| | Event type
4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Men
| Date | 23 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul |
| Participants | 95 from 22 countries |
The United States would normally be favored, and they were the defending champions. But they had been challenged at the 1986 World Championships by the Soviet Union and East Germany, the 1987 European Champions, and at the 1987 Pan Pacifics by Canada and Australia. The USA qualified easily, resting three of their top swimmers for the final. In the final the United States took an early lead on the opening leg swum by Chris Jacobs, but the Soviets closed over the next two legs and as the anchors readied to start, the lead was less than 1/10th second. However Matt Biondi was the American anchor and he quickly settled matters, as he blasted a 47.81 anchor, the third fastest split ever swum, and the US had the gold medal and a world record of 3:16.53. The USSR was almost two seconds back for the silver, followed by East Germany.
Round One (23 September 1988 — 10:00)
Fastest eight advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Sweden |  SWE | 3:23.09 | |||||
| Tom Werner | – | 50.92 | 50.92 (1) | ||||||
| Rikard Milton | – | 51.38 | 1:42.30 (2) | ||||||
| Joakim Holmquist | – | 50.48 | 2:32.78 (1) | ||||||
| Göran Titus | – | 50.31 | 3:23.09 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 5 | Canada |  CAN | 3:23.85 | |||||
| Mark Andrews | – | 51.66 | 51.66 (4) | ||||||
| Steven Vandermeulen | – | 50.90 | 1:42.56 (4) | ||||||
| Vlastimil Cerny | – | 51.14 | 2:33.70 (2) | ||||||
| Sandy Goss | – | 50.15 | 3:23.85 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | Denmark |  DEN | 3:25.15 | |||||
| Franz Mortensen | – | 51.21 | 51.21 (2) | ||||||
| Vagn Høgholm | – | 50.97 | 1:42.18 (1) | ||||||
| Benny Nielsen | – | 51.73 | 2:33.91 (3) | ||||||
| Peter Rohde | – | 51.24 | 3:25.15 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 2 | Netherlands |  NED | 3:25.26 | |||||
| Frank Drost | – | 51.52 | 51.52 (3) | ||||||
| Patrick Dybiona | – | 50.86 | 1:42.38 (3) | ||||||
| Hans Kroes | – | 51.57 | 2:33.95 (4) | ||||||
| Ron Dekker | – | 51.31 | 3:25.26 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 7 | Portugal |  POR | 3:33.31 | |||||
| Mabílio Albuquerque | – | 53.06 | 53.06 (5) | ||||||
| Henrique Villaret | – | 52.87 | 1:45.93 (5) | ||||||
| Vasco Sousa | – | 53.73 | 2:39.66 (5) | ||||||
| Sérgio Esteves | – | 53.65 | 3:33.31 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 1 | United States Virgin Islands |  ISV | 3:43.23 | |||||
| Hans Foerster | – | 54.23 | 54.23 (6) | ||||||
| Kraig Singleton | – | 56.51 | 1:50.74 (6) | ||||||
| Kristan Singleton | – | 57.78 | 2:48.52 (6) | ||||||
| William Cleveland | – | 54.71 | 3:43.23 (6) |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | West Germany |  FRG | 3:23.19 | |||||
| Björn Zikarsky | – | 51.09 | 51.09 (1) | ||||||
| Peter Sitt | – | 51.02 | 1:42.11 (2) | ||||||
| Torsten Wiegel | – | 51.09 | 2:33.20 (3) | ||||||
| Thomas Fahrner | – | 49.99 | 3:23.19 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | Italy |  ITA | 3:23.35 | |||||
| Fabrizio Rampazzo | – | 51.83 | 51.83 (4) | ||||||
| Giorgio Lamberti | – | 49.93 | 1:41.76 (1) | ||||||
| Andrea Ceccarini | – | 51.25 | 2:33.01 (2) | ||||||
| Roberto Gleria | – | 50.34 | 3:23.35 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 6 | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:23.71 | |||||
| Andy Jameson | – | 51.40 | 51.40 (2) | ||||||
| Mark Foster | – | 50.81 | 1:42.21 (3) | ||||||
| Mike Fibbens | – | 50.68 | 2:32.89 (1) | ||||||
| Roland Lee | – | 50.82 | 3:23.71 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 2 | Brazil |  BRA | 3:28.17 | |||||
| Emanuel Fortes | – | 52.13 | 52.13 (5) | ||||||
| Cristiano Michelena | – | 52.13 | 1:44.26 (4) | ||||||
| Jorge Fernandes | – | 52.05 | 2:36.31 (4) | ||||||
| Júlio López | – | 51.86 | 3:28.17 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 7 | Mexico |  MEX | 3:29.72 | |||||
| Rodrigo González | – | 51.48 | 51.48 (3) | ||||||
| Ignacio Escamilla | – | 53.48 | 1:44.96 (5) | ||||||
| Jorge Alarcón | – | 52.51 | 2:37.47 (5) | ||||||
| Urbano Zea | – | 52.25 | 3:29.72 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 1 | Hong Kong |  HKG | 3:34.78 | |||||
| Michael Wright | – | 53.74 | 53.74 (6) | ||||||
| Johnny Li | – | 52.79 | 1:46.53 (6) | ||||||
| Arthur Li | – | 53.48 | 2:40.01 (6) | ||||||
| Tsang Yi Ming | – | 54.77 | 3:34.78 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 8 | Republic of Korea |  KOR | 3:38.05 | |||||
| Gwon Sang-Won | – | 54.18 | 54.18 (7) | ||||||
| Yang Gam | – | 54.17 | 1:48.35 (7) | ||||||
| Song Gwang-Seon | – | 54.25 | 2:42.60 (7) | ||||||
| Gwon Sun-Geun | – | 55.45 | 3:38.05 (7) | ||||||
| 5 | People's Republic of China |  CHN | – | ||||||
| Shen Jianqiang | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Li Tao | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Xie Jun | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Feng Qiangbiao | – | – | – (AC) |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States |  USA | 3:19.52 | |||||
| Brent Lang | – | 50.18 | 50.18 (1) | ||||||
| Doug Gjertsen | – | 49.64 | 1:39.82 (1) | ||||||
| Shaun Jordan | – | 50.19 | 2:30.01 (1) | ||||||
| Troy Dalbey | – | 49.51 | 3:19.52 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 5 | Soviet Union |  URS | 3:19.89 | |||||
| Raimundas Mažuolis | – | 50.90 | 50.90 (4) | ||||||
| Aleksey Borislavsky | – | 49.95 | 1:40.85 (3) | ||||||
| Nikolay Yevseyev | – | 49.21 | 2:30.06 (2) | ||||||
| Vladimir Tkachenko | – | 49.83 | 3:19.89 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | East Germany |  GDR | 3:20.47 | |||||
| Dirk Richter | – | 50.30 | 50.30 (2) | ||||||
| Thomas Flemming | – | 50.01 | 1:40.31 (2) | ||||||
| Lars Hinneburg | – | 50.11 | 2:30.42 (3) | ||||||
| Steffen Zesner | – | 50.05 | 3:20.47 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 6 | France |  FRA | 3:21.77 | |||||
| Stéphan Caron | – | 50.68 | 50.68 (3) | ||||||
| Christophe Kalfayan | – | 50.54 | 1:41.22 (4) | ||||||
| Laurent Neuville | – | 50.45 | 2:31.67 (4) | ||||||
| Bruno Gutzeit | – | 50.10 | 3:21.77 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 7 | Singapore |  SGP | 3:34.54 | |||||
| Ang Peng Siong | – | 52.28 | 52.28 (5) | ||||||
| David Lim | – | 53.01 | 1:45.29 (5) | ||||||
| Oon Jin Gee | – | 52.77 | 2:38.06 (5) | ||||||
| Desmond Koh | – | 56.48 | 3:34.54 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 8 | United Arab Emirates |  UAE | 3:58.92 | |||||
| Ahmad Faraj | – | 58.29 | 58.29 (6) | ||||||
| Mohammed Alghafri | – | 1:00.80 | 1:59.09 (6) | ||||||
| Bassam Al-Ansari | – | 1:00.92 | 3:00.01 (6) | ||||||
| Mohamed Bin Abid | – | 58.91 | 3:58.92 (6) | ||||||
| 1 | Egypt |  EGY | – | ||||||
| Mohamed El-Azoul | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Moustafa Amin | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Mohamed Hassan | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Moustafa Amer | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| 2 | Austria |  AUT | – | ||||||
| Stefan Opatril | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Markus Opatril | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Alexander Placheta | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Alexander Pilhatsch | – | – | – (AC) |
Final (23 September 1988 — 20:00)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:16.53 | |||||
| Chris Jacobs | – | 49.63 | 49.63 (1) | ||||||
| Troy Dalbey | – | 49.75 | 1:39.38 (1) | ||||||
| Tom Jager | – | 49.34 | 2:28.72 (1) | ||||||
| Matt Biondi | – | 47.81 | 3:16.53 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 5 | Soviet Union | URS | 3:18.33 | |||||
| Gennady Prigoda | – | 50.24 | 50.24 (3) | ||||||
| Iurie Bașcatov | – | 49.30 | 1:39.54 (2) | ||||||
| Nikolay Yevseyev | – | 49.27 | 2:28.81 (2) | ||||||
| Vladimir Tkachenko | – | 49.52 | 3:18.33 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | East Germany | GDR | 3:19.82 | |||||
| Dirk Richter | – | 50.25 | 50.25 (4) | ||||||
| Thomas Flemming | – | 49.70 | 1:39.95 (3) | ||||||
| Lars Hinneburg | – | 50.35 | 2:30.30 (4) | ||||||
| Steffen Zesner | – | 49.52 | 3:19.82 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 6 | France | FRA | 3:20.02 | |||||
| Stéphan Caron | – | 49.97 | 49.97 (2) | ||||||
| Christophe Kalfayan | – | 50.09 | 1:40.06 (4) | ||||||
| Laurent Neuville | – | 50.04 | 2:30.10 (3) | ||||||
| Bruno Gutzeit | – | 49.92 | 3:20.02 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | Sweden | SWE | 3:21.07 | |||||
| Per Johansson | – | 50.58 | 50.58 (6) | ||||||
| Tom Werner | – | 50.00 | 1:40.58 (5) | ||||||
| Joakim Holmquist | – | 50.47 | 2:31.05 (5) | ||||||
| Göran Titus | – | 50.02 | 3:21.07 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 7 | West Germany | FRG | 3:21.65 | |||||
| Michael Groß | – | 50.66 | 50.66 (7) | ||||||
| Thomas Fahrner | – | 50.00 | 1:40.66 (6) | ||||||
| Björn Zikarsky | – | 50.40 | 2:31.06 (6) | ||||||
| Peter Sitt | – | 50.59 | 3:21.65 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 8 | Great Britain | GBR | 3:21.71 | |||||
| Mike Fibbens | – | 51.36 | 51.36 (8) | ||||||
| Mark Foster | – | 50.20 | 1:41.56 (8) | ||||||
| Roland Lee | – | 50.33 | 2:31.89 (7) | ||||||
| Andy Jameson | – | 49.82 | 3:21.71 (7) | ||||||
| 8 | 1 | Italy | ITA | 3:22.93 | |||||
| Roberto Gleria | – | 50.51 | 50.51 (5) | ||||||
| Giorgio Lamberti | – | 50.31 | 1:40.82 (7) | ||||||
| Fabrizio Rampazzo | – | 51.19 | 2:32.01 (8) | ||||||
| Andrea Ceccarini | – | 50.92 | 3:22.93 (8) |