1,500 metres Freestyle, Men

Andrew “Boy” Charlton had emerged as a contender for Olympic honors early in 1924, when the 16 year old had defeated Sweden’s Arne Borg in a 440 yard race that caused a sensation in Charlton’s native Australia. At Paris, the two men resumed their rivalry. Firstly, Charlton won his heat in an Olympic record time. Then, in the next heat, the Swede took four seconds off his own records. They met at semi final stage, with Charlton taking a clear victory, but the times were slower than the heats and many felt Borg was holding back his efforts until the final.

Borg certainly went quicker in the final, taking over half a minute off his world record, but Charlton had long finished by then. The Australian’s time of 20 minutes 6.6 seconds was over a minute inside the old world record. Frank Beaurepaire of Australia took the bronze medal, repeating his achievements of 1908 and 1920 in this event.