Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre freestyle
| Men's 200 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad | |||||||
| Venue | Sydney International Aquatic Centre | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | September 17, 2000 (heats & semifinals) September 18, 2000 (final) | ||||||
| Competitors | 53 from 45 nations | ||||||
| Winning time | 1:45.35 =WR | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
| |||||||
| Swimming events at the 2000 Summer Olympics  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 17–18 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.[1]
Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband edged out Australia's top favorite Ian Thorpe on the final lap to claim a gold medal in the event. Stunning a massive home crowd, he touched the wall first in 1:45.35 to match his own world record from the semifinals.[2][3] As a result of starting harder than usual, Thorpe ended up only with a silver in 1:45.83, while Italy's Massimiliano Rosolino added a bronze to his hardware from the 400 m freestyle in a time 1:46.65.[4][5]
U.S. swimmer Josh Davis missed the podium by six hundredths of a second (0.06), finishing with a new American record of 1:46.73. Davis was followed in fifth and sixth by British duo Paul Palmer (1:47.95) and James Salter (1:48.74).[6] Canada's Rick Say (1:48.76) and another Aussie Grant Hackett (1:49.46) closed out the field.[5]
Earlier in the semifinals, Van den Hoogenband blasted a new world record of 1:45.35, slashing 0.16 seconds off the mark set by Thorpe from the Australian trials. One heat later, Thorpe powered home with a second-fastest time of 1:45.37, but missed taking the record back by two hundredths of a second (0.02).[3] He also erased Yevgeny Sadovyi's 1992 Olympic record by 0.14 seconds to pick up a top seed from the prelims (1:46.56).[7][8]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Ian Thorpe (AUS) | 1:45.51 | Sydney, Australia | 15 May 2000 | [9] |
| Olympic record |  Yevgeny Sadovyi (EUN) | 1:46.70 | Barcelona, Spain | 27 July 1992 | [9] |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 September | Heat 7 | Ian Thorpe | Australia | 1:46.56 | OR |
| 17 September | Semifinal 1 | Pieter van den Hoogenband |  Netherlands | 1:45.35 | WR |
| 18 September | Final | Pieter van den Hoogenband | Netherlands | 1:45.35 | =WR |
Results
Heats
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Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Pieter van den Hoogenband | Netherlands | 1:45.35 | Q, WR |
| 2 | 5 | Josh Davis |  United States | 1:47.06 | Q, AM |
| 3 | 3 | James Salter |  Great Britain | 1:48.64 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Scott Goldblatt | United States | 1:48.83 | |
| 5 | 7 | Stefan Herbst |  Germany | 1:49.72 | |
| 6 | 8 | Attila Zubor |  Hungary | 1:49.87 | |
| 7 | 2 | Örn Arnarson |  Iceland | 1:50.41 | |
| 8 | 1 | Stefan Pohl | Germany | 1:50.56 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ian Thorpe | Australia | 1:45.37 | Q, OC |
| 2 | 5 | Massimiliano Rosolino |  Italy | 1:46.60 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Rick Say |  Canada | 1:48.50 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Grant Hackett | Australia | 1:48.76 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | Paul Palmer | Great Britain | 1:48.79 | Q |
| 6 | 1 | Andrey Kapralov |  Russia | 1:49.04 | |
| 7 | 8 | Béla Szabados | Hungary | 1:49.36 | |
| 8 | 6 | Igor Koleda | .svg.png){kind=small} Belarus | 1:49.52 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 4 | Pieter van den Hoogenband | Netherlands | 1:45.35 | =WR |
 | 5 | Ian Thorpe | Australia | 1:45.83 | |
 | 3 | Massimiliano Rosolino | Italy | 1:46.65 | |
| 4 | 6 | Josh Davis | United States | 1:46.73 | AM |
| 5 | 8 | Paul Palmer | Great Britain | 1:47.95 | |
| 6 | 7 | James Salter | Great Britain | 1:48.74 | |
| 7 | 2 | Rick Say | Canada | 1:48.76 | |
| 8 | 1 | Grant Hackett | Australia | 1:49.46 |
References
- ↑ "Swimming schedule". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ "Flying Dutchman". Sports Illustrated (CNN). 18 September 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- 1 2 "Dutchman ties own world record". ESPN. 18 September 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ↑ Morrissey, Rick (19 September 2000). "Thorpedo A Dud, At Least This Time". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- 1 2 Whitten, Phillip (18 September 2000). "Olympic Day 3 Finals (100 Breast, 100 Back M, 100 Back W, 200 Free)". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ↑ Hayward, Paul (19 September 2000). "Swimming: Thorpe stands tall as a nation is silenced". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ↑ Whitten, Phillip (17 September 2000). "Olympic Prelims: Day Two". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ↑ Morris, Jim (16 September 2000). "Calgary's Curtis Myden qualifies for Olympic finals of 400 IM". Canoe.ca. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 128–130. Retrieved 13 May 2013.