400m Individual Medley (Men) is considered to be the toughest of the swimming events. This swimming event is an integral part of the Summer Games over the years. There are four strokes that have to be taken by the swimmer, one after the other in a particular order. The four swimming strokes that are taken in consecutive order in 400m Individual Medley are butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. The swimmers have to be proficient in all these forms of swimming to compete in the Men 400m Individual Medley.
400m Individual Medley (Men), was introduced in the Olympics in the year 1964, and was included as an event in every Olympic after that. The statistics show that the event is comparatively new to the Olympics. Till date 11 gold medals have been awarded in this category of swimming event in the Olympics.
All the swimming events in the Beijing Summer Games 2008 will span for a period of 16 days. The events will commence from 9th August 2008 and will continue till 21st August. Except the marathon swimming events, all the other swimming events including Individual Medley Men 400m will be held at the Beijing National Aquatics Center.
As the event involves several types of swimming strokes in one game, it attracts large number of viewers. Swimmers from the United States of America have been consistent performers in the Individual Medley 400m Men category. Some of the eminent swimmers, who have clinched gold medals in this swimming event, are as follows:
- Michael Phelps
- Alex Baumann
- Rod Strachan
- Gunnar Larsson
- Richard Roth
- Tamas Darnyi
- Charles Hickcox
- Aleksandr Sidorenko
