Men's 200 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool | ||||||||||||
Dates | 18 September 1988 (heats) 19 September 1988 (finals) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 63 from 41 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 1:47.25 WR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics | ||
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Freestyle | ||
50 m | men | women |
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
800 m | women | |
1500 m | men | |
Backstroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Breaststroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Butterfly | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Individual medley | ||
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
Freestyle relay | ||
4 × 100 m | men | women |
4 × 200 m | men | |
Medley relay | ||
4 × 100 m | men | women |
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 18–19 September at the Olympic Park Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea. [1] There were 63 competitors from 41 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers. [2]
Australia's Duncan Armstrong set a new world record to win the Olympic title in the event. Swimming in lane six and coming from third at the final turn, he edged out a vastly experienced field for the gold medal in 1:47.25. His time also sliced 0.19 seconds off the global standard set by West Germany's Michael Gross at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. [3]
Sweden's Anders Holmertz overtook U.S. swimmer Matt Biondi about midway through the final stretch, but could not catch Armstrong near the wall to finish with a silver in 1:47.89. It was Sweden's first medal in the men's 200 metre freestyle. Leading almost the entire race, Biondi faded down the stretch to break the 1:48 barrier and take the bronze at 1:47.99. [4] [5]
Poland's Artur Wojdat, a top qualifier on the morning preliminaries, dropped off the podium to a fourth-place time in 1:48.40. Meanwhile, Gross missed a chance to defend his Olympic title with a fifth-place finish in 1:48.59. [5]
This was the eighth appearance of the 200 metre freestyle event. It was first contested in 1900. It would be contested a second time, though at 220 yards, in 1904. After that, the event did not return until 1968; since then, it has been on the programme at every Summer Games. [2]
Two of the 8 finalists from the 1984 Games returned: gold medalist Michael Gross and bronze medalist Thomas Fahrner, both of West Germany. Gross was the two-time reigning World Champion as well, with wins in the 1982 and 1986 World Aquatics Championships. American Matt Biondi had taken bronze at the 1986 World Championships; he was a strong challenger even though his best races were at 100 metres. 1987 European champion Anders Holmertz of Sweden was also among the podium favourites; Duncan Armstrong of Australia was not a pre-race favourite. [2]
Belgium, Guam, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates each made their debut in the event. Australia made its eighth appearance, the only nation to have competed in all prior editions of the event.
The competition used a two-round (heats, 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 8 heats of up to 8 swimmers each. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. The 1984 event had also introduced a consolation or "B" final; the swimmers placing 9th through 16th in the heats competed in this "B" final for placing. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties.
This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated (unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events). Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic-size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of four lengths of the pool.
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | Michael Gross (FRG) | 1:47.44 | Los Angeles, United States | 29 July 1984 |
Olympic record | Michael Gross (FRG) | 1:47.44 | Los Angeles, United States | 29 July 1984 |
The following records were established during the competition:
Date | Round | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Record |
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19 September | Final A | Duncan Armstrong | Australia | 1:47.25 | WR |
All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)
Date | Time | Round |
---|---|---|
Sunday, 18 September 1988 | 9:00 | Heats |
Monday, 19 September 1988 | 12:00 | Finals |
Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A (Q), while the next eight to final B (q). [6]
There were two finals, one for the top 8 swimmers and one for the next 8 (9th through 16th). [7]
Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 4 | Roberto Gleria | Italy | 1:49.28 |
10 | 5 | Thomas Flemming | East Germany | 1:50.18 |
11 | 2 | Tom Stachewicz | Australia | 1:50.83 |
12 | 3 | Aleksey Kuznetsov | Soviet Union | 1:51.03 |
13 | 1 | Franz Mortensen | Denmark | 1:51.44 |
14 | 6 | Mariusz Podkościelny | Poland | 1:51.63 |
15 | 7 | Shigeo Ogata | Japan | 1:51.89 |
16 | 8 | Paul Howe | Great Britain | 1:51.99 |
Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | Duncan Armstrong | Australia | 1:47.25 | WR | |
8 | Anders Holmertz | Sweden | 1:47.89 | ||
5 | Matt Biondi | United States | 1:47.99 | ||
4 | 4 | Artur Wojdat | Poland | 1:48.40 | |
5 | 3 | Michael Gross | West Germany | 1:48.59 | |
6 | 1 | Steffen Zesner | East Germany | 1:48.77 | |
7 | 2 | Troy Dalbey | United States | 1:48.86 | |
8 | 7 | Thomas Fahrner | West Germany | 1:49.19 |
Matthew Nicholas Biondi is an American former competitive swimmer and water polo player. As a swimmer, he is an eleven-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in five events. Biondi competed in the Summer Olympic Games in 1984, 1988 and 1992, winning a total of eleven medals. During his career, he set three individual world records in the 50-meter freestyle and four in the 100-meter freestyle.
Michael Steward Heath is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in freestyle events. He is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a former world record-holder in two relay swimming events. A native of Texas, he won two national collegiate championship competing for the University of Florida. During his elite swimming career, Heath won ten medals in major international championships, including seven golds, two silvers and a bronze, spanning the Olympic Games, FINA World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships.
Duncan John D'Arcy Armstrong is an Australian former competitive swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Armstrong is best remembered for winning a gold and silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1992 Summer Olympics took place on 28 July at the Piscines Bernat Picornell in Barcelona, Spain. There were 75 competitors from 52 nations. Nations had been limited to two swimmers each since the 1984 Games. The event was won by Alexander Popov of the Unified Team. Gustavo Borges's silver was Brazil's first medal in the men's 100 metre freestyle since 1960. Stéphan Caron of France repeated as bronze medalist, the eighth man to win multiple medals in the event. It was the first time since 1968 that the United States had competed and not won the event and the first time since 1956 that the Americans had competed and not taken any medal, as Jon Olsen finished fourth and defending champion Matt Biondi came in fifth.
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1992 Summer Olympics took place on 26 July at the Piscines Bernat Picornell in Barcelona, Spain. There were 55 competitors from 39 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers. The event was won by Yevgeny Sadovyi of the Unified Team; it was the first victory in the men's 200 metre freestyle by an athlete from the former Soviet Union since Moscow 1980. Anders Holmertz of Sweden repeated as the silver medalist, becoming the first man to win multiple medals in the event. Antti Kasvio earned a bronze medal in Finland's debut in the event.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on 22 July at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, United States. There were 60 competitors from 54 nations. Nations had been limited to two swimmers each since the 1984 Games. The event was won by Alexander Popov of Russia, the third man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the 100 metre freestyle. Gary Hall, Jr. returned the United States to the podium in the event after a one-Games absence. Gustavo Borges, the silver medalist in 1992, earned bronze. Popov and Borges were the 9th and 10th men to earn multiple medals in the event.
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on 20 July at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, United States. There were 43 competitors from 36 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers. The event was won by Danyon Loader of New Zealand, the nation's first medal in the men's 200 metre freestyle. Brazil also received its first medal in the event, with Gustavo Borges taking silver. Bronze went to Australia's Daniel Kowalski.
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 17–18 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia. There were 51 competitors from 44 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers.
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1984 Summer Olympics was held in the McDonald's Olympic Swim Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on July 29, 1984. There were 56 competitors from 36 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers. The event was won by Michael Gross of West Germany, the nation's first victory in the event. His countryman Thomas Fahrner took bronze. Americans placed second and fourth, with Mike Heath earning silver and Jeff Float in fourth place.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 22 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea. There were 77 competitors from 51 nations. Nations had been limited to two swimmers each since the 1984 Games.
The women's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place between 20–21 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.
The inaugural men's 50-metre freestyle event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 24 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.
The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 22 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea. There were 44 competitors from 32 nations. Each nation had been limited to two swimmers in the event since 1984. The event was won by Igor Polyansky of the Soviet Union. Frank Baltrusch of East Germany took silver, while Paul Kingsman of New Zealand earned bronze. The medals were the first in the men's 200 metre backstroke for the Soviet Union and New Zealand; East Germany had not medaled in the event since Roland Matthes won gold in 1968 and 1972. For the first time, the United States competed and did not earn at least silver.
The men's 200 metre individual medley event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 25 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.
The men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place between 20–21 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.
The women's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 25 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.
The women's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place between 20 and 21 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.
The women's 200 metre butterfly event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 25 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.
Ratapong "Nuk" Sirisanont is a Thai former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke, but also competed in long-distance freestyle and individual medley. He is a four-time Olympian, a three-time Asian Games participant, and a seven-time SEA Games athlete (1991–2003). Regarded as Thailand's top swimmer, he has won a total of sixteen medals at the Southeast Asian Games since 1995, and six at the Asian Games, including two golds in the 200 and 400 m individual medley. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Sirisanont became the first Thai swimmer to reach the final twice. Sirisanont is also one of three Southeast Asian swimmers, along with Malaysia's Alex Lim and Philippines' Miguel Molina, to train for the California Golden Bears in the United States, under head coach Nort Thornton.
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