| | Event type
400 metres Breaststroke, Men
| Date | 22 – 25 August 1920 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Zwemstadion van Antwerpen, Antwerpen |
| Participants | 20 from 10 countries |
Sweden’s Håkan Malmrot swam comfortably in his heat, barely edging out Finland’s Arvo Aaltonen. But then in the semi-finals, he won by over 21 seconds and his margin in the final was a dominating 14 seconds. This was the last time this event was contested at the Olympics.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Håkan Malmrot |  SWE | 6:49.0 (1 h2) | 6:44.8 (1 h1) | 6:31.8 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Thor Henning | SWE | 6:46.2 (1 h1) | 6:45.0 (=1 h2) | 6:45.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Arvo Aaltonen |  FIN | 6:50.0 (2 h2) | 6:45.0 (=1 h2) | 6:48.0 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Jack Howell |  USA | 6:57.0 (1 h3) | 6:51.4 (3 h2) | 6:51.0 (4) | |||
| 5 | Per Cederblom | SWE | 7:14.0 (2 h3) | 7:05.6 (2 h1) | – (5) | |||
| 3 h1 r2/3 | Mike McDermott | USA | 7:12.8 (3 h1) | 7:13.2 (3 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | Henri Demiéville |  SUI | 7:12.4 (2 h4) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Olle Dickson | SWE | 7:12.0 (1 h4) | 6:59.0 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | Lucien Lebaillif |  FRA | 7:12.2 (2 h1) | – (5 h2) | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | Félicien Courbet |  BEL | 7:20.0 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | George Robertson |  GBR | 7:28.0 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | Stephen Ruddy | USA | 7:13.0 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Rex Lassam | GBR | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Charles Quinby | USA | – (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Émile Arbogast | FRA | – (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Édouard Van Haelen | BEL | – (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | Edmond Henry | BEL | – (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | Eduard Stibor |  TCH | – (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| AC h1 r1/3 | Sydney Gooday |  CAN | – (DNF h1) | – | – | DNF | ||
| AC h2 r1/3 | Luis Balcells |  ESP | – (DNF h2) | – | – | DNF |
Round One
| Date | 22 – 23 August 1920 — 16:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the semi-finals. |
Heat #1
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thor Henning | SWE | 6:46.2 | ||
| 2 | Lucien Lebaillif | FRA | 7:12.2 | ||
| 3 | Mike McDermott | USA | 7:12.8 | ||
| 4 | Rex Lassam | GBR | – | ||
| Sydney Gooday | CAN | – | 1 |
Heat #2
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Håkan Malmrot | SWE | 6:49.0 | ||
| 2 | Arvo Aaltonen | FIN | 6:50.0 | ||
| 3 | Félicien Courbet | BEL | 7:20.0 | ||
| 4 | Charles Quinby | USA | – | ||
| Luis Balcells | ESP | – | 2 |
Heat #3
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Howell | USA | 6:57.0 | ||
| 2 | Per Cederblom | SWE | 7:14.0 | ||
| 3 | George Robertson | GBR | 7:28.0 | ||
| 4 | Émile Arbogast | FRA | – | ||
| 5 | Edmond Henry | BEL | – |
Heat #4
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olle Dickson | SWE | 7:12.0 | ||
| 2 | Henri Demiéville | SUI | 7:12.4 | ||
| 3 | Stephen Ruddy | USA | 7:13.0 | ||
| 4 | Édouard Van Haelen | BEL | – | ||
| 5 | Eduard Stibor | TCH | – |
Semi-Finals
| Date | 24 August 1920 — 16:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the final. |
Heat #1
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Håkan Malmrot | SWE | 6:44.8 | ||
| 2 | Per Cederblom | SWE | 7:05.6 | ||
| 3 | Mike McDermott | USA | 7:13.2 | ||
| 4 | Henri Demiéville | SUI | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Thor Henning | SWE | 6:45.0 | ||
| =1 | Arvo Aaltonen | FIN | 6:45.0 | ||
| 3 | Jack Howell | USA | 6:51.4 | ||
| 4 | Olle Dickson | SWE | 6:59.0 | ||
| 5 | Lucien Lebaillif | FRA | – |
Final
| Date | 25 August 1920 — 16:15 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Håkan Malmrot | SWE | 6:31.8 | ||
| 2 | Thor Henning | SWE | 6:45.2 | ||
| 3 | Arvo Aaltonen | FIN | 6:48.0 | ||
| 4 | Jack Howell | USA | 6:51.0 | ||
| 5 | Per Cederblom | SWE | – |