Swimming at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
Venue	Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez
Dates	17 – 26 October 1968
No. of events	29
Competitors	468 from 51 nations
← 1964 1972 →

Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Freestyle
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
Medley relay
4×100 m	men	women
v t e

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.

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)

468 swimmers from 51 nations competed.^[2]

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	21	15	16	52
2	Australia	3	2	3	8
3	East Germany	2	3	1	6
4	Yugoslavia	1	1	0	2
5	Mexico	1	0	1	2
6	Netherlands	1	0	0	1
7	Soviet Union	0	4	4	8
8	Canada	0	3	1	4
9	Great Britain	0	1	0	1
10	West Germany	0	0	2	2
11	France	0	0	1	1
Totals (11 entries)		29	29	29	87

Games	Gold		Silver		Bronze
100 m freestyle details	Michael Wenden  Australia	52.2 WR	Ken Walsh  United States	52.8	Mark Spitz  United States	53.0
200 m freestyle details	Michael Wenden  Australia	1:55.2 OR	Don Schollander  United States	1:55.8	John Nelson  United States	1:58.1
400 m freestyle details	Mike Burton  United States	4:09.0 OR	Ralph Hutton  Canada	4:11.7	Alain Mosconi  France	4:13.3
1500 m freestyle details	Mike Burton  United States	16:38.9 OR	John Kinsella  United States	16:57.3	Greg Brough  Australia	17:04.7
100 m backstroke details	Roland Matthes  East Germany	58.7 OR	Charlie Hickcox  United States	1:00.2	Ronnie Mills  United States	1:00.5
200 m backstroke details	Roland Matthes  East Germany	2:09.6 OR	Mitch Ivey  United States	2:10.6	Jack Horsley  United States	2:10.9
100 m breaststroke details	Don McKenzie  United States	1:07.7 OR	Vladimir Kosinsky  Soviet Union	1:08.0	Nikolai Pankin  Soviet Union	1:08.0
200 m breaststroke details	Felipe Muñoz  Mexico	2:28.7	Vladimir Kosinsky  Soviet Union	2:29.2	Brian Job  United States	2:29.9
100 m butterfly details	Doug Russell  United States	55.9 OR	Mark Spitz  United States	56.4	Ross Wales  United States	57.2
200 m butterfly details	Carl Robie  United States	2:08.7	Martyn Woodroffe  Great Britain	2:09.0	John Ferris  United States	2:09.3
200 m individual medley details	Charlie Hickcox  United States	2:12.0 OR	Greg Buckingham  United States	2:13.0	John Ferris  United States	2:13.3
400 m individual medley details	Charlie Hickcox  United States	4:48.4	Gary Hall, Sr.  United States	4:48.7	Michael Holthaus  West Germany	4:51.4
4×100 m freestyle relay details	United States (USA) Zac Zorn Stephen Rerych Ken Walsh Mark Spitz	3:31.7 WR	Soviet Union (URS) Georgi Kulikov Viktor Mazanov Semyon Belits-Geiman Leonid Ilyichov	3:34.2	Australia (AUS) Greg Rogers Robert Cusack Bob Windle Michael Wenden	3:34.7
4×200 m freestyle relay details	United States (USA) John Nelson Stephen Rerych Mark Spitz Don Schollander	7:52.3	Australia (AUS) Greg Rogers Graham White Bob Windle Michael Wenden	7:53.7	Soviet Union (URS) Vladimir Bure Semyon Belits-Geiman Georgi Kulikov Leonid Ilyichov	8:01.6
4×100 m medley relay details	United States (USA) Charlie Hickcox Don McKenzie Doug Russell Ken Walsh	3:54.9 WR	East Germany (GDR) Roland Matthes Egon Henninger Horst-Günter Gregor Frank Wiegand	3:57.5	Soviet Union (URS) Yuri Gromak Vladimir Nemshilov Vladimir Kosinsky Leonid Ilyichov	4:00.7

Games	Gold		Silver		Bronze
100 m freestyle details	Jan Henne  United States	1:00.0	Susan Pedersen  United States	1:00.3	Linda Gustavson  United States	1:00.3
200 m freestyle details	Debbie Meyer  United States	2:10.5 OR	Jan Henne  United States	2:11.0	Jane Barkman  United States	2:11.2
400 m freestyle details	Debbie Meyer  United States	4:31.8 OR	Linda Gustavson  United States	4:35.5	Karen Moras  Australia	4:37.0
800 m freestyle details	Debbie Meyer  United States	9:24.0 OR	Pam Kruse  United States	9:35.7	Maria Teresa Ramírez  Mexico	9:38.5
100 m backstroke details	Kaye Hall  United States	1:06.2 WR	Elaine Tanner  Canada	1:06.7	Jane Swagerty  United States	1:08.1
200 m backstroke details	Lillian Watson  United States	2:24.8 OR	Elaine Tanner  Canada	2:27.4	Kaye Hall  United States	2:28.9
100 m breaststroke details	Đurđica Bjedov  Yugoslavia	1:15.8 OR	Galina Prozumenshchikova  Soviet Union	1:15.9	Sharon Wichman  United States	1:16.1
200 m breaststroke details	Sharon Wichman  United States	2:44.4 OR	Đurđica Bjedov  Yugoslavia	2:46.4	Galina Prozumenshchikova  Soviet Union	2:47.0
100 m butterfly details	Lyn McClements  Australia	1:05.5	Ellie Daniel  United States	1:05.8	Susan Shields  United States	1:06.2
200 m butterfly details	Ada Kok  Netherlands	2:24.7 OR	Helga Lindner  East Germany	2:24.8	Ellie Daniel  United States	2:25.9
200 m individual medley details	Claudia Kolb  United States	2:24.7 OR	Susan Pedersen  United States	2:28.8	Jan Henne  United States	2:31.4
400 m individual medley details	Claudia Kolb  United States	5:08.5 OR	Lynn Vidali  United States	5:22.2	Sabine Steinbach  East Germany	5:25.3
4×100 m freestyle relay details	United States (USA) Jane Barkman Linda Gustavson Susan Pedersen Jan Henne	4:02.5 OR	East Germany (GDR) Gabriele Wetzko Roswitha Krause Uta Schmuck Martina Grunert	4:05.7	Canada (CAN) Angela Coughlan Marilyn Corson Elaine Tanner Marion Lay	4:07.2
4×100 m medley relay details	United States (USA) Kaye Hall Catie Ball Ellie Daniel Susan Pedersen	4:28.3 OR	Australia (AUS) Lynne Watson Judy Playfair Lyn McClements Janet Steinbeck	4:30.0	West Germany (FRG) Angelika Kraus Uta Frommater Heike Hustede Heidemarie Reineck	4:36.4

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.