| Event: | Women's 400 metre freestyle |
| Games: | 1924 Summer |
| Date: | July 13–15 |
| Competitors: | 18 |
| Nations: | 8 |
| Gold: | Martha Norelius |
| Goldnoc: | USA |
| Silver: | Helen Wainwright |
| Silvernoc: | USA |
| Bronze: | Gertrude Ederle |
| Bronzenoc: | USA |
| Next: | 1928 |
The women's 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the first appearance of the event, in 1920 a 300 metre race was contested. The competition was held from Sunday July 13, 1924, to Tuesday July 15, 1924.
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 5:53.2 |  Gertrude Ederle | Indianapolis (USA) | August 4, 1922 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | - | none | - | - |
In the first heat Gertrude Ederle set the first Olympic record for this event with 6:12.2 minutes. In the final Martha Norelius won with the new Olympic record of 6:02.2 minutes.
Sunday July 13, 1924: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced.
Heat 1
| Place | width=220 | Swimmer | width=90 | Time | width=90 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:12.2 | QQ OR | ||||
| 2 | 6:28.6 | |||||
| 3 | 6:58.2 | |||||
| 4 | 7:05.4 | |||||
| 5 | 7:06.4 |
Heat 2
| Place | width=220 | Swimmer | width=90 | Time | width=90 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:23.2 | |||||
| 2 | 6:34.6 | |||||
| 3 | 7:15.0 | |||||
| 4 | 7:35.0 |
Heat 3
| Place | width=220 | Swimmer | width=90 | Time | width=90 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:46.8 | |||||
| 2 | 6:58.2 | |||||
| 3 | 7:02.2 | |||||
| 4 | 7:55.0 | |||||
| 5 | 8:14.0 |
Heat 4
| Place | width=220 | Swimmer | width=90 | Time | width=90 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:23.6 | |||||
| 2 | 6:35.4 | |||||
| 3 | 6:59.8 | |||||
| 4 | 7:02.4 |
Monday July 14, 1924: The fastest two in each semi-final and the faster of the two third-placed swimmer advanced to the final.
Semifinal 1
| Place | width=220 | Swimmer | width=90 | Time | width=90 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:19.6 | QF | ||||
| 2 | 6:19.8 | QF | ||||
| 3 | 6:24.4 | qf | ||||
| 4 | 6:37.8 | |||||
| 5 | 6:56.6 |
Semifinal 2
| Place | width=220 | Swimmer | width=90 | Time | width=90 | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:23.8 | QF | ||||
| 2 | 6:26.6 | QF | ||||
| 3 | 6:34.0 | |||||
| 4 | 6:55.2 |
Tuesday July 15, 1924:
| Place | width=220 | Swimmer | width=90 | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:02.2 OR | |||
| 2 | 6:03.8 | |||
| 3 | 6:04.8 | |||
| 4 | 6:25.4 | |||
| — | DNF |