400 metres Freestyle, Women
| Date | 4 – 6 August 1928 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Zwemstadion, Amsterdam |
| Participants | 20 from 10 countries |
The reigning champion, Martha Norelius of the USA, had improved considerably since Paris and entered the Games as a hot favourite. Norelius lived up to her reputation by smashing the world record in her heat although a rival emerged in the form of the teenaged European champion Zus Braun from the host country, who was the only other competitor to break the six minute barrier. The Dutchwoman continued to impress in the semi-final but the American was a dominant force in the final and improved her own record again. To the approval of the Dutch crowd, Braun took the silver medal ahead of Josephine McKim of the USA. Norelius later married the rower Joe Wright, Jr., who won a silver medal for Canada at these same games, although the two eventually divorced.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martha Norelius |  USA | 5:45.4 (1 h1) | 5:58.0 (1 h1) | 5:42.8 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Zus Braun |  NED | 5:53.8 (1 h4) | 5:54.6 (1 h2) | 5:57.8 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Josephine McKim | USA | 6:10.0 (1 h3) | 5:55.0 (2 h2) | 6:00.2 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Cissie Stewart |  GBR | 6:12.2 (2 h1) | 6:06.4 (3 h1) | 6:07.0 (4) | |||
| 5 | Freddie van der Goes |  RSA | 6:03.6 (2 h4) | 6:01.6 (2 h1) | 6:07.2 (5) | |||
| 6 | Vera Tanner | GBR | 6:11.0 (2 h2) | 6:09.0 (3 h2) | 6:11.6 (6) | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | Ethel McGary | USA | 6:04.6 (1 h2) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Edith Mayne | GBR | 6:10.4 (3 h4) | – (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | Kay Miller |  NZL | 6:16.8 (2 h3) | – (5 h1) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | Truus Baumeister | NED | 6:26.4 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | Edna Davey |  AUS | 6:12.0 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | Fritzi Löwy |  AUT | 6:20.0 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Marguerite Ledoux |  FRA | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Lotte Lehmann |  GER | 6:28.0 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Disa Lindberg |  FIN | – (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Reni Erkens | GER | – (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | Mary Bedford | RSA | – (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | Rhoda Rennie | RSA | – (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | Dora Schönemann | GER | 6:37.0 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | Georgina Roty | FRA | – (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| Marguerite Dockrell |  IRL | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| Halina Iżycka |  POL | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
Round One (4 August 1928 — 16:10)
Top two in each heat and the next fastest advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Martha Norelius | USA | 5:45.4 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Cissie Stewart | GBR | 6:12.2 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Truus Baumeister | NED | 6:26.4 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Marguerite Ledoux | FRA | – | |||
| 5 | 1 | Mary Bedford | RSA | – | |||
| 6 | 2 | Dora Schönemann | GER | 6:37.0 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ethel McGary | USA | 6:04.6 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Vera Tanner | GBR | 6:11.0 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Edna Davey | AUS | 6:12.0 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Lotte Lehmann | GER | 6:28.0 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Rhoda Rennie | RSA | – | |||
| 6 | 6 | Georgina Roty | FRA | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Josephine McKim | USA | 6:10.0 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Kay Miller | NZL | 6:16.8 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Fritzi Löwy | AUT | 6:20.0 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Disa Lindberg | FIN | – | |||
| 3 | Marguerite Dockrell | IRL | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Zus Braun | NED | 5:53.8 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Freddie van der Goes | RSA | 6:03.6 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Edith Mayne | GBR | 6:10.4 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Reni Erkens | GER | – | |||
| 4 | Halina Iżycka | POL | – |
Semi-Finals (5 August 1928 — 15:10)
Top three in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One (15:10)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Martha Norelius | USA | 5:58.0 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Freddie van der Goes | RSA | 6:01.6 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Cissie Stewart | GBR | 6:06.4 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Ethel McGary | USA | – | |||
| 5 | 1 | Kay Miller | NZL | – |
Heat Two (15:25)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Zus Braun | NED | 5:54.6 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Josephine McKim | USA | 5:55.0 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Vera Tanner | GBR | 6:09.0 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Edith Mayne | GBR | – |
Final (6 August 1928 — 13:45)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Martha Norelius | USA | 5:42.8 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Zus Braun | NED | 5:57.8 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Josephine McKim | USA | 6:00.2 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Cissie Stewart | GBR | 6:07.0 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Freddie van der Goes | RSA | 6:07.2 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Vera Tanner | GBR | 6:11.6 |