Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre backstroke

Men's 200 metre backstroke
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Swimming pictogram
VenueTokyo Aquatics Centre
Dates28 July 2021 (heats)
29 July 2021 (semifinals)
30 July 2021 (final)
Competitors29 from 23 nations
Winning time1:53.27 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Evgeny Rylov  ROC
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ryan Murphy  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Luke Greenbank  Great Britain
← 2016
2024 →
Swimming at the
2020 Summer Olympics
Sample picture of the event (unofficial)
Qualification
Freestyle
50 mmenwomen
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
400 mmenwomen
800 mmenwomen
1500 mmenwomen
Backstroke
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
Breaststroke
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
Butterfly
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
Individual medley
200 mmenwomen
400 mmenwomen
Freestyle relay
4 × 100 mmenwomen
4 × 200 mmenwomen
Medley relay
4 × 100 mmenmixedwomen
Marathon
10 kmmenwomen

The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 28 to 30 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] There will be approximately 30 competitors from approximately 20 nations, with the ultimate numbers determined through the ongoing selection process, including universality places.[2]

Background

This was the 16th 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.

Of the 2016 finalists, defending Olympic champion Ryan Murphy returned, along with bronze medalist Evgeny Rylov of Russia (competing under the ROC banner), fourth-place finisher Xu Jiayu of China, seventh-place finisher Christian Diener of Germany, and eighth-place finisher (and 2012 silver medalist) Ryosuke Irie of Japan. Rylov had won the 2017 and 2019 World Championships with Murphy finishing second both times.

Qualification

Main article: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event was 1:57.50. 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 2:01.03. 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 was reached. NOCs without a male swimmer qualified in any event could also use their universality place.[3]

Competition format

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. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.[4]

Records

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

World record  Aaron Peirsol (USA) 1:51.92 Rome, Italy 31 July 2009 [5][6]
Olympic record  Tyler Clary (USA) 1:53.41 London, United Kingdom 2 August 2012 [7]

The following records was established during the competition:

Date Event Swimmer Nation Time Record
July 30 Final Evgeny Rylov  ROC 1:53.27 OR

Schedule

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)[1]

Date Time Round
28 July 2021 19:21 Heats
29 July 2021 11:04 Semifinals
30 July 2021 10:50 Final

Results

Heats

The swimmers with the top 16 times, regardless of heat, advance to the semifinals.[8]

Rank Heat Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 2 4 Luke Greenbank  Great Britain 1:54.63 Q
2 4 4 Evgeny Rylov  ROC 1:56.02 Q
3 4 5 Bryce Mefford  United States 1:56.37 Q
4 2 1 Lee Ju-ho  South Korea 1:56.77 Q, NR
5 1 4 Grigory Tarasevich  ROC 1:56.82 Q
6 2 6 Radosław Kawęcki  Poland 1:56.83 Q
7 3 4 Ryan Murphy  United States 1:56.92 Q
8 2 5 Ryosuke Irie  Japan 1:56.97 Q
9 4 3 Keita Sunama  Japan 1:57.07 Q
10 4 2 Tristan Hollard  Australia 1:57.24 Q
11 3 6 Roman Mityukov  Switzerland 1:57.45 Q
12 4 6 Brodie Williams  Great Britain 1:57.48 Q
13 4 8 Nicolás García  Spain 1:57.62 Q
14 2 3 Ádám Telegdy  Hungary 1:57.70 Q
15 3 5 Xu Jiayu  China 1:57.76 Q, WD
16 2 7 Markus Thormeyer  Canada 1:57.85 Q
17 3 3 Yohann Ndoye-Brouard  France 1:57.96 Q
18 4 7 Jan Čejka  Czech Republic 1:58.02
19 4 1 Christian Diener  Germany 1:58.27
20 3 2 Matteo Restivo  Italy 1:58.36
21 1 5 Martin Binedell  South Africa 1:58.47
22 3 1 Francisco Santos  Portugal 1:58.58
23 2 8 Berke Saka  Turkey 1:58.66
24 2 2 Kaloyan Levterov  Bulgaria 1:58.96
25 3 7 Mewen Tomac  France 1:59.02
26 1 6 Robert Glință  Romania 1:59.18
27 3 8 Jakub Skierka  Poland 1:59.30
28 1 3 Yakov Toumarkin  Israel 1:59.65
29 1 2 Merdan Ataýew  Turkmenistan 2:03.68

Semifinals

The swimmers with the best 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.[9]

Rank Heat Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 1 4 Evgeny Rylov  ROC 1:54.45 Q
2 2 4 Luke Greenbank  Great Britain 1:54.98 Q
3 2 6 Ryan Murphy  United States 1:55.38 Q
4 1 1 Ádám Telegdy  Hungary 1:56.19 Q
5 2 1 Nicolás García  Spain 1:56.35 Q
6 2 5 Bryce Mefford  United States 1:56.37 Q
7 1 3 Radosław Kawęcki  Poland 1:56.68 Q
8 1 6 Ryosuke Irie  Japan 1:56.69 Q
9 1 8 Yohann Ndoye-Brouard  France 1:56.83
10 1 2 Tristan Hollard  Australia 1:56.92
11 1 5 Lee Ju-ho  South Korea 1:56.93
12 2 3 Grigory Tarasevich  ROC 1:57.06
13 2 7 Roman Mityukov  Switzerland 1:57.07
14 2 2 Keita Sunama  Japan 1:57.16
15 1 7 Brodie Williams  Great Britain 1:57.73
16 2 8 Markus Thormeyer  Canada 1:59.36

Final

[10]

Rank Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 Evgeny Rylov  ROC 1:53.27 OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3 Ryan Murphy  United States 1:54.15
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 Luke Greenbank  Great Britain 1:54.72
4 7 Bryce Mefford  United States 1:55.49
5 6 Ádám Telegdy  Hungary 1:56.15
6 1 Radosław Kawęcki  Poland 1:56.39
7 8 Ryosuke Irie  Japan 1:57.32
8 2 Nicolás García  Spain 1:59.06

References

  1. ^ a b "Tokyo 2020: Swimming Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (pdf). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  4. ^ "FINA Swimming Rulebook, 2017–21" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Cavic supplants Phelps' 100 fly time". ESPN. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  6. ^ Michaelis, Vicky (31 July 2009). "Phelps earns relay gold medal, Peirsol sets 200m backstroke mark". USA Today. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  7. ^ Auerbach, Nicole (2 August 2012). "Clary tops Lochte, wins gold in 200-meter backstroke". USA Today. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Heats results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Semifinals results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.