Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics

The swimming competitions at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City took place from 17 to 26 October at the Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez.^[1] Swimming featured a record total of 29 events. There was a total of 468 participants from 51 countries competing.^[2] 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):^[1]

• 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.^[2]

•  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

Medal summary

Men's events

Women's events

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

1. "Olympedia – Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
2. "Swimming at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2016.