Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre freestyle

The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1968 Olympic Games took place on 24 October at the Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez.[1][2] It was the third time the event was held, returning for the first time since 1904 (when the distance was measured in yards). There were 57 competitors from 26 nations, with each nation having up to three swimmers.[2] The event was won by Michael Wenden of Australia, the nation's second victory in the event (68 years, but only two Games, apart); Australia extended its podium streak in the event to three Games over 68 years. It was Wenden's second gold medal of the Games, completing a 100/200 free double. Americans Don Schollander and John Nelson took silver and bronze, respectively (with the United States podium streak thereby being two Games over 64 years).

Men's 200 metre freestyle
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
Gold medalist Michael Wenden
VenueAlberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez
Date24 October
Competitors57 from 26 nations
Winning time1:55.2 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Michael Wenden  Australia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Don Schollander  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) John Nelson  United States
← 1904 (220 yd)
1972 →

Background

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This was the third 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]

Unsurprisingly, none of the competitors from the 1904 Games returned. Don Schollander was the heavy favourite in the event, having broken the world record five times since Tokyo 1964 (the last Games without the 200 metre freestyle on the programme). Schollander had won four Olympic gold medals in 1964, including anchoring the gold medal 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay. Michael Wenden of Australia had won the 100 metre freestyle (in which Schollander did not compete) earlier at the 1968 Olympics and was looking for a double.[2]

19 of the 26 competing nations were making their debut in the event. Australia and the United States were the only two nations to have previously competed in both 1900 and 1904; France, Great Britain, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Sweden were making their second appearance after competing in 1900 only.

Competition format

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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 9 heats of between 5 and 8 swimmers each. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. 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

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The standing world and Olympic records prior to this competition were as follows. Clark's Olympic record was set as the first leg in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay final.

World record   Don Schollander (USA) 1:54.3 Long Beach, United States 30 August 1968
Olympic record   Steve Clark (USA) 2:00.0 Tokyo, Japan 18 October 1964

John Nelson set a new Olympic record at 1:59.5 in the first heat; Michael Wenden immediately broke it with 1:59.3 in the second. In the fourth and eighth heats, Don Schollander and Ralph Hutton tied the old record (behind Nelson and Wenden's new efforts).

Five of the finalists came in below the new record; Wenden finished first to improve his Olympic record to 1:55.2.

Schedule

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All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)

Date Time Round
Thursday, 24 October 1968 10:00
17:00
Heats
Final

Results

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Heats

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Nelson set a new Olympic record in the first heat; it was short-lived, as Wenden broke it in the second.

Rank Heat Swimmer Nation Time Note
1 2 Michael Wenden   Australia 1:59.3 Q, OR
2 1 John Nelson   United States 1:59.5 Q, OR
3 8 Ralph Hutton   Canada 2:00.0 Q
4 Don Schollander   United States 2:00.0 Q
5 6 Alain Mosconi   France 2:00.1 Q
6 5 Steve Rerych   United States 2:00.6 Q
7 2 Bob Windle   Australia 2:01.0 Q
8 5 Semyon Belits-Geyman   Soviet Union 2:01.2 Q
9 7 Juan Carlos Bello   Peru 2:01.3
6 Leonid Ilyichov   Soviet Union 2:01.3
11 9 Michel Rousseau   France 2:01.5
12 8 Olaf, Baron von Schilling   West Germany 2:01.7
13 4 Luis Nicolao   Argentina 2:01.8
3 Sandy Gilchrist   Canada 2:01.8
15 3 Lester Eriksson   Sweden 2:02.1
9 Kunihiro Iwasaki   Japan 2:02.1
1 Wolfgang Kremer   West Germany 2:02.1
18 1 Mark Anderson   Australia 2:02.2
19 3 Gilles Moreau   France 2:02.7
20 7 Julio Arango   Colombia 2:03.1
21 6 George Smith   Canada 2:03.2
22 1 Noboru Waseda   Japan 2:03.4
23 4 Johan Schans   Netherlands 2:04.1
24 6 Roosevelt Abdulgafur   Philippines 2:04.8
25 5 Pano Capéronis   Switzerland 2:04.9
4 Gunnar Larsson   Sweden 2:04.9
27 5 Ørjan Madsen   Norway 2:05.4
28 3 Satoru Nakano   Japan 2:05.5
29 4 Elt Drenth   Netherlands 2:05.6
30 5 Ricardo González   Colombia 2:05.8
31 2 Władysław Wojtakajtis   Poland 2:06.0
32 8 Tony Asamali   Philippines 2:06.2
33 7 Zbigniew Pacelt   Poland 2:06.3
34 2 Mátyás Borlói   Hungary 2:06.5
35 1 Gary Goodner   Puerto Rico 2:06.6
9 Aad Oudt   Netherlands 2:06.6
37 6 Fernando González   Ecuador 2:07.3
38 6 Werner Krammel   West Germany 2:07.9
39 4 Georgijs Kuļikovs   Soviet Union 2:08.3
40 7 Jorge González   Puerto Rico 2:09.1
41 2 Amnon Krauz   Israel 2:09.3
5 Tony Jarvis   Great Britain 2:09.3
43 7 Csaba Csatlós   Hungary 2:10.0
8 Ingvar Eriksson   Sweden 2:10.0
45 2 Gregorio Fiallo   Cuba 2:10.5
46 3 Federico Sicard   Colombia 2:11.1
47 6 Ramiro Benavides   Guatemala 2:11.7
48 9 Luis Ayesa   Philippines 2:12.2
49 7 Gábor Kucsera   Hungary 2:12.8
50 1 Salvador Vilanova   El Salvador 2:14.6
51 4 Ronnie Wong   Hong Kong 2:15.0
52 8 Andrew Loh   Hong Kong 2:15.8
53 3 José Martínez   Cuba 2:16.1
54 5 Bob Loh   Hong Kong 2:16.2
55 4 Angus Edghill   Barbados 2:19.1
56 6 José Alvarado   El Salvador 2:20.2
57 9 Ernesto Durón   El Salvador 2:24.1
1 Guillermo Echevarría   Mexico DNS
2 Michele D'Oppido   Italy DNS
3 Michael Turner   Great Britain DNS
5 Edgar Miranda Villalobos   Costa Rica DNS
7 José Aranha   Brazil DNS
7 Udo Poser   East Germany DNS
8 John Thurley   Great Britain DNS
8 Salvador Ruiz   Mexico DNS
8 José Ferraioli   Puerto Rico DNS
9 Carlos van der Maath   Argentina DNS
9 Pietro Boscaini   Italy DNS

Final

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
  Michael Wenden   Australia 1:55.2 OR
  Don Schollander   United States 1:55.8
  John Nelson   United States 1:58.1
4 Ralph Hutton   Canada 1:58.6
5 Alain Mosconi   France 1:59.1
6 Bob Windle   Australia 2:00.9
7 Semyon Belits-Geiman   Soviet Union 2:01.5
Steve Rerych   United States DNS

References

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  1. ^ "Swimming at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "200 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 June 2021.