The women's 400 metre freestyle event at the 1968 Olympic Games

1968 Summer Olympics

The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...

 took place between October 19 and 20. This swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 event used freestyle swimming

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated (unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events). Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl

Front crawl

The front crawl, forward crawl, or freestyle is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is nearly universally used during a freestyle swimming competition, hence the synonymously used term "freestyle". It is one of two...

 or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of eight lengths of the pool.

Medalists

Final

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Notes
	Debbie Meyer Debbie Meyer Deborah Elizabeth Meyer is a former American swimmer who won the 200, 400, and 800 m swimming events at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City...		4:31.8	OR
	Linda Gustavson Linda Gustavson Linda Gustavson is an American swimmer and Olympic champion. She competed at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where she received a gold medal in 4 × 100 m freestyle, a silver medal in 400 m freestyle, and a bronze medal in 100 m freestyle.-References:*...		4:35.5
	Karen Moras Karen Moras Karen Lynne Moras , known after marriage as Karen Moras-Stephenson was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s who won a bronze medal in the 400 m freestyle at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City...		4:37.0
4	Pam Kruse Pam Kruse Pamela Jean "Pam" Kruse is a former American swimmer. She represented the United States at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where she received a silver medal in women's 800-meter freestyle, finishing behind compatriot Debbie Meyer She also competed in the 400-meter freestyle and placed...		4:37.2
5	Gabriele Wetzko Gabriele Wetzko Gabriele Wetzko is a former German swimmer. Born in Leipzig, East Germany, she competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics and again in the 1972 Summer Olympics...		4:40.2
6	María Teresa Ramírez Maria Teresa Ramírez María Teresa Ramírez Gómez is a retired female freestyle and backstroke swimmer from Mexico. She represented her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in Mexico City . She won the bronze medal in the Women's 800m Freestyle event at the 1968 Summer Olympics.-References:*...		4:42.2
7	Angela Coughlan Angela Coughlan Angela Denise Coughlan, O.Ont. was a Canadian swimmer. At the peak of her competitive swimming career from 1968 to 1971, she was the best Canadian female freestyle specialist, going undefeated in freestyle events at Canadian meets during that time, as well as breaking a world record and 13...		4:51.9
8	Elisabeth Ljunggren-Morris		4:53.8

Key: OR = Olympic record