| | Event type

1,500 metres Freestyle, Men

Date	11 – 13 August 1932
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympic Park Swimming Stadium, Los Angeles, California
Participants	15 from 8 countries

Any expectations of another duel between the two main protagonists in the 400 metre event were extinguished when a pair of Japanese schoolboys dominated the semi-finals. At just seventeen years old, Shozo Makino was still two and a half years older than his team-mate Kuzuo Kitamura. The final did indeed develop into a battle between the two but followed a different pattern to the 400 metres as they swam together for the first 300 metres before Kitamura pulled ahead over the last two lengths. At 14 years, 309 days old, Kuzuo Kitamura remains to this day the youngest male winner of an individual Olympic gold medal. Both the Japanese came close to Arne Borg’s supposedly unbeatable world record.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	Kuzuo Kitamura	JPN	19:55.2 (1 h1)	19:51.6 (1 h1)	19:12.4 (1)	Gold
2	Shozo Makino	JPN	19:53.3 (1 h4)	19:38.7 (1 h2)	19:14.1 (2)	Silver
3	Jim Cristy	USA	19:58.4 (1 h2)	20:06.9 (3 h1)	19:39.5 (3)	Bronze
4	Noel Ryan	AUS	20:12.6 (2 h3)	19:52.5 (3 h2)	19:45.1 (4)
5	Buster Crabbe	USA	20:01.0 (2 h1)	19:51.8 (2 h2)	20:02.7 (5)
6	Jean Taris	FRA	20:01.2 (3 h1)	20:04.2 (2 h1)	20:09.7 (6)
4 h1 r2/3	Sunao Ishiharada	JPN	20:09.5 (=2 h2)	20:31.2 (4 h1)	–
4 h2 r2/3	Boy Charlton	AUS	20:09.5 (=2 h2)	19:53.1 (4 h2)	–
5 h1 r2/3	Paolo Costoli	ITA	20:48.1 (2 h4)	20:58.7 (5 h1)	–
5 h2 r2/3	Ralph Flanagan	USA	20:06.0 (1 h3)	20:03.7 (5 h2)	–
3 h3 r1/3	Giuseppe Perentin	ITA	21:04.5 (3 h3)	–	–
3 h4 r1/3	George Burrows	CAN	22:19.6 (3 h4)	–	–
4 h1 r1/3	Nalin Malik	IND	23:52.4 (4 h1)	–	–
4 h3 r1/3	Ignacio Gutiérrez	MEX	22:39.2 (4 h3)	–	–
4 h4 r1/3	Manuel Villegas	MEX	23:40.0 (4 h4)	–	–

Round One (11 August 1932)

Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the semi-finals.

Heat One (10:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m	1,300 m	1400 m	Time
1	–	Kuzuo Kitamura	JPN	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:55.2	Q
2	–	Buster Crabbe	USA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:01.0	Q
3	–	Jean Taris	FRA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:01.2	q
4	–	Nalin Malik	IND	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	23:52.4

Heat Two (11:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m	1,300 m	1400 m	Time
1	–	Jim Cristy	USA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:58.4	Q
=2	–	Sunao Ishiharada	JPN	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:09.5	Q
=2	–	Boy Charlton	AUS	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:09.5	Q

Heat Three (15:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m	1,300 m	1400 m	Time
1	–	Ralph Flanagan	USA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:06.0	Q
2	–	Noel Ryan	AUS	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:12.6	Q
3	–	Giuseppe Perentin	ITA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	21:04.5
4	–	Ignacio Gutiérrez	MEX	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	22:39.2

Heat Four (15:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m	1,300 m	1400 m	Time
1	–	Shozo Makino	JPN	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:53.3	Q
2	–	Paolo Costoli	ITA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:48.1	Q
3	–	George Burrows	CAN	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	22:19.6
4	–	Manuel Villegas	MEX	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	23:40.0

Semi-Finals (12 August 1932 — 15:20)

Top three in each heat advanced to the final.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m	1,300 m	1400 m	Time
1	–	Kuzuo Kitamura	JPN	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:51.6	QOR
2	–	Jean Taris	FRA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:04.2	Q
3	–	Jim Cristy	USA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:06.9	Q
4	–	Sunao Ishiharada	JPN	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:31.2
5	–	Paolo Costoli	ITA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:58.7

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m	1,300 m	1400 m	Time
1	–	Shozo Makino	JPN	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:38.7	QOR
2	–	Buster Crabbe	USA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:51.8	Q
3	–	Noel Ryan	AUS	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:52.5	Q
4	–	Boy Charlton	AUS	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:53.1
5	–	Ralph Flanagan	USA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:03.7

Final (13 August 1932 — 15:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m	1,300 m	1400 m	Time
1	–	Kuzuo Kitamura	JPN	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:12.4	OR
2	–	Shozo Makino	JPN	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:14.1
3	–	Jim Cristy	USA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:39.5
4	–	Noel Ryan	AUS	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	19:45.1
5	–	Buster Crabbe	USA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:02.7
6	–	Jean Taris	FRA	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	– –	20:09.7