The men's 4×100 metre medley relay event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place on September 4. This swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 event uses medley swimming

Medley swimming

Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley or by four swimmers as a medley relay...

 as a relay. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, each of the four swimmers completed two lengths of the pool, each using a different stroke. The first on each team used the backstroke

Backstroke

The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...

, the second used the breaststroke

Breaststroke

The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...

, the third used the butterfly stroke

Butterfly stroke

The butterfly is a swimming stroke swum on the breast, with both arms moving simultaneously. The butterfly kick was developed separately, and is also known as the "dolphin kick"...

, and the final swimmer used freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

 (restricted to not allow any of the first three strokes to be used, though nearly all swimmers use front crawl

Front crawl

The front crawl, forward crawl, or freestyle is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is nearly universally used during a freestyle swimming competition, hence the synonymously used term "freestyle". It is one of two...

 regardless).

The first swimmer must touch the wall before the next can leave the starting block, and so forth; timing of the starts is thus important.

Medalists

Mike Stamm Tom Bruce Tom Bruce Thomas Edwin Bruce Bruce is a former US swimmer. He attended UCLA and swam in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany; There he won an individual silver in 100m breaststroke, and was part of the team that won gold on the 4x100m medley relay.-References:*... Mark Spitz Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz is a retired American swimmer. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, an achievement only surpassed by Michael Phelps who won eight golds at the 2008 Olympics.... Jerry Heidenreich Jerry Heidenreich Jerry Heidenreich was an American swimmer and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, where he received a gold medal in 4×100 m medley relay, and a gold medal in 4×100 m freestyle relay. He received a silver medal in 100 m freestyle, and a...

Roland Matthes Roland Matthes Roland Matthes is a German Olympic backstroke swimmer.-Swimming career:Roland Matthes is the most successful backstroke swimmer of all times. In a period of seven years he won all backstroke competitions he entered... Klaus Katzur Hartmut Flöckner Lutz Unger

Erik Fish Erik Fish Erik Fish is a former backstroke swimmer from Canada, who competed for his native country at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. There he won the bronze medal in the 4x100m Medley Relay, alongside William Mahony, Bruce Robertson, and Robert Kasting.-References:* *... William Mahony Bruce Robertson Robert Kasting Robert Kasting Robert Kasting , but raised in Lethbridge, Alberta is a former butterfly and freestyle swimmer from Canada, who competed for his native country at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He won the bronze medal in the 4x100m Medley Relay, alongside Erik Fish, Bruce Robertson, and William Mahony...

Heats

Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3