João Havelange (BRA) 5:31. 5Swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Mens 400 metre freestyleLanguageDownload PDFWatchEditThe mens 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. [1] It was the seventh appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Monday to Wednesday, 10 to 12 August 1936. Thirty-four swimmers from 16 nations competed.