Swimming at the Games of the XIX Olympiad

Venue	Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez
Dates	17 – 26 October 1968
No. of events	29
Competitors	468 from 51 nations
← 1964 1972 →

Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics

Freestyle
100 m	men	women
200 m	men	women
400 m	men	women
800 m		women
1500 m	men
Backstroke
100 m	men	women
200 m	men	women
Breaststroke
100 m	men	women
200 m	men	women
Butterfly
100 m	men	women
200 m	men	women
Individual medley
200 m	men	women
400 m	men	women
Freestyle relay
4×100 m	men	women
4×200 m	men
Medley relay
4×100 m	men	women
v t e

The swimming competitions at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City took place from 17 to 26 October at the Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez. Swimming featured a record total of 29 events. There was a total of 468 participants from 51 countries competing.^[1] The United States dominated the competition, winning 52 of 87 possible medals. 15-year-old American phenom Debbie Meyer from Maryland won three gold medals.

Events

Swimming at the 1968 Olympics featured a total of 29 events (15 for men and 14 for women). This was a significant increase from the 18 events contested in the previous Olympic Games. The following events were contested (all pool events are long course, and distances are in meters):

Freestyle: 100, 200, 400, and 1,500 (men's); 100, 200, 400 and 800 (women's)
Backstroke: 100 and 200;
Breaststroke: 100 and 200;
Butterfly: 100 and 200;
Individual medley: 200 and 400;
Relays: 4×100 free, 4×200 free, 4×100 medley (men's); 4×100 free, 4×100 medley (women's)

Participating nations

468 swimmers from 51 nations competed.^[1]

Argentina (8)
Australia (24)
Austria (3)
Barbados (1)
Belgium (6)
Brazil (4)
Bulgaria (3)
Canada (15)
Taiwan (4)
Colombia (9)
Costa Rica (1)
Cuba (3)
Czechoslovakia (1)
Denmark (3)
East Germany (24)
Ecuador (3)
El Salvador (14)
Finland (3)
France (16)
Great Britain (24)
Guatemala (3)
Hong Kong (3)
Hungary (14)
Iceland (4)
Ireland (4)
Israel (6)
Italy (10)
Jamaica (1)
Japan (20)
Lebanon (1)
Luxembourg (1)
Mexico (27)
Netherlands (17)
New Zealand (4)
Norway (1)
Peru (3)
Philippines (7)
Poland (4)
Puerto Rico (9)
Romania (2)
South Korea (1)
Soviet Union (31)
Spain (13)
Sweden (16)
Switzerland (4)
Trinidad and Tobago (1)
United States (52)
Uruguay (5)
Vietnam (2)
West Germany (27)
Yugoslavia (6)

Medal table


Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	21	15	16	52
2	Australia	3	2	3	8
3	East Germany	2	3	1	6
4	Yugoslavia	1	1	0	2
5	Mexico	1	0	1	2
6	Netherlands	1	0	0	1
7	Soviet Union	0	4	4	8
8	Canada	0	3	1	4
9	Great Britain	0	1	0	1
10	West Germany	0	0	2	2
11	France	0	0	1	1
Totals (11 entries)		29	29	29	87

Medal summary

Men's events

Games	Gold		Silver		Bronze
100 m freestyle details	Michael Wenden Australia	52.2 WR	Ken Walsh United States	52.8	Mark Spitz United States	53.0
200 m freestyle details	Michael Wenden Australia	1:55.2 OR	Don Schollander United States	1:55.8	John Nelson United States	1:58.1
400 m freestyle details	Mike Burton United States	4:09.0 OR	Ralph Hutton Canada	4:11.7	Alain Mosconi France	4:13.3
1500 m freestyle details	Mike Burton United States	16:38.9 OR	John Kinsella United States	16:57.3	Greg Brough Australia	17:04.7
100 m backstroke details	Roland Matthes East Germany	58.7 OR	Charlie Hickcox United States	1:00.2	Ronnie Mills United States	1:00.5
200 m backstroke details	Roland Matthes East Germany	2:09.6 OR	Mitch Ivey United States	2:10.6	Jack Horsley United States	2:10.9
100 m breaststroke details	Don McKenzie United States	1:07.7 OR	Vladimir Kosinsky Soviet Union	1:08.0	Nikolai Pankin Soviet Union	1:08.0
200 m breaststroke details	Felipe Muñoz Mexico	2:28.7	Vladimir Kosinsky Soviet Union	2:29.2	Brian Job United States	2:29.9
100 m butterfly details	Doug Russell United States	55.9 OR	Mark Spitz United States	56.4	Ross Wales United States	57.2
200 m butterfly details	Carl Robie United States	2:08.7	Martyn Woodroffe Great Britain	2:09.0	John Ferris United States	2:09.3
200 m individual medley details	Charlie Hickcox United States	2:12.0 OR	Greg Buckingham United States	2:13.0	John Ferris United States	2:13.3
400 m individual medley details	Charlie Hickcox United States	4:48.4	Gary Hall, Sr. United States	4:48.7	Michael Holthaus West Germany	4:51.4
4×100 m freestyle relay details	United States (USA) Zac Zorn Stephen Rerych Ken Walsh Mark Spitz	3:31.7 WR	Soviet Union (URS) Georgi Kulikov Viktor Mazanov Semyon Belits-Geiman Leonid Ilyichov	3:34.2	Australia (AUS) Greg Rogers Robert Cusack Bob Windle Michael Wenden	3:34.7
4×200 m freestyle relay details	United States (USA) John Nelson Stephen Rerych Mark Spitz Don Schollander	7:52.3	Australia (AUS) Greg Rogers Graham White Bob Windle Michael Wenden	7:53.7	Soviet Union (URS) Vladimir Bure Semyon Belits-Geiman Georgi Kulikov Leonid Ilyichov	8:01.6
4×100 m medley relay details	United States (USA) Charlie Hickcox Don McKenzie Doug Russell Ken Walsh	3:54.9 WR	East Germany (GDR) Roland Matthes Egon Henninger Horst-Günter Gregor Frank Wiegand	3:57.5	Soviet Union (URS) Yuri Gromak Vladimir Nemshilov Vladimir Kosinsky Leonid Ilyichov	4:00.7

Women's events

Games	Gold		Silver		Bronze
100 m freestyle details	Jan Henne United States	1:00.0	Susan Pedersen United States	1:00.3	Linda Gustavson United States	1:00.3
200 m freestyle details	Debbie Meyer United States	2:10.5 OR	Jan Henne United States	2:11.0	Jane Barkman United States	2:11.2
400 m freestyle details	Debbie Meyer United States	4:31.8 OR	Linda Gustavson United States	4:35.5	Karen Moras Australia	4:37.0
800 m freestyle details	Debbie Meyer United States	9:24.0 OR	Pam Kruse United States	9:35.7	Maria Teresa Ramírez Mexico	9:38.5
100 m backstroke details	Kaye Hall United States	1:06.2 WR	Elaine Tanner Canada	1:06.7	Jane Swagerty United States	1:08.1
200 m backstroke details	Lillian Watson United States	2:24.8 OR	Elaine Tanner Canada	2:27.4	Kaye Hall United States	2:28.9
100 m breaststroke details	Đurđica Bjedov Yugoslavia	1:15.8 OR	Galina Prozumenshchikova Soviet Union	1:15.9	Sharon Wichman United States	1:16.1
200 m breaststroke details	Sharon Wichman United States	2:44.4 OR	Đurđica Bjedov Yugoslavia	2:46.4	Galina Prozumenshchikova Soviet Union	2:47.0
100 m butterfly details	Lyn McClements Australia	1:05.5	Ellie Daniel United States	1:05.8	Susan Shields United States	1:06.2
200 m butterfly details	Ada Kok Netherlands	2:24.7 OR	Helga Lindner East Germany	2:24.8	Ellie Daniel United States	2:25.9
200 m individual medley details	Claudia Kolb United States	2:24.7 OR	Susan Pedersen United States	2:28.8	Jan Henne United States	2:31.4
400 m individual medley details	Claudia Kolb United States	5:08.5 OR	Lynn Vidali United States	5:22.2	Sabine Steinbach East Germany	5:25.3
4×100 m freestyle relay details	United States (USA) Jane Barkman Linda Gustavson Susan Pedersen Jan Henne	4:02.5 OR	East Germany (GDR) Gabriele Wetzko Roswitha Krause Uta Schmuck Martina Grunert	4:05.7	Canada (CAN) Angela Coughlan Marilyn Corson Elaine Tanner Marion Lay	4:07.2
4×100 m medley relay details	United States (USA) Kaye Hall Catie Ball Ellie Daniel Susan Pedersen	4:28.3 OR	Australia (AUS) Lynne Watson Judy Playfair Lyn McClements Janet Steinbeck	4:30.0	West Germany (FRG) Angelika Kraus Uta Frommater Heike Hustede Heidemarie Reineck	4:36.4

Gallery of the medalists

Some of the Olympic medalists in Mexico City:

Don Schollander, winner of the 4×200-metre freestyle relay.
Mark Spitz, winner of the 4×100-metre freestyle relay and 4×200-metre freestyle relay.
Mike Burton, winner of the 400-metre freestyle and 1500-metre freestyle.
Debbie Meyer, winner of the 200-metre freestyle, 400-metre freestyle, and 800-metre freestyle.
Roland Matthes, winner of the 100-metre backstroke and 200-metre backstroke.
Carl Robie, winner of the 200-metre butterfly.
Charlie Hickcox, winner of the 200-metre individual medley and 400-metre individual medley.
Claudia Kolb, winner of the 200-metre individual medley and 400-metre individual medley.
Don McKenzie, winner of the 100-metre breaststroke and 4×100-metre medley relay.

References

^ ^a ^b "Swimming at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2016.

v t e Events at the 1968 Summer Olympics (Mexico City)
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