The women's 400 metre individual medley event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 24 and 25 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] It will be the event's fifteenth consecutive appearance, having been held at every edition since 1964.
| Women's 400 metre individual medley at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Tokyo Aquatics Centre | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 24 July 2021 (heats) 25 July 2021 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 17 from 13 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 4:32.08 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Summary
Japan's home favourite Yui Ohashi held off a late charge from the U.S.' Emma Weyant to win her nation's first Olympic title in the event. Second at the halfway mark, Ohashi used a stunning breaststroke leg to separate herself from the tight field and touch in 4:32.08 for gold. Meanwhile, Weyant, 1.99 seconds behind Ohashi heading into the freestyle, stormed home to take silver in 4:32.76. Weyant's teammate Hali Flickinger moved through the field in the final lap to win bronze more than two seconds behind in 4:34.90.
Spain's defending bronze medallist Mireia Belmonte (4:35.13) could not repeat her podium efforts from Rio five years earlier and settled for fourth. In the hunt for a medal, Hungary's defending champion Katinka Hosszú faded down the stretch to take fifth in 4:35.98, almost 10 seconds off her world record set at the last Games. Hosszú's teammate Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas (4:37.75) took sixth, while Great Britain's Aimee Willmott (4:38.30) repeated her seventh-place finish from Rio five years earlier. Outside the sub 4:40 club, Italy's Ilaria Cusinato (4:40.65) rounded out the championship field.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Katinka Hosszú (HUN) | 4:26.36 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6 August 2016 | [2] |
| Olympic record |  Katinka Hosszú (HUN) | 4:26.36 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6 August 2016 | [2] |
No new records were set during the competition.
Qualification
The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event is 4:38.53. 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 4:46.89. 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 female swimmer qualified in any event can also use their universality place.[3]
Competition format
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.[4]
Schedule
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)[1]
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| 24 July | 20:05 | Heats |
| 25 July | 11:12 | Final |
Results
Heats
The swimmers with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advance to the final.[5]
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | Emma Weyant |  United States | 4:33.55 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | 6 | Aimee Willmott |  Great Britain | 4:35.28 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | 4 | Yui Ohashi |  Japan | 4:35.71 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | Mireia Belmonte |  Spain | 4:35.88 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | 5 | Hali Flickinger | United States | 4:35.98 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | 6 | Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas | Hungary | 4:35.99 | Q |
| 7 | 3 | 4 | Katinka Hosszú | Hungary | 4:36.01 | Q |
| 8 | 2 | 7 | Ilaria Cusinato |  Italy | 4:37.37 | Q |
| 9 | 3 | 2 | Sara Franceschi | Italy | 4:39.93 | |
| 10 | 3 | 1 | Anja Crevar |  Serbia | 4:40.50 | |
| 11 | 2 | 1 | Yu Yiting |  China | 4:41.64 | |
| 12 | 3 | 8 | Ageha Tanigawa | Japan | 4:41.76 | |
| 13 | 3 | 7 | Fantine Lesaffre |  France | 4:41.98 | |
| 14 | 2 | 2 | Tessa Cieplucha |  Canada | 4:44.54 | |
| 15 | 1 | 5 | Katja Fain |  Slovenia | 4:44.66 | |
| 16 | 1 | 3 | Azzahra Permatahani |  Indonesia | 4:54.54 | |
| 17 | 1 | 4 | Virginia Bardach |  Argentina | 5:01.98 | |
| — | 2 | 3 | Sydney Pickrem | Canada | DNS |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 3 | Yui Ohashi | Japan | 4:32.08 | |
 | 4 | Emma Weyant | United States | 4:32.76 | |
 | 2 | Hali Flickinger | United States | 4:34.90 | |
| 4 | 6 | Mireia Belmonte | Spain | 4:35.13 | |
| 5 | 1 | Katinka Hosszú | Hungary | 4:35.98 | |
| 6 | 7 | Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas | Hungary | 4:37.75 | |
| 7 | 5 | Aimee Willmott | Great Britain | 4:38.30 | |
| 8 | 8 | Ilaria Cusinato | Italy | 4:40.65 |