Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre breaststroke
| Men's 200 metre breaststroke at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Olympic Aquatics Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 9 August 2016 (heats & semifinals) 10 August 2016 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 39 from 30 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 2:07.46 NR | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Qualification | ||
| Freestyle | ||
| 50 m | men | women |
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | women | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| Backstroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Breaststroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Butterfly | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Individual medley | ||
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| Freestyle relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| 4 × 200 m | men | women |
| Medley relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| Marathon | ||
| 10 km | men | women |
The men's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 9–10 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.[1]
The winning margin was 0.07 seconds which as of 2023 remains the only time this event for men was won by less than a tenth of a second at the Olympics.
Summary
[edit]Double Asian Games champion Dmitriy Balandin surprised the field from the outside to become Kazakhstan's first ever gold medalist in swimming.[2][3] Coming from behind in lane eight, he produced a late surge about the midway of the final leg to upset the pool for an unexpected Olympic triumph with a 2:07.46.[4][5] U.S. breaststroker Josh Prenot nearly charged to the front at the final stretch, before fading to a runner-up finish in 2:07.53, seven-hundredths of a second behind the Kazakh.[6] Meanwhile, Russia's Anton Chupkov claimed the final podium spot, putting up a time of 2:07.70.[7]
Great Britain's Andrew Willis improved upon his eighth-place feat from London 2012 to finish fourth with a 2:07.78, narrowly missing on a podium by eight-hundredths of a second.[8] Japan's Yasuhiro Koseki seized a comfortable lead throughout the majority of the race but slipped down the order on the home stretch to finish fifth in 2:07.80.[9] Koseki's teammate Ippei Watanabe posted a sixth-place time in 2:07.87, while defending World Champion Marco Koch of Germany (2:08.00) and Prenot's fellow countryman Kevin Cordes (2:08.34) rounded out the top eight.[7]
Earlier in the semifinals, Watanabe threw down a top-seeded time of 2:07.22 to slice 0.06 seconds off the existing Olympic record set by Hungary's defending champion Dániel Gyurta, who had narrowly missed the top sixteen field in the heats.[10][11]
Records
[edit]Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Akihiro Yamaguchi (JPN) | 2:07.01 | Gifu, Japan | 15 September 2012 | [12][13] |
| Olympic record |  Dániel Gyurta (HUN) | 2:07.28 | London, United Kingdom | 1 August 2012 | [14] |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 August | Semifinal 1 | Ippei Watanabe |  Japan | 2:07.22 | OR |
Competition format
[edit]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.[1]
Results
[edit]Heats
[edit]
Semifinals
[edit]Semifinal 1
[edit]| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Ippei Watanabe | Japan | 2:07.22 | Q, OR |
| 2 | 2 | Josh Prenot |  United States | 2:07.78 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Yasuhiro Koseki | Japan | 2:07.91 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Dmitriy Balandin |  Kazakhstan | 2:08.20 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | Ilya Khomenko |  Russia | 2:09.73 | |
| 6 | 7 | Erik Persson |  Sweden | 2:10.12 | |
| 7 | 8 | Luca Pizzini |  Italy | 2:11.53 | |
| 8 | 1 | Carlos Claverie |  Venezuela | 2:11.56 |
Semifinal 2
[edit]| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Andrew Willis |  Great Britain | 2:07.73 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Kevin Cordes | United States | 2:07.99 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Anton Chupkov | Russia | 2:08.08 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Marco Koch |  Germany | 2:08.12 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Mao Feilian |  China | 2:09.64 | |
| 6 | 1 | Li Xiang | China | 2:10.92 | |
| 7 | 8 | Craig Benson | Great Britain | 2:10.93 | |
| 8 | 7 | Matti Mattsson |  Finland | 2:12.99 |
Final
[edit]| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 8 | Dmitriy Balandin | Kazakhstan | 2:07.46 | NR |
 | 3 | Josh Prenot | United States | 2:07.53 | |
 | 7 | Anton Chupkov | Russia | 2:07.70 | NR |
| 4 | 5 | Andrew Willis | Great Britain | 2:07.78 | |
| 5 | 6 | Yasuhiro Koseki | Japan | 2:07.80 | |
| 6 | 4 | Ippei Watanabe | Japan | 2:07.87 | |
| 7 | 1 | Marco Koch | Germany | 2:08.00 | |
| 8 | 2 | Kevin Cordes | United States | 2:08.34 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Men's 200m Breaststroke". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "Dmitriy Balandin gives Kazakhstan its first swimming medal, and it's golden". Los Angeles Times. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Kazakhstan, Spain and Belgium Celebrate Olympic Firsts". Swimming World Magazine. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ "Josh Prenot of U.S. takes silver behind Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Balandin". ESPN. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ Trevelyan, Mark (11 August 2016). "Swimming: Balandin swims under the radar to win Kazakh breaststroke gold". Reuters. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ Auerbach, Nicole (10 August 2016). "Josh Prenot wins silver in 200-meter breaststroke". USA Today. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Dmitriy Balandin Tops Tight 200 Breast Field; Earns Kazakhstan's First Ever Swimming Gold Medal". Swimming World Magazine. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: Andrew Willis finishes fourth in 200m breaststroke final". BBC Sport. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- ^ McKirdy, Andrew (11 August 2016). "World champ Hoshi settles for bronze in 200 butterfly". The Japan Times. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Ippei Watanabe Lowers 200 Breast Olympic Record In Semi-Finals". Swimming World Magazine. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "Japan's Ippei Watanabe sets a new Olympic record". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Akihiro Yamaguchi Drops World Record in Japan". Swimming World Magazine. 15 September 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- ^ "Akihiro Yamaguchi sets world record". ESPN. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- ^ "2012 London Olympics: Hungary's Daniel Gyurta Breaks World Record in 200 Breast Victory; Kosuke Kitajima Misses Podium in Threepeat Bid; Scott Weltz, Clark Burckle Fifth-Sixth". Swimming World Magazine. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
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