| Event: | Swimming |
| Games: | 1964 Summer |
| Venue: | Yoyogi National Gymnasium |
| Dates: | 11–18 October 1964 |
| Num Events: | 18 |
| Competitors: | 405 |
| Nations: | 42 |
| Prev: | 1960 |
| Next: | 1968 |
At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, eighteen swimming events were contested, ten for men and eight for women.[1] There were a total of 405 participants from 42 countries competing.[2] For the first time, the 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay for men and the 400 metres individual medley for both men and women were contested. Olympic records were broken in all events and the world record was broken in ten events. This competition also marked the debut of electronic touchpads for timing.
15-year-old Sharon Stouder won four medals, three of them gold.
Swimming at the 1964 Olympics featured a total of 18 events (10 for men and 8 for women). On the men's side, the 100 metre backstroke was removed, but the 200 metre backstroke, 4x100 metre freestyle relay, and the 400 metre individual medley was added. On the women's side, the 400 metre individual medley was added. The following events were contested (all pool events are long course, and distances are in meters):
405 swimmers from 42 nations competed.[2]
| width=50 | valign=top | width=50 | valign=top | width=50 | valign=top |
| 100 m freestyle | 53.4 (OR) | 53.5 | 54.0 | ||||
| 400 m freestyle | 4:12.2 (WR) | 4:14.9 | 4:15.1 | ||||
| 1500 m freestyle | 17:01.7 (OR) | 17:03.0 | 17:07.7 | ||||
| 200 m backstroke | 2:10.3 (WR) | 2:10.5 | 2:13.1 | ||||
| 200 m breaststroke | 2:27.8 (WR) | 2:28.2 | 2:29.6 | ||||
| 200 m butterfly | 2:06.6 (WR) | 2:07.5 | 2:09.3 | ||||
| 400 m individual medley | 4:45.4 (WR) | 4:47.1 | 4:51.0 | ||||
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | 3:33.2 (WR) | 3:37.2 | 3:39.1 | ||||
| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | 7:52.1 (WR) | 7.59.3 | 8:03.8 | ||||
| 4 × 100 m medley relay | 3:58.4 (WR) | 4:01.6 | 4:02.3 |
| 100 m freestyle | 59.5 (OR) | 59.9 | 1:00.8 | ||||
| 400 m freestyle | 4:43.3 (OR) | 4:44.6 | 4:47.2 | ||||
| 100 m backstroke | 1:07.7 (WR) | 1:07.9 | 1:08.0 | ||||
| 200 m breaststroke | 2:46.4 (OR) | 2:47.6 | 2:48.6 | ||||
| 100 m butterfly | 1:04.7 (WR) | 1:05.6 | 1:06.0 | ||||
| 400 m individual medley | 5:18.7 (OR) | 5:24.1 | 5:24.2 | ||||
| 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay | 4:03.8 (WR) | 4:06.9 | 4:12.0 | ||||
| 4 × 100 metre medley relay | 4:33.9 (OR) | 4:37.0 | 4:39.2 |
Some of the Olympic medalists in Tokyo: