Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metre freestyle
| Men's 400 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | ||||||||||
| Venue | London Aquatics Centre | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | July 28, 2012 (heats & final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 28 from 23 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 3:40.14 OR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freestyle | ||||
| 50 m | men | women | ||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | women | ||
| 800 m | women | |||
| 1500 m | men | |||
| Backstroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Breaststroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Butterfly | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Individual medley | ||||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | women | ||
| Freestyle relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | men | women | ||
| 4×200 m | men | women | ||
| Medley relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | men | women | ||
| Marathon | ||||
| 10 km | men | women | ||
The men's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 28 July at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.[1]
Sun Yang made a historic milestone to become China's first ever male gold medalist in swimming, as he continued to build another Asian supremacy for the event, together with an Olympic record. He held off South Korea's defending champion Park Tae-Hwan on the final stretch to effortlessly secure the gold medal in a sterling time of 3:40.14, cutting off Ian Thorpe's 2000 Olympic record by nearly half a second.[2][3]
Meanwhile, Park ended a dramatic day with a silver medal in his pocket at 3:42.06. Earlier in the prelims, he was disqualified for an immediate false start from heat three, but reinstated in the final after the Korean Swimming Federation filed an appeal.[4][5] U.S. swimmer Peter Vanderkaay added a second individual bronze and fourth career medal to his Olympic hardware in 3:44.69.[6][7]
China's Hao Yun (3:46.02), Vanderkaay's teammate Conor Dwyer (3:46.39), Hungary's Gergő Kis (3:47.03), Great Britain's David Carry (3:48.62), and Australia's Ryan Napoleon (3:49.25) also vied for an Olympic medal to round out the championship field.[6]
Notable swimmers missed the final roster including Canada's Ryan Cochrane, who was bumped out of the lineup to ninth (3:47.26) after Park's disqualification had been overturned; and Biedermann, who struggled to keep his form with a thirteenth-place effort in the prelims (3:48.50).[8][9]
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 | [10] |
| Olympic record |  Ian Thorpe (AUS) | 3:40.59 | Sydney, Australia | 16 September 2000 | [11] |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 28 | Final | Sun Yang |  China | 3:40.14 | OR |
Results
Heats
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 4 | Sun Yang | China | 3:40.14 | OR, AS |
 | 6 | Park Tae-Hwan |  South Korea | 3:42.06 | |
 | 5 | Peter Vanderkaay |  United States | 3:44.69 | |
| 4 | 7 | Hao Yun | China | 3:46.02 | |
| 5 | 3 | Conor Dwyer | United States | 3:46.39 | |
| 6 | 2 | Gergő Kis |  Hungary | 3:47.03 | |
| 7 | 8 | David Carry |  Great Britain | 3:48.62 | |
| 8 | 1 | Ryan Napoleon | Australia | 3:49.25 |
References
- ↑ "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Clarey, Christopher (28 July 2012). "New Pecking Order in Pool as China Wins Two Golds". New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Olympic swimming: China's Sun Yang beats rival Park to gold". BBC Sport. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "2012 London Olympics: Tae Hwan Park Wins Appeal, Returns to 400 Free Field". Swimming World Magazine. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Park Tae-hwan Graceful in Defeat After DQ-Plagued 400-m Freestyle". The Chosun Ilbo. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- 1 2 "2012 London Olympics: Sun Yang Lowers Asian, Olympic Record; Rattles World Record in 400 Freestyle Victory". Swimming World Magazine. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Dillman, Lisa (28 July 2012). "London Olympics: Peter Vanderkaay wins bronze in 400-meter free". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "2012 London Olympics: China's Sun Yang Cruises to Top Seed in 400 Free; Defending Gold Medalist Tae Hwan Park Disqualified, But Wins Appeal". Swimming World Magazine. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Canadian Cochrane bumped from 400m free final". CBC Sports. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Cowley, Michael (27 July 2009). "Thorpe's mark tumbles in night of world records". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Harris, Beth (16 September 2000). "Thorpe Sets World Mark, Thompson Wins 6th Gold". ABC News. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ↑ "Men's 400m Freestyle – Heats". London 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.