• World record (WR)
  World record progression 400 metres freestyle
  The first world record in the men's 400 metres freestyle in long course swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation in 1908. In the short course swimming events the world's governing body recognizes world records since 3 March 1991.-Long course:-Short course:-Long...
  
  : 3:40.08, Ian Thorpe
  Ian Thorpe
  Ian James Thorpe OAM , nicknamed the Thorpedo and Thorpey, is an Australian swimmer who specialises in freestyle, but also competes in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and with three gold and two silver medals, was the most...
  
   (Australia), 30 July 2002 in Manchester, UK
  Aquatics at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
  The aquatics events at the 2002 Commonwealth Games were held at the Manchester Aquatics Centre and were divided into 3 separate disciplines, with medals awarded in 54 events:* Diving * Swimming * Synchronized swimming -Men:-Women:-Men:...
  
  .
• Championship record (CR): 3:40.17, Ian Thorpe
  Ian Thorpe
  Ian James Thorpe OAM , nicknamed the Thorpedo and Thorpey, is an Australian swimmer who specialises in freestyle, but also competes in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and with three gold and two silver medals, was the most...
  
   (Australia), Fukuoka 2001
  Swimming at the 2001 World Aquatics Championships
  The swimming events of the 2001 World Aquatics Championships were held in a temporary pool at Marine Messe in Fukuoka, Japan in July 2001. This edition of the championships featured 20 events for both men and women, including the introduction of a 50 m event in all strokes and equality in the...
  
   (22 July 2001)

Final

Place	Name	Nationality	Time	Note
1	Grant Hackett Grant Hackett Grant Hackett OAM is an Australian former swimmer most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him to be regarded as one of the greatest distance swimmers in history...	Australia	3:42.91
2	Yuri Prilukov	Russia	3:44.44
3	Oussama Mellouli Oussama Mellouli Oussama "Ous" Mellouli is a Tunisian swimmer who competes in the freestyle and medley events. He currently is an African Record holder, and trains with the USA club based at the University of Southern California, where he went to school and swam, collegiately....	Tunisia	3:46.08
4	Massimiliano Rosolino Massimiliano Rosolino -Biography:Born in Naples of an Italian father, Salvatore, and Australian mother, Carolyn, he moved to Australia at the age of three, coming back to Italy at six. Rosolino declared about his beginnings as a swimmer:...	Italy	3:46.91
5	Dragoş Coman Dragos Coman Dragoş Coman is an international freestyle swimmer from Romania, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000 in Sydney, Australia....	Kingdom of Romania	3:47.16
6	Peter Vanderkaay Peter Vanderkaay Peter Vanderkaay is an American middle-distance freestyle swimmer. He is a three-time Olympic medalist.-Personal life:...	United States	3:47.83
7	Takeshi Matsuda Takeshi Matsuda is a Japanese Olympic and Asian and National Record holding swimmer. He swam for Japan at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. At the latter event, he won a bronze medal in the men's 200m long course butterfly in an Asian Record of 1:52.97; in doing so, he also set the Japanese Record in the event...	Japan	3:48.60
8	Nicolas Rostoucher Nicolas Rostoucher Nicolas Rostoucher is a freestyle and medley swimmer from France, who is on the French National Swimming Team since 2000. He has competed for his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000...	Early Modern France	3:50.51

Prelims

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Note
1	Grant Hackett Grant Hackett Grant Hackett OAM is an Australian former swimmer most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him to be regarded as one of the greatest distance swimmers in history...	Australia	3:44.63	Q
2	Dragoş Coman Dragos Coman Dragoş Coman is an international freestyle swimmer from Romania, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000 in Sydney, Australia....	Kingdom of Romania	3:46.70	Q
3	Takeshi Matsuda Takeshi Matsuda is a Japanese Olympic and Asian and National Record holding swimmer. He swam for Japan at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. At the latter event, he won a bronze medal in the men's 200m long course butterfly in an Asian Record of 1:52.97; in doing so, he also set the Japanese Record in the event...	Japan	3:47.28	Q
4	Yuri Prilukov	Russia	3:47.48	Q
5	Peter Vanderkaay Peter Vanderkaay Peter Vanderkaay is an American middle-distance freestyle swimmer. He is a three-time Olympic medalist.-Personal life:...	United States	3:47.59	Q
6	Oussama Mellouli Oussama Mellouli Oussama "Ous" Mellouli is a Tunisian swimmer who competes in the freestyle and medley events. He currently is an African Record holder, and trains with the USA club based at the University of Southern California, where he went to school and swam, collegiately....	Tunisia	3:48.89	Q
7	Massimiliano Rosolino Massimiliano Rosolino -Biography:Born in Naples of an Italian father, Salvatore, and Australian mother, Carolyn, he moved to Australia at the age of three, coming back to Italy at six. Rosolino declared about his beginnings as a swimmer:...	Italy	3:48.93	Q
8	Nicolas Rostoucher Nicolas Rostoucher Nicolas Rostoucher is a freestyle and medley swimmer from France, who is on the French National Swimming Team since 2000. He has competed for his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000...	Early Modern France	3:49.00	Q
9	Emiliano Brembilla Emiliano Brembilla Emiliano Brembilla is a freestyle swimmer from Italy, who won the bronze medal with the men's 4×200 m freestyle relay team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...	Italy	3:49.34
10	Nicholas Sprenger Nicholas Sprenger Nicholas Sprenger is an Australian middle distance freestyle swimmer, who won a silver medal in the 4x200 m freestyle relay at the 2004 Athens Olympics....	Australia	3:49.55
11	Przemysław Stańczyk	Poland	3:49.72
12	Dimitrios Manganas	Greece	3:49.99
13	Sergiy Fesenko	Ukraine	3:50.15
14	Sho Uchida Sho Uchida is a Japanese freestyle swimmer.-Major achievements:2005 World Championships*200m freestyle 17th *400m freestyle 14th *800m freestyle 13th *4×200m freestyle relay 5th　2008 Beijing Olympics...	Japan	3:50.17
15	Christian Hein	Germany	3:50.24
16	Sébastien Rouault Sébastien Rouault Sébastien Rouault is a male freestyle swimmer from France, who competed for his native country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, PR China.- References :*...	Early Modern France	3:50.33
17	Andrew Herd	Canada	3:50.47
18	Michael Phelps Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...	United States	3:50.53
19	ZHANG Lin Zhang Lin (swimmer) Zhang Lin is a Chinese swimmer specializing in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events. He is China's most successful male swimmer.Zhang, who began swimming at six, is China's fastest freestyle swimmer. He was selected for the national team in 2002...	Mainland China	3:51.88
20	Paul Biedermann Paul Biedermann Paul Biedermann is a German swimmer from Halle and a former 200 and 400 metre freestyle long course world champion. He also holds the long course and short course world records in these events.-Career:...	Germany	3:52.45
21	David Carry David Carry David Robert Carry is a Scottish swimmer of Faroese heritage. His specialism is freestyle, and he has represented Scotland at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games...	United Kingdom	3:52.88
22	Colin Russell Colin Russell (swimmer) Colin Russell is a Canadian swimmer. He is a freestyle specialist, and won a silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships....	Canada	3:52.92
23	Spyridon Gianniotis Spyridon Gianniotis Spyridon "Spyros" Gianniotis is a freestyle swimmer from Greece, who was born in England. He won three individual medals at the 2005 Mediterranean Games, and represented his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000. In 2011 he became world champion in the 10 km open...	Greece	3:53.19
24	Felipe Araujo	Brazil	3:54.57
25	Igor Snitko Igor Snitko Ihor Snitko is a retired freestyle swimmer from Ukraine, who was a specialist in the long-distance events. He won the silver medal in the men's 1500 m freestyle event at the 1997 European Championships in Seville, Spain, followed by the gold medal two years later in Istanbul...	Ukraine	3:55.35
26	Paweł Korzeniowski	Poland	3:55.43
27	Květoslav Svoboda Kvetoslav Svoboda Květoslav Svoboda is a freestyle swimmer from the Czech Republic, who won the silver medal in the 400m Freestyle at the 2002 FINA Short Course World Championships behind Australia's Grant Hackett. He competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in...	Czech Republic	3:55.62
28	Luka Turk	Slovenia	3:56.26
29	Dominik Koll	Austria	3:56.58
30	Gard Kvale Gard Kvale Gard Kvale is an Olympic and National Record holding swimmer from Norway. He swam for Norway at the 2008 Olympics, where he lowered the Norwegian Records in the 3 events he swam: the 200 and 400 frees and the 200 IM....	Norway	3:57.66
31	Stef Verachten	Belgium	3:58.20
32	XIN Tong Xin Tong Xin Tong is a Chinese swimmer, who competed for Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics.-Major achievements:*2003/2004 National Champions Tournament - 1st 4×200 m freestyle relay...	Mainland China	3:58.31
33	Moss Burmester Moss Burmester Moss James Burmester is a New Zealand swimmer. His specialist event is the 200m butterfly in which he holds the Commonwealth record of 1:54.35 set at the 2008 Summer Olympics...	New Zealand	3:58.35
34	Giancarlo Zolezzi	Chile	3:58.74
35	Shai Livnat Shai Livnat Shai Livnat is an Israeli swimmer who has represented Israel at numerous international competitions such as the 2006 LEN European Championships and holds the Israeli record for the 400m free as well as the Maccabiah record in the 200m free.- Footnotes :...	Israel	3:59.48
36	Mahrez Mebarek	Algeria	3:59.84
37	HAN Kuk-In	South Korea	4:01.01
38	Miguel Mendoza	Philippines	4:02.82
39	Evan Marcus	Guatemala	4:03.50
40	Muhammad Akbar Nasution	Indonesia	4:03.92
41	Sebastian Arango Herrera	Colombia	4:04.47
42	PARK Tae-Hawn Park Tae-hwan Park Tae-hwan is a South Korean swimmer. He is a member of the South Korean national swimming team, based in Taereung, Seoul. He won a gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle and a silver in the 200 meter freestyle events at the 2008 Summer Olympics...	South Korea	4:04.76
43	Sheng-Chieh Tang	Chinese Taipei	4:06.72
44	Salvador Mallat	Chile	4:06.90
45	Lionel Lee	Singapore	4:07.04
46	Nawaf Al-Wazzan	Kuwait	4:07.64
47	Timur Irgashev	Uzbekistan	4:08.58
48	Ibrahim Nazarov	Uzbekistan	4:10.75
49	Irakli Revishvili	Georgia (country)	4:12.18
50	Kuo-Chuan Tsai	Chinese Taipei	4:12.58
51	Marcus Cheah	Singapore	4:13.93
52	Neil Agius	Malta	4:16.44
53	Omar Nunez	Nicaragua	4:20.27
54	Steven Mangroo	Seychelles	4:20.47
55	Antonio Tong	Macau	4:21.43
56	Loai Tashkandi	Saudi Arabia	4:26.07
57	Aung Kyaw Moe	Myanmar	4:46.71

See also

• Swimming at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 400m freestyle
• Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metre freestyle
• Swimming at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 400m freestyle