Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle

The women's 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme.^[1] It was the second appearance of the event, which was established in 1924 after 1920 a 300-metre event was held. The competition was held from Saturday to Monday, 4 to 6 August 1928.

Women's 400 metre freestyle at the Games of the IX Olympiad
Venue	Olympic Sports Park Swim Stadium
Date	4–6 August
Competitors	20 from 9 nations
Medalists
Martha Norelius  United States Marie Braun  Netherlands Josephine McKim  United States
← 1924 1932 →

Twenty swimmers from nine nations competed. The winning margin was an astonishing 15 seconds which as of 2023 is the only time this event has been won by more than 8 seconds at the Olympics.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.

World Record	5:49.6	Martha Norelius	New York City (USA)	30 June 1928
Olympic Record	6:02.2	Martha Norelius	Paris (FRA)	15 July 1924

In the first heat Martha Norelius set a new world record with 5:45.4 minutes. In the final she bettered her own record to 5:42.8 minutes.

Results

Heats

Saturday 4 August 1928: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced.

Heat 1

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Martha Norelius	United States	5:45.4	Q, WR
2	Cissie Stewart	Great Britain	6:12.3	Q
3	Truus Baumeister	Netherlands	6:26.4
4	Marguerite Ledoux	France	Unknown
5	Mary Bedford	South Africa	Unknown
6	Dora Schönemann	Germany	6:37.0

Heat 2

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Ethel McGary	United States	6:04.6	Q
2	Iris Tanner	Great Britain	6:11.0	Q
3	Edna Davey	Australia	6:12.0
4	Charlotte Lehmann	Germany	6:28.0
5	Rhoda Rennie	South Africa	Unknown
6	Georgina Roty	France	Unknown

Heat 3

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Josephine McKim	United States	6:10.0	Q
2	Kathleen Miller	New Zealand	6:16.8	Q
3	Fritzi Löwy	Austria	6:20.0
4	Disa Lindberg	Finland	Unknown

Heat 4

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Marie Braun	Netherlands	5:53.8	Q
2	Freddie van der Goes	South Africa	6:03.6	Q
3	Edith Mayne	Great Britain	6:10.4	q
4	Reni Erkens	Germany	Unknown

Semifinals

Sunday 5 August 1928: The fastest three in each semi-final advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Martha Norelius	United States	5:58.0	Q
2	Freddie van der Goes	South Africa	6:01.6	Q
3	Cissie Stewart	Great Britain	6:06.4	Q
4	Ethel McGary	United States	Unknown
5	Kathleen Miller	New Zealand	Unknown

Semifinal 2

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Marie Braun	Netherlands	5:54.6	Q
2	Josephine McKim	United States	5:55.0	Q
3	Iris Tanner	Great Britain	6:09.0	Q
4	Edith Mayne	Great Britain	Unknown

Final

Monday 6 August 1928:

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
	Martha Norelius	United States	5:42.8	WR
	Marie Braun	Netherlands	5:57.8
	Josephine McKim	United States	6:00.2
4	Cissie Stewart	Great Britain	6:07.0
5	Freddie van der Goes	South Africa	6:07.2
6	Iris Tanner	Great Britain	6:11.6