Swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metre freestyle

The men's 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the sixth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Monday August 8, 1932 to Wednesday August 10, 1932.

Nineteen swimmers from ten nations competed. The winning margin was 0.1 seconds which as of 2023 remains the narrowest winning margin in this event at the Olympics.

Medalists

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Gold Silver Bronze
Buster Crabbe
 United States
Jean Taris
 France
Tsutomu Ōyokota
 Japan

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics.

World Record 4:47.0 France Jean Taris Paris (FRA) April 16, 1931
Olympic Record 5:01.6 Argentina Alberto Zorrilla Amsterdam (NED) August 9, 1928

In the first heat Takashi Yokoyama set a new Olympic record with 4:53.2 minutes. He bettered this record in the first semi-final with 4:51.4 minutes. But in the final Buster Crabbe took the Olympic record with 4:48.4 minutes.

Results

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Heats

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Monday August 8, 1932: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced to the final.

Heat 1

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Takashi Yokoyama (JPN) 4:53.2 QQ OR
2  James Gilhula (USA) 4:53.3 QQ
3  George Burrows (CAN) 5:28.9

Heat 2

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Buster Crabbe (USA) 4:59.8 QQ
2  Noboru Sugimoto (JPN) 5:00.2 QQ
3  Norman Wainwright (GBR) 5:12.0
4  Ignacio Gutiérrez (MEX) 5:29.1

Heat 3

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Boy Charlton (AUS) 4:59.8 QQ
2  Paolo Costoli (ITA) 5:06.7 QQ
3  Walter Spence (CAN) 5:10.0 qq
4  Gyula Kánásy (HUN) 5:40.8
5  Manuel Villegas (MEX) 5:54.2

Heat 4

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Jean Taris (FRA) 4:53.3 QQ
2  Giuseppe Perentin (ITA) 5:09.1 QQ
3  Bob Leivers (GBR) 5:14.6
4  Nalin Malik (IND) 5:59.0

Heat 5

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Noel Ryan (AUS) 5:01.9 QQ
2  Tsutomu Ōyokota (JPN) 5:06.3 QQ
3  George Larson (CAN) 5:20.1

Semifinals

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Wednesday August 10, 1932: The fastest three in each semi-final advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Takashi Yokoyama (JPN) 4:51.4 QQ OR
2  Jean Taris (FRA) 4:52.3 QQ
3  Tsutomu Ōyokota (JPN) 4:52.8 QQ
4  James Gilhula (USA) 4:55.4
5  Noel Ryan (AUS) 4:59.7
6  Paolo Costoli (ITA) 5:06.0

Semifinal 2

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Buster Crabbe (USA) 4:52.7 QQ
2  Noboru Sugimoto (JPN) 4:59.0 QQ
3  Boy Charlton (AUS) 5:02.1 QQ
4  Giuseppe Perentin (ITA) 5:10.5
5  Walter Spence (CAN) 5:15.6

Final

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Wednesday August 10, 1932:

Place Swimmer Time
1  Buster Crabbe (USA) 4:48.4 OR
2  Jean Taris (FRA) 4:48.5
3  Tsutomu Ōyokota (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

References

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  1. ^ "Swimming at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's 400 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
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