Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metre individual medley
| 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 | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.[1]
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.[2][3] 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.[4]
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.[4]
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 | [5] |
| 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.
- 1 2 Lohn, John (10 August 2008). "Michael Phelps Smashes World Record in 400 IM". Swimming World Magazine. 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.