At the Olympics in Rome, fellow Australian and defending 400 m and 1500 m champion Murray Rose had returned from the United States to compete, and qualified fastest for the 400 m final, although well outside Konrads' mark. Konrads held the lead in the final until the halfway mark, when Rose attacked and Konrads deviated from his raceplan. Rose went on to win in 4 m 18.3s while Konrads was third in 4 m 21.8s, well outside his world record of 4 m 15.9s. In the 1500 m final, Konrads qualified second as Rose set an Olympic record in the final. Although George Breen of the United States had attacked early, Konrads stuck to his raceplan and overhauled him to win in an Olympic record time of 17 m 19.6s, with Rose second. In the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, Konrads combined with Devitt, Rose and David Dickson to claim a bronze medal behind the United States and Japan. In Olympic training at the Tobruk Pool, Townsville, Queensland, the Australians had broken the world record for this event, but without teammate Jon Henricks, who withdrew due to illness, they were not able to keep pace with the Americans who claimed both the gold and the world record.