Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre breaststroke

The men's 200 metre breaststroke was one of 6 swimming events on the Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the only breaststroke event on the schedule. 1908 was the first appearance of the 200 metre breaststroke, as 1904 had seen the introduction of the stroke to Olympic competition with the 440 yard event. Each nation could enter up to 12 swimmers.[2]

Men's 200 metre breaststroke
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
The start of the final
VenueWhite City Stadium
DatesJuly 15–18
Competitors27 from 10 nations
Medalists
Frederick Holman  Great Britain
William Robinson  Great Britain
Pontus Hanson  Sweden

Competition format

With a much larger field than in 1904, the 1908 competition expanded to three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The 1908 Games also restored the wild-card system from 1900, allowing the fastest swimmers who did not win their heat to advance. The seven heats consisted of between 3 and 5 swimmers, with the winner of the heat advancing along with the fastest loser from across the heats (all tied swimmers advanced in the case of equal times). There were two semifinals, intended to be of 5 swimmers each but one of which actually had 6 due to a tie in the heats; the top 2 finishers in each semifinal (regardless of overall time) advanced to the 4-person final.[3]

Each race involved two lengths of the 100 metre pool. The rules required that "both hands of the competitor must be pushed forward and brought backwards simultaneously, the shoulders must be kept perfectly in line with the surface of the water, and when touching at the turn . . . the touch shall be made with both hands" and that "the touch at the finish shall be made with both hands."[4]

Results

First round

The fastest swimmer in each heat and the fastest loser advanced, qualifying 8 swimmers for the semifinals.

Heat 1

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1Frederick Holman Great Britain3:10.6
2Richard Rösler Germany3:18.0
3Max Gumpel SwedenUnknown

Heat 2

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1Wilhelm Persson Sweden3:17.6
2András Baronyi Hungary3:18.0
3Augustus Goessling United StatesUnknown
4-5Herman Cederberg FinlandUnknown
Frederick Naylor Great BritainUnknown

Heat 3

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1Erich Seidel Germany3:17.2
2Hjalmar Johansson Sweden3:21.2
3Arthur Davies Great BritainUnknown
4Pierre Strauwen BelgiumUnknown

Heat 4

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1Ödön Toldi Hungary3:14.4
2Pontus Hanson Sweden3:15.0
3Sydney Gooday Great BritainUnknown
4Amilcare Beretta ItalyUnknown

Heat 5

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1William Robinson Great Britain3:13.0
2Per Fjästad Sweden3:31.4
3John Henriksson FinlandUnknown
Edward Cooke AustralasiaDid not finish

Heat 6

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1József Fabinyi Hungary3:23.4
2Torsten Kumfeldt Sweden3:24.6
3Harald Klem DenmarkUnknown
Hugo Jonsson FinlandDid not finish

Heat 7

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1Félicien Courbet Belgium3:16.4
2Percy Courtman Great Britain3:18.4
3Adolf Andersson SwedenUnknown

Semifinals

The fastest two swimmers from each semifinal advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1Frederick Holman Great Britain3:10.0
2Ödön Toldi Hungary3:16.4
3Erich Seidel GermanyUnknown
4József Fabinyi HungaryUnknown

Semifinal 2

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1William Robinson Great Britain3:11.8
2Pontus Hanson Sweden3:13.0
3Wilhelm Persson SwedenUnknown
4Félicien Courbet BelgiumUnknown

Final

PlaceSwimmerNationTime
1Frederick Holman Great Britain3:09.2
2William Robinson Great Britain3:12.8
3Pontus Hanson Sweden3:14.6
4Ödön Toldi Hungary3:15.2

References

  1. "Swimming at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Breaststroke". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  2. Official Report, p. 40.
  3. Official Report, p. 571.
  4. Official Report, p. 574.

Sources

  • Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
  • De Wael, Herman (2001). "Swimming 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Retrieved 13 May 2006.
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