| | 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 in this event, 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 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)	–	–
DQ	236	John Davey	GBR	– (DQ h4)	–	–
DQ	460	Desmond Koh	SGP	– (DQ h2)	–	–
DNS	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	4	Tamás Darnyi	HUN	4:16.55	QOR
2	4	Patrick Kühl	GDR	4:18.60	Q
3	3	Stefano Battistelli	ITA	4:20.43	Q
4	4	Dave Wharton	USA	4:20.84	Q
5	5	József Szabó	HUN	4:20.85	Q
6	3	Jens-Peter Berndt	FRG	4:20.93	Q
7	7	Peter Bermel	FRG	4:22.78	Q
8	6	Luca Sacchi	ITA	4:23.37	Q
9	6	Christophe Bordeau	FRA	4:23.46	q
10	5	Jeff Kostoff	USA	4:24.10	q
11	1	Jon Kelly	CAN	4:24.62	q
12	3	Robert Bruce	AUS	4:25.15	q
13	2	Mikhail Zubkov	URS	4:25.30	q
14	5	Rob Woodhouse	AUS	4:25.60	q
15	8	Charalampos Papanikolaou	GRE	4:26.72	q
16	7	Paul Brew	GBR	4:27.22	q
17	1	Yoshiyuki Mizumoto	JPN	4:28.11
18	7	Laurent Journet	FRA	4:29.03
19	2	Ondřej Bureš	TCH	4:29.62
20	8	Sal Vassallo	PUR	4:30.37
21	6	Javier Careaga	MEX	4:30.71
22	5	Rui Borges	POR	4:30.79
23	2	Mike Meldrum	CAN	4:31.74
24	4	Renato Ramalho	BRA	4:31.95
25	1	Takahiro Fujimoto	JPN	4:33.03
26	3	Diogo Madeira	POR	4:35.00
27	8	Martín López-Zubero	ESP	4:35.68
28	8	Lee Jae-Su	KOR	4:40.46
29	5	Jonathan Sakovich	GUM	4:44.78
30	7	René Concepcion	PHI	4:48.00
31	3	Sultan Al-Otaibi	KUW	4:50.16
32	4	Julian Bolling	SRI	4:53.61
DQ	1	Desmond Koh	SGP	–
DQ	2	John Davey	GBR	–
DNS	6	Jan Bidrman	SWE	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	5	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	3	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	4	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	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	2	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	6	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	5	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	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	3	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	8	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	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)
DQ	1	Desmond Koh	SGP	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	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)	Q
2	6	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)	q
3	5	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)	q
4	3	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)	q
5	2	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)	q
6	7	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	8	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	1	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	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	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)	Q
2	5	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)	Q
3	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)	Q
4	7	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)	q
5	1	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	8	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)
DQ	2	John Davey	GBR	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)
DNS	6	Jan Bidrman	SWE	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	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)	QOR
2	3	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)	Q
3	7	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)	Q
4	6	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)	Q
5	1	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)	q
6	5	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)	q
7	8	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)	q
8	2	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	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	5	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	4	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	6	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	3	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	2	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	7	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	8	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	1	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	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	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)	WR
2	6	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	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	2	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	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	7	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	8	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	1	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)