[1] U.S. Ryan Lochte pulled away from the rest of the field, including double defending champion Michael Phelps, over a wide margin to capture the Olympic title in the event.

[2][3] Meanwhile, Brazil's Thiago Pereira powered home with the silver in a matching South American record of 4:08.86, making him the first swimmer for his nation to claim an Olympic medal in the event, since Ricardo Prado did so in 1984.

[5][6] For the first time since his official debut in 2000, Phelps struggled to a fourth-place finish and denied his seventeenth career medal in 4:09.28.

[7][8] South Africa's Chad le Clos (4:12.42), Hagino's teammate Yuya Horihata (4:13.30), Aussie swimmer Thomas Fraser-Holmes (4:13.49), and Italy's Luca Marin (4:14.89) rounded out the historic finale.

[6] Surprisingly, Hungary's top medal favorite and European champion László Cseh missed the final by seven-hundredths of a second (0.07) with a ninth-place effort (4:13.40).