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The men's 400 metre breaststroke was a swimming event held as part of the swimming competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics.[1] It was the second appearance of the event, which had been introduced (as the 440 yard breaststroke) in 1904. The competition was held from Monday July 8, 1912 to Friday July 12, 1912.
| Men's 400 metre breaststroke at the Games of the V Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Djurgårdsbrunnsviken | ||||||||||||
| Dates | July 8–12 | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 17 from 10 nations | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Seventeen swimmers from ten nations competed.
The final of the event was a rematch of the five swimmers who had competed in the final of the 200 metre race. Bathe won once again (and indeed, set a new Olympic record each time he raced in both breaststroke events), with Henning providing a stiff challenge in the semifinals. Neither Lützow nor Malisch were able to medal in the longer race, as Henning took silver and Courtman finished third.
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | ? | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | 7:23.6(*) |  Georg Zacharias |
St. Louis (USA) | September 7, 1904 |
(*) 440 yards (= 402.34 m)
In the first heat Thor Henning set a new Olympic record with 6:52.4 minutes. Only to be improved in the second heat by Paul Malisch who swam 6:47.0 minutes. In the fourth heat Percy Courtman improved the Olympic record with 6:43.8 minutes. And again one heat later in the fifth run Walter Bathe swam 6:34.6. In the first semi-final Bathe and Henning bettered the record with 6:32.0 minutes. Bathe was able to improve the record in the final with 6:29.6 minutes.
Quarterfinals
Monday July 8, 1912: The top two in each heat advanced along with the fastest loser overall.
Quarterfinal 1
Oszkár Demján was disqualified, because he touched the wall with only one hand at the second turn.
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thor Henning |  Sweden | 6:52.4 | Q, OR |
| 2 | George Innocent |  Great Britain | 7:07.8 | Q |
| — | Josef Wastl |  Austria | DNF | |
| — | Oszkár Demján |  Hungary | DQ (6:35.8) |
Quarterfinal 2
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Malisch |  Germany | 6:47.0 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Lennart Lindroos |  Finland | 7:03.0 | Q |
| 3 | Nils Andersson | Sweden | 7:17.0 | |
| — | Mike McDermott |  United States | DQ (7:07.0) |
Quarterfinal 3
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilhelm Lützow | Germany | 6:49.8 | Q |
| 2 | Félicien Courbet |  Belgium | 6:52.6 | Q |
| 3 | Zeno von Singalewicz | Austria | 7:04.0 | q |
| 4 | Frank Schryver |  Australasia | 7:07.8 |
Quarterfinal 4
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Percy Courtman | Great Britain | 6:43.8 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Arvo Aaltonen | Finland | 6:48.8 | Q |
| 3 | Vilhelm Lindgrén | Finland | 7:12.6 |
Quarterfinal 5
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Bathe | Germany | 6:34.6 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Georgy Baimakov | Russian Empire | 7:28.6 | Q |
Semifinals
Thursday July 11, 1912: The top two from each heat and the faster of the two third place swimmers advanced.
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Bathe | Germany | 6:32.0 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Thor Henning | Sweden | 6:32.0 | Q, OR |
| 3 | Percy Courtman | Great Britain | 6:36.6 | q |
| 4 | Félicien Courbet | Belgium | 6:59.8 | |
| — | Zeno von Singalewicz | Austria | DNF | |
| — | Georgy Baimakov | Russian Empire | DNS |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilhelm Lützow | Germany | 6:44.6 | Q |
| 2 | Paul Malisch | Germany | 6:47.6 | Q |
| 3 | Arvo Aaltonen | Finland | 6:56.8 | |
| 4 | Lennart Lindroos | Finland | 7:02.4 | |
| — | George Innocent | Great Britain | DNF |
Final
Friday July 12, 1912:
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Walter Bathe | Germany | 6:29.6 | OR |
 | Thor Henning | Sweden | 6:35.6 | |
 | Percy Courtman | Great Britain | 6:36.4 | |
| 4 | Paul Malisch | Germany | 6:37.0 | |
| — | Wilhelm Lützow | Germany | DNF |
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