The men's 1200 metre freestyle was one of the four swimming events on the Swimming at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme.
| Men's 1200 metre freestyle at the Games of the I Olympiad | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Swimming at the 1896 Summer Olympics | |||||||
| Venue | Bay of Zea | ||||||
| Date | April 11 | ||||||
| Competitors | 6 from 4 nations | ||||||
| Winning time | 18:22.2 | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
| |||||||
The final swimming race was the longest. Despite having already won the 100 metre race, Hajós competed again in the 1200 metres along with five other swimmers: he won this race, finishing nearly 100 metres clear of the rest of the field. Neumann, who had won the 500 metres, was unable to finish the 1200 metres.
The finishing places of Williams and the two Greeks are unknown, as is the first name of one of the Greeks.
Background edit
This was the only appearance of a 1200-metre event. The 1900 Games had a 1000-metre freestyle, before the 1 mile (1609.344-metre)/1500-metre length became standard in 1904.[1]
Competition format edit
This freestyle swimming competition involved a single race, with all swimmers competing at the same time. The swimmers were taken out by ship into the bay, where they would swim toward shore.[1][2][3]
Schedule edit
The 1,200 metre freestyle was the fourth and final swimming event.[2]
| Date | Time | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gregorian | Julian | ||
| Saturday, 11 April 1896 | Saturday, 30 March 1896 | 11:00 | Final |
Results edit
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Alfréd Hajós |  Hungary
|
18:22.2 |
|
Ioannis Andreou |  Greece
|
21:03.4 |
| 3–5 | Efstathios Chorafas | Greece
|
Unknown |
| N. Katravas | Greece
|
Unknown | |
| Gardner Williams |  United States
|
Unknown | |
| — | Paul Neumann |  Austria
|
DNF |
References edit
- ^ a b "1,200 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ a b Official Report, part 2, p. 97.
- ^ "Athens 1896 Swimming 1200m Freestyle Men Result". Olympics.com. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J. & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at [1])
- Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at [2])
- Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.