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 1928 Summer Olympics

Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics

At the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women. The competitions were held from Saturday August 4, 1928 to Saturday August 11, 1928.There were 182 participants from 28 countries competing...

 programme. 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 August 4, 1928 to Monday August 6, 1928.

Twenty swimmers from nine nations competed.

Medalists

Records

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

World Record	5:49.6	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....	New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...  (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )	June 30, 1928
Olympic Record	6:02.2	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....	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...  (FRA France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... )	July 15, 1924

In the first heat 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....

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

Heats

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

Heat 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		5:45.4	QQ WR
2		6:12.3	QQ
3		6:26.4
4
5
6		6:37.0

Heat 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		6:04.6	QQ
2		6:11.0	QQ
3		6:12.0
4		6:28.0
5
6

Heat 3

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		6:10.0	QQ
2		6:16.8	QQ
3		6:20.0
4

Heat 4

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		5:53.8	QQ
2		6:03.6	QQ
3		6:10.4	qq
4

Semifinals

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

Semifinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		5:58.0	QF
2		6:01.6	QF
3		6:06.4	QF
4
5

Semifinal 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		5:54.6	QF
2		5:55.0	QF
3		6:09.0	QF
4

Final

Monday August 6, 1928:

Place	Swimmer	Time
1		5:42.8 WR
2		5:57.8
3		6:00.2
4		6:07.0
5		6:07.2
6		6:11.6