| Date | 27 July 1992 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Piscinas Bernat Picornell, Barcelona |
| Participants | 80 from 18 countries |
The United States had won this event at every Olympics since 1960, save for 1980, when they did not compete. But they had finished second at the 1991 World Championships, behind West Germany, and on paper, the fastest foursome seemed to be the Unified Team. In the final the Unifieds were second after two legs, trailing Sweden, as Anders Holmertz moved them ahead with the second-fastest split ever, 1:46.16. The Unified Team, all Russians, moved marginally ahead at the last exchange, as Yevgeny Sadovy prepared to swim anchor for them. Sadovy came home over 3½ seconds ahead of Sweden, as the Unified Team set a world record of 7:11.95, better the USA mark of 7:12.51 from Seoul. Sweden hung on for silver. The USA had been fourth for most of the race, but caught Germany on the final leg to earn bronze.
| Date | 27 July 1992 — 12:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Unified Team | EUN | 7:17.65 | ||
| 2 | – | Germany | GER | 7:18.21 | ||
| 3 | – | Sweden | SWE | 7:20.03 | ||
| 4 | – | Australia | AUS | 7:22.19 | ||
| 5 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 7:23.10 | ||
| 6 | – | United States | USA | 7:23.70 | ||
| 7 | – | Brazil | BRA | 7:24.20 | ||
| 8 | – | Italy | ITA | 7:25.53 | ||
| 9 | – | Canada | CAN | 7:25.61 | ||
| 10 | – | France | FRA | 7:26.22 | ||
| 11 | – | New Zealand | NZL | 7:26.36 | ||
| 12 | – | Finland | FIN | 7:28.71 | ||
| 13 | – | Poland | POL | 7:29.59 | ||
| 14 | – | Norway | NOR | 7:31.35 | ||
| 15 | – | Puerto Rico | PUR | 7:35.63 | ||
| 16 | – | Hong Kong | HKG | 7:54.30 | ||
| 17 | – | Guatemala | GUA | 8:07.30 | ||
| 18 | – | United Arab Emirates | UAE | 8:39.72 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | 50 metre Time | 100 m Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Australia | AUS | 7:22.19 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Duncan Armstrong | – | 26.63 | 54.93 | 1:51.53 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Martin Roberts | – | 25.07 | 53.76 | 1:51.45 (2) | 3:42.98 (4) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Deane Pieters | – | 25.51 | 53.69 | 1:50.03 (1) | 5:33.01 (1) | |||
| Anchor | – | Ian Brown | – | 25.48 | 53.26 | 1:49.18 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 7:23.10 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Paul Palmer | – | 26.36 | 54.30 | 1:50.12 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Steven Mellor | – | 26.17 | 55.21 | 1:52.03 (4) | 3:42.15 (2) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Stephen Akers | – | 26.43 | 55.02 | 1:51.66 (3) | 5:33.81 (2) | |||
| Anchor | – | Paul Howe | – | 25.00 | 52.74 | 1:49.29 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | – | Brazil | BRA | 7:24.20 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Gustavo Borges | – | 26.27 | 54.65 | 1:50.79 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Emanuel Fortes | – | 25.94 | 54.55 | 1:51.69 (3) | 3:42.48 (3) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Teófilo Ferreira | – | 25.91 | 54.49 | 1:51.33 (2) | 5:33.81 (2) | |||
| Anchor | – | Cristiano Michelena | – | 25.28 | 52.88 | 1:50.39 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | – | Finland | FIN | 7:28.71 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Jani Sievinen | – | 26.36 | 55.97 | 1:52.10 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Vesa Hanski | – | 26.61 | 55.96 | 1:53.54 (5) | 3:45.64 (5) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Petteri Lehtinen | – | 26.17 | 55.09 | 1:54.10 (5) | 5:39.74 (5) | |||
| Anchor | – | Antti Kasvio | – | 25.17 | 52.90 | 1:48.97 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | – | Poland | POL | 7:29.59 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mariusz Podkościelny | – | 26.70 | 54.74 | 1:51.71 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Artur Wojdat | – | 25.09 | 53.33 | 1:49.88 (1) | 3:41.59 (1) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Piotr Albiński | – | 25.82 | 54.17 | 1:52.83 (4) | 5:34.42 (4) | |||
| Anchor | – | Krzysztof Cwalina | – | 26.07 | 55.12 | 1:55.17 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | – | Guatemala | GUA | 8:07.30 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Andrés Sedano | – | 27.65 | 58.23 | 2:02.73 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Helder Torres | – | 27.51 | 58.73 | 2:02.32 (6) | 4:05.05 (6) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Roberto Bonilla | – | 28.16 | 59.37 | 2:03.66 (6) | 6:08.71 (6) | |||
| Anchor | – | Gustavo Búcaro | – | 26.89 | 56.96 | 1:58.59 (6) | – (–) |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | 50 metre Time | 100 m Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Unified Team | EUN | 7:17.65 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Dmitry Lepikov | – | 25.70 | 53.54 | 1:49.80 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Aleksey Kudryavtsev | – | 25.46 | 53.44 | 1:49.65 (1) | 3:39.45 (1) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Yury Mukhin | – | 24.25 | 51.54 | 1:49.28 (1) | 5:28.73 (1) | |||
| Anchor | – | Veniamin Tayanovich | – | 24.37 | 51.88 | 1:48.92 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | – | Germany | GER | 7:18.21 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Peter Sitt | – | 25.56 | 53.48 | 1:50.02 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Christian Tröger | – | 24.89 | 53.05 | 1:49.81 (2) | 3:39.83 (2) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Andreas Szigat | – | 25.43 | 53.25 | 1:49.40 (2) | 5:29.23 (2) | |||
| Anchor | – | Stefan Pfeiffer | – | 24.61 | 52.07 | 1:48.98 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | – | France | FRA | 7:26.22 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Christophe Bordeau | – | 26.34 | 54.37 | 1:51.22 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Lionel Poirot | – | 25.80 | 54.61 | 1:53.18 (4) | 3:44.40 (4) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Franck Horter | – | 26.48 | 55.01 | 1:50.84 (3) | 5:35.24 (3) | |||
| Anchor | – | Yann de Fabrique | – | 25.76 | 54.12 | 1:50.98 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | – | New Zealand | NZL | 7:26.36 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Trent Bray | – | 26.97 | 55.10 | 1:51.38 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Richard Tapper | – | 25.77 | 54.25 | 1:54.35 (5) | 3:45.73 (5) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | John Steel | – | 25.79 | 54.25 | 1:50.94 (4) | 5:36.67 (5) | |||
| Anchor | – | Danyon Loader | – | 25.87 | 53.99 | 1:49.69 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | – | Norway | NOR | 7:31.35 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Jarl Inge Melberg | – | 25.90 | 53.75 | 1:50.78 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Thomas Sopp | – | 25.84 | 54.13 | 1:51.01 (3) | 3:41.79 (3) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Trond Høines | – | 25.79 | 54.12 | 1:54.00 (5) | 5:35.79 (4) | |||
| Anchor | – | Kjell Ivar Lundemoen | – | 26.05 | 54.44 | 1:55.56 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | – | Hong Kong | HKG | 7:54.30 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Arthur Li | – | 26.77 | 56.06 | 1:55.91 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Michael Wright | – | 26.37 | 56.46 | 1:58.77 (6) | 3:54.68 (6) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Kelvin Li | – | 27.79 | 58.21 | 2:00.78 (6) | 5:55.46 (6) | |||
| Anchor | – | Wu Tat Cheung | – | 26.87 | 56.84 | 1:58.84 (6) | – (–) |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | 50 metre Time | 100 m Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Sweden | SWE | 7:20.03 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Christer Wallin | – | 26.36 | 54.35 | 1:50.52 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Lars Frölander | – | 25.46 | 53.73 | 1:50.13 (1) | 3:40.65 (1) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Tom Werner | – | 25.97 | 53.58 | 1:49.23 (1) | 5:29.88 (1) | |||
| Anchor | – | Anders Holmertz | – | 24.94 | 52.70 | 1:50.15 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | – | United States | USA | 7:23.70 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Scott Jaffe | – | 26.26 | 54.46 | 1:50.14 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Dan Jorgensen | – | 25.47 | 53.34 | 1:50.56 (2) | 3:40.70 (2) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Jon Olsen | – | 25.60 | 53.25 | 1:50.03 (2) | 5:30.73 (2) | |||
| Anchor | – | Doug Gjertsen | – | 25.95 | 54.48 | 1:52.97 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | – | Italy | ITA | 7:25.53 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Roberto Gleria | – | 26.44 | 55.01 | 1:51.21 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Emanuele Idini | – | 25.56 | 53.66 | 1:51.53 (4) | 3:42.74 (4) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Piermaria Siciliano | – | 25.80 | 53.97 | 1:52.25 (3) | 5:34.99 (3) | |||
| Anchor | – | Stefano Battistelli | – | 26.03 | 54.48 | 1:50.54 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | – | Canada | CAN | 7:25.61 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Eddie Parenti | – | 26.69 | 55.15 | 1:51.56 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Darren Ward | – | 25.66 | 53.56 | 1:51.14 (3) | 3:42.70 (3) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Christopher Bowie | – | 26.61 | 54.99 | 1:52.70 (4) | 5:35.40 (4) | |||
| Anchor | – | Turlough O'Hare | – | 25.33 | 52.98 | 1:50.21 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | – | Puerto Rico | PUR | 7:35.63 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Jorge Herrera | – | 27.08 | 56.01 | 1:54.30 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Manuel Guzmán | – | 25.51 | 53.33 | 1:52.37 (5) | 3:46.67 (5) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Ricardo Busquets | – | 26.05 | 54.98 | 1:54.19 (5) | 5:40.86 (5) | |||
| Anchor | – | David Monasterio | – | 26.55 | 56.04 | 1:54.77 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | – | United Arab Emirates | UAE | 8:39.72 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Mohamed Bin Abid | – | 30.31 | 1:02.85 | 2:07.49 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Obaid Al-Rumaithi | – | 29.51 | 1:03.61 | 2:15.98 (6) | 4:23.47 (6) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Abdullah Sultan | – | 29.96 | 1:03.48 | 2:09.56 (6) | 6:33.03 (6) | |||
| Anchor | – | Ahmad Faraj | – | 29.01 | 1:00.90 | 2:06.69 (6) | – (–) |
| Date | 27 July 1992 — 19:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | 50 metre Time | 100 m Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Unified Team | EUN | 7:11.95 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Dmitry Lepikov | – | 25.71 | 53.15 | 1:49.55 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Vladimir Pyshnenko | – | 24.12 | 50.71 | 1:46.58 (2) | 3:36.13 (2) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Veniamin Tayanovich | – | 24.90 | 52.65 | 1:48.99 (2) | 5:25.12 (1) | |||
| Anchor | – | Yevgeny Sadovy | – | 24.44 | 51.81 | 1:46.83 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | – | Sweden | SWE | 7:15.51 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Christer Wallin | – | 26.06 | 53.44 | 1:49.69 (6) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Anders Holmertz | – | 24.47 | 51.04 | 1:46.16 (1) | 3:35.85 (1) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Tom Werner | – | 25.29 | 53.01 | 1:49.35 (4) | 5:25.20 (2) | |||
| Anchor | – | Lars Frölander | – | 25.27 | 53.99 | 1:50.31 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | – | United States | USA | 7:16.23 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Joe Hudepohl | – | 25.92 | 53.52 | 1:49.52 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Mel Stewart | – | 24.80 | 51.84 | 1:48.41 (4) | 3:37.93 (4) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Jon Olsen | – | 25.22 | 53.05 | 1:49.19 (3) | 5:27.12 (4) | |||
| Anchor | – | Doug Gjertsen | – | 25.13 | 52.84 | 1:49.11 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | – | Germany | GER | 7:16.58 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Peter Sitt | – | 25.99 | 53.80 | 1:50.06 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Steffen Zesner | – | 24.46 | 51.41 | 1:47.78 (3) | 3:37.84 (3) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Andreas Szigat | – | 26.01 | 54.23 | 1:49.61 (5) | 5:27.45 (5) | |||
| Anchor | – | Stefan Pfeiffer | – | 25.29 | 52.89 | 1:49.13 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | – | Italy | ITA | 7:18.10 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Roberto Gleria | – | 26.27 | 54.23 | 1:49.29 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Giorgio Lamberti | – | 24.99 | 52.48 | 1:49.80 (5) | 3:39.09 (5) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Massimo Trevisan | – | 25.07 | 52.24 | 1:47.97 (1) | 5:27.06 (3) | |||
| Anchor | – | Stefano Battistelli | – | 25.71 | 54.40 | 1:51.04 (7) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 7:22.57 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Paul Palmer | – | 26.11 | 53.78 | 1:49.21 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Steven Mellor | – | 25.63 | 54.02 | 1:51.77 (6) | 3:40.98 (6) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Stephen Akers | – | 26.14 | 54.76 | 1:51.61 (7) | 5:32.59 (6) | |||
| Anchor | – | Paul Howe | – | 24.89 | 52.90 | 1:49.98 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | – | Brazil | BRA | 7:24.03 | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Lead-off | – | Gustavo Borges | – | 25.84 | 54.00 | 1:50.45 (8) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Emanuel Fortes | – | 25.32 | 54.13 | 1:52.63 (7) | 3:43.08 (7) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Teófilo Ferreira | – | 25.61 | 53.92 | 1:50.28 (6) | 5:33.36 (7) | |||
| Anchor | – | Cristiano Michelena | – | 26.01 | 53.89 | 1:50.67 (6) | – (–) | |||
| – | Australia | AUS | – | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-off | – | Ian Brown | – | [26.27] | [53.99] | [1:49.45] ([3]) | – (–) | |||
| 2nd Leg | – | Deane Pieters | – | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| 3rd Leg | – | Kieren Perkins | – | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Anchor | – | Duncan Armstrong | – | – | – | – (–) | – (–) |