Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre breaststroke

The men's 200 metre breaststroke was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Monday to Wednesday, 6 to 8 August 1928.

Men's 200 metre breaststroke
at the Games of the IX Olympiad
VenueOlympic Sports Park Swim Stadium
Date6–8 August
Competitors21 from 13 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Yoshiyuki Tsuruta  Japan
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Erich Rademacher  Germany
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Teófilo Yldefonso  Philippines
← 1924
1932 →

Twenty-one swimmers from 13 nations competed.

Coming into the event, Erich Rademacher from Germany was heavy favorite, as he had held the world record for several years despite not being able to compete at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics due to Germany's role in WWI.[2] However, Yoshiyuki Tsuruta pulled off an upset by beating Rademacher with a new technique of staying underwater for most of the race, which was allowed in the rules at the time.[3][4]

Despite this, Rademacher's disappointment was short lived, as he later won gold as the goalkeeper for the German water polo team in the men's water polo.[5]

Records edit

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.

World Record 2:48.0   Erich Rademacher Brussels (BEL) 11 March 1927
Olympic Record 2:56.0   Robert Skelton Paris (FRA) 15 July 1924

In the third heat Erich Rademacher set a new Olympic record with 2:52.0 minutes. In the fourth heat Yoshiyuki Tsuruta bettered the record to 2:50.0 minutes. Tsuruta improved the record in the semi-finals with 2:49.2 minutes and in the final with 2:48.8 minutes.

Results edit

Heats edit

Monday 6 August 1928: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced.

Heat 1 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Walter Spence   Canada 2:56.6 Q
2 Erwin Sietas   Germany 2:57.4 Q
3 Louis Van Parijs   Belgium 3:00.0
4 William Rozier   France Unknown
5 Hugh Smith   Great Britain Unknown

Heat 2 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Erik Harling   Sweden 2:56.4 Q
2 Karl Schäfer   Austria 2:56.6 Q
3 Teófilo Yldefonso   Philippines 2:57.4 q
4 Yuki Mawatari   Japan 2:58.2
5 Ernst Budig   Germany 2:58.6

Heat 3 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Erich Rademacher   Germany 2:52.0 Q, OR
2 Thomas Blankenburg   United States 3:04.2 Q
3 Léon Tallon   France 3:05.0
4 Jack Aubin   Canada Unknown
Joseph De Combe   Belgium DNF

Heat 4 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Yoshiyuki Tsuruta   Japan 2:50.0 Q, OR
2 Robert Wyss   Switzerland 3:02.6 Q
3 Leen Korpershoek   Netherlands 3:04.0
4 Reginald Flint   Great Britain Unknown
5 José Francesch   Spain Unknown
6 Tage Wissnell   Sweden Unknown

Semifinals edit

Tuesday 7 August 1928: The fastest three in each semi-final advanced.

Semifinal 1 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Yoshiyuki Tsuruta   Japan 2:49.2 Q, OR
2 Walter Spence   Canada 2:53.0 Q
3 Teófilo Yldefonso   Philippines 2:53.2 Q
4 Robert Wyss   Switzerland Unknown
5 Thomas Blankenburg   United States Unknown

Semifinal 2 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Erich Rademacher   Germany 2:56.6 Q
2 Erik Harling   Sweden 2:57.2 Q
3 Erwin Sietas   Germany 2:57.8 Q
4 Karl Schäfer   Austria Unknown

Final edit

Wednesday 8 August 1928:

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
  Yoshiyuki Tsuruta   Japan 2:48.8 OR
  Erich Rademacher   Germany 2:50.6
  Teófilo Yldefonso   Philippines 2:56.4
4 Erwin Sietas   Germany 2:56.6
5 Erik Harling   Sweden 2:56.8
6 Walter Spence   Canada 2:57.2

References edit

  1. ^ "Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Breaststroke". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  2. ^ Barney, David E., and Robert K. Barney. "A long night's journey into day: the Odyssey of the butterfly stroke in international swimming." Proceedings: International Symposium for Olympic Research, Oct. 2006, pp. 65+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A176818711/AONE?u=googlescholar&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=535b6e53. Accessed 12 Dec. 2023.
  3. ^ "Olympedia – 200 metres Breaststroke, Men". Olympedia. 15 December 2023. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Erich Rademacher - ISHOF". International Swimming Hall of Fame. 16 December 2023. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Olympedia – Water Polo, Men". Olympedia. 15 December 2023. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.

External links edit