butterflyer

Kerry had been eliminated in the backstroke semifinals, while Tonelli was swimming as a makeshift butterflyer.

The hosts' team included the silver medallists in the 100 m backstroke and breaststroke, and their butterflyer had come fifth.

"I knew I could be a pretty decent butterflyer if I worked at it, but in Suriname I was only training once a day," Nesty has said.

The quartet consisted of backstroker Mark Kerry, breaststroker Peter Evans, butterflyer Mark Tonelli and freestyler Neil Brooks.

Australia's Quietly Confident Quartet, however, composed of backstroker Mark Kerry, breaststroker Peter Evans, butterflyer Mark Tonelli, and freestyler Neil Brooks, surprisingly won the final in 3:45.70.

Sweden's butterflyer Pär Arvidsson and backstroker Bengt Baron had won their respective 100 m events and their freestyle swimmer Per Holmertz would win silver in the 100 m a few days later.

The British had Goodhew, the breaststroke gold medallist, while Sweden's butterflyer and backstroker had won their respective events and their freestyle swimmer would come second in the 100 m. On paper, Australia's team paled in comparison.

However, Evans was the fastest among the breaststrokers to move the team into second position at the halfway point in the race, and Tonelli, a makeshift butterflyer, completed his leg in a time much faster than his previous best, allowing Australia to keep the Soviet lead reasonable.