400 metres Individual Medley, Men

Hungary’s Tamás Darnyi was the defending champion and not lost an individual medley race since 1984, including winning both events at the 1985, 1987, and 1989 Europeans and the 1986 and 1991 World Championships. He had also set the last three world records in the event, and was named World Swimmer of the Year in 1987 and 1991. The early leader in the final was American Dave Wharton, silver medalist in the event in Seoul, who had two seconds on Darnyi after butterfly, but he would drop back and place fourth. The leader after backstroke was the other American, Eric Namesnik, but Darnyi took the lead early in the breaststroke, and kept opening up, winning easily in 4:14.23, with Namesnik second, 1.34 seconds behind.

A few days later, Darnyi would again win the 200 IM, completing a double-double in the individual medleys, a rare occurrence at the Olympics. It had only been done before in a single stroke or specialty in the 100/200 back by East German Roland Matthes in 1968-72, although Ukrainian Yana Klochkova would repeat Darnyi’s double-double in the women’s IMs in 2000-04.