Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre backstroke

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Men's 200 metre backstroke
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G0413-0015-001, Roland Matthes.jpg
Gold medalist Roland Matthes (earlier in 1968)
Venue Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez
Date25 October (heats, final)
Competitors30 from 21 nations
Winning time2:09.6 OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Roland Matthes Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  East Germany
Silver medal icon.svg Mitch Ivey Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon.svg Jack Horsley Flag of the United States.svg  United States
  1964
1972  

The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place on 25 October at the Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez. [1] There were 30 competitors from 21 nations, with each nation having up to three swimmers. [2] The event was won by Roland Matthes of East Germany, the second gold medal for a German swimmer after Ernst Hoppenberg won in 1900. Matthes completed the backstroke double (100 and 200 metres) in the first Games both events were held, with Olympic record times in both. The United States, which had swept the podium in 1964, finished in the next three places behind Matthes: Mitch Ivey took silver, Jack Horsley bronze, and Gary Hall Sr. 4th.

Background

This was the third appearance of the 200 metre backstroke event. It was first held in 1900. The event did not return until 1964; since then, it has been on the programme at every Summer Games. From 1904 to 1960, a men's 100 metre backstroke was held instead. In 1964, only the 200 metres was held. Beginning in 1968 and ever since, both the 100 and 200 metre versions have been held. [2]

None of the 8 finalists from the 1964 Games returned. Roland Matthes had set the world record in the East German Olympic trials. The American team was also strong, though all three members of the 1964 podium sweeping team had been replaced. [2]

The Republic of China, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, the Philippines, and Switzerland made their debut in the event; East and West Germany competed separately for the first time. Italy and the Netherlands each made their third appearance, the only two nations to have competed at each appearance of the event to that point.

Competition format

The competition used a two-round (heats and final) format. The advancement rule followed the format introduced in 1952. A swimmer's place in the heat was not used to determine advancement; instead, the fastest times from across all heats in a round were used. There were 5 heats of up to 8 swimmers each; with numerous withdrawals, one heat had only 3 swimmers. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties.

This swimming event used backstroke. Because an Olympic-size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of four lengths of the pool.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics.

World recordFlag of East Germany.svg  Roland Matthes  (GDR)2:07.5 Leipzig, East Germany 14 August 1968
Olympic recordFlag of the United States.svg  Jed Graef  (USA)2:10.3 Tokyo, Japan 13 October 1964

Roland Matthes broke the Olympic record with a time of 2:09.6 in the final.

Schedule

All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)

DateTimeRound
Friday, 25 October 196810:00
17:00
Heats
Final

Results

Heats

RankHeatSwimmerNationTimeNotes
11 Mitch Ivey Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:11.3Q
23 Roland Matthes Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  East Germany 2:13.6Q
32 Jack Horsley Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:13.7Q
43 Santiago Esteva Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 2:15.8Q
54 Leonid Dobroskokin Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 2:16.1Q
3 Joachim Röther Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  East Germany 2:16.1Q
75 Gary Hall Sr. Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:16.2Q
81 Franco Del Campo Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:16.3Q
92 Reinhard Blechert Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  West Germany 2:16.5
103 Ejvind Pedersen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2:16.6
115 Mátyás Borlói Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 2:17.9
124 Bob Schoutsen Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2:18.2
131 Franco Chino Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:19.5
142 Jaime Monzó Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 2:20.1
153 Karl Byrom Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:20.7
4 Jaime Rivera Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2:20.7
1 José Joaquín Santibáñez Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2:20.7
181 Jim Shaw Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 2:21.0
195 Rinus van Beek Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2:21.2
203 Eliseo Vidal Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba 2:21.3
211 Hans Ljungberg Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:22.3
224 Lars Kraus Jensen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2:22.5
235 Luis Angel Acosta Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2:24.0
244 Gerald Evard Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 2:24.7
253 Leonardo Baremboin Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 2:25.2
261 Tony Asamali Flag of the Philippines (1936-1985, 1986-1998).svg  Philippines 2:30.0
273 Francisco Ramis Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 2:30.4
281 Antonio Cruz Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 2:36.3
295 Ronnie Wong Flag of Hong Kong (1959-1997).svg  Hong Kong 2:38.6
304 Chan King-ming Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan 2:46.9

Final

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Roland Matthes Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  East Germany 2:09.6 OR
Silver medal icon.svg Mitch Ivey Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:10.6
Bronze medal icon.svg Jack Horsley Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:10.9
4 Gary Hall Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:12.6
5 Santiago Esteva Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 2:12.9
6 Leonid Dobroskokin Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 2:15.4
7 Joachim Röther Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  East Germany 2:15.8
8 Franco Del Campo Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:16.5

References

  1. "Swimming at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Backstroke". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "200 metres Backstroke, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 July 2021.