Swimming at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle
The women's 400 metre freestyle event for the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal. The event took place on 20 July.Results
Heats
Heat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Rebecca Perrott | | 4:15.71 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Regina Jäger | | 4:20.05 | |
| 3 | Tracey Wickham | | 4:24.44 | |
| 4 | Carine Verbauwen | | 4:26.27 | |
| 5 | María Pérez | | 4:38.93 | |
| 6 | María París | | 4:40.35 | |
| 7 | Vilborg Sverrisdóttir | | 4:48.28 | |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Brenda Borgh | | 4:17.20 | Q |
| 2 | Wendy Quirk | | 4:19.69 | |
| 3 | Wendy Lee | | 4:20.16 | |
| 4 | Laura Bortolotti | | 4:29.71 | |
| 5 | Antonia Real | | 4:30.37 | |
| 6 | Fernanda Pérez | | 4:45.73 | |
| 7 | Karen Robertson | | 5:03.90 | |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Annelies Maas | | 4:17.16 | Q |
| 2 | Kathy Heddy | | 4:19.34 | Q |
| 3 | Susan Barnard | | 4:30.05 | |
| 4 | Maria Guimarães | | 4:32.63 | |
| 5 | Linda Faber | | 4:36.98 | |
| 6 | Susana Coppo | | 4:57.41 | |
Heat 4
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Shirley Babashoff | | 4:16.07 | Q |
| 2 | Shannon Smith | | 4:16.70 | Q |
| 3 | Sabine Kahle | | 4:19.34 | Q |
| 4 | Irina Vlasova | | 4:21.19 | |
| 5 | Ratchaneewan Bulakul | | 4:32.98 | |
| 6 | Susan Edmondson | | 4:33.33 | |
| 7 | Diana Hatler | | 4:49.73 | |
Heat 5
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Petra Thümer | | 4:17.20 | Q |
| 2 | Rosemary Milgate | | 4:21.20 | |
| 3 | Jenny Turrall | | 4:21.33 | |
| 4 | Allison Calder | | 4:23.64 | |
| 5 | Eleonora Pandini | | 4:34.69 | |
| 6 | Myriam Mizouni | | 4:43.11 | |
| 7 | Georgina Osorio | | 4:49.80 | |
Final
