| | Event type

400 metres Freestyle, Men

Date	31 July – 4 August 1948
Status	Olympic
Location	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London
Participants	41 from 21 countries

Frenchman Alex Jany entered the competition as world record holder and a solid favorite for all three freestyle titles, but he had disappointed in the sprint event and would withdraw from the 1,500 metres. Jany did reach the final of the 400m, but his qualification was overshadowed by a duo of Americans, Bill Smith and Jimmy McLane, and by the 100m bronze medalist, Hungary’s Géza Kádas.

It was Smith who set the pace in the final, and only his teammate McLane, who started slowly but then moved through the pack, could challenge him. At the 200m mark, the two Americans battled for the lead but Smith had enough in hand to pull away to a comfortable victory, breaking the Olympic record in the process. McLane finished in second, with the Australian John Marshall holding off the Hungarian challenge for the bronze medal. Jany finished sixth in a time fully fifteen seconds off his best.

Bill Smith had contracted Typhoid as a child and took to swimming as a way to rebuild his strength. Hironoshin Furuhashi of Japan set a world record for this event in 1949, and would have been amongst the favorites in 1948 if Japan had been permitted to compete.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	143	Bill Smith	USA	4:45.3 (1 h6)	4:48.4 (2 h2)	4:41.0 (1)	Gold
2	142	Jimmy McLane	USA	4:42.2 (1 h1)	4:49.5 (1 h1)	4:43.4 (2)	Silver
3	116	John Marshall	AUS	4:51.4 (2 h6)	4:50.0 (2 h1)	4:47.4 (3)	Bronze
4	27	Géza Kádas	HUN	4:52.8 (1 h5)	4:47.8 (1 h2)	4:49.4 (4)
5	–	György Mitró	HUN	4:56.0 (1 h4)	4:50.8 (3 h1)	4:49.9 (5)
6	20	Alex Jany	FRA	4:53.3 (2 h3)	4:51.3 (3 h2)	4:51.4 (6)
7	128	Jack Hale	GBR	4:53.3 (1 h3)	4:51.4 (4 h1)	4:55.9 (7)
8	113	Alfredo Yantorno	ARG	4:53.8 (1 h2)	4:57.3 (4 h2)	4:58.7 (8)
9	–	Bill Heusner	USA	4:58.3 (2 h4)	4:57.4 (5 h2)	–
10	146	Marijan Stipetić	YUG	5:01.4 (3 h3)	4:58.6 (5 h1)	–
=11	123	Miroslav Bartůšek	TCH	4:57.9 (3 h2)	4:58.7 (6 h1)	–
=11	145	Janko Puhar	YUG	5:00.8 (3 h6)	4:58.7 (6 h2)	–
13	147	Branko Vidović	YUG	4:58.7 (3 h4)	4:59.4 (7 h1)	–
14	–	Don Johnston	RSA	4:57.4 (2 h2)	4:59.5 (7 h2)	–
15	140	Per-Olof Östrand	SWE	4:53.5 (2 h5)	– (DNS h1)	–
16	131	Imre Nyéki	HUN	5:01.8 (2 h1)	– (DNS h2)	–
17	–	Luis González	COL	5:02.1 (4 h6)	–	–
18	127	Roy Botham	GBR	5:03.4 (3 h1)	–	–
19	126	Jo Bernardo	FRA	5:03.8 (4 h2)	–	–
20	144	Florbel Pérez	URU	5:04.7 (3 h5)	–	–
21	125	René Cornu	FRA	5:05.2 (4 h5)	–	–
22	114	José Durañona	ARG	5:05.8 (4 h1)	–	–
23	115	Garrick Agnew	AUS	5:06.1 (4 h3)	–	–
24	122	Luis Child	COL	5:08.5 (5 h3)	–	–
25	139	Isidoro Martínez-Vela	ESP	5:10.0 (4 h4)	–	–
26	112	Juan Garay	ARG	5:10.4 (5 h4)	–	–
27	120	Doug Gibson	CAN	5:13.4 (5 h2)	–	–
28	38	Isidoro Pérez	ESP	5:16.1 (5 h5)	–	–
29	30	Ari Guðmundsson	ISL	5:16.2 (5 h6)	–	–
30	138	Alejandro Febrero	ESP	5:16.9 (5 h1)	–	–
31	129	Tom Holt	GBR	5:20.7 (6 h6)	–	–
32	5	Derek Oatway	BER	5:20.9 (6 h4)	–	–
=33	119	Allen Gilchrist	CAN	5:21.5 (6 h3)	–	–
=33	136	Sambiao Basanung	PHI	5:21.5 (6 h5)	–	–
35	43	Walter Schneider	SUI	5:25.5 (6 h2)	–	–
36	118	Walter Bardgett	BER	5:37.2 (7 h2)	–	–
37	117	Robert Cook	BER	5:37.9 (6 h1)	–	–
38	132	Bimal Chandra	IND	5:38.6 (7 h4)	–	–
39	535	Jack Hakim	EGY	5:40.3 (7 h1)	–	–
40	135	Anwar Aziz Chaudhry	PAK	6:17.4 (7 h3)	–	–
41	–	Sultan Karim Ali	PAK	7:16.9 (7 h6)	–	–
DNS	15	Taha El-Gamal	EGY	– (DNS h4)	–	–
DNS	33	Sachin Nag	IND	– (DNS h5)	–	–
DNS	124	Liam Jones	IRL	– (DNS h1)	–	–
DNS	133	Ramón Bravo	MEX	– (DNS h5)	–	–
DNS	134	Ángel Maldonado	MEX	– (DNS h2)	–	–

Round One

Date	31 July – 2 August 1948
Format	Top two in each heat and the next four fastest advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	3	Jimmy McLane	USA	4:42.2	QOR
2	3	Bill Smith	USA	4:45.3	Q
3	7	John Marshall	AUS	4:51.4	Q
4	8	Géza Kádas	HUN	4:52.8	Q
=5	1	Jack Hale	GBR	4:53.3	Q
=5	3	Alex Jany	FRA	4:53.3	Q
7	4	Per-Olof Östrand	SWE	4:53.5	Q
8	6	Alfredo Yantorno	ARG	4:53.8	Q
9	2	György Mitró	HUN	4:56.0	Q
10	4	Don Johnston	RSA	4:57.4	Q
11	5	Miroslav Bartůšek	TCH	4:57.9	q
12	8	Bill Heusner	USA	4:58.3	Q
13	7	Branko Vidović	YUG	4:58.7	q
14	5	Janko Puhar	YUG	5:00.8	q
15	5	Marijan Stipetić	YUG	5:01.4	q
16	5	Imre Nyéki	HUN	5:01.8	Q
17	2	Luis González	COL	5:02.1
18	6	Roy Botham	GBR	5:03.4
19	1	Jo Bernardo	FRA	5:03.8
20	1	Florbel Pérez	URU	5:04.7
21	6	René Cornu	FRA	5:05.2
22	4	José Durañona	ARG	5:05.8
23	2	Garrick Agnew	AUS	5:06.1
24	6	Luis Child	COL	5:08.5
25	1	Isidoro Martínez-Vela	ESP	5:10.0
26	6	Juan Garay	ARG	5:10.4
27	8	Doug Gibson	CAN	5:13.4
28	3	Isidoro Pérez	ESP	5:16.1
29	1	Ari Guðmundsson	ISL	5:16.2
30	8	Alejandro Febrero	ESP	5:16.9
31	6	Tom Holt	GBR	5:20.7
32	4	Derek Oatway	BER	5:20.9
=33	7	Allen Gilchrist	CAN	5:21.5
=33	5	Sambiao Basanung	PHI	5:21.5
35	3	Walter Schneider	SUI	5:25.5
36	2	Walter Bardgett	BER	5:37.2
37	2	Robert Cook	BER	5:37.9
38	3	Bimal Chandra	IND	5:38.6
39	7	Jack Hakim	EGY	5:40.3
40	4	Anwar Aziz Chaudhry	PAK	6:17.4
41	4	Sultan Karim Ali	PAK	7:16.9
DNS	1	Liam Jones	IRL	–
DNS	7	Ángel Maldonado	MEX	–
DNS	5	Taha El-Gamal	EGY	–
DNS	2	Sachin Nag	IND	–
DNS	7	Ramón Bravo	MEX	–

Heat #1

Time	31 July 1948 — 19:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	3	Jimmy McLane	USA	4:42.2	QOR
2	5	Imre Nyéki	HUN	5:01.8	Q
3	6	Roy Botham	GBR	5:03.4
4	4	José Durañona	ARG	5:05.8
5	8	Alejandro Febrero	ESP	5:16.9
6	2	Robert Cook	BER	5:37.9
7	7	Jack Hakim	EGY	5:40.3
DNS	1	Liam Jones	IRL	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	6	Alfredo Yantorno	ARG	4:53.8	Q
2	4	Don Johnston	RSA	4:57.4	Q
3	5	Miroslav Bartůšek	TCH	4:57.9	q
4	1	Jo Bernardo	FRA	5:03.8
5	8	Doug Gibson	CAN	5:13.4
6	3	Walter Schneider	SUI	5:25.5
7	2	Walter Bardgett	BER	5:37.2
DNS	7	Ángel Maldonado	MEX	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	1	Jack Hale	GBR	4:53.3	Q
2	3	Alex Jany	FRA	4:53.3	Q
3	5	Marijan Stipetić	YUG	5:01.4	q
4	2	Garrick Agnew	AUS	5:06.1
5	6	Luis Child	COL	5:08.5
6	7	Allen Gilchrist	CAN	5:21.5
7	4	Anwar Aziz Chaudhry	PAK	6:17.4

Heat #4

Time	2 August 1948 — 19:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	2	György Mitró	HUN	4:56.0	Q
2	8	Bill Heusner	USA	4:58.3	Q
3	7	Branko Vidović	YUG	4:58.7	q
4	1	Isidoro Martínez-Vela	ESP	5:10.0
5	6	Juan Garay	ARG	5:10.4
6	4	Derek Oatway	BER	5:20.9
7	3	Bimal Chandra	IND	5:38.6
DNS	5	Taha El-Gamal	EGY	–

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	8	Géza Kádas	HUN	4:52.8	Q
2	4	Per-Olof Östrand	SWE	4:53.5	Q
3	1	Florbel Pérez	URU	5:04.7
4	6	René Cornu	FRA	5:05.2
5	3	Isidoro Pérez	ESP	5:16.1
6	5	Sambiao Basanung	PHI	5:21.5
DNS	2	Sachin Nag	IND	–
DNS	7	Ramón Bravo	MEX	–

Heat #6

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	3	Bill Smith	USA	4:45.3	Q
2	7	John Marshall	AUS	4:51.4	Q
3	5	Janko Puhar	YUG	5:00.8	q
4	2	Luis González	COL	5:02.1
5	1	Ari Guðmundsson	ISL	5:16.2
6	6	Tom Holt	GBR	5:20.7
7	4	Sultan Karim Ali	PAK	7:16.9

Semi-Finals

Date	2 August 1948 — 21:00
Format	Top two in each heat and the next four fastest advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Géza Kádas	HUN	4:47.8	Q
2	5	Bill Smith	USA	4:48.4	Q
3	5	Jimmy McLane	USA	4:49.5	Q
4	4	John Marshall	AUS	4:50.0	Q
5	7	György Mitró	HUN	4:50.8	q
6	6	Alex Jany	FRA	4:51.3	q
7	6	Jack Hale	GBR	4:51.4	q
8	3	Alfredo Yantorno	ARG	4:57.3	q
9	2	Bill Heusner	USA	4:57.4
10	1	Marijan Stipetić	YUG	4:58.6
=11	2	Miroslav Bartůšek	TCH	4:58.7
=11	8	Janko Puhar	YUG	4:58.7
13	8	Branko Vidović	YUG	4:59.4
14	7	Don Johnston	RSA	4:59.5
DNS	3	Per-Olof Östrand	SWE	–
DNS	1	Imre Nyéki	HUN	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	5	Jimmy McLane	USA	4:49.5	Q
2	4	John Marshall	AUS	4:50.0	Q
3	7	György Mitró	HUN	4:50.8	q
4	6	Jack Hale	GBR	4:51.4	q
5	1	Marijan Stipetić	YUG	4:58.6
6	2	Miroslav Bartůšek	TCH	4:58.7
7	8	Branko Vidović	YUG	4:59.4
DNS	3	Per-Olof Östrand	SWE	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Géza Kádas	HUN	4:47.8	Q
2	5	Bill Smith	USA	4:48.4	Q
3	6	Alex Jany	FRA	4:51.3	q
4	3	Alfredo Yantorno	ARG	4:57.3	q
5	2	Bill Heusner	USA	4:57.4
6	8	Janko Puhar	YUG	4:58.7
7	7	Don Johnston	RSA	4:59.5
DNS	1	Imre Nyéki	HUN	–

Final Round

Date	4 August 1948 — 19:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Bill Smith	USA	4:41.0	OR
2	6	Jimmy McLane	USA	4:43.4
3	3	John Marshall	AUS	4:47.4
4	5	Géza Kádas	HUN	4:49.4
5	7	György Mitró	HUN	4:49.9
6	2	Alex Jany	FRA	4:51.4
7	8	Jack Hale	GBR	4:55.9
8	1	Alfredo Yantorno	ARG	4:58.7