| Event: | Men's 400 metre freestyle |
| Games: | 1928 Summer |
| Venue: | Olympic Sports Park Swim Stadium |
| Date: | 7–9 August |
| Competitors: | 26 |
| Nations: | 17 |
| Gold: | Alberto Zorrilla |
| Goldnoc: | ARG |
| Silver: | Boy Charlton |
| Silvernoc: | AUS |
| Bronze: | Arne Borg |
| Bronzenoc: | SWE |
| Prev: | 1924 |
| Next: | 1932 |
The men's 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Tuesday to Thursday, 7 to 9 August 1928.
Twenty-six swimmers from 17 nations competed.
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 4:50.3 |  Arne Borg | Stockholm (SWE) | 11 September 1925 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | 5:04.2 |  Johnny Weissmuller | Paris (FRA) | 18 July 1924 |
In the final Alberto Zorrilla bettered the Olympic record to 5:01.6 minutes.
Tuesday 7 August 1928: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced.
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:13.4 | ||||
| 2 | 5:23.4 | ||||
| 3 | 5:27.8 | ||||
| 4 | Unknown |
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:09.8 | ||||
| 2 | 5:17.8 | ||||
| 3 | 5:20.0 | ||||
| 4 | 5:41.0 | ||||
| 5 | Unknown |
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:18.8 | ||||
| 2 | 5:20.0 | ||||
| 3 | 5:39.8 | ||||
| 4 | 5:39.8 |
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:09.6 | ||||
| 2 | 5:26.4 | ||||
| 3 | 5:32.0 | ||||
| 4 | 5:35.2 |
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:22.8 | ||||
| 2 | 5:23.0 | ||||
| 3 | Unknown | ||||
| 4 | Unknown | ||||
| 5 | Unknown |
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:19.2 | ||||
| 2 | 5:32.8 | ||||
| 3 | 5:38.6 | ||||
| 4 | Unknown |
Wednesday 8 August 1928: The fastest three in each semi-final advanced to the final.
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:11.4 | |||
| 2 | 5:13.6 | |||
| 3 | 5:20.6 | |||
| 4 | Unknown | |||
| 5 | Unknown | |||
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:05.4 | ||||
| 2 | 5:06.2 | ||||
| 3 | 5:06.8 | ||||
| 4 | Unknown | ||||
| 5 | Unknown | ||||
| 6 | Unknown |
Friday 10 August 1928:
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:01.6 | |||||
| 5:03.6 | |||||
| 5:04.6 | |||||
| 4 | 5:05.4 | ||||
| 5 | 5:16.0 | ||||
| 6 | 5:25.0 |