Men's 200 metre freestyle
at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad
Silver medalist Anders Holmertz (2009)
VenueJamsil Indoor Swimming Pool
Dates18 September 1988 (heats)
19 September 1988 (finals)
Competitors63 from 41 nations
Winning time1:47.25 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Duncan Armstrong  Australia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Anders Holmertz  Sweden
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Matt Biondi  United States

The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 18–19 September at the Olympic Park Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.[1] There were 63 competitors from 41 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers.[2]

Australia's Duncan Armstrong set a new world record to win the Olympic title in the event. Swimming in lane six and coming from third at the final turn, he edged out a vastly experienced field for the gold medal in 1:47.25. His time also sliced 0.19 seconds off the global standard set by West Germany's Michael Gross at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[3]

Sweden's Anders Holmertz overtook U.S. swimmer Matt Biondi about midway through the final stretch, but could not catch Armstrong near the wall to finish with a silver in 1:47.89. It was Sweden's first medal in the men's 200 metre freestyle. Leading almost the entire race, Biondi faded down the stretch to break the 1:48 barrier and take the bronze at 1:47.99.[4][5]

Poland's Artur Wojdat, a top qualifier on the morning preliminaries, dropped off the podium to a fourth-place time in 1:48.40. Meanwhile, Gross missed a chance to defend his Olympic title with a fifth-place finish in 1:48.59.[5]

Background

This was the eighth appearance of the 200 metre freestyle event. It was first contested in 1900. It would be contested a second time, though at 220 yards, in 1904. After that, the event did not return until 1968; since then, it has been on the programme at every Summer Games.[2]

Two of the 8 finalists from the 1984 Games returned: gold medalist Michael Gross and bronze medalist Thomas Fahrner, both of West Germany. Gross was the two-time reigning World Champion as well, with wins in the 1982 and 1986 World Aquatics Championships. American Matt Biondi had taken bronze at the 1986 World Championships; he was a strong challenger even though his best races were at 100 metres. 1987 European champion Anders Holmertz of Sweden was also among the podium favourites; Duncan Armstrong of Australia was not a pre-race favourite.[2]

Belgium, Guam, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates each made their debut in the event. Australia made its eighth appearance, the only nation to have competed in all prior editions of the event.

Competition format

The competition used a two-round (heats, final) format. The advancement rule followed the format introduced in 1952. A swimmer's place in the heat was not used to determine advancement; instead, the fastest times from across all heats in a round were used. There were 8 heats of up to 8 swimmers each. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. The 1984 event had also introduced a consolation or "B" final; the swimmers placing 9th through 16th in the heats competed in this "B" final for placing. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties.

This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated (unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events). Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic-size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of four lengths of the pool.

Records

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

World record Michael Gross (FRG)1:47.44 Los Angeles, United States29 July 1984
Olympic record Michael Gross (FRG)1:47.44 Los Angeles, United States29 July 1984

The following records were established during the competition:

DateRoundSwimmerNationTimeRecord
19 SeptemberFinal ADuncan Armstrong Australia1:47.25WR

Schedule

All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 18 September 19889:00Heats
Monday, 19 September 198812:00Finals

Results

Heats

Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A (Q), while the next eight to final B (q).[6]

RankHeatSwimmerNationTimeNotes
17Artur Wojdat Poland1:48.02QA, NR
27Matt Biondi United States1:48.39QA
38Michael Gross West Germany1:48.55QA
48Duncan Armstrong Australia1:48.86QA
58Troy Dalbey United States1:48.96QA
67Thomas Fahrner West Germany1:49.02QA
77Steffen Zesner East Germany1:49.13QA
86Anders Holmertz Sweden1:49.28QA
98Roberto Gleria Italy1:49.51QB
108Thomas Flemming East Germany1:49.52QB
116Stéphan Caron France1:49.66QB, WD
126Giorgio Lamberti Italy1:50.47QB, WD
136Aleksey Kuznetsov Soviet Union1:50.84QB
146Mariusz Podkościelny Poland1:50.95QB
156Tom Stachewicz Australia1:51.02QB
165Shigeo Ogata Japan1:51.14QB
177Franz Mortensen Denmark1:51.15QB
186Paul Howe Great Britain1:51.22QB
197Carlos Scanavino Uruguay1:51.42
206Alberto Bottini Switzerland1:51.45
217Tommy Werner Sweden1:51.96
228Iurie Başcatov Soviet Union1:52.04
238Cristiano Michelena Brazil1:52.32
244Patrick Dybiona Netherlands1:52.67
254Stéfan Voléry Switzerland1:52.94
264Rodrigo González Mexico1:52.99
275Michael Green Great Britain1:53.03
285Magnús Ólafsson Iceland1:53.05
285Daniel Serra Spain1:53.05
305Júlio César Rebolal Brazil1:53.16
315Jan Larsen Denmark1:53.61
324Ignacio Escamilla Mexico1:53.63
335Jean-Marie Arnould Belgium1:53.73
345Zoltán Szilágyi Hungary1:53.75
357Ludovic Depickère France1:53.81
364Salvador Vassallo Puerto Rico1:53.82
378Norbert Ágh Hungary1:54.72
384Yves Clausse Luxembourg1:54.90
394Xie Jun China1:55.04
403René Concepcion Philippines1:55.58
413Alexander Placheta Austria1:56.11
424Vaughan Smith Zimbabwe1:56.13
432David Lim Singapore1:56.44
442Joseph Eric Buhain Philippines1:56.84
452Kwon Sang-won South Korea1:56.88
462Oon Jin Gee Singapore1:57.28
473Moustafa Amer Egypt1:57.50
483Richard Sam Bera Indonesia1:57.60
493Jonathan Sakovich Guam1:57.72
503Stephen Cullen Ireland1:57.90
512Arthur Li Kai Yien Hong Kong1:58.10
523Hakan Eskioğlu Turkey1:58.45
533Jeffrey Ong Malaysia1:58.62
542Kwon Soon-kun South Korea1:58.95
551Wu Ming-hsun Chinese Taipei2:00.43
562Tsang Yi Ming Hong Kong2:01.02
572Richard Gheel Ireland2:01.73
581Hans Foerster Virgin Islands2:01.94
591Kristan Singleton Virgin Islands2:06.45
601Jason Chute Fiji2:09.05
611Mohamed Bin Abid United Arab Emirates2:09.43
621Ahmad Faraj United Arab Emirates2:13.21
631Émile Lahoud Lebanon2:16.39

Finals

There were two finals, one for the top 8 swimmers and one for the next 8 (9th through 16th).[7]

Final B

RankLaneSwimmerNationTime
94Roberto Gleria Italy1:49.28
105Thomas Flemming East Germany1:50.18
112Tom Stachewicz Australia1:50.83
123Aleksey Kuznetsov Soviet Union1:51.03
131Franz Mortensen Denmark1:51.44
146Mariusz Podkościelny Poland1:51.63
157Shigeo Ogata Japan1:51.89
168Paul Howe Great Britain1:51.99

Final A

RankLaneSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1st place, gold medalist(s)6Duncan Armstrong Australia1:47.25WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s)8Anders Holmertz Sweden1:47.89
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)5Matt Biondi United States1:47.99AM
44Artur Wojdat Poland1:48.40
53Michael Gross West Germany1:48.59
61Steffen Zesner East Germany1:48.77
72Troy Dalbey United States1:48.86
87Thomas Fahrner West Germany1:49.19

References

  1. ↑ "Swimming at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "200 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. ↑ Neff, Craig (26 September 1988). "Her Golden Moment: Janet Evans made winning the U.S.'s first gold medal look easy". Sports Illustrated. CNN. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Robb, Sharon (19 September 1988). "Evans Earns First U.S. Gold But Biondi Must Settle For Bronze in 200-meter Freestyle". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  5. 1 2 Dodds, Tracey (19 September 1988). "The Seoul Games / Day 3 : Evans Wins First Gold, Sets American Record". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "Seoul 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Seoul 1988. LA84 Foundation. pp. 402–403. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "Seoul 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Finals" (PDF). Seoul 1988. LA84 Foundation. p. 403. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
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