Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre backstroke

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Men's 200 metre backstroke
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
Lochte Peirsol DSC 4236 (3720217707).jpg
Gold medalist Ryan Lochte and silver medalist Aaron Peirsol (2009)
Venue Beijing National Aquatics Center
DatesAugust 13, 2008 (heats)
August 14, 2008 (semifinals)
August 15, 2008 (final)
Competitors40 from 31 nations
Winning time1:53.94 WR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Ryan Lochte Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Aaron Peirsol Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon.svg Arkady Vyatchanin Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
  2004
2012  

The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 13–15 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China. [1] There were 40 competitors from 31 nations. [2]

Billed as the Clash of the Titans, Ryan Lochte stormed home on the final lap to defeat his teammate Aaron Peirsol and claim his first individual Olympic gold medal. He touched the wall first in 1:53.94, faster than the world record he shared with Peirsol at 1:54.32. [3] [4] [5] It was the fourth consecutive gold medal in the men's 200 backstroke for the United States, all by different swimmers.

Peirsol enjoyed a head-to-head battle against Lochte in the first 150 metres, but ended up only with a silver in 1:54.33. This made Peirsol the first man to earn three medals in the 200 metre backstroke, adding to his silver in 2000 and gold in 2004. Russia's Arkady Vyatchanin added a second bronze to his collection (he had earlier finished third in the 100 metres backstroke), finishing in a new European record of 1:54.93 to hold off Austria's Markus Rogan (1:55.49), the silver medalist in Athens four years earlier. [4] Earlier in the semifinals, Vyatchanin edged out Germany's Helge Meeuw in a swimoff to secure a last spot for the top 8 final. [6] The medal was the first for Russia in the 200 metre backstroke, though Russian swimmers had earned medals for the Soviet Union and Unified Team in the event.

Japan's Ryosuke Irie finished fifth with a time of 1:55.72, and was followed in the sixth spot by Australia's Hayden Stoeckel, who shared bronze medals with Vyatchanin in the 100 m backstroke, in an Oceanian record of 1:56.39. Romania's Răzvan Florea (1:56.52) and Great Britain's Gregor Tait (1:57.00) rounded out the finale. [4]

Background

This was the 13th 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]

Five of the 8 finalists from the 2004 Games returned: gold medalist (and 2000 silver medalist) Aaron Peirsol of the United States, silver medalist Markus Rogan of Austria, bronze medalist (and 2000 finalist) Răzvan Florea of Romania, sixth-place finisher Simon Dufour of France, and seventh-place finisher Gregor Tait of Great Britain. Peirsol had won the 2001, 2003, and 2005 World Championships and held the world record from 2002 to 2007. His countryman Ryan Lochte, however, had emerged from Peirsol's shadow as a true threat to Peirsol's dominance. After taking bronze in 2005, Lochte defeated Peirsol at the 2007 World Championships, taking the world record as well. Peirsol responded by matching Lochte's record at the U.S. Olympic trials. [2]

The Cayman Islands, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and Uzbekistan each made their debut in the event. Australia and Great Britain each made their 12th appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.

Qualification

Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to two swimmers if both met the A qualifying standard, or one swimmer if he met the B standard. For 2008, the A standard was 1:59.72 while the B standard was 2:03.90. The qualifying window was 15 March 2007 to 15 July 2008; only approved meets (generally international competitions and national Olympic trials) during that period could be used to meet the standards. There were also universality places available; if no male swimmer from a nation qualified in any event, the NOC could enter one male swimmer in an event.

The two swimmers per NOC limit had been in place since the 1984 Games.

Competition format

The competition followed the format established in 2000, with three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. 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. The top 16 swimmers from the heats advanced to the semifinals. The top 8 semifinalists 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

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Ryan Lochte  (USA)
Flag of the United States.svg  Aaron Peirsol  (USA)
1:54.32 Melbourne, Australia
Omaha, United States
30 March 2007
4 July 2008
[7]
[8]
Olympic recordFlag of the United States.svg  Aaron Peirsol  (USA)1:54.95 Athens, Greece 19 August 2004-

The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.

DateEventSwimmerNationTimeRecord
August 15Final Ryan Lochte Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:53.94 WR

Schedule

The competition moved to a three-day schedule, rather than two days as in the past.

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

DateTimeRound
Wednesday, 13 August 200818:54Heats
Thursday, 14 August 200810:21Semifinals
Friday, 15 August 200810:19Final

Results

Heats

RankHeatLaneSwimmerNationTimeNotes
164 Ryan Lochte Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:56.29Q
254 Aaron Peirsol Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:56.35Q
344 Markus Rogan Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 1:56.64Q
455 Arkady Vyatchanin Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 1:56.97Q
565 Gregor Tait Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:57.03Q
645 Hayden Stoeckel Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 1:57.15Q
753 Ryosuke Irie Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1:57.68Q
867 Gordan Kožulj Civil ensign of Croatia.svg  Croatia 1:57.81Q
963 Ashley Delaney Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 1:57.87Q
1043 Răzvan Florea Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 1:57.97Q
1156 Helge Meeuw Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1:58.42Q
1242 Damiano Lestingi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1:58.53Q
1337 George Du Rand Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 1:58.62Q, AF
1466 Stanislav Donets Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 1:58.68Q
1568 Keith Beavers Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1:58.84Q
1634 Tobias Oriwol Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1:58.94Q
1752 Pierre Roger Flag of France.svg  France 1:59.01
1831 Omar Pinzón Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 1:59.11
1941 Sebastian Stoss Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 1:59.44
61 Roland Rudolf Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 1:59.44
2146 Takashi Nakano Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1:59.59
2236 Derya Büyükuncu Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 1:59.86
2358 Lucas Salatta Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 1:59.91
2451 Nick Driebergen Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2:00.24
2557 Mattia Aversa Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:00.25
2638 Kim Ji-heun Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 2:00.72
2725 Itai Chammah Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 2:00.93
2832 Pedro Oliveira Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2:01.08
2914 Brett Fraser Flag of the Cayman Islands (pre-1999).svg  Cayman Islands 2:01.17
3021 Pedro Medel Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba 2:01.32
3147 Gábor Balog Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 2:01.42
3233 Jonathan Massacand Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 2:01.80
3315 Oleg Rabota Flag of Kazakhstan (3-2).svg  Kazakhstan 2:01.95
3448 Simon Dufour Flag of France.svg  France 2:02.00
3535 Dimitrios Chasiotis Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 2:02.30
3622 Květoslav Svoboda Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 2:03.12
3724 Deng Jian Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 2:03.34
3813 Sergey Pankov Flag of Uzbekistan (3-2).svg  Uzbekistan 2:03.51
3926 Oleksandr Isakov Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 2:03.59
4023 Andres Olvik Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 2:03.66
27 Simon Sjödin Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden DNS
62 Aschwin Wildeboer Flag of Spain.svg  Spain DNS

Semifinals

RankHeatLaneSwimmerNationTimeNotes
114 Aaron Peirsol Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:55.26Q
224 Ryan Lochte Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:55.40Q
325 Markus Rogan Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 1:56.34Q
426 Ryosuke Irie Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1:56.35Q
512 Răzvan Florea Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 1:56.45Q, NR
623 Gregor Tait Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:56.72Q
713 Hayden Stoeckel Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 1:56.73Q, OC
827 Helge Meeuw Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1:56.85QSO
15 Arkady Vyatchanin Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 1:56.85QSO
1022 Ashley Delaney Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 1:57.73
1117 Damiano Lestingi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1:58.25
1228 Keith Beavers Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1:58.50
1321 George Du Rand Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 1:58.61 AF
1416 Gordan Kožulj Civil ensign of Croatia.svg  Croatia 1:59.22
1518 Tobias Oriwol Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1:59.50
1611 Stanislav Donets Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 1:59.87
Swim-off
RankLaneSwimmerNationTimeNotes
14 Arkady Vyatchanin Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 1:57.75Q
25 Helge Meeuw Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2:00.97

Final

RankLaneSwimmerNationTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg5 Ryan Lochte Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:53.94 WR
Silver medal icon.svg4 Aaron Peirsol Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:54.33
Bronze medal icon.svg8 Arkady Vyatchanin Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 1:54.93 EU
43 Markus Rogan Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 1:55.49 NR
56 Ryosuke Irie Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1:55.72
61 Hayden Stoeckel Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 1:56.39 OC
72 Răzvan Florea Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 1:56.52
87 Gregor Tait Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:57.00

References

  1. "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "200 metres Backstroke, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  3. "Lochte, Peirsol take gold, silver in 200 back". NBC News. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Lohn, John (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Ryan Lochte Claims Epic Battle Against Aaron Peirsol With 200 Back World Record". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  5. "Lochte grabs 200m backstroke gold". BBC Sport. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  6. Lohn, John (13 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Americans Go 1-2 in Men's 200 Back, Aaron Peirsol Top Seed". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  7. Clarey, Christopher (31 March 2007). "American sets a record, but, no, it's not Phelps". The New York Times . Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  8. Van Valkenburg, Kevin (5 July 2008). "Phelps in a world of his own". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved 6 August 2008.