Olympic Swimming 2024: Men's 400M Freestyle Medal Winners, Times and Results

Lukas Märtens took the gold medal in the men's 400 meter freestyle at the 2024 Olympics on Saturday.

The German native crossed the finish line in 3:41.78, beating out Australia's Elijah Winnington and South Korea's Kim Woo-min.

Men's 400M Freestyle Final Results

1. Lukas Märtens (Germany): 3:41.78
2. Elijah Winnington (Australia): 3:42.21
   
3. Kim Woo-min (South Korea): 3:42.50
4. Samuel Short (Australia): 3:42.64
5. Guilherme Costa (Brazil): 3:42.76
   
6. Fei Liwei (China): 3:44.24
   
7. Oliver Klemet (Germany): 3:46.59
   
8. Aaron Shackell (United States): 3:47.00

Märtens posted the fastest time in the heats at 3:44.13. The 22-year-old made his first Olympic appearance three years ago, finishing 12th in the heats to miss out on the final. He has improved his stock since then, winning gold at the 2022 European Championships and bronze at the World Championships in each of the past two years.

The final was a showcase for Märtens, despite stiff competition from Woo-min and Kinnington. Märtens was on a world record pace most of the way before falling off over the final 100 meters.

While Märtens was in control most of the way, the race for spots two through five was chaotic. A total of .55 seconds separated those four slots in the final standings.

Märtens is the first German to medal in this event at the Olympics since Uwe Daßler in 1988 while competing for the East German delegation. Winnington's silver medal marks the second straight runner-up finish by an Australian in the men's 400-meter freestyle at the Olympics. Jack McLoughlin won silver three years ago in Tokyo.

Woo-min is the first South Korean to medal in this event since Park Tae-hwan won silver at the 2012 Games.

Earlier in the day, American star Kieran Smith, who won bronze at the Tokyo Games three years ago, failed to qualify when he finished 11th.

Aaron Shackell was the only U.S. competitor in the final. He finished last in a photo finish with Germany's Oliver Klemet. This marked the first time since 1996 that America had fewer than two representatives in the finals.