| Event: | Women's 400 metre freestyle |
| Games: | 2011 |
| Venue: | Scotiabank Aquatics Center |
| Dates: | October 17 (preliminaries and finals) |
| Win Label: | Winning score |
| Gold: | Gillian Ryan |
| Goldnoc: | USA |
| Silver: | Andreina Pinto |
| Silvernoc: | VEN |
| Bronze: | Kristel Kobrich |
| Bronzenoc: | CHI |
| Prev: | 2007 |
| Next: | 2015 |
The women's 400 metre freestyle competition of the swimming events at the 2011 Pan American Games took place on October 17 at the Scotiabank Aquatics Center in the municipality of Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico.[1] The defending Pan American Games champion was Jessica Rodriquez of the United States.
This race consisted of eight lengths of the pool, all lengths being in freestyle.[2]
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Pan American Games records were as follows:
| World record | 3:59.15 | Rome, Italy | July 26, 2009 | ||
| Pan American Games record | 4:10.48 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | August 13, 2003 |
Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) was able to enter up to two entrants providing they had met the A standard (4:19.9) in the qualifying period (January 1, 2010 to September 4, 2011). NOCs were also permitted to enter one athlete providing they had met the B standard (4:27.7) in the same qualifying period.[2]
All times are in minutes and seconds.
| KEY: | bgcolor=ccffcc align=center | q | Fastest non-qualifiers | bgcolor=ccffcc align=center | Q | Qualified | align=center | NR | National record | align=center | PB | Personal best | align=center | SB | Seasonal best |
The first round was held on October 17.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 | align=left | align=left | 4:16.12 | QA | |||
| 2 | 3 | 5 | align=left | align=left | 4:16.23 | QA | |||
| 3 | 1 | 4 | align=left | align=left | 4:16.51 | QA | |||
| 4 | 1 | 5 | align=left | align=left | 4:16.91 | QA | |||
| 5 | 1 | 6 | align=left | align=left | 4:16.96 | QA | |||
| 6 | 1 | 3 | align=left | align=left | 4:18.85 | QA | |||
| 7 | 3 | 4 | align=left | align=left | 4:19.16 | QA | |||
| 8 | 2 | 5 | align=left | align=left | 4:20.16 | QA | |||
| 9 | 3 | 2 | align=left | align=left | 4:22.56 | QB | |||
| 10 | 2 | 2 | align=left | align=left | 4:22.97 | QB | |||
| 11 | 2 | 6 | align=left | align=left | 4:23.04 | QB | |||
| 12 | 1 | 2 | align=left | align=left | 4:24.81 | QB | |||
| 13 | 3 | 3 | align=left | align=left | 4:26.05 | QB | |||
| 14 | 2 | 3 | align=left | align=left | 4:26.80 | QB | |||
| 15 | 3 | 6 | align=left | align=left | 4:30.23 | QB | |||
| 16 | 3 | 7 | align=left | align=left | 4:33.75 | QB | |||
| 17 | 2 | 7 | align=left | align=left | 4:57.58 |
The B final was also held on October 17.[3]
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2 | align=left | align=left | 4:18.11 | ||||
| 10 | 4 | align=left | align=left | 4:20.13 | ||||
| 11 | 6 | align=left | align=left | 4:23.53 | ||||
| 12 | 3 | align=left | align=left | 4:26.36 | ||||
| 13 | 1 | align=left | align=left | 4:26.76 | ||||
| 14 | 7 | align=left | align=left | 4:27.31 | ||||
| 15 | 5 | align=left | align=left | 4:29.35 |
The A final was also held on October 17.
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 4:11.58 | |||||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 4:11.81 | |||||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 4:13.31 | |||||
| 4 | 7 | align=left | align=left | 4:13.71 | ||||
| 5 | 2 | align=left | align=left | 4:15.41 | ||||
| 6 | 6 | align=left | align=left | 4:17.20 | ||||
| 7 | 8 | align=left | align=left | 4:17.55 | ||||
| 8 | 1 | align=left | align=left | 4:20.51 |