The men's 400 metre freestyle was a

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

event held as part of the

swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics At the 1912 Summer Olympics, nine swimming events were contested. Swimming events were held in a 100 m course built in Stockholm harbor. For the first time, women's events were part of the Olympic swimming program. The competitions were held ...

programme. It was the third appearance of the event, which had been introduced in 1904. The competition was held from Thursday July 11, 1912 to Sunday July 14, 1912. Twenty-six swimmers from 13 nations competed.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics. In the first heat

Harold Hardwick Harold Hampton Hardwick (14 December 1888 – 22 February 1959) was a versatile Australian sports star of the early 20th century – an Olympic gold medal swimmer, national heavyweight boxing champion, and a state representative rugby union ...

set a new Olympic record with 5:36.0 minutes. In the fifth heat Cecil Healy improved the Olympic record with 5:34.0 minutes. In the first semi-final

George Hodgson George Ritchie Hodgson (October 12, 1893 – May 1, 1983) was a Canadian competition swimmer of the early 20th century, and considered by many to be the greatest swimmer in Canadian history. Hodgson won the two longer freestyle swimming gold ...

set a world record with 5:25.4 minutes and in the final he improved his record again with 5:24.4 minutes.

Results

Quarterfinals

The top two in each heat advanced along with the fastest loser overall. Heat 1 Heat 2 Heat 3 Heat 4 Heat 5 Heat 6

Semifinals

The top two from each heat and the faster of the two third place swimmers advanced. Semifinal 1 Semifinal 2

Final

References

Notes

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming At The 1912 Summer Olympics - Men's 400 Metre Freestyle Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics Men's events at the 1912 Summer Olympics