Swimming at the 1973 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay
# Swimming at the 1973 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay

The men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay competition of the swimming events at the 1973 World Aquatics Championships took place on September 5.

## Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and championship records were as follows.

| World record | United States (USA) David Edgar (52.69) John Murphy (52.04) Jerry Heidenreich (50.78) Mark Spitz (50.90) | 3:26.42 | Munich, West Germany | 28 August 1972 |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Competition record | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |

The following records were established during the competition:

| Date | Event | Nation | Athletes | Time | Record |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 September | Heat | France | Michel Rousseau (51.73) | 3:35.575 | CR |
| 5 September | Heat | United States | Bill Miller (53.39) Stan Carper (53.42) Kurt Krumpholz (52.50) Rick Klatt (53.13) | 3:32.442 | CR |
| 5 September | Final | United States | Melvin Nash (52.65) Joe Bottom (51.42) Jim Montgomery (51.17) John Murphy (51.94) | 3:27.183 | CR |

## Results

### Heats

14 teams participated in 2 heats.

| Rank | Heat | Lane | Nation | Athletes | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 2 | - | United States | Bill Miller (53.39) Stan Carper (53.42) Kurt Krumpholz (52.50) Rick Klatt (53.13) | 3:32.442 | Q, CR |
| 2 | 2 | - | East Germany | | 3:33.837 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | - | Soviet Union | | 3:34.700 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | - | Brazil | | 3:35.256 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | - | France | Michel Rousseau (51.73) | 3:35.575 | Q, CR |
| 6 | 2 | - | Italy | | 3:35.655 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | - | West Germany | | 3:35.882 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | - | Australia | Michael Wenden (52.61) Steve Badger (54.98) Neil Rogers (54.50) John Kulasalu (54.47) | 3:36.566 | Q, NR |
| 9 | 1 | - | Canada | | 3:36.915 | |
| 10 | 2 | - | Spain | | 3:37.686 | |
| 11 | 2 | - | Romania | | 3:39.171 | |
| 12 | 1 | - | Yugoslavia | | 3:42.949 | |
| 13 | 1 | - | Puerto Rico | | 3:48.080 | |
| | 1 | - | Sweden | | | DSQ |

### Final

The results of the final are below.

| Rank | Lane | Nation | Athletes | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | 4 | United States | Melvin Nash (52.65) Joe Bottom (51.42) Jim Montgomery (51.17) John Murphy (51.94) | 3:27.183 | CR |
| | 3 | Soviet Union | Igor Grivennikov (53.36) Viktor Aboimov (52.97) Vladimir Krivtsov (52.68) Vladimir Bure (52.35) | 3:31.367 | |
| | 5 | East Germany | Roland Matthes (53.86) Roger Pyttel (52.37) Peter Bruch (52.84) Hartmut Flöckner (52.96) | 3:32.031 | |
| 4 | 1 | West Germany | Klaus Steinbach (52.67) Peter Nocke (53.13) Gerhard Schiller (53.43) P. Labudde (54.10) | 3:33.336 | |
| 5 | 6 | Brazil | Ruy de Oliveira (53.77) José Namorado (53.30) Jim Adams (53.69) José Aranha (52.63) | 3:33.392 | |
| 6 | 8 | Australia | Michael Wenden (52.83) Steve Badger (54.29) Neil Rogers (54.16) John Kulasalu (53.99) | 3:35.274 | |
| 7 | 7 | Italy | Roberto Pangaro (54.06) Alberto Castagnetti (55.53) Paolo Barelli (53.63) Marcello Guarducci (53.62) | 3:36.842 | |
| 8 | 2 | France | Patrick Juge (55.96) Pierre-Yves Copin (54.79) André Foucart (56.20) Alain Hermitte (54.31) | 3:41.267 | |
