| Date | 7 – 9 August 1928 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Zwemstadion, Amsterdam |
| Participants | 26 from 17 countries |
Johnny Weissmuller of the USA was the champion four years earlier in Paris, but did not defend his title in Amsterdam. The USA was still well represented by a trio of top class swimmers, Argentina by the New York-based Alberto Zorrilla, and the two other medalists from Paris, Arne Borg and Andrew “Boy” Charlton, returned with strong chances to upgrade their medals to gold.
It was Borg who recorded the fastest times in both heat and semi-final, as the fancied contenders all the made their way to the final. Borg and Charlton were old rivals and seemed more intent on watching each other than the other swimmers and, although the two men fought for the lead throughout the race, Zorrilla was able to move through from an outside draw and win Argentina’s first Olympic swimming championship by two clear seconds. The Argentine was an all-round sportsman, also excelling at rowing, boxing and athletics. His plan to defend his title in Los Angeles was thwarted by illness.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberto Zorrilla |  ARG | 5:19.2 (1 h6) | 5:11.4 (1 h1) | 5:01.6 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Boy Charlton |  AUS | 5:23.0 (2 h5) | 5:13.6 (2 h1) | 5:03.6 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Arne Borg |  SWE | 5:09.6 (1 h4) | 5:05.4 (1 h2) | 5:04.6 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Buster Crabbe |  USA | 5:09.8 (1 h2) | 5:06.2 (2 h2) | 5:05.4 (4) | |||
| 5 | Austin Clapp | USA | 5:13.4 (1 h1) | 5:06.8 (3 h2) | 5:16.0 (5) | |||
| 6 | Ray Ruddy | USA | 5:26.4 (2 h4) | 5:20.6 (3 h1) | 5:25.0 (6) | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | Garnet Ault |  CAN | 5:18.8 (1 h3) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Katsuo Takaishi |  JPN | 5:22.8 (1 h5) | – (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | Hiroshi Yoneyama | JPN | 5:17.8 (2 h2) | – (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | Herbert Heinrich |  GER | 5:20.0 (2 h3) | – (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | Albert Vandeplancke |  FRA | 5:20.0 (3 h2) | – (6 h2) | – | |||
| 2 h1 r1/3 | Nobuo Arai | JPN | 5:23.4 (2 h1) | – (DNS h1) | – | |||
| 2 h6 r1/3 | Jack Hatfield |  GBR | 5:32.8 (2 h6) | – (DNS h1) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | Friedel Berges | GER | 5:27.8 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | Václav Antoš |  TCH | 5:39.8 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | Walter Handschuhmacher | GER | 5:32.0 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 3 h5 r1/3 | Paolo Costoli |  ITA | – (3 h5) | – | – | |||
| 3 h6 r1/3 | Dave Lindsay |  NZL | 5:38.6 (3 h6) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Jimmy Thompson | CAN | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Géza Szigritz |  HUN | 5:41.0 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Tuburan Tamse |  PHI | – (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Rezső Wanié | HUN | 5:35.2 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/3 | Adán Gordón |  PAN | – (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 4 h6 r1/3 | Billy Broderick |  IRL | – (4 h6) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | Arthur Watts | GBR | – (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | Hernán Téllez |  CHI | – (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| D. D. Mulji |  IND | – (DNS h6) | – | – | ||||
| Paul Radmilovic | GBR | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| Giuseppe Perentin | ITA | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| Renato Bacigalupo | ITA | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| Jean Taris | FRA | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| Rafał Kratochwila |  POL | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| Fred Rödiger |  AUT | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
| Date | 7 August 1928 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Austin Clapp | USA | 5:13.4 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Nobuo Arai | JPN | 5:23.4 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Friedel Berges | GER | 5:27.8 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Jimmy Thompson | CAN | – | ||
| 2 | Paul Radmilovic | GBR | – | |||
| 3 | Giuseppe Perentin | ITA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 5:09.8 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Hiroshi Yoneyama | JPN | 5:17.8 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Albert Vandeplancke | FRA | 5:20.0 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Géza Szigritz | HUN | 5:41.0 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Arthur Watts | GBR | – | ||
| 4 | Renato Bacigalupo | ITA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Garnet Ault | CAN | 5:18.8 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Herbert Heinrich | GER | 5:20.0 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Václav Antoš | TCH | 5:39.8 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Tuburan Tamse | PHI | – | ||
| 5 | Jean Taris | FRA | – | |||
| 6 | Rafał Kratochwila | POL | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Arne Borg | SWE | 5:09.6 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Ray Ruddy | USA | 5:26.4 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Walter Handschuhmacher | GER | 5:32.0 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Rezső Wanié | HUN | 5:35.2 | ||
| 5 | Fred Rödiger | AUT | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Katsuo Takaishi | JPN | 5:22.8 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 5:23.0 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Paolo Costoli | ITA | – | ||
| 4 | 5 | Adán Gordón | PAN | – | ||
| 5 | 3 | Hernán Téllez | CHI | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Alberto Zorrilla | ARG | 5:19.2 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Jack Hatfield | GBR | 5:32.8 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Dave Lindsay | NZL | 5:38.6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Billy Broderick | IRL | – | ||
| 4 | D. D. Mulji | IND | – |
| Date | 8 August 1928 — 10:25 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top three in each heat advanced to the final. |
| Time | 10:25 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Alberto Zorrilla | ARG | 5:11.4 | ||
| 2 | 7 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 5:13.6 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Ray Ruddy | USA | 5:20.6 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Garnet Ault | CAN | – | ||
| 5 | 4 | Hiroshi Yoneyama | JPN | – | ||
| 3 | Jack Hatfield | GBR | – | |||
| 2 | Nobuo Arai | JPN | – |
| Time | 10:40 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Arne Borg | SWE | 5:05.4 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 5:06.2 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Austin Clapp | USA | 5:06.8 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Katsuo Takaishi | JPN | – | ||
| 5 | 5 | Herbert Heinrich | GER | – | ||
| 6 | 4 | Albert Vandeplancke | FRA | – |
| Date | 9 August 1928 — 16:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Alberto Zorrilla | ARG | 5:01.6 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Boy Charlton | AUS | 5:03.6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Arne Borg | SWE | 5:04.6 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Buster Crabbe | USA | 5:05.4 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Austin Clapp | USA | 5:16.0 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Ray Ruddy | USA | 5:25.0 |
