400 metres Freestyle, Women

The favorite was Trudy Ederle, who had broken multiple swimming world records since 1922, and would in 1926 become the first woman to swim the English Channel. Unfortunately for her, she had a poor Olympics, failing to win an individual gold medal.

Martha Norelius was from an Olympic family. Her father and coach, Charles Norelius, had appeared for Sweden in the swimming events of 1906. She would set world records at every distance between 200 and 1500 metres during her career. The 400 was her best distance and, although just 16 years old in 1924, she edged out her teammates Ederle and Helen Wainwright, who had led the field for most of the race, for the gold medal. Wainwright achieved a rare feat in adding this silver to another she had won in the springboard diving event, four years previously in Antwerp.