The women's 400 metre freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

was a swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 event held as part of the swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics

Swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics

At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women. The competitions were held from Sunday July 13, 1924 to Sunday July 20, 1924.There were 169 participants from 23 countries competing...

 programme. It was the first appearance of the event, in 1920 a 300 metre race was contested. The competition was held from Sunday July 13, 1924 to Tuesday July 15, 1924.

Eighteen swimmers from eight nations competed.

Medalists

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics.

World Record	5:53.2	Gertrude Ederle Gertrude Ederle Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competitive swimmer. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Gertrude Ederle was the daughter of a German immigrant who ran a butcher shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan; she was born in New York City. She was known as...	Indianapolis Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...  (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )	August 4, 1922
Olympic Record	-	none	-	-

In the first heat Gertrude Ederle

Gertrude Ederle

Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competitive swimmer. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Gertrude Ederle was the daughter of a German immigrant who ran a butcher shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan; she was born in New York City. She was known as...

 set the first Olympic record for this event with 6:12.2 minutes. In the final Martha Norelius

Martha Norelius

Martha Norelius was an American swimmer who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics and 1928 Summer Olympics.In the 1924 Olympics she won a gold medal in the 400 m freestyle event....

won with the new Olympic record of 6:02.2 minutes.

Heats

Sunday July 13, 1924: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced.

Heat 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		6:12.2	QQ OR
2		6:28.6	QQ
3		6:58.2	qq
4		7:05.4
5		7:06.4

Heat 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		6:23.2	QQ
2		6:34.6	QQ
3		7:15.0
4		7:35.0

Heat 3

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		6:46.8	QQ
2		6:58.2	QQ
3		7:02.2
4		7:55.0
5		8:14.0

Heat 4

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		6:23.6	QQ
2		6:35.4	QQ
3		6:59.8
4		7:02.4

Semifinals

Monday July 14, 1924: The fastest two in each semi-final and the faster of the two third-placed swimmer advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		6:19.6	QF
2		6:19.8	QF
3		6:24.4	qf
4		6:37.8
5		6:56.6

Semifinal 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		6:23.8	QF
2		6:26.6	QF
3		6:34.0
4		6:55.2

Final

Tuesday July 15, 1924:

Place	Swimmer	Time
1		6:02.2 OR
2		6:03.8
3		6:04.8
4		6:25.4
—		DNF