| | Event type
400 metres Breaststroke, Men
| Date | 22 – 25 August 1920 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Zwemstadion van Antwerpen, Antwerpen |
| Participants | 20 from 10 countries |
Sweden’s Håkan Malmrot swam comfortably in his heat, but barely edging out Finland’s Arvo Aaltonen. However, in the semi-finals, he won by over 21 seconds, and his margin in the final was a dominating 14 seconds. This was the last time this event was contested at the Olympics as of 2024, and the event is not expected to return, as the distance in this stroke is not contested at the international level.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Håkan Malmrot |  SWE | 6:49.0 (1 h2) | 6:44.8 (1 h1) | 6:31.8 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Thor Henning | SWE | 6:46.2 (1 h1) | 6:45.0 (=1 h2) | 6:45.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Arvo Aaltonen |  FIN | 6:50.0 (2 h2) | 6:45.0 (=1 h2) | 6:48.0 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Jack Howell |  USA | 6:57.0 (1 h3) | 6:51.4 (3 h2) | 6:51.0 (4) | |||
| 5 | Per Cederblom | SWE | 7:14.0 (2 h3) | 7:05.6 (2 h1) | – (5) | |||
| 3 h1 r2/3 | Mike McDermott | USA | 7:12.8 (3 h1) | 7:13.2 (3 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | Henri Demiéville |  SUI | 7:12.4 (2 h4) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Olle Dickson | SWE | 7:12.0 (1 h4) | 6:59.0 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | Lucien Lebaillif |  FRA | 7:12.2 (2 h1) | – (5 h2) | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | Félicien Courbet |  BEL | 7:20.0 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | George Robertson |  GBR | 7:28.0 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | Stephen Ruddy | USA | 7:13.0 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Rex Lassam | GBR | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Charles Quinby | USA | – (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Émile Arbogast | FRA | – (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Édouard Van Haelen | BEL | – (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | Edmond Henry | BEL | – (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | Eduard Stibor |  TCH | – (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| AC h1 r1/3 | Sydney Gooday |  CAN | – (DNF h1) | – | – | DNF | ||
| AC h2 r1/3 | Luis Balcells |  ESP | – (DNF h2) | – | – | DNF |
Round One
| Date | 22 – 23 August 1920 — 16:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the semi-finals. |
Heat #1
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thor Henning | SWE | 6:46.2 | ||
| 2 | Lucien Lebaillif | FRA | 7:12.2 | ||
| 3 | Mike McDermott | USA | 7:12.8 | ||
| 4 | Rex Lassam | GBR | – | ||
| Sydney Gooday | CAN | – | 1 |
Heat #2
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Håkan Malmrot | SWE | 6:49.0 | ||
| 2 | Arvo Aaltonen | FIN | 6:50.0 | ||
| 3 | Félicien Courbet | BEL | 7:20.0 | ||
| 4 | Charles Quinby | USA | – | ||
| Luis Balcells | ESP | – | 2 |
Heat #3
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Howell | USA | 6:57.0 | ||
| 2 | Per Cederblom | SWE | 7:14.0 | ||
| 3 | George Robertson | GBR | 7:28.0 | ||
| 4 | Émile Arbogast | FRA | – | ||
| 5 | Edmond Henry | BEL | – |
Heat #4
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olle Dickson | SWE | 7:12.0 | ||
| 2 | Henri Demiéville | SUI | 7:12.4 | ||
| 3 | Stephen Ruddy | USA | 7:13.0 | ||
| 4 | Édouard Van Haelen | BEL | – | ||
| 5 | Eduard Stibor | TCH | – |
Semi-Finals
| Date | 24 August 1920 — 16:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the final. |
Heat #1
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Håkan Malmrot | SWE | 6:44.8 | ||
| 2 | Per Cederblom | SWE | 7:05.6 | ||
| 3 | Mike McDermott | USA | 7:13.2 | ||
| 4 | Henri Demiéville | SUI | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Thor Henning | SWE | 6:45.0 | ||
| =1 | Arvo Aaltonen | FIN | 6:45.0 | ||
| 3 | Jack Howell | USA | 6:51.4 | ||
| 4 | Olle Dickson | SWE | 6:59.0 | ||
| 5 | Lucien Lebaillif | FRA | – |
Final
| Date | 25 August 1920 — 16:15 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Håkan Malmrot | SWE | 6:31.8 | ||
| 2 | Thor Henning | SWE | 6:45.2 | ||
| 3 | Arvo Aaltonen | FIN | 6:48.0 | ||
| 4 | Jack Howell | USA | 6:51.0 | ||
| 5 | Per Cederblom | SWE | – |