | ||
| 2 | – | Christophe Bordeau | FRA | 4:23.46 | 1:00.42 (5) | 2:08.18 (=5) | 3:23.04 (2) | 1:07.76 (5) | 1:14.86 (3) | 1:00.42 (3) | ||
| 3 | – | Jeff Kostoff | USA | 4:24.10 | 1:01.06 (7) | 2:09.80 (7) | 3:24.09 (4) | 1:08.74 (6) | 1:14.29 (2) | 1:00.01 (1) | ||
| 4 | – | Robert Bruce | AUS | 4:25.15 | 1:01.01 (6) | 2:07.72 (3) | 3:24.36 (5) | 1:06.71 (2) | 1:16.64 (6) | 1:00.79 (4) | ||
| 5 | – | Mikhail Zubkov | URS | 4:25.30 | 1:00.40 (4) | 2:08.08 (4) | 3:23.77 (3) | 1:07.68 (4) | 1:15.69 (4) | 1:01.53 (5) | ||
| 6 | – | Laurent Journet | FRA | 4:29.03 | 1:01.23 (8) | 2:10.66 (8) | 3:27.24 (6) | 1:09.43 (8) | 1:16.58 (5) | 1:01.79 (7) | ||
| 7 | – | Sal Vassallo | PUR | 4:30.37 | 1:00.20 (3) | 2:07.41 (2) | 3:28.78 (8) | 1:07.21 (3) | 1:21.37 (8) | 1:01.59 (6) | ||
| 8 | – | Takahiro Fujimoto | JPN | 4:33.03 | 59.09 (2) | 2:08.18 (=5) | 3:28.44 (7) | 1:09.09 (7) | 1:20.26 (7) | 1:04.59 (8) |
Heat #4
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Dave Wharton | USA | 4:20.84 | 59.19 (1) | 2:06.61 (2) | 3:22.08 (3) | 1:07.42 (2) | 1:15.47 (=2) | 58.76 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | József Szabó | HUN | 4:20.85 | 59.76 (5) | 2:08.98 (5) | 3:21.04 (1) | 1:09.22 (6) | 1:12.06 (1) | 59.81 (=2) | ||
| 3 | – | Jens-Peter Berndt | FRG | 4:20.93 | 59.52 (3) | 2:05.65 (1) | 3:21.12 (2) | 1:06.13 (1) | 1:15.47 (=2) | 59.81 (=2) | ||
| 4 | – | Paul Brew | GBR | 4:27.22 | 59.40 (2) | 2:07.50 (3) | 3:26.91 (4) | 1:08.10 (4) | 1:19.41 (5) | 1:00.31 (4) | ||
| 5 | – | Yoshiyuki Mizumoto | JPN | 4:28.11 | 1:00.69 (6) | 2:09.74 (6) | 3:27.49 (5) | 1:09.05 (5) | 1:17.75 (4) | 1:00.62 (5) | ||
| 6 | – | Martín López-Zubero | ESP | 4:35.68 | 59.75 (4) | 2:07.67 (4) | 3:30.20 (6) | 1:07.92 (3) | 1:22.53 (6) | 1:05.48 (6) | ||
| – | John Davey | GBR | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – | |||
| – | Jan Bidrman | SWE | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #5
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Tamás Darnyi | HUN | 4:16.55 | 59.98 (3) | 2:03.68 (1) | 3:17.82 (1) | 1:03.70 (1) | 1:14.14 (2) | 58.73 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Stefano Battistelli | ITA | 4:20.43 | 1:00.85 (6) | 2:05.95 (2) | 3:19.68 (2) | 1:05.10 (2) | 1:13.73 (1) | 1:00.75 (3) | ||
| 3 | – | Peter Bermel | FRG | 4:22.78 | 1:00.13 (4) | 2:06.93 (4) | 3:22.44 (4) | 1:06.80 (6) | 1:15.51 (4) | 1:00.34 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | Luca Sacchi | ITA | 4:23.37 | 1:00.92 (8) | 2:07.29 (5) | 3:21.95 (3) | 1:06.37 (4) | 1:14.66 (3) | 1:01.42 (5) | ||
| 5 | – | Jon Kelly | CAN | 4:24.62 | 59.00 (2) | 2:07.74 (8) | 3:23.82 (6) | 1:08.74 (8) | 1:16.08 (5) | 1:00.80 (4) | ||
| 6 | – | Rob Woodhouse | AUS | 4:25.60 | 1:00.49 (5) | 2:06.38 (3) | 3:23.32 (5) | 1:05.89 (3) | 1:16.94 (6) | 1:02.28 (7) | ||
| 7 | – | Charalampos Papanikolaou | GRE | 4:26.72 | 1:00.87 (7) | 2:07.43 (6) | 3:25.04 (7) | 1:06.56 (5) | 1:17.61 (7) | 1:01.68 (6) | ||
| 8 | – | Mike Meldrum | CAN | 4:31.74 | 58.99 (1) | 2:07.72 (7) | 3:27.66 (8) | 1:08.73 (7) | 1:19.94 (8) | 1:04.08 (8) |
B Final
| Date | 21 September 1988 — 12:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Jeff Kostoff | USA | 4:22.95 | 59.76 (3) | 2:07.94 (3) | 3:22.41 (1) | 1:08.18 (7) | 1:14.47 (1) | 1:00.54 (3) | ||
| 2 | – | Christophe Bordeau | FRA | 4:23.39 | 59.72 (2) | 2:08.00 (4) | 3:23.65 (2) | 1:08.28 (8) | 1:15.65 (3) | 59.74 (1) | ||
| 3 | – | Robert Bruce | AUS | 4:24.33 | 1:00.37 (5) | 2:07.35 (2) | 3:23.74 (4) | 1:06.98 (1) | 1:16.39 (4) | 1:00.59 (4) | ||
| 4 | – | Jon Kelly | CAN | 4:25.02 | 59.23 (1) | 2:07.30 (1) | 3:24.25 (5) | 1:08.07 (5) | 1:16.95 (6) | 1:00.77 (5) | ||
| 5 | – | Mikhail Zubkov | URS | 4:25.44 | 1:00.20 (4) | 2:08.11 (5) | 3:23.69 (3) | 1:07.91 (4) | 1:15.58 (2) | 1:01.75 (8) | ||
| 6 | – | Rob Woodhouse | AUS | 4:26.14 | 1:01.24 (8) | 2:08.57 (7) | 3:25.34 (6) | 1:07.33 (3) | 1:16.77 (5) | 1:00.80 (6) | ||
| 7 | – | Paul Brew | GBR | 4:26.77 | 1:00.78 (6) | 2:08.94 (8) | 3:26.79 (8) | 1:08.16 (6) | 1:17.85 (7) | 59.98 (2) | ||
| 8 | – | Charalampos Papanikolaou | GRE | 4:27.95 | 1:01.15 (7) | 2:08.15 (6) | 3:26.48 (7) | 1:07.00 (2) | 1:18.33 (8) | 1:01.47 (7) |
Final Round
| Date | 21 September 1988 — 12:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 100 m | 200 m | 300 m | 100-200 m Time (Rank) | 200-300 m Time (Rank) | 300-400 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Tamás Darnyi | HUN | 4:14.75 | 59.04 (3) | 2:01.76 (1) | 3:15.96 (1) | 1:02.72 (1) | 1:14.20 (3) | 58.79 (3) | ||
| 2 | – | Dave Wharton | USA | 4:17.36 | 58.17 (1) | 2:04.27 (3) | 3:19.58 (4) | 1:06.10 (4) | 1:15.31 (6) | 57.78 (1) | ||
| 3 | – | Stefano Battistelli | ITA | 4:18.01 | 1:00.96 (8) | 2:06.06 (5) | 3:19.98 (5) | 1:05.10 (2) | 1:13.92 (2) | 58.03 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | József Szabó | HUN | 4:18.15 | 59.65 (5) | 2:07.76 (8) | 3:19.21 (3) | 1:08.11 (8) | 1:11.45 (1) | 58.94 (4) | ||
| 5 | – | Patrick Kühl | GDR | 4:18.44 | 58.40 (2) | 2:03.73 (2) | 3:18.64 (2) | 1:05.33 (3) | 1:14.91 (5) | 59.80 (5) | ||
| 6 | – | Jens-Peter Berndt | FRG | 4:21.71 | 59.80 (6) | 2:05.94 (4) | 3:21.29 (6) | 1:06.14 (5) | 1:15.35 (7) | 1:00.42 (6) | ||
| 7 | – | Luca Sacchi | ITA | 4:23.23 | 1:00.35 (7) | 2:07.20 (7) | 3:22.05 (7) | 1:06.85 (6) | 1:14.85 (4) | 1:01.18 (7) | ||
| 8 | – | Peter Bermel | FRG | 4:24.02 | 59.50 (4) | 2:06.69 (6) | 3:22.10 (8) | 1:07.19 (7) | 1:15.41 (8) | 1:01.92 (8) |