The men's 1500 metre freestyle

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...

was a 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 held as part of the swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics

At the 1912 Summer Olympics, nine swimming events were contested. Swimming events were held in a 100 m course built in Stockholm harbor. For the first time, women's events were part of the Olympic swimming program. The competitions were held from Saturday July 6, 1912 to Friday July 12, 1912...

 programme. It was the second appearance of the event, which had been introduced in 1908. At the 1904 and 1906 Olympics a one mile freestyle contest was held. The competition was held from Saturday July 6, 1912 to Wednesday July 10, 1912.

Nineteen swimmers from eleven nations competed.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

World Record	22:48.4	Henry Taylor Henry Taylor (swimmer) Henry Taylor was a British freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1906 Summer Olympics, in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He served in the Royal Navy during the First World War, and continued to swim competitively until 1926...	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...  (GBR Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... )	July 25, 1908
Olympic Record	22:48.4	Henry Taylor Henry Taylor (swimmer) Henry Taylor was a British freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1906 Summer Olympics, in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He served in the Royal Navy during the First World War, and continued to swim competitively until 1926...	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...  (GBR Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... )	July 25, 1908

George Hodgson

George Hodgson

George Ritchie Hodgson was a Canadian swimmer of the early 20th century, and considered by many to be the greatest swimmer in Canadian history.He was born and died in Montreal....

set a new world record with a 22:23.0 in the qualifying round and improved his own record in the final to 22:00.0.

Quarterfinals

The top two in each heat advanced along with the fastest loser overall.

Quarterfinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		23:12.2	QS
2		23:34.0	QS
3		24:06.4	qs
—		DNF

Quarterfinal 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		22:58.0	QS
2		23:16.6	QS
—		DNF

Quarterfinal 3

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		22:23.0	QS WR
2		23:03.6	QS
3		28:32.4

Quarterfinal 4

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		23:58.0	QS
2		25:19.8	QS
3		27:38.0
—		DNF

Quarterfinal 5

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		23:23.2	QS
2		23:52.2	QS
3		25:45.6
4		27:05.2
—		DNF

Semifinals

The top two from each heat and the faster of the two third place swimmers advanced.

Semifinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		22:26.0	QF
2		22:33.4	QF
3		23:14.0	qf
4		23:14.4
—		DNF
		DNS

Semifinal 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		23:09.8	QF
2		23:24.2	QF
3		23:32.2
4
—		DNS

Final

Place	Swimmer	Time
1		22:00.0 WR
2		22:39.0
3		23:15.4
-		DNF
-		DNF