What is the longest individual swimming race on the Olympic pool program?

The 1,500-meter freestyle is the longest individual swimming race on the Olympic pool program.

Swimmers complete 30 lengths in a standard 50-meter Olympic pool. The event requires a blend of endurance, pacing and speed, and it is sometimes called the swimming equivalent of a middle-distance or long-distance track race.

The men’s 1,500-meter freestyle has been part of the Olympic program since 1908. The women’s event was added at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021. Before that addition, the longest women’s Olympic freestyle race was 800 meters.

The 1,500-meter race is different from open-water Olympic swimming. The 10-kilometer marathon swimming event takes place outdoors and is longer, but it is not a pool event and is contested separately. Olympic pool races also include sprint distances such as 50 meters and individual medley events combining four strokes.