Swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle
The women's 400 metre freestyle event at the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on 22 July at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, United States.Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.Results
Heats
Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A, while the next eight to final B.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | 5 | Kerstin Kielgaß | | 4:08.99 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | 4 | Michelle Smith | | 4:09.00 | Q, NR |
| 3 | 4 | 6 | Kirsten Vlieghuis | | 4:11.04 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | Dagmar Hase | | 4:11.17 | Q |
| 5 | 4 | 5 | Carla Geurts | | 4:11.18 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | 4 | Claudia Poll | | 4:12.07 | Q |
| 7 | 4 | 3 | Cristina Teuscher | | 4:12.20 | Q |
| 8 | 5 | 3 | Eri Yamanoi | | 4:13.40 | Q |
| 9 | 3 | 5 | Janet Evans | | 4:13.60 | q, |
| 10 | 3 | 2 | Emma Johnson | | 4:14.13 | q |
| 11 | 4 | 7 | Sarah Hardcastle | | 4:14.50 | q |
| 12 | 3 | 6 | Suzu Chiba | | 4:16.07 | q |
| 13 | 5 | 8 | Dionne Bainbridge | | 4:16.47 | q |
| 14 | 5 | 7 | Carla Negrea | | 4:16.89 | q |
| 15 | 3 | 3 | Hayley Lewis | | 4:17.02 | q |
| 16 | 3 | 7 | Lin Chi-chan | | 4:17.18 | q, NR |
| 17 | 5 | 1 | Sandra Cam | | 4:17.35 | q |
| 18 | 5 | 2 | Irene Dalby | | 4:19.34 | |
| 19 | 4 | 8 | Itziar Esparza | | 4:19.45 | |
| 20 | 3 | 8 | Andrea Schwartz | | 4:19.46 | |
| 21 | 4 | 1 | Olga Šplíchalová | | 4:20.04 | |
| 22 | 2 | 1 | Mirjana Boševska | | 4:21.27 | NR |
| 23 | 2 | 4 | Nadezhda Chemezova | | 4:21.33 | |
| 24 | 1 | 6 | Laëtitia Choux | | 4:21.39 | |
| 25 | 1 | 4 | Britt Raaby | | 4:21.46 | |
| 26 | 1 | 7 | Ravee Intporn-Udom | | 4:21.93 | NR |
| 27 | 3 | 1 | Martina Moravcová | | 4:22.10 | |
| 28 | 2 | 3 | Alicia Barrancos | | 4:22.11 | |
| 29 | 5 | 6 | Chen Yan | | 4:22.55 | |
| 30 | 2 | 8 | Carolyn Adel | | 4:22.66 | NR |
| 31 | 2 | 6 | Jeong Eun-na | | 4:23.35 | |
| 32 | 1 | 1 | Martina Nemec | | 4:23.72 | |
| 33 | 2 | 2 | Paula Harmokivi | | 4:23.84 | |
| 34 | 1 | 5 | Antonia Machaira | | 4:24.05 | |
| 35 | 2 | 7 | Chantal Strasser | | 4:24.49 | |
| 36 | 1 | 3 | Maritza Chiaway | | 4:27.11 | |
| 37 | 2 | 5 | Ana Alegria | | 4:27.19 | |
| 38 | 1 | 2 | Judit Kiss | | 4:29.80 | |
| 39 | 1 | 8 | Marina Zarma | | 4:32.15 | |
| 4 | 2 | Malin Nilsson | | | |
Finals
Final B
Final A
