Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metre freestyle

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The men's 400 metre freestyle event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place September 1. [1] This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated (unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events). Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of eight lengths of the pool.

Contents

Rick DeMont of the United States originally won the gold medal in 4:00.26. Following the race, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped DeMont of his gold medal [2] after his post-race urinalysis tested positive for traces of the banned substance ephedrine contained in his prescription asthma medication, Marax. The positive test following the 400-meter freestyle final also deprived him of a chance at multiple medals, as he was not permitted to swim in any other events at the 1972 Olympics, including the 1,500-meter freestyle for which he was the then-current world record-holder. Before the Olympics, DeMont had properly declared his asthma medications on his medical disclosure forms, but the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) had not cleared them with the IOC's medical committee. The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has recognized his gold medal performance in the 1972 Summer Olympics in 2001, but only the IOC has the power to restore his rankings, and it has not done so. [3]

Medalists

Gold Brad Cooper
Flag of Australia.svg Australia
Silver Steve Genter
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Bronze Tom McBreen
Flag of the United States.svg United States

Results

Heats

Heat 1

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Gunnar Larsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 4:09.88
2 Ton van Klooster Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 4:11.72
3 Guillermo García Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 4:15.33
4 Alain Charmey Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 4:18.25
5 Bruce Robertson Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 4:20.31
6 Neil Dexter Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 4:24.80
7 Kamal Kenawi Ali Moustafa Flag of Egypt (1972-1984).svg  Egypt 4:24.97

Heat 2

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Bengt Gingsjö Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 4:06.59 OR, Q
2 Hans Fassnacht Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 4:09.23
3 Udo Poser Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 4:09.62
4 Peter Rosenkranz Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 4:14.01
5 Tomás Becerra Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 4:20.78
6 Dae Imlani Flag of the Philippines (1936-1985, 1986-1998).svg  Philippines 4:24.01
7 Dimitrios Theodoropoulos Flag of Greece (1970-1975).svg  Greece 4:30.54

Heat 3

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Steve Genter Flag of the United States.svg  United States 4:05.89 OR, Q
2 Anders Bellbring Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 4:08.38
3 Aleksandr Samsonov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 4:11.46
4 Wolfram Sperling Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 4:14.73
5 Sverre Kile Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 4:20.86
6 José Luis Prado Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 4:22.31
7 Friðrik Guðmundsson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 4:26.25

Heat 4

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Brad Cooper Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 4:04.59 OR, Q
2 Werner Lampe Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 4:04.80 Q
3 Ralph Hutton Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 4:09.27
4 Władysław Wojtakajtis Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 4:16.04
5 Alfredo Machado Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg  Brazil 4:18.05
6 Arnaldo Cinquetti Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 4:19.49
7 Gustavo González Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 4:21.22

Heat 5

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Rick DeMont Flag of the United States.svg  United States 4:05.70Q
2 Graham Windeatt Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 4:05.92 Q
3Gerardo VeraFlag of Venezuela (1954-2006).png  Venezuela 4:11.37
4 Jorge Delgado Flag of Ecuador (1900-2009).svg  Ecuador 4:12.29
5 Mark Treffers Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 4:14.10
6 Antonio Corell Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 4:17.81
7 Jo O-ryeon Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea 4:21.78

Heat 6

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Tom McBreen Flag of the United States.svg  United States 4:06.09 Q
2 Brian Brinkley Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 4:06.44 Q
3 Graham White Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 4:08.29
4 Ron Jacks Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 4:16.08
5 Viktor Aboimov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 4:17.04
6 Klaus Dockhorn Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 4:17.98
7 Guillermo Pacheco Flag of Peru.svg  Peru 4:18.78
8 François Deley Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 4:24.73

Final

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Brad Cooper Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 4:00.27 OR
Silver medal icon.svg Steve Genter Flag of the United States.svg  United States 4:01.94
Bronze medal icon.svg Tom McBreen Flag of the United States.svg  United States 4:02.64
4 Graham Windeatt Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 4:02.93
5 Brian Brinkley Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 4:06.69
6 Bengt Gingsjö Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 4:06.75
7 Werner Lampe Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 4:06.97
Rick DeMont Flag of the United States.svg  United States 4:00.26DSQ

Key: DSQ = Disqualified, OR = Olympic record

References

  1. "Swimming at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's 400 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  2. Neil Amdur, "Of Gold and Drugs," The New York Times (September 4, 1972). Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  3. "Better late than never". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Associated Press. 30 January 2001. Archived from the original on 7 May 2001.