Swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics - Women's 400 metre freestyle
Encyclopedia
The women's 400 metre freestyle
was a swimming
event held as part of the swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics
programme. It was the third appearance of the event, which was established in 1924 after 1920 a 300 metre event was held. The competition was held on Thursday August 11, 1932 and on Saturday August 13, 1932.
Fourteen swimmers from nine nations competed.
In the third heat Lenore Kight
set a new Olympic record with 5:40.9 minutes. Helene Madison
set a new world record in the final with 5:28.5 minutes.
Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Heat 4
was not able to compete in the semi-finals. She had to stay in hospital due to blood poisoning after an infection officially caused by a mosquito bite.
Semifinal 1
Semifinal 2
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 1932 Summer Olympics
Swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics
At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women. The competitions were held from Saturday August 6, 1932 to Saturday August 13, 1932. There was a total of 128 participants from 20 countries competing.-Medal table:-Men's...
programme. It was the third appearance of the event, which was established in 1924 after 1920 a 300 metre event was held. The competition was held on Thursday August 11, 1932 and on Saturday August 13, 1932.
Fourteen swimmers from nine nations competed.
Medalists
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics.| World Record | 5:31.0 |  Helene MadisonHelene Madison Helene Madison was an American swimmer. She won three gold medals in freestyle at the 1932 Summer Olympic Games, becoming, along with Romeo Neri of Italy, the most successful athlete there. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin.In sixteen months in 1930 and 1931, she broke sixteen world records in... |
Seattle (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... ) |
February 3, 1931 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | 5:42.8 | 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.... |
Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... (NED Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... ) |
August 6, 1928 |
In the third heat Lenore Kight
Lenore Kight
Lenore M. Kight was an American swimmer who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics and 1936 Summer Olympics....
set a new Olympic record with 5:40.9 minutes. Helene Madison
Helene Madison
Helene Madison was an American swimmer. She won three gold medals in freestyle at the 1932 Summer Olympic Games, becoming, along with Romeo Neri of Italy, the most successful athlete there. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin.In sixteen months in 1930 and 1931, she broke sixteen world records in...
set a new world record in the final with 5:28.5 minutes.
Heats
Thursday August 11, 1932: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced to the final.Heat 1
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:56.7 | ||
| 2 | 5:57.8 | ||
| 3 | 5:57.8 | ||
| 4 | 6:22.2 |
Heat 2
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:44.5 | ||
| 2 | 5:50.5 | ||
| 3 | 6:27.2 |
Heat 3
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:40.9 | QQ OR | |
| 2 | 5:50.3 | ||
| 3 | 6:03.0 |
Heat 4
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:53.9 | ||
| 2 | 6:05.1 | ||
| 3 | 6:07.4 | ||
| 4 | 6:25.7 |
Semifinals
Friday August 12, 1932: The fastest three in each semi-final advanced to the final. Marie BraunMarie Braun
Maria Johanna Philipsen-Braun was a Dutch swimmer. She won the gold medal in the women's 100 meter backstroke at the 1928 Summer Olympics....
was not able to compete in the semi-finals. She had to stay in hospital due to blood poisoning after an infection officially caused by a mosquito bite.
Semifinal 1
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:48.7 | ||
| 2 | 6:00.6 | ||
| 3 | 6:22.1 | ||
| — | DNS |
Semifinal 2
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:50.8 | ||
| 2 | 6:00.1 | ||
| 3 | 6:00.4 | ||
| 4 | 6:05.5 | ||
| — | DNS |
Final
Saturday August 13, 1932:| Place | Swimmer | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:28.5 WR | |
| 2 | 5:28.6 | |
| 3 | 5:47.3 | |
| 4 | 5:49.7 | |
| 5 | 5:54.4 | |
| 6 | 6:06.0 |