| Event: | Men's 800 metre freestyle |
| Games: | 2020 Summer |
| Venue: | Tokyo Aquatics Centre |
| Dates: | 27 July 2021 (heats) 29 July 2021 (final) |
| Competitors: | 33 |
| Nations: | 28 |
| Win Value: | 7:41.87 |
| Gold: | Bobby Finke |
| Goldnoc: | USA |
| Silver: | Gregorio Paltrinieri |
| Silvernoc: | ITA |
| Bronze: | Mykhailo Romanchuk |
| Bronzenoc: | UKR |
| Prev: | 1904 (880 yards) |
| Next: | 2024 |
The men's 800 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 27 and 29 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] It was the event's recurrence to the Games for the first time in over a century, having last been held in 1904 (at 880 yards).
The U.S.' Bobby Finke came from behind to win a surprise gold in the inaugural Olympic men's 800-meter freestyle. Fourth at the final turn, Finke unleashed a massive 26.39 split to overtake the field and lower the American record to 7:41.87. Earlier in the heats, Finke broke Michael McBroom's American record after coming into the meet with a personal best time of 7:48.22 set at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Swimming in lane 8, Italy's reigning World champion Gregorio Paltrinieri was out quickly and established a body-length lead at the 200 m mark. While Germany's Florian Wellbrock and Ukraine's Mykhailo Romanchuk gained control at the halfway stage, Paltrinieri overtook the duo to claim silver in 7:42.11. Despite setting the Olympic record in the heats, Romanchuk was unable to replicate the time and settled for bronze in 7:42.33. Wellbrock was also unable to repeat his German record from the heats, narrowly missing the podium by 0.35 seconds.
Australia's Jack McLoughlin, who claimed silver in the 400 m freestyle on night one, picked up the fifth spot with a 7:45.00 to hold off Ukraine's Serhiy Frolov (7:45.11) by 11 one-hundredths of a second. Austria's Felix Auboeck finished seventh in 7:49.14, with Brazil's Guilherme Costa (7:53.31) rounding out the top eight field.
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
The following record was established during the competition:
See main article: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event is 7:54.31. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) can automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time is 8:08.54. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time is eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events is reached. NOCs without a male swimmer qualified in any event can also use their universality place.[2]
The competition consists of two rounds: heats and a final. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the heats advance to the final. Swim-offs are used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.[3]
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)[1]
| Date | Time | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, 27 July 2021 | 20:17 | Heats | |
| Thursday, 29 July 2021 | 10:30 | Final |
The swimmers with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.[4]
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 | 7:41.28 | ,, NR | |||
| 2 | 4 | 3 | 7:41.77 | , NR | |||
| 3 | 4 | 7 | 7:42.72 | , NR | |||
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 7:45.73 | , NR | |||
| 5 | 5 | 7 | 7:46.09 | , SA | |||
| 6 | 5 | 3 | 7:46.94 | ||||
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 7:47.67 | ||||
| 8 | 5 | 4 | 7:47.73 | ||||
| 9 | 4 | 4 | 7:48.37 | ||||
| 10 | 4 | 6 | 7:49.14 | ||||
| 1 | 4 | NR | |||||
| 12 | 5 | 6 | 7:49.47 | ||||
| 13 | 5 | 1 | 7:49.97 | ||||
| 14 | 3 | 8 | 7:51.65 | NR | |||
| 15 | 3 | 5 | 7:52.07 | ||||
| 16 | 3 | 7 | 7:52.76 | ||||
| 17 | 4 | 8 | 7:53.00 | ||||
| 18 | 2 | 6 | 7:53.06 | NR | |||
| 19 | 3 | 1 | 7:53.50 | ||||
| 20 | 2 | 5 | 7:54.16 | ||||
| 21 | 4 | 1 | 7:54.98 | ||||
| 22 | 2 | 1 | 7:55.85 | ||||
| 23 | 2 | 4 | 7:56.15 | ||||
| 24 | 3 | 6 | 7:56.18 | ||||
| 25 | 3 | 4 | 7:57.53 | ||||
| 26 | 2 | 3 | 7:58.68 | ||||
| 27 | 2 | 7 | 7:58.71 | ||||
| 28 | 5 | 8 | 7:59.04 | ||||
| 29 | 5 | 5 | 8:00.16 | ||||
| 30 | 3 | 2 | 8:01.47 | ||||
| 31 | 1 | 3 | Marcelo Acosta | 8:03.01 | |||
| 32 | 1 | 5 | 8:04.79 | ||||
| 33 | 2 | 2 | 8:04.85 | ||||
| 3 | 3 |
| Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 7:41.87 | NR | ||||
| 8 | 7:42.11 | |||||
| 4 | 7:42.33 | |||||
| 4 | 5 | 7:42.68 | ||||
| 5 | 7 | 7:45.00 | ||||
| 6 | 1 | 7:45.11 | ||||
| 7 | 6 | 7:49.14 | ||||
| 8 | 2 | 7:53.31 |