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

The men's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] It will be the event's twenty-seventh consecutive appearance, having been held at every edition since 1904.

Men's 400 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Venue	Tokyo Aquatics Centre
Dates	TBC

Records

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

World record	Paul Biedermann (GER)	3:40.07	Rome, Italy	26 July 2009	[2]
Olympic record	Sun Yang (CHN)	3:40.14	London, Great Britain	28 July 2012	[3]

Qualification

The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event is 3:46.78. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) can automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time is 3:53.58. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time is eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events is reached. NOCs without a male swimmer qualified in any event can also use their universality place.[4]

Competition format

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

Schedule

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

Date	Time	Round
TBC	19:00	Heats
TBC	10:30	Final

Results

Heats

The swimmers with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advance to the final.

References

1. "Tokyo 2020: Swimming Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
2. Cowley, Michael (27 July 2009). "Thorpe's mark tumbles in night of world records". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
3. "Olympic swimming: China's Sun Yang beats rival Park to gold". BBC Sport. 28 July 2012. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
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.