Summer McIntosh of Canada and Katie Ledecky of the United States are the clear favorites, with the Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus absent. McIntosh holds the world record at 3:54.18, set at Canadian Trials, over two seconds faster than Ledecky’s 3:56.81 best time of 2025. Ledecky won their only head-to-head this season but trails McIntosh in recent best times.[3]
Each National Federation was permitted to enter a maximum of two qualified athletes in each individual event, but they could do so only if both of them had attained the "A" standard qualification time. For this event, the "A" standard qualification time was 4:10.23. Federations could enter one athlete into the event if they met the "B" standard qualification time. For this event, the "B" standard qualification time was 4:18.99. Athletes could also enter the event if they had met an "A" or "B" standard in a different event and their Federation had not entered anyone else. Additional considerations applied to Federations who had few swimmers enter through the standard qualification times. Federations in this category could at least enter two men and two women to the competition, all of whom could enter into up to two events.[4][5]
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