The men's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 16 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.[1]
| Men's 400 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Sydney International Aquatic Centre | ||||||||||||
| Date | September 16, 2000 (heats & final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 46 from 40 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 3:40.59 WR | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
At only 17 years of age, Australia's overwhelming favourite Ian Thorpe, dubbed by his fans as the "Thorpedo", made his Olympic debut by claiming the first gold medal for the host nation at these Games, winning by 2.81 seconds. Cheered by a massive home crowd and rocketed to the chants of "Thorpie" by his swimming fans, Thorpe maintained a strong lead from start to finish before hitting the wall first in a new world record of 3:40.59.[2][3]
Massimiliano Rosolino earned a silver medal for Italy in a European record of 3:43.40, finishing almost three seconds behind Thorpe. Meanwhile, U.S. swimmer Klete Keller (another 17-year-old) stormed home from last place in the 200 m lap to wrest a bronze in 3:47.00, an American record, edging out Rosolino's teammate Emiliano Brembilla (3:47.01) by a hundredth of a second (0.01).[4]
Romania's Dragoș Coman finished fifth with a national record of 3:47.38, and was followed in the sixth spot by another U.S. swimmer Chad Carvin in 3:47.58. Aussie Grant Hackett (3:48.22) and South Africa's Ryk Neethling (3:48.52) rounded out the finale within three-tenths of a second (0.30) apart.[4]
Acknowledging a massive roar of the home crowd, Thorpe also cracked Yevgeny Sadovyi's 1992 Olympic record by 0.35 seconds to lead the final of six heats, and pick up a top-seeded time of 3:44.65 in the morning prelims.[5][6]
Records
editPrior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Ian Thorpe (AUS) |
3:41.33 | Sydney, Australia | 13 May 2000 | [7] |
| Olympic record |  Yevgeny Sadovyi (EUN) |
3:45.00 | Barcelona, Spain | 29 July 1992 | [7] |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September | Heat 6 | Ian Thorpe |  Australia |
3:44.65 | OR |
| 16 September | Final | Ian Thorpe | Australia |
3:40.59 | WR |
Results
editHeats
edit
Final
edit| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Ian Thorpe | Australia |
3:40.59 | WR |
 |
5 | Massimiliano Rosolino |  Italy |
3:43.40 | EU |
 |
7 | Klete Keller |  United States |
3:47.00 | AM |
| 4 | 6 | Emiliano Brembilla | Italy |
3:47.01 | |
| 5 | 1 | Dragoș Coman |  Romania |
3:47.38 | NR |
| 6 | 2 | Chad Carvin | United States |
3:47.58 | |
| 7 | 8 | Grant Hackett | Australia |
3:48.22 | |
| 8 | 3 | Ryk Neethling |  South Africa |
3:48.52 |
References
edit- ^ "Swimming schedule". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ Harris, Beth (16 September 2000). "Thorpe Sets World Mark, Thompson Wins 6th Gold". ABC News. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "The Stuff of Heroes". Time Magazine. 18 September 2000. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ a b Whitten, Phillip (16 September 2000). "Olympic Day 1 Finals (Complete)". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ Whitten, Phillip (16 September 2000). "Olympic Day 1 Prelims (Complete)". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ Morrissey, Rick (16 September 2000). "Spitz's Remarks Not Golden". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ a b c "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 400m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 135–136. Retrieved 28 May 2013.