Swimming has been a sport at every modern Summer Olympics. It has been open to women since 1912. At the Olympics, swimming has the second-highest number of medal-contested events.
The 1972 Summer Olympics were held in Munich, West Germany, 29 events in swimming were contested. There was a total of 532 participants from 52 countries competing.
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place on July 19 at the Olympic Pool, Montreal. There were 55 competitors from 33 nations, with each nation having up to three swimmers. The medals were swept the United States, the only time there has been a medal sweep in the men's 200 metre freestyle. Bruce Furniss took gold, John Naber silver, and Jim Montgomery bronze. It was the second consecutive and third overall victory by an American swimmer.
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1992 Summer Olympics took place on 26 July at the Piscines Bernat Picornell in Barcelona, Spain. There were 55 competitors from 39 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers. The event was won by Yevgeny Sadovyi of the Unified Team; it was the first victory in the men's 200 metre freestyle by an athlete from the former Soviet Union since Moscow 1980. Anders Holmertz of Sweden repeated as the silver medalist, becoming the first man to win multiple medals in the event. Antti Kasvio earned a bronze medal in Finland's debut in the event.
The men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second appearance of the event, which had been introduced in 1908. The competition was held on Friday July 12, 1912 and Monday July 15, 1912.
The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event. A total of 31 swimmers from 15 nations competed in the event, which was held from August 22 to August 29, 1920. Nations were limited to four swimmers each. The United States swept the medals, and Duke Kahanamoku broke his own Olympic record in the semifinals and bettered his time again in the final to successfully defend his championship from 1912. Kahanamoku was the first man to successfully defend an Olympic 100 metres freestyle title and third man to win multiple medals of any color in the event.
The men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third appearance of the event.
The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which was established in 1912. The competition was held on Thursday 9 August 1928.
The men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held on Saturday 11 August 1928.
The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1912. The competition was held on Friday, August 12, 1932.
The men's 1500 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Thursday August 11, 1932, to Saturday August 13, 1932.
The men's 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Monday August 8, 1932 to Wednesday August 10, 1932.
The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics programme. It was the eighth appearance of the event, which had not been featured only at the 1900 Games. The competition was held from Saturday August 6, 1932 to Sunday August 7, 1932. Twenty-two swimmers from ten nations competed. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Yasuji Miyazaki of Japan, snapping a five-Games American win streak. Japan was only the third nation to win a gold medal in the event. The final was entirely made up of Japanese and American swimmers, three each; Japan took the top two places as Tatsugo Kawaishi earned silver. The top American, Albert Schwartz, earned bronze. While the American win streak had ended at five, the nation's podium streak ran to seven Games.
The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the ninth appearance of the event, which had not been featured only at the 1900 Games. The competition was held on Saturday and Sunday, 8 and 9 August 1936. Forty-five swimmers from 23 nations competed. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Ferenc Csik of Hungary, the nation's first victory in the event since 1904 and third overall. For the second consecutive Games, Japan took two medals in the 100 metre freestyle, this time silver and bronze. The United States' seven-Games medal streak in the event ended as the nation's best result was sixth place by Peter Fick.
The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which was established in 1912. The competition was held on Wednesday and Friday, 12 and 14 August 1936.
The men's 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the seventh appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held on Monday and Tuesday, 10 and 11 August 1936.
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1968 Olympic Games took place on 24 October at the Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez. It was the third time the event was held, returning for the first time since 1904. There were 57 competitors from 26 nations, with each nation having up to three swimmers. The event was won by Michael Wenden of Australia, the nation's second victory in the event ; Australia extended its podium streak in the event to three Games over 68 years. It was Wenden's second gold medal of the Games, completing a 100/200 free double. Americans Don Schollander and John Nelson took silver and bronze, respectively.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place between September 2 and 3. There were 48 competitors from 29 nations. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Mark Spitz of the United States, his then-record sixth gold medal in a single Games. It was the ninth victory in the event for an American, most of any nation. Jerry Heidenreich, also of the United States, took silver. Soviet swimmer Vladimir Bure earned bronze, the nation's first medal in the men's 100 metre freestyle.
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1972 Summer Olympics took place on August 29 at the Olympia Schwimmhalle. There were 46 competitors from 27 nations, with each nation having up to three swimmers. The event was won by Mark Spitz of the United States, the nation's second victory in the event. It was the third gold medal for Spitz in 1972, halfway to his goal of six. His teammate Steve Genter took silver, with Werner Lampe of West Germany earning bronze. Defending champion Michael Wenden of Australia finished fourth.
Stephen Milne is a Scottish swimmer who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
