| | Event type
4 x 100 metres Medley Relay, Men
| Date | 25 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul |
| Participants | 109 from 25 countries |
Unlike the men’s freestyle relays the United States was expected to have an easy victory in this one. They were the world record holders, defending champions, and had won at the 1986 World Championships and 1987 Pan Pacific meet. Dave Berkoff put the USA almost a full second ahead of the Soviet Union with his opening backstroke split. Although it was closer on breaststroke, Matt Biondi then opened the lead on the butterfly to almost two seconds, and gave the anchor lead to Chris Jacobs. Jacobs powered home in 48.35, the eighth fastest split ever, with the first seven by Biondi, as the United States won easily in a world record 3:36.93. Canada won the race for silver, overtaking the Soviets with about 20 metres left on the final leg, setting a new Commonwealth record of 3:39.28 as the Soviets won bronze in a European record 3:39.96.
This was the final event of swimming in Seoul. Biondi’s gold medal gave him five gold medals in seven events – all three relays and the 50 and 100 freestyles. He would return in Barcelona to win two more relay golds, finishing his Olympic career with 8 golds and 11 Olympic medals.
Round One (25 September 1988 — 10:00)
Fastest eight advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Republic of Korea |  KOR | 3:56.94 | |||||
| Park Dong-Pil | – | 1:01.38 | 1:01.38 (1) | ||||||
| Yun Ju-Il | – | 1:04.42 | 2:05.80 (1) | ||||||
| Park Yeong-Cheol | – | 56.96 | 3:02.76 (1) | ||||||
| Gwon Sang-Won | – | 54.18 | 3:56.94 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 4 | United States Virgin Islands |  ISV | 4:15.03 | |||||
| William Cleveland | – | 1:05.06 | 1:05.06 (2) | ||||||
| Kraig Singleton | – | 1:13.73 | 2:18.79 (2) | ||||||
| Kristan Singleton | – | 1:01.93 | 3:20.72 (2) | ||||||
| Hans Foerster | – | 54.31 | 4:15.03 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 5 | United Arab Emirates |  UAE | 4:28.55 | |||||
| Mohammed Alghafri | – | 1:08.35 | 1:08.35 (3) | ||||||
| Obaid Al-Rumaithi | – | 1:15.72 | 2:24.07 (3) | ||||||
| Mohamed Bin Abid | – | 1:06.57 | 3:30.64 (3) | ||||||
| Ahmad Faraj | – | 57.91 | 4:28.55 (3) |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Canada |  CAN | 3:44.56 | |||||
| Mark Tewksbury | – | 57.05 | 57.05 (1) | ||||||
| Victor Davis | – | 1:03.14 | 2:00.19 (1) | ||||||
| Tom Ponting | – | 54.12 | 2:54.31 (1) | ||||||
| Sandy Goss | – | 50.25 | 3:44.56 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | Netherlands |  NED | 3:45.65 | |||||
| Hans Kroes | – | 58.11 | 58.11 (2) | ||||||
| Ron Dekker | – | 1:02.42 | 2:00.53 (2) | ||||||
| Frank Drost | – | 54.50 | 2:55.03 (2) | ||||||
| Patrick Dybiona | – | 50.62 | 3:45.65 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 5 | Australia |  AUS | 3:47.40 | |||||
| Carl Wilson | – | 58.31 | 58.31 (3) | ||||||
| Ian McAdam | – | 1:05.17 | 2:03.48 (5) | ||||||
| Jon Sieben | – | 54.65 | 2:58.13 (3) | ||||||
| Andrew Baildon | – | 49.27 | 3:47.40 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 6 | Czechoslovakia |  TCH | 3:49.90 | |||||
| Pavel Vokoun | – | 59.25 | 59.25 (5) | ||||||
| Radek Beinhauer | – | 1:03.71 | 2:02.96 (4) | ||||||
| Robert Wolf | – | 56.23 | 2:59.19 (4) | ||||||
| Petr Kladiva | – | 50.71 | 3:49.90 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 7 | Hungary |  HUN | 3:52.24 | |||||
| Tamás Deutsch | – | 58.52 | 58.52 (4) | ||||||
| Károly Güttler | – | 1:03.59 | 2:02.11 (3) | ||||||
| Valter Kalaus | – | 58.30 | 3:00.41 (5) | ||||||
| Richárd Bodor | – | 51.83 | 3:52.24 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 2 | People's Republic of China |  CHN | 3:54.18 | |||||
| Lin Laijiu | – | 59.32 | 59.32 (6) | ||||||
| Chen Jianhong | – | 1:04.73 | 2:04.05 (6) | ||||||
| Zheng Jian | – | 57.04 | 3:01.09 (6) | ||||||
| Shen Jianqiang | – | 53.09 | 3:54.18 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 1 | Greece |  GRE | 4:07.71 | |||||
| Ilias Malamas | – | 59.88 | 59.88 (7) | ||||||
| Nikolaos Fokianos | – | 1:07.61 | 2:07.49 (7) | ||||||
| Theodoros Gkriniazakis | – | 1:01.09 | 3:08.58 (7) | ||||||
| Charalampos Papanikolaou | – | 59.13 | 4:07.71 (7) |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Great Britain |  GBR | 3:44.44 | |||||
| Gary Binfield | – | 57.89 | 57.89 (3) | ||||||
| Adrian Moorhouse | – | 1:02.33 | 2:00.22 (2) | ||||||
| Andy Jameson | – | 53.47 | 2:53.69 (1) | ||||||
| Roland Lee | – | 50.75 | 3:44.44 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 4 | Soviet Union |  URS | 3:45.29 | |||||
| Sergey Zabolotnov | – | 57.14 | 57.14 (1) | ||||||
| Valery Lozik | – | 1:02.80 | 1:59.94 (1) | ||||||
| Konstantin Petrov | – | 55.02 | 2:54.96 (2) | ||||||
| Nikolay Yevseyev | – | 50.33 | 3:45.29 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 6 | Switzerland |  SUI | 3:48.09 | |||||
| Patrick Ferland | – | 58.27 | 58.27 (5) | ||||||
| Étienne Dagon | – | 1:04.61 | 2:02.88 (3) | ||||||
| Dano Halsall | – | 55.71 | 2:58.59 (4) | ||||||
| Stéfan Voléry | – | 49.50 | 3:48.09 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 2 | New Zealand |  NZL | 3:48.93 | |||||
| Paul Kingsman | – | 57.73 | 57.73 (2) | ||||||
| Anthony Beks | – | 1:05.43 | 2:03.16 (4) | ||||||
| Anthony Mosse | – | 54.03 | 2:57.19 (3) | ||||||
| Ross Anderson | – | 51.74 | 3:48.93 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 3 | Italy |  ITA | 3:52.06 | |||||
| Valerio Giambalvo | – | 59.70 | 59.70 (7) | ||||||
| Gianni Minervini | – | 1:05.06 | 2:04.76 (6) | ||||||
| Leonardo Michelotti | – | 56.76 | 3:01.52 (6) | ||||||
| Roberto Gleria | – | 50.54 | 3:52.06 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 7 | Brazil |  BRA | 3:53.21 | |||||
| Rogério Romero | – | 57.99 | 57.99 (4) | ||||||
| Cicero Torteli | – | 1:06.54 | 2:04.53 (5) | ||||||
| Eduardo Poli | – | 56.65 | 3:01.18 (5) | ||||||
| Emanuel Fortes | – | 52.03 | 3:53.21 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 1 | Mexico |  MEX | 3:54.21 | |||||
| Ernesto Vela | – | 59.16 | 59.16 (6) | ||||||
| Javier Careaga | – | 1:06.07 | 2:05.23 (7) | ||||||
| Urbano Zea | – | 57.66 | 3:02.89 (7) | ||||||
| Rodrigo González | – | 51.32 | 3:54.21 (7) |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States |  USA | 3:43.00 | |||||
| Dave Berkoff | – | 55.69 | 55.69 (2) | ||||||
| Rich Schroeder | – | 1:01.64 | 1:57.33 (1) | ||||||
| Jay Mortenson | – | 54.46 | 2:51.79 (1) | ||||||
| Tom Jager | – | 51.21 | 3:43.00 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 5 | West Germany |  FRG | 3:44.72 | |||||
| Frank Hoffmeister | – | 57.04 | 57.04 (=4) | ||||||
| Mark Warnecke | – | 1:03.80 | 2:00.84 (3) | ||||||
| Michael Groß | – | 54.41 | 2:55.25 (2) | ||||||
| Björn Zikarsky | – | 49.47 | 3:44.72 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | Japan |  JPN | 3:46.88 | |||||
| Daichi Suzuki | – | 56.24 | 56.24 (3) | ||||||
| Hironobu Nagahata | – | 1:03.51 | 1:59.75 (2) | ||||||
| Hiroshi Miura | – | 55.65 | 2:55.40 (3) | ||||||
| Shigeo Ogata | – | 51.48 | 3:46.88 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 6 | France |  FRA | 3:48.64 | |||||
| Franck Schott | – | 57.04 | 57.04 (=4) | ||||||
| David Leblanc | – | 1:04.85 | 2:01.89 (4) | ||||||
| Ludovic Dépickère | – | 56.37 | 2:58.26 (4) | ||||||
| Bruno Gutzeit | – | 50.38 | 3:48.64 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | Spain |  ESP | 3:49.47 | |||||
| Martín López-Zubero | – | 58.05 | 58.05 (7) | ||||||
| Ramón Camallonga | – | 1:04.67 | 2:02.72 (5) | ||||||
| José Luis Ballester | – | 55.66 | 2:58.38 (5) | ||||||
| José Hernando | – | 51.09 | 3:49.47 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 7 | Denmark |  DEN | 3:51.97 | |||||
| Lars Sørensen | – | 58.17 | 58.17 (8) | ||||||
| Christian Toft | – | 1:07.32 | 2:05.49 (7) | ||||||
| Benny Nielsen | – | 55.57 | 3:01.06 (7) | ||||||
| Franz Mortensen | – | 50.91 | 3:51.97 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 1 | Singapore |  SGP | 3:52.86 | |||||
| David Lim | – | 58.03 | 58.03 (6) | ||||||
| Ng Yue Meng | – | 1:05.89 | 2:03.92 (6) | ||||||
| Ang Peng Siong | – | 56.63 | 3:00.55 (6) | ||||||
| Oon Jin Gee | – | 52.31 | 3:52.86 (7) | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | Hong Kong |  HKG | 4:05.28 | |||||
| Yip Hor Man | – | 1:03.23 | 1:03.23 (1) | ||||||
| Michael Watt | – | 1:08.53 | 2:11.76 (8) | ||||||
| Tsang Yi Ming | – | 59.44 | 3:11.20 (8) | ||||||
| Michael Wright | – | 54.08 | 4:05.28 (8) |
Final (25 September 1988 — 20:00)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | 50 m | Time | Exchange (Pos) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 3:36.93 | |||||
| Dave Berkoff | – | 54.56 | 54.56 (1) | ||||||
| Rich Schroeder | – | 1:01.64 | 1:56.20 (1) | ||||||
| Matt Biondi | – | 52.38 | 2:48.58 (1) | ||||||
| Chris Jacobs | – | 48.35 | 3:36.93 (1) | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | Canada | CAN | 3:39.28 | |||||
| Mark Tewksbury | – | 56.11 | 56.11 (4) | ||||||
| Victor Davis | – | 1:00.90 | 1:57.01 (3) | ||||||
| Tom Ponting | – | 53.52 | 2:50.53 (3) | ||||||
| Sandy Goss | – | 48.75 | 3:39.28 (2) | ||||||
| 3 | 2 | Soviet Union | URS | 3:39.96 | |||||
| Igor Polyansky | – | 55.35 | 55.35 (2) | ||||||
| Dmitry Volkov | – | 1:01.53 | 1:56.88 (2) | ||||||
| Vadim Yaroshchuk | – | 53.34 | 2:50.22 (2) | ||||||
| Gennady Prigoda | – | 49.74 | 3:39.96 (3) | ||||||
| 4 | 6 | West Germany | FRG | 3:42.98 | |||||
| Frank Hoffmeister | – | 57.18 | 57.18 (5) | ||||||
| Alexander Mayer | – | 1:03.12 | 2:00.30 (5) | ||||||
| Michael Groß | – | 53.17 | 2:53.47 (5) | ||||||
| Björn Zikarsky | – | 49.51 | 3:42.98 (4) | ||||||
| 5 | 1 | Japan | JPN | 3:44.36 | |||||
| Daichi Suzuki | – | 55.87 | 55.87 (3) | ||||||
| Hironobu Nagahata | – | 1:02.75 | 1:58.62 (4) | ||||||
| Hiroshi Miura | – | 54.18 | 2:52.80 (4) | ||||||
| Shigeo Ogata | – | 51.56 | 3:44.36 (5) | ||||||
| 6 | 8 | Australia | AUS | 3:45.85 | |||||
| Carl Wilson | – | 57.85 | 57.85 (6) | ||||||
| Ian McAdam | – | 1:05.01 | 2:02.86 (7) | ||||||
| Jon Sieben | – | 53.42 | 2:56.28 (7) | ||||||
| Andrew Baildon | – | 49.57 | 3:45.85 (6) | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | Netherlands | NED | 3:46.55 | |||||
| Hans Kroes | – | 58.26 | 58.26 (7) | ||||||
| Ron Dekker | – | 1:03.40 | 2:01.66 (6) | ||||||
| Frank Drost | – | 54.48 | 2:56.14 (6) | ||||||
| Patrick Dybiona | – | 50.41 | 3:46.55 (7) | ||||||
| 5 | Great Britain | GBR | – | ||||||
| Neil Harper | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Adrian Moorhouse | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Andy Jameson | – | – | – (AC) | ||||||
| Mark Foster | – | – | – (AC) |