In the first heat Harold Hardwick set a new Olympic record with 5:36.0 minutes.

In the fifth heat Cecil Healy improved the Olympic record with 5:34.0 minutes.

In the first semi-final George Hodgson set a world record with 5:25.4 minutes and in the final he improved his record again with 5:24.4 minutes.

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

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