The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 25 to 27 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] There were 39 competitors from 30 nations, with the ultimate numbers determined through the ongoing selection process, including universality places.[2]
| Men's 200 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Swimming pictogram | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Tokyo Aquatics Centre | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 25 July 2021 (heats) 26 July 2021 (semifinals) 27 July 2021 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 39 from 30 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 1:44.22 NR | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Background edit
It was the event's 16th appearance, having been held in 1900 and 1904 and then at every edition since 1968.
The only finalist from the 2016 Games to return was fifth-place finisher Townley Haas of the United States, who did not make the final this time. Reigning Olympic champion and two-time reigning World Champion Sun Yang of China missed the Games due to a doping ban.[3]
Qualification edit
The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event was 1:47.02. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) could automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time was 1:50.23. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time was eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events is reached. NOCs without a male swimmer qualified in any event could also use their universality place.[2]
Competition format edit
The competition consisted of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advanced to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the final. A swim-off were used to break a tie for advancement to the next round.[4]
Records edit
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Paul Biedermann (GER) |
1:42.00 | Rome, Italy | 28 July 2009 | [5][6] |
| Olympic record |  Michael Phelps (USA) |
1:42.96 | Beijing, China | 12 August 2008 | [7] |
No new records were set during the competition.
Schedule edit
The event was moved to a three-day schedule, with each round on separate, consecutive days.[1] All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 25 July 2021 | 19:17 | Heats |
| Monday, 26 July 2021 | 10:37 | Semifinals |
| Tuesday, 27 July 2021 | 10:43 | Final |
Results edit
Heats edit
The swimmers with the top 16 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the semifinals.[8]
- Swim-off
| Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Katsuhiro Matsumoto |  Japan |
1:46.06 | |
| 2 | 5 | Lukas Märtens |  Germany |
1:46.40 |
Semifinals edit
The swimmers with the best 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.[9]
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Duncan Scott |  Great Britain |
1:44.60 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Kieran Smith | United States |
1:45.07 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | Danas Rapšys |  Lithuania |
1:45.32 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | 5 | Thomas Dean | Great Britain |
1:45.34 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | 3 | Martin Malyutin |  ROC |
1:45.45 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | 4 | Hwang Sun-woo |  South Korea |
1:45.53 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | 5 | David Popovici |  Romania |
1:45.68 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | 4 | Fernando Scheffer |  Brazil |
1:45.71 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | 6 | Thomas Neill |  Australia |
1:45.74 | |
| 10 | 2 | 6 | Stefano Ballo |  Italy |
1:45.84 | |
| 11 | 2 | 8 | Antonio Djakovic |  Switzerland |
1:45.92 | |
| 12 | 1 | 2 | Townley Haas | United States |
1:46.07 | |
| 13 | 2 | 7 | Kregor Zirk |  Estonia |
1:46.67 | |
| 14 | 1 | 8 | Stefano Di Cola | Italy |
1:47.19 | |
| 15 | 1 | 7 | Nándor Németh |  Hungary |
1:47.20 | |
| 16 | 1 | 1 | Velimir Stjepanović |  Serbia |
1:47.62 |
Final edit
200m freestyle final[10]
| Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
6 | Thomas Dean | Great Britain |
1:44.22 | NR |
 |
4 | Duncan Scott | Great Britain |
1:44.26 | |
 |
8 | Fernando Scheffer | Brazil |
1:44.66 | SA |
| 4 | 1 | David Popovici | Romania |
1:44.68 | NR |
| 5 | 2 | Martin Malyutin | ROC |
1:45.01 | |
| 6 | 5 | Kieran Smith | United States |
1:45.12 | |
| 7 | 7 | Hwang Sun-woo | South Korea |
1:45.26 | |
| 8 | 3 | Danas Rapšys | Lithuania |
1:45.78 |
References edit
- ^ a b "Tokyo 2020: Swimming Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "China's Sun Yang has doping ban reduced but will still miss Tokyo Olympics". CNN. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "FINA Swimming Rulebook, 2017–21" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Dillman, Lisa (29 July 2009). "Suit case: German ends Phelps' reign". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ Jeffery, Nicole (29 July 2009). "Paul Biedermann beats Michael Phelps in 200m freestyle". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ "Phelps breaks 200 free world record by nearly a second". ESPN. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Heats results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ "Semifinals results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.