The men's 200 metre individual medley event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 28 to 30 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] It was the event's twelfth appearance, having been first held in 1968 and 1972 and then at every edition since 1984.
| Men's 200 metre individual medley at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Tokyo Aquatics Centre | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 28 July 2021 (heats) 29 July 2021 (semifinals) 30 July 2021 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 45 from 33 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 1:55.00 AS | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Summary edit
Rio 2016 bronze medalist and top qualifier Wang Shun put up a strong performance in the finals, leading at the 100th meters mark and placing second at the 150th meters mark. He swam a stunning final freestyle leg to touch the wall first in a new Asian record of 1:55.00, beating second place Duncan Scott by 0.28 seconds to become the first Asian male swimmer to win a gold medal at the men's 200m individual medley at any Olympic Games.[2]
Hot favorite U.S. swimmer Michael Andrew, who was leading at the 150th meters mark, failed to hold on for the last leg despite having a full second lead. He finished in the fifth position.
Records edit
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Ryan Lochte (USA) |
1:54.00 | Shanghai, China | 28 July 2011 | [3][4] |
| Olympic record |  Michael Phelps (USA) |
1:54.23 | Beijing, China | 15 August 2008 | [5] |
Qualification edit
The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event is 1:59.67. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) can automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time is 2:03.26. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time is 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 can also use their universality place.[6]
Competition format edit
The competition consists of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advance to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advance to the final. Swim-offs are used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.[7]
Schedule edit
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)[1]
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| 28 July 2021 | 19:54 | Heats |
| 29 July 2021 | 12:08 | Semifinals |
| 30 July 2021 | 11:16 | Final |
Results edit
Heats edit
The swimmers with the top 16 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the semifinals.[8]
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 | 6 | Wang Shun |  China |
1:56.22 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | Duncan Scott |  Great Britain |
1:56.69 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | 8 | Daiya Seto |  Japan |
1:56.86 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | 4 | Michael Andrew | United States |
1:57.08 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | Jérémy Desplanches |  Switzerland |
1:57.38 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | 3 | Kosuke Hagino | Japan |
1:57.47 | Q |
| 7 | 2 | 5 | Lewis Clareburt |  New Zealand |
1:57.55 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | 2 | László Cseh |  Hungary |
1:57.64 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | 6 | Alberto Razzetti |  Italy |
1:57.70 | |
| 10 | 2 | 2 | Mitch Larkin |  Australia |
1:57.80 | |
| 11 | 2 | 7 | Hugo González |  Spain |
1:57.96 | |
| 12 | 1 | 5 | Chase Kalisz | United States |
1:58.03 | |
| 13 | 2 | 1 | Philip Heintz |  Germany |
1:58.13 | |
| 14 | 2 | 8 | Matthew Sates |  South Africa |
1:58.75 | |
| 15 | 1 | 1 | Andrey Zhilkin |  ROC |
1:59.05 | |
| 16 | 1 | 7 | Tomoe Zenimoto Hvas |  Norway |
2:00.21 |
Final edit
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Wang Shun | China |
1:55.00 | AS |
 |
5 | Duncan Scott | Great Britain |
1:55.28 | NR |
 |
2 | Jérémy Desplanches | Switzerland |
1:56.17 | NR |
| 4 | 3 | Daiya Seto | Japan |
1:56.22 | |
| 5 | 6 | Michael Andrew | United States |
1:57.31 | |
| 6 | 7 | Kosuke Hagino | Japan |
1:57.49 | |
| 7 | 8 | László Cseh | Hungary |
1:57.68 | |
| 8 | 1 | Lewis Clareburt | New Zealand |
1:57.70 |
References edit
- ^ a b "Tokyo 2020: Swimming Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "Wang Shun succeeds Michael Phelps as new 200m IM king". FINA. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Ryan Lochte sets world record in 200 IM". ESPN. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "FINA World Championships, Swimming: Ryan Lochte Sets First Post Techsuit-Era World Record". Swimming World Magazine. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- ^ Crouse, Karen (15 August 2008). "Phelps Moves 200 Meters Closer to His Goal". New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ^ "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "FINA Swimming Rulebook, 2017–21" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "Heats results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- ^ "Semifinals results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.