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Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle

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Women's 400 metre freestyle
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
VenueTokyo Aquatics Centre
Dates25 July 2021 (heats)
26 July 2021 (final)
Competitors26 from 19 nations
Winning time3:56.69
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Ariarne Titmus  Australia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Katie Ledecky  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Li Bingjie  China
← 2016
2024 →

The women's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 25 to 26 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] It was the event's twenty-third consecutive appearance, having been held at every edition since 1924.

Summary

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In one of the most anticipated races at these Games, Australia's Ariarne Titmus came from behind to hand the U.S.' defending Olympic champion Katie Ledecky her first-ever individual Olympic loss and become the first Australian to win the event since Shane Gould in 1972. Trailing Ledecky by nearly a body length at the halfway mark, Titmus launched a blistering final hundred to win the gold in 3:56.69, registering the second fastest time in history. While Ledecky took the early lead, she was unable to overtake Titmus in the final lap, settling for the silver in 3:57.36.

Meanwhile, China's Li Bingjie reset her Asian Record for the second time in as many days to take the bronze nearly four seconds back in 4:01.08. Whilst Canada's Summer McIntosh was third at the final turn, she faded down the stretch to finish fourth in a Canadian Record of 4:02.42. China's Tang Muhan (4:04.10), Germany's Isabel Gose (4:04.98), the U.S. Paige Madden (4:06.81) and New Zealand's Erika Fairweather (4:08:81) rounded out the championship field, with all four swimmers slower than their preliminary times.

The medals for competition were presented by John Coates, IOC Vice-President, and the gifts were presented by Penny Heyns, FINA Bureau Member.

Records

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Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record  Katie Ledecky (USA) 3:56.46 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 7 August 2016 [2][3]
Olympic record  Katie Ledecky (USA) 3:56.46 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 7 August 2016 [2][3]

No new records were set during the competition.

Qualification

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The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event was 4:07.90. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) could automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time was 4:15.34. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time was eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events was reached. NOCs without a female swimmer qualified in any event could also use their universality place.[4]

Competition format

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The competition consisted of two rounds: heats and a final. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the heats advanced to the final. Swim-offs were to be used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.[5]

Schedule

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All times are Japan standard time (UTC+9)[1]

Date Time Round
Sunday, 25 July 2021 20:06 Heats
Monday, 26 July 2021 11:20 Final

Results

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Heats

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The swimmers with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.[6]

Rank Heat Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 3 4 Katie Ledecky  United States 4:00.45 Q
2 3 5 Li Bingjie  China 4:01.57 Q, AS
3 4 4 Ariarne Titmus  Australia 4:01.66 Q
4 4 8 Erika Fairweather  New Zealand 4:02.28 Q, NR
5 3 6 Summer McIntosh  Canada 4:02.72 Q, NR
6 3 2 Isabel Gose  Germany 4:03.21 Q, NR
7 4 6 Paige Madden  United States 4:03.98 Q
8 4 2 Tang Muhan  China 4:04.07 Q
9 4 3 Tamsin Cook  Australia 4:04.80
10 4 5 Ajna Késely  Hungary 4:05.34
11 4 1 Waka Kobori  Japan 4:05.57
12 2 3 Julia Hassler  Liechtenstein 4:06.98 NR
13 2 5 Joanna Evans  Bahamas 4:07.50
14 3 7 Anastasiya Kirpichnikova  ROC 4:08.01
15 3 3 Anna Egorova  ROC 4:08.24
16 3 8 Beril Böcekler  Turkey 4:08.27
17 2 6 Marlene Kahler  Austria 4:08.37 NR
18 4 7 Leonie Kullmann  Germany 4:10.25
19 2 4 Merve Tuncel  Turkey 4:11.06
20 3 1 Miyu Namba  Japan 4:13.49
21 2 2 Han Da-kyung  South Korea 4:16.49
22 2 7 Sasha Gatt  Malta 4:19.75
23 2 1 Tiana Rabarijaona  Madagascar 4:28.41
24 1 4 Eda Zeqiri  Kosovo 4:38.02
25 1 5 Talita Te Flan  Ivory Coast 4:38.92
26 1 3 Natalia Kuipers  Virgin Islands 4:39.42

Final

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[7]

Rank Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 3 Ariarne Titmus  Australia 3:56.69 OC
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 Katie Ledecky  United States 3:57.36
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 Li Bingjie  China 4:01.08 AS
4 2 Summer McIntosh  Canada 4:02.42 NR
5 8 Tang Muhan  China 4:04.10
6 7 Isabel Gose  Germany 4:04.98
7 1 Paige Madden  United States 4:06.81
8 6 Erika Fairweather  New Zealand 4:08.01

References

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  1. ^ a b "Tokyo 2020: Swimming Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Katie Ledecky Smashes 400 Free World Record; Earns First Gold Medal For USA". Swimming World Magazine. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b Johnson, Raphielle (8 August 2016). "Katie Ledecky wins 400 free, shatters WR; Smith third". NBC Olympics. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (pdf). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  5. ^ "FINA Swimming Rulebook, 2017–21" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Heats results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.