(*) one mile (1609.34 m) In the final Henry Taylor set the first official world record for this distance in 22:48.4.

With a much larger field than in 1904, the 1908 competition expanded to three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final.

The 1908 Games also restored the wild-card system from 1900, allowing the fastest swimmers who did not win their heat to advance.

Thursday July 23, 1908: The fastest two swimmers from each semifinal advanced to the final.

His time for the mile was 24:33.0, breaking the standing record of 24:42.6 set by David Billington in 1905.