| Date | 8 – 10 August 1932 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympic Park Swimming Stadium, Los Angeles, California |
| Participants | 19 from 10 countries |
All but one of the men’s swimming events at the 1932 Olympic Games resulted in Japanese victories, and the exception was the victory of Buster Crabbe in the 400 metres freestyle. Although Crabbe was well respected over the distance, France’s Jean Taris was the world record holder, and another of the talented young Japanese swimmers, Takashi Yokoyama, had recorded the best heat times.
The final quickly turned into a duel between Taris and Crabbe, with the three Japanese finalists fighting for the bronze medal. The Frenchman pulled out to an early lead and was two lengths ahead of his rival at the halfway stage, but Crabbe came back at him, drew level and, as the excited crowd roared their local boy onwards, passed Taris to touch first. The margin between first and second at the finish was just a tenth of a second.
Crabbe followed Johnny Weissmuller into an acting career and followed him in the role of “Tarzan”. He is perhaps best known for his appearances in the Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials from the 1930s and early 1940s.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buster Crabbe |  USA | 4:59.8 (1 h2) | 4:52.7 (1 h2) | 4:48.4 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Jean Taris |  FRA | 4:53.3 (1 h4) | 4:52.3 (2 h1) | 4:48.5 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Tsutomu Oyokota |  JPN | 5:06.3 (2 h5) | 4:52.8 (3 h1) | 4:52.3 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Takashi Yokoyama | JPN | 4:53.2 (1 h1) | 4:51.4 (1 h1) | 4:52.5 (4) | |||
| 5 | Noboru Sugimoto | JPN | 5:00.2 (2 h2) | 4:59.0 (2 h2) | 4:56.1 (5) | |||
| 6 | Boy Charlton |  AUS | 4:59.8 (1 h3) | 5:02.1 (3 h2) | 4:58.6 (6) | |||
| 7 | Jim Gilhula | USA | 4:53.3 (2 h1) | 4:55.4 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 8 | Noel Ryan | AUS | 5:01.9 (1 h5) | 4:59.7 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 9 | Paolo Costoli |  ITA | 5:06.7 (2 h3) | 5:06.0 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 10 | Giuseppe Perentin | ITA | 5:09.1 (2 h4) | 5:10.5 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 11 | Walter Spence |  CAN | 5:10.0 (3 h3) | 5:15.6 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 12 | Norman Wainwright |  GBR | 5:12.0 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 13 | Bobby Leivers | GBR | 5:14.6 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 14 | George Larson | CAN | 5:20.1 (3 h5) | – | – | |||
| 15 | George Burrows | CAN | 5:28.9 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 16 | Ignacio Gutiérrez |  MEX | 5:29.1 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 17 | Gyula Kánásy |  HUN | 5:40.8 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 18 | Manuel Villegas | MEX | 5:54.2 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 19 | Nalin Malik |  IND | 5:59.0 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| Carlos Kennedy |  ARG | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| Alberto Zorrilla | ARG | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| Mario de Lorenzo |  BRA | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| Oscar da Silva Callares | BRA | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| Fernando de Macedo | BRA | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| László Szabados | HUN | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| András Wanié | HUN | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| Herbert Barthels | USA | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
| Date | 8 August 1932 — 15:15 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Takashi Yokoyama | JPN | 4:53.2 | ||
| =2 | 3 | Jim Gilhula | USA | 4:53.3 | ||
| =2 | 5 | Jean Taris | FRA | 4:53.3 | ||
| =4 | 5 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 4:59.8 | ||
| =4 | 2 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 4:59.8 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Noboru Sugimoto | JPN | 5:00.2 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Noel Ryan | AUS | 5:01.9 | ||
| 8 | 5 | Tsutomu Oyokota | JPN | 5:06.3 | ||
| 9 | 3 | Paolo Costoli | ITA | 5:06.7 | ||
| 10 | 2 | Giuseppe Perentin | ITA | 5:09.1 | ||
| 11 | 5 | Walter Spence | CAN | 5:10.0 | ||
| 12 | 2 | Norman Wainwright | GBR | 5:12.0 | ||
| 13 | 1 | Bobby Leivers | GBR | 5:14.6 | ||
| 14 | 3 | George Larson | CAN | 5:20.1 | ||
| 15 | 6 | George Burrows | CAN | 5:28.9 | ||
| 16 | 3 | Ignacio Gutiérrez | MEX | 5:29.1 | ||
| 17 | 4 | Gyula Kánásy | HUN | 5:40.8 | ||
| 18 | 1 | Manuel Villegas | MEX | 5:54.2 | ||
| 19 | 3 | Nalin Malik | IND | 5:59.0 | ||
| 2 | Alberto Zorrilla | ARG | – | |||
| 5 | Fernando de Macedo | BRA | – | |||
| 1 | András Wanié | HUN | – | |||
| 1 | Carlos Kennedy | ARG | – | |||
| 6 | Oscar da Silva Callares | BRA | – | |||
| 4 | Herbert Barthels | USA | – | |||
| 4 | Mario de Lorenzo | BRA | – | |||
| 2 | László Szabados | HUN | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Takashi Yokoyama | JPN | 4:53.2 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Jim Gilhula | USA | 4:53.3 | ||
| 3 | 6 | George Burrows | CAN | 5:28.9 | ||
| 2 | Alberto Zorrilla | ARG | – | |||
| 5 | Fernando de Macedo | BRA | – | |||
| 1 | András Wanié | HUN | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 4:59.8 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Noboru Sugimoto | JPN | 5:00.2 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Norman Wainwright | GBR | 5:12.0 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Ignacio Gutiérrez | MEX | 5:29.1 | ||
| 1 | Carlos Kennedy | ARG | – | |||
| 6 | Oscar da Silva Callares | BRA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 4:59.8 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Paolo Costoli | ITA | 5:06.7 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Walter Spence | CAN | 5:10.0 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Gyula Kánásy | HUN | 5:40.8 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Manuel Villegas | MEX | 5:54.2 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Jean Taris | FRA | 4:53.3 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Giuseppe Perentin | ITA | 5:09.1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Bobby Leivers | GBR | 5:14.6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Nalin Malik | IND | 5:59.0 | ||
| 4 | Herbert Barthels | USA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Noel Ryan | AUS | 5:01.9 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Tsutomu Oyokota | JPN | 5:06.3 | ||
| 3 | 3 | George Larson | CAN | 5:20.1 | ||
| 4 | Mario de Lorenzo | BRA | – | |||
| 2 | László Szabados | HUN | – |
| Date | 9 August 1932 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top three in each heat advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takashi Yokoyama | JPN | 4:51.4 | ||
| 2 | Jean Taris | FRA | 4:52.3 | ||
| 3 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 4:52.7 | ||
| 4 | Tsutomu Oyokota | JPN | 4:52.8 | ||
| 5 | Jim Gilhula | USA | 4:55.4 | ||
| 6 | Noboru Sugimoto | JPN | 4:59.0 | ||
| 7 | Noel Ryan | AUS | 4:59.7 | ||
| 8 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 5:02.1 | ||
| 9 | Paolo Costoli | ITA | 5:06.0 | ||
| 10 | Giuseppe Perentin | ITA | 5:10.5 | ||
| 11 | Walter Spence | CAN | 5:15.6 |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takashi Yokoyama | JPN | 4:51.4 | ||
| 2 | Jean Taris | FRA | 4:52.3 | ||
| 3 | Tsutomu Oyokota | JPN | 4:52.8 | ||
| 4 | Jim Gilhula | USA | 4:55.4 | ||
| 5 | Noel Ryan | AUS | 4:59.7 | ||
| 6 | Paolo Costoli | ITA | 5:06.0 |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 4:52.7 | ||
| 2 | Noboru Sugimoto | JPN | 4:59.0 | ||
| 3 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 5:02.1 | ||
| 4 | Giuseppe Perentin | ITA | 5:10.5 | ||
| 5 | Walter Spence | CAN | 5:15.6 |
| Date | 10 August 1932 — 15:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 4:48.4 | ||
| 2 | Jean Taris | FRA | 4:48.5 | ||
| 3 | Tsutomu Oyokota | JPN | 4:52.3 | ||
| 4 | Takashi Yokoyama | JPN | 4:52.5 | ||
| 5 | Noboru Sugimoto | JPN | 4:56.1 | ||
| 6 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 4:58.6 |
