The Men's 400 metre freestyle event at the 1959 Pan American Games was held on 31 August 1959 at the Portage Park Pool in Chicago, United States. It was the third edition of the event at the Pan American Games, having been contested since the inaugural Games in 1951.
The competition featured a final heat format. The United States team swept the podium, continuing their dominance in the freestyle distance events at the Games.
Final Results | Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | George Breen | United States | 4:18.1 | GR | | 2 | Eugene Lenz | United States | 4:24.2 | | | 3 | Gary Heinrich | United States | 4:25.5 | | | 4 | Alberto Isaac | Mexico | 4:30.9 | | | 5 | Federico Zwanck | Argentina | 4:32.4 | | | 6 | Eulalio Ríos | Mexico | 4:34.0 | | | 7 | Jorge Escalante | Mexico | 4:35.1 | | | 8 | Paulo Catunda | Brazil | 4:36.2 | |
Notes
- GR denotes Games Record.
- George Breen, the gold medalist, was the world record holder in the 400m and 1500m freestyle events at various points in his career and won a bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
- The winning time of 4:18.1 broke the previous Pan American Games record of 4:26.7 set by Jimmy McLane (USA) at the 1951 Buenos Aires Games.
