| Men's 400 metre individual medley at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Medal winners | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | ||||||||||||
| Dates | August 9 (heats) August 10 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 29 from 22 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 4:03.84 WR | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| ← 20042012 → | |||||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Qualification | ||
| Freestyle | ||
| 50 m | men | women |
| 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 | women |
| Medley relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| Marathon | ||
| 10 km | men | women |
The men's 400 metre individual medley event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 9–10 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps blasted a new world record to defend his title in the event, and more importantly, claim his first Olympic gold, seventh career, and ninth overall. Phelps expected to get a major challenge from teammate Ryan Lochte, but he pulled away from the field on the breaststroke leg, and then opened up his lead on the freestyle leg to a strong finish in 4:03.84, more than a second faster than his world record from the U.S. Olympic Trials. Hungary's László Cseh earned his first ever Olympic silver medal at these Games, in a European record of 4:06.16. Lochte, who fought off a challenge against Phelps, faded towards the end of the race with a bronze in 4:08.09.
Italian tandem Alessio Boggiatto (4:12.16) and Luca Marin (4:12.47) earned fourth and fifth spots with only 0.31 seconds apart from each other. Hungary's Gergő Kis (4:12.84), Canada's Brian Johns (4:13.38), and Brazil's Thiago Pereira (4:15.40) rounded out the finale.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Michael Phelps (USA) |
4:05.25 | Omaha, United States | 29 June 2008 | |
| Olympic record |  Michael Phelps (USA) |
4:08.26 | Athens, Greece | 14 August 2004 | — |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 9 | Heat 4 | Michael Phelps | United States |
4:07.82 | OR |
| August 10 | Final | Michael Phelps | United States |
4:03.84 | WR |
Results
Heats
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Michael Phelps | United States |
4:03.84 | WR |
 |
5 | László Cseh |  Hungary |
4:06.16 | EU |
 |
6 | Ryan Lochte | United States |
4:08.09 | |
| 4 | 7 | Alessio Boggiatto |  Italy |
4:12.16 | |
| 5 | 3 | Luca Marin | Italy |
4:12.47 | |
| 6 | 2 | Gergő Kis | Hungary |
4:12.84 | |
| 7 | 1 | Brian Johns |  Canada |
4:13.38 | |
| 8 | 8 | Thiago Pereira |  Brazil |
4:15.40 |
References
- "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- Newberry, Paul (10 August 2008). "Michael Phelps sets world record in 400 IM, 1 gold down, 7 to go". New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- "Opening statement: Phelps grabs gold, WR in 400 IM". ESPN. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ^ Lohn, John (10 August 2008). "Michael Phelps Smashes World Record in 400 IM". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- Crouse, Karen (30 June 2008). "Rival's fast finish propels Phelps to another record". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
External links
| Olympic champions in men's 400 m individual medley | |
|---|---|
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