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

Women's 400 metre freestyle
at the Games of the IX Olympiad
VenueOlympic Sports Park Swim Stadium
Date4–6 August
Competitors20 from 9 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Martha Norelius  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Marie Braun  Netherlands
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Josephine McKim  United States
← 1924
1932 →

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.

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 United States Martha Norelius New York City (USA) 30 June 1928
Olympic Record 6:02.2 United States 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
1st place, gold medalist(s) Martha Norelius  United States 5:42.8 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Marie Braun  Netherlands 5:57.8
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 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

References

  1. ^ "Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Women's 400 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2016.