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.
| Women's 400 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Tokyo Aquatics Centre | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 25 July 2021 (heats) 26 July 2021 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 26 from 19 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 3:56.69 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
← 2016
2024 →
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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.
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.
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]
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]
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 |
The swimmers with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.[6]
| Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
3 | Ariarne Titmus |  Australia |
3:56.69 | OC |
 |
4 | Katie Ledecky | United States |
3:57.36 | |
 |
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 |
