| Date | 4 – 6 August 1928 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Zwemstadion, Amsterdam |
| Participants | 19 from 13 countries |
Arne Borg would eventually set over 30 world records at a variety of distances, but this victory in Amsterdam was his only Olympic gold medal though he competed in three Olympic Games. The “Swedish Sturgeon”, as he was dubbed by the press, dominated the competition from the heats and was never headed in the final, as he swam away from the moment the gun sounded to finish 10 seconds ahead of the “Manly Flying Fish”, Australia’s defending champion, Andrew “Boy” Charlton. Clarence “Buster” Crabbe secured the bronze, though his nickname seemed tame by comparison.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arne Borg |  SWE | 20:14.2 (1 h5) | 20:42.0 (1 h1) | 19:51.8 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Boy Charlton |  AUS | 20:17.4 (2 h5) | 20:57.0 (2 h2) | 20:02.6 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Buster Crabbe |  USA | 20:17.8 (3 h5) | 20:55.4 (1 h2) | 20:28.8 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Ray Ruddy | USA | 22:12.0 (2 h3) | 21:31.2 (3 h2) | 21:05.0 (4) | |||
| 5 | Alberto Zorrilla |  ARG | 22:21.2 (1 h4) | 21:17.0 (2 h1) | 21:23.8 (5) | |||
| 6 | Garnet Ault |  CAN | 22:55.8 (2 h4) | 21:33.4 (3 h1) | 21:46.0 (6) | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | Nobuo Arai |  JPN | 21:35.4 (1 h2) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Giuseppe Perentin |  ITA | 21:42.4 (2 h2) | – (4 h2) | – | |||
| AC h1 r2/3 | Takaji Takebayashi | JPN | 22:30.4 (2 h1) | – (DNF h1) | – | DNF | ||
| 1 h1 r1/3 | Austin Clapp | USA | 21:31.0 (1 h1) | – (DNS h1) | – | |||
| 1 h3 r1/3 | Katsuo Takaishi | JPN | 21:20.8 (1 h3) | – (DNS h2) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | Jimmy Thompson | CAN | 22:56.6 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | Dick de Man |  NED | 23:03.2 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | Václav Antoš |  TCH | 22:43.0 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Giovanni Gambi | ITA | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Dave Lindsay |  NZL | – (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/3 | Walter Handschuhmacher |  GER | 22:18.6 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | Jean Taris |  FRA | – (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | Tuburan Tamse |  PHI | – (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| D. D. Mulji |  IND | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| Jack Hatfield |  GBR | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| Percy Peter | GBR | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| Paul Radmilovic | GBR | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| Paolo Costoli | ITA | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| Olivér Halassy |  HUN | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| Albert Vandeplancke | FRA | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
| Date | 4 August 1928 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 2 in each heat and the fastest 3rd-place advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Austin Clapp | USA | 21:31.0 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Takaji Takebayashi | JPN | 22:30.4 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Jimmy Thompson | CAN | 22:56.6 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Giovanni Gambi | ITA | – | ||
| 5 | 5 | Jean Taris | FRA | – | ||
| 2 | Jack Hatfield | GBR | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Nobuo Arai | JPN | 21:35.4 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Giuseppe Perentin | ITA | 21:42.4 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Dick de Man | NED | 23:03.2 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Dave Lindsay | NZL | – | ||
| 2 | Percy Peter | GBR | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Katsuo Takaishi | JPN | 21:20.8 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Ray Ruddy | USA | 22:12.0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Václav Antoš | TCH | 22:43.0 | ||
| 2 | Paul Radmilovic | GBR | – | |||
| 4 | Paolo Costoli | ITA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Alberto Zorrilla | ARG | 22:21.2 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Garnet Ault | CAN | 22:55.8 | ||
| 2 | D. D. Mulji | IND | – | |||
| 3 | Olivér Halassy | HUN | – | |||
| 5 | Albert Vandeplancke | FRA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Arne Borg | SWE | 20:14.2 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 20:17.4 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 20:17.8 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Walter Handschuhmacher | GER | 22:18.6 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Tuburan Tamse | PHI | – |
| Date | 5 August 1928 — 14:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 3 in each heat advanced to the final round. |
| Time | 14:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Arne Borg | SWE | 20:42.0 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Alberto Zorrilla | ARG | 21:17.0 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Garnet Ault | CAN | 21:33.4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Nobuo Arai | JPN | – | ||
| 2 | Takaji Takebayashi | JPN | – | |||
| 1 | Austin Clapp | USA | – |
| Time | 14:35 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 20:55.4 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 20:57.0 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Ray Ruddy | USA | 21:31.2 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Giuseppe Perentin | ITA | – | ||
| 4 | Katsuo Takaishi | JPN | – |
| Date | 6 August 1928 — 15:15 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Arne Borg | SWE | 19:51.8 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 20:02.6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 20:28.8 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Ray Ruddy | USA | 21:05.0 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Alberto Zorrilla | ARG | 21:23.8 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Garnet Ault | CAN | 21:46.0 |
