| | Event type

400 metres Freestyle, Women

Date	31 July – 2 August 1952
Status	Olympic
Location	Helsingin Uimastadion, Helsinki
Participants	33 from 17 countries

The 400m Freestyle was destined to be a clash between Hungary, the USA and Denmark. The return of world record holder Ragnhild Hveger-Andersen, after a sixteen year Olympic absence, added to the talents of European champion Grete Andersen meant that Denmark would be well represented whilst a trio of talented Hungarians and the American pairing of Evelyn Kawamoto and Carolyn Green could not be discounted. For nearly 300 metres the impossible seemed about to happened as Hveger-Andersen, at 32 and coming back from a 7 year retirement, held off her younger rivals but her early efforts were in vain as four swimmers passed her. The gold medal was decided between two Hungarians, Valéria Gyenge and Éva Novák, with Gyenge edging her more experienced team-mate for the victory.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	586	Valéria Gyenge	HUN	5:22.6 (1 h3)	5:16.9 (1 h2)	5:12.1 (1)	Gold
2	583	Éva Novák	HUN	5:19.1 (1 h5)	5:21.3 (2 h1)	5:13.7 (2)	Silver
3	641	Evelyn Kawamoto	USA	5:16.6 (1 h4)	5:21.2 (1 h1)	5:14.6 (3)	Bronze
4	640	Carolyn Green	USA	5:23.8 (2 h3)	5:18.3 (2 h2)	5:16.5 (4)
5	549	Ragnhild Hveger	DEN	5:19.6 (1 h2)	5:19.5 (4 h2)	5:16.9 (5)
6	584	Éva Székely	HUN	5:20.9 (2 h2)	5:19.3 (3 h2)	5:17.9 (6)
7	–	Ana María Schultz	ARG	5:26.1 (1 h1)	5:22.0 (3 h1)	5:24.0 (7)
8	548	Greta Andersen	DEN	5:21.3 (2 h5)	5:22.1 (4 h1)	5:27.0 (8)
9	139	Joan Harrison	RSA	5:21.8 (3 h4)	5:23.1 (5 h1)	–
10	39	Judy-Joy Davies	AUS	5:21.2 (3 h2)	5:25.6 (6 h1)	–
11	–	Daphne Wilkinson	GBR	5:16.6 (2 h4)	5:27.2 (5 h2)	–
12	642	Delia Meulenkamp	USA	5:21.4 (4 h2)	5:27.9 (6 h2)	–
13	90	Piedade Coutinho-Tavares	BRA	5:26.9 (3 h5)	5:28.5 (7 h1)	–
14	37	Denise Norton	AUS	5:28.5 (4 h5)	5:30.9 (7 h2)	–
15	58	Huguette Peeters	BEL	5:29.8 (2 h1)	5:36.5 (8 h2)	–
16	482	Ingegärd Fredin	SWE	5:28.7 (4 h4)	– (DNS h1)	–
17	547	Mette Ove Petersen	DEN	5:30.6 (3 h1)	–	–
18	221	Grace Wood	GBR	5:31.2 (4 h1)	–	–
19	214	Lillian Preece	GBR	5:32.1 (5 h2)	–	–
20	441	Ginette Jany	FRA	5:32.6 (5 h4)	–	–
21	481	Marianne Lundquist	SWE	5:34.4 (5 h5)	–	–
22	444	Colette Thomas	FRA	5:36.8 (3 h3)	–	–
23	506	Elisabeth Rechlin	GER	5:38.0 (4 h3)	–	–
24	56	Sybille Verckist	BEL	5:40.1 (6 h2)	–	–
25	440	Josette Arène	FRA	5:44.1 (6 h5)	–	–
26	157	Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher	NED	5:45.2 (6 h4)	–	–
27	158	Hannie Termeulen	NED	5:45.5 (5 h3)	–	–
28	290	Sadako Yamashita	JPN	5:48.4 (7 h4)	–	–
29	323	Kay McNamee	CAN	5:50.5 (5 h1)	–	–
30	322	Gladys Priestley	CAN	5:52.7 (6 h3)	–	–
31	526	Ritva Järvinen	FIN	5:53.5 (7 h2)	–	–
32	171	Cynthia Eager	HKG	5:55.8 (7 h3)	–	–
33	295	Misako Tamura	JPN	5:59.0 (7 h5)	–	–
34	162	Geertje Wielema	NED	6:02.6 (6 h1)	–	–
DNS	188	Arati Saha	IND	– (DNS h1)	–	–

Round One

Date	31 July 1952 — 10:00
Format	Fastest 16 advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
=1	7	Evelyn Kawamoto	USA	5:16.6	QOR
=1	5	Daphne Wilkinson	GBR	5:16.6	Q=OR
3	4	Éva Novák	HUN	5:19.1	Q
4	1	Ragnhild Hveger	DEN	5:19.6	Q
5	4	Éva Székely	HUN	5:20.9	Q
6	6	Judy-Joy Davies	AUS	5:21.2	Q
7	7	Greta Andersen	DEN	5:21.3	Q
8	7	Delia Meulenkamp	USA	5:21.4	Q
9	6	Joan Harrison	RSA	5:21.8	Q
10	4	Valéria Gyenge	HUN	5:22.6	Q
11	5	Carolyn Green	USA	5:23.8	Q
12	3	Ana María Schultz	ARG	5:26.1	Q
13	6	Piedade Coutinho-Tavares	BRA	5:26.9	Q
14	3	Denise Norton	AUS	5:28.5	Q
15	3	Ingegärd Fredin	SWE	5:28.7	Q
16	2	Huguette Peeters	BEL	5:29.8	Q
17	4	Mette Ove Petersen	DEN	5:30.6
18	6	Grace Wood	GBR	5:31.2
19	3	Lillian Preece	GBR	5:32.1
20	2	Ginette Jany	FRA	5:32.6
21	1	Marianne Lundquist	SWE	5:34.4
22	6	Colette Thomas	FRA	5:36.8
23	1	Elisabeth Rechlin	GER	5:38.0
24	5	Sybille Verckist	BEL	5:40.1
25	5	Josette Arène	FRA	5:44.1
26	4	Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher	NED	5:45.2
27	7	Hannie Termeulen	NED	5:45.5
28	1	Sadako Yamashita	JPN	5:48.4
29	7	Kay McNamee	CAN	5:50.5
30	3	Gladys Priestley	CAN	5:52.7
31	2	Ritva Järvinen	FIN	5:53.5
32	2	Cynthia Eager	HKG	5:55.8
33	2	Misako Tamura	JPN	5:59.0
34	5	Geertje Wielema	NED	6:02.6
DNS	1	Arati Saha	IND	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	3	Ana María Schultz	ARG	5:26.1	Q
2	2	Huguette Peeters	BEL	5:29.8	Q
3	4	Mette Ove Petersen	DEN	5:30.6
4	6	Grace Wood	GBR	5:31.2
5	7	Kay McNamee	CAN	5:50.5
6	5	Geertje Wielema	NED	6:02.6
DNS	1	Arati Saha	IND	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	1	Ragnhild Hveger	DEN	5:19.6	Q
2	4	Éva Székely	HUN	5:20.9	Q
3	6	Judy-Joy Davies	AUS	5:21.2	Q
4	7	Delia Meulenkamp	USA	5:21.4	Q
5	3	Lillian Preece	GBR	5:32.1
6	5	Sybille Verckist	BEL	5:40.1
7	2	Ritva Järvinen	FIN	5:53.5

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Valéria Gyenge	HUN	5:22.6	Q
2	5	Carolyn Green	USA	5:23.8	Q
3	6	Colette Thomas	FRA	5:36.8
4	1	Elisabeth Rechlin	GER	5:38.0
5	7	Hannie Termeulen	NED	5:45.5
6	3	Gladys Priestley	CAN	5:52.7
7	2	Cynthia Eager	HKG	5:55.8

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	7	Evelyn Kawamoto	USA	5:16.6	QOR
2	5	Daphne Wilkinson	GBR	5:16.6	Q=OR
3	6	Joan Harrison	RSA	5:21.8	Q
4	3	Ingegärd Fredin	SWE	5:28.7	Q
5	2	Ginette Jany	FRA	5:32.6
6	4	Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher	NED	5:45.2
7	1	Sadako Yamashita	JPN	5:48.4

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Éva Novák	HUN	5:19.1	Q
2	7	Greta Andersen	DEN	5:21.3	Q
3	6	Piedade Coutinho-Tavares	BRA	5:26.9	Q
4	3	Denise Norton	AUS	5:28.5	Q
5	1	Marianne Lundquist	SWE	5:34.4
6	5	Josette Arène	FRA	5:44.1
7	2	Misako Tamura	JPN	5:59.0

Semi-Finals

Date	1 August 1952 — 10:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	2	Valéria Gyenge	HUN	5:16.9	Q
2	7	Carolyn Green	USA	5:18.3	Q
3	3	Éva Székely	HUN	5:19.3	Q
4	5	Ragnhild Hveger	DEN	5:19.5	Q
5	4	Evelyn Kawamoto	USA	5:21.2	Q
6	5	Éva Novák	HUN	5:21.3	Q
7	7	Ana María Schultz	ARG	5:22.0	Q
8	6	Greta Andersen	DEN	5:22.1	Q
9	2	Joan Harrison	RSA	5:23.1
10	3	Judy-Joy Davies	AUS	5:25.6
11	4	Daphne Wilkinson	GBR	5:27.2
12	6	Delia Meulenkamp	USA	5:27.9
13	1	Piedade Coutinho-Tavares	BRA	5:28.5
14	1	Denise Norton	AUS	5:30.9
15	8	Huguette Peeters	BEL	5:36.5
DNS	8	Ingegärd Fredin	SWE	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Evelyn Kawamoto	USA	5:21.2	Q
2	5	Éva Novák	HUN	5:21.3	Q
3	7	Ana María Schultz	ARG	5:22.0	Q
4	6	Greta Andersen	DEN	5:22.1	Q
5	2	Joan Harrison	RSA	5:23.1
6	3	Judy-Joy Davies	AUS	5:25.6
7	1	Piedade Coutinho-Tavares	BRA	5:28.5
DNS	8	Ingegärd Fredin	SWE	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	2	Valéria Gyenge	HUN	5:16.9	Q
2	7	Carolyn Green	USA	5:18.3	Q
3	3	Éva Székely	HUN	5:19.3	Q
4	5	Ragnhild Hveger	DEN	5:19.5	Q
5	4	Daphne Wilkinson	GBR	5:27.2
6	6	Delia Meulenkamp	USA	5:27.9
7	1	Denise Norton	AUS	5:30.9
8	8	Huguette Peeters	BEL	5:36.5

Final Round

Date	2 August 1952 — 17:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	Valéria Gyenge	HUN	5:12.1	1:13.3 (=4)	2:34.2 (4)	3:53.5 (1)	1:20.9 (3)	1:19.3 (2)	1:18.6 (2)	OR
2	7	Éva Novák	HUN	5:13.7	1:13.8 (7)	2:33.6 (3)	3:55.7 (3)	1:19.8 (1)	1:22.1 (5)	1:18.0 (1)
3	2	Evelyn Kawamoto	USA	5:14.6	1:12.7 (2)	2:32.9 (2)	3:54.9 (2)	1:20.2 (2)	1:22.0 (4)	1:19.7 (3)
4	5	Carolyn Green	USA	5:16.5	1:12.8 (3)	2:34.3 (5)	3:56.2 (=5)	1:21.5 (5)	1:21.9 (3)	1:20.3 (4)
5	6	Ragnhild Hveger	DEN	5:16.9	1:11.7 (1)	2:32.8 (1)	3:56.2 (=5)	1:21.1 (4)	1:23.4 (6)	1:20.7 (5)
6	3	Éva Székely	HUN	5:17.9	1:13.4 (6)	2:37.2 (8)	3:55.8 (4)	1:23.8 (8)	1:18.6 (1)	1:22.1 (6)
7	1	Ana María Schultz	ARG	5:24.0	1:13.3 (=4)	2:36.2 (6)	4:00.4 (7)	1:22.9 (7)	1:24.2 (7)	1:23.6 (7)
8	8	Greta Andersen	DEN	5:27.0	1:14.5 (8)	2:36.5 (7)	4:02.5 (8)	1:22.0 (6)	1:26.0 (8)	1:24.5 (8)