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| Event type

400 metres Freestyle, Men

Date14 – 15 October 1964
StatusOlympic
LocationKokuritsu Yoyogi Kyogijo, Shibuya, Tokyo
Participants49 from 27 countries

Australia’s Murray Rose had won this event in 1956 and 1960 and was still considered formidable, holding the world record of 4:13.4 at the beginning of 1964. But by 1964 he had settled in the United States, first as a student at the University of Southern California, and then as an actor in Los Angeles. He elected not to return for the Australian Trials in February, and Australian swimming officials responded by not allowing him on the Olympic team. He might have contended for gold in Tokyo, but American Don Schollander would have been difficult to beat. On 31 July he had broken Rose’s world record, posting 4:12.7, and was considered the favorite. In the final he trailed Roy Saari at 100 metres but pulled away to lead at 200 metres and then kept extending his lead, finishing in 4:12.2 to better his own world record. He was behind his world record pace at 300 metres, but finished in 1:01.7 for the record. Germany’s Frank Wiegand trailed 2.7 seconds behind for silver, with Australian Allan Wood getting bronze as Saari struggled on the final laps.

PosSwimmerNOCR1Final
1Don SchollanderUSA4:15.8 (1 h7)4:12.2 (1)Gold
2Frank WiegandGER4:17.2 (1 h6)4:14.9 (2)Silver
3Allan WoodAUS4:16.2 (2 h7)4:15.1 (3)Bronze
4Roy SaariUSA4:20.0 (1 h2)4:16.7 (4)
5John NelsonUSA4:19.9 (1 h3)4:16.9 (5)
6Tsuyoshi YamanakaJPN4:21.1 (1 h4)4:19.1 (6)
7Russell PheganAUS4:19.8 (1 h5)4:20.2 (7)
8Semyon Belits-GeymanURS4:19.4 (2 h6)4:21.4 (8)
9Bob WindleAUS4:21.6 (1 h1)
10Hans RosendahlSWE4:23.5 (2 h4)
11Sandy GilchristCAN4:24.2 (2 h2)
12Mats SvenssonSWE4:24.6 (3 h7)
13József KatonaHUN4:24.7 (2 h5)
14Johan BontekoeNED4:26.6 (2 h3)
15Sergio De GregorioITA4:27.4 (3 h2)
16Takeshi YamakageJPN4:27.8 (3 h5)
17Haruo YoshimutaJPN4:28.8 (2 h1)
18Petr LohnickýTCH4:28.9 (3 h6)
19Martin KlinkGER4:29.1 (4 h7)
20Ron JacksCAN4:29.3 (3 h4)
21Ralph HuttonCAN4:29.4 (5 h7)
22Wolfgang KremerGER4:29.9 (3 h1)
=23Yevgeny NovikovURS4:30.0 (3 h3)
=23Pierpaolo SpangaroITA4:30.0 (4 h4)
25Carlos van der MaathARG4:30.2 (4 h3)
26Giovanni OrlandoITA4:30.8 (4 h1)
27Celestino PérezPUR4:30.9 (4 h6)
28John ThurleyGBR4:31.0 (4 h5)
=29Bob LordGBR4:33.2 (5 h6)
=29Francis LuyceFRA4:33.2 (6 h6)
31Aleksandr ParamonovURS4:34.0 (4 h2)
32John Martin-DyeGBR4:34.3 (6 h7)
33Julio ArangoCOL4:35.1 (5 h2)
34Tuomo HämäläinenFIN4:35.5 (5 h4)
35Ilkka SuvantoFIN4:38.0 (7 h6)
36Tan Thuan HengMAS4:38.2 (7 h7)
37Gert KölliAUT4:38.4 (6 h4)
38Alan DurrettZAM4:39.0 (5 h3)
39Tin Maung NiMYA4:40.9 (6 h2)
40Slobodan DijakovićYUG4:41.0 (5 h5)
41Pano CapéronisSUI4:43.8 (8 h7)
42Teodoro CaprilesVEN4:44.5 (6 h5)
43Carlos CanepaPER4:44.9 (5 h1)
44Aad OudtNED4:46.5 (6 h3)
45Walter Ledgard BusePER4:50.4 (7 h5)
46Bob LohHKG4:53.3 (7 h2)
47Kim Bong-JoKOR4:55.8 (7 h4)
48László SzlamkaHUN5:00.0 (6 h1)
49András BodnárHUN5:03.7 (8 h6)
DNSLuis NicolaoARG– (DNS h1)
DNSPierre CanavèseFRA– (DNS h2)
DNSGuillermo EchevarríaMEX– (DNS h3)
DNSJan LundinSWE– (DNS h3)
DNSJean PommatFRA– (DNS h4)
DNSElliot ChenauxPUR– (DNS h5)

Round One (14 October 1964 — 12:10)

Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Heat One

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
17Bob WindleAUS4:21.6
24Haruo YoshimutaJPN4:28.8
36Wolfgang KremerGER4:29.9
42Giovanni OrlandoITA4:30.8
53Carlos CanepaPER4:44.9
61László SzlamkaHUN5:00.0
DNS5Luis NicolaoARG

Heat Two

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
15Roy SaariUSA4:20.0Q
21Sandy GilchristCAN4:24.2
37Sergio De GregorioITA4:27.4
48Aleksandr ParamonovURS4:34.0
53Julio ArangoCOL4:35.1
64Tin Maung NiMYA4:40.9
72Bob LohHKG4:53.3
DNS6Pierre CanavèseFRA

Heat Three

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
15John NelsonUSA4:19.9Q
22Johan BontekoeNED4:26.6
36Yevgeny NovikovURS4:30.0
48Carlos van der MaathARG4:30.2
53Alan DurrettZAM4:39.0
67Aad OudtNED4:46.5
DNS4Guillermo EchevarríaMEX
DNS1Jan LundinSWE

Heat Four

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
11Tsuyoshi YamanakaJPN4:21.1Q
26Hans RosendahlSWE4:23.5
35Ron JacksCAN4:29.3
43Pierpaolo SpangaroITA4:30.0
54Tuomo HämäläinenFIN4:35.5
67Gert KölliAUT4:38.4
72Kim Bong-JoKOR4:55.8
DNS8Jean PommatFRA

Heat Five

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
12Russell PheganAUS4:19.8Q
23József KatonaHUN4:24.7
36Takeshi YamakageJPN4:27.8
45John ThurleyGBR4:31.0
58Slobodan DijakovićYUG4:41.0
67Teodoro CaprilesVEN4:44.5
74Walter Ledgard BusePER4:50.4
DNS1Elliot ChenauxPUR

Heat Six

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14Frank WiegandGER4:17.2QOR
27Semyon Belits-GeymanURS4:19.4Q
36Petr LohnickýTCH4:28.9
42Celestino PérezPUR4:30.9
55Bob LordGBR4:33.2
63Francis LuyceFRA4:33.2
71Ilkka SuvantoFIN4:38.0
88András BodnárHUN5:03.7

Heat Seven

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
13Don SchollanderUSA4:15.8QOR
26Allan WoodAUS4:16.2Q
35Mats SvenssonSWE4:24.6
41Martin KlinkGER4:29.1
57Ralph HuttonCAN4:29.4
68John Martin-DyeGBR4:34.3
74Tan Thuan HengMAS4:38.2
82Pano CapéronisSUI4:43.8

Final (15 October 1964 — 20:35)

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14Don SchollanderUSA4:12.2WR
23Frank WiegandGER4:14.9
35Allan WoodAUS4:15.1
41Roy SaariUSA4:16.7
57John NelsonUSA4:16.9
68Tsuyoshi YamanakaJPN4:19.1
72Russell PheganAUS4:20.2
86Semyon Belits-GeymanURS4:21.4