Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre backstroke
| Men's 200 metre backstroke at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | August 13, 2008 (heats) August 14, 2008 (semifinals) August 15, 2008 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 42 from 33 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 1:53.94 WR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Swimming events at the 2008 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 | ||
| Marathon | ||||
| 10 km | men | women | ||
The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 13–15 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
Billed as the Clash of the Titans, Ryan Lochte stormed home on the final lap to defeat his teammate Aaron Peirsol and claim his first individual Olympic gold medal. He touched the wall first in 1:53.94, faster than the world record he shared with Peirsol at 1:54.32.[2][3][4]
Peirsol enjoyed a head-to-head battle against Lochte in the first 150 metres, but ended up only with a silver in 1:54.33. Russia's Arkady Vyatchanin added a second bronze to his collection, finishing in a new European record of 1:54.93 to hold off Austria's Markus Rogan (1:55.49), the silver medalist in Athens four years earlier.[3] Earlier in the semifinals, Vyatchanin edged out Germany's Helge Meeuw in a swimoff to secure a last spot for the top 8 final.[5]
Japan's Ryosuke Irie finished fifth with a time of 1:55.72, and was followed in the sixth spot by Australia's Hayden Stoeckel, who shared bronze medals with Vyatchanin in the 100 m backstroke, in an Oceanian record of 1:56.39. Romania's Răzvan Florea (1:56.52) and Great Britain's Gregor Tait (1:57.00) rounded out the finale.[3]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Ryan Lochte (USA) Aaron Peirsol (USA) | 1:54.32 | Melbourne, Australia Omaha, United States | 30 March 2007 4 July 2008 | [6] [7] |
| Olympic record | Aaron Peirsol (USA) | 1:54.95 | Athens, Greece | 19 August 2004 | - |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 15 | Final | Ryan Lochte | United States | 1:53.94 | WR |
Results
Heats
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank ! | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Aaron Peirsol | United States | 1:55.26 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Răzvan Florea |  Romania | 1:56.45 | Q, NR |
| 3 | 3 | Hayden Stoeckel |  Australia | 1:56.73 | Q, OC |
| 4 | 5 | Arkady Vyatchanin |  Russia | 1:56.85 | QSO |
| 5 | 7 | Damiano Lestingi |  Italy | 1:58.25 | |
| 6 | 6 | Gordan Kožulj |  Croatia | 1:59.22 | |
| 7 | 8 | Tobias Oriwol |  Canada | 1:59.50 | |
| 8 | 1 | Stanislav Donets | Russia | 1:59.87 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ryan Lochte | United States | 1:55.40 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Markus Rogan |  Austria | 1:56.34 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Ryosuke Irie |  Japan | 1:56.35 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Gregor Tait |  Great Britain | 1:56.72 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | Helge Meeuw |  Germany | 1:56.85 | QSO |
| 6 | 2 | Ashley Delaney | Australia | 1:57.73 | |
| 7 | 8 | Keith Beavers | Canada | 1:58.50 | |
| 8 | 1 | George Du Rand |  South Africa | 1:58.61 | AF |
Swimoff
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Arkady Vyatchanin | Russia | 1:57.75 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Helge Meeuw | Germany | 2:00.97 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
5 | Ryan Lochte | United States |
1:53.94 | WR |
 |
4 | Aaron Peirsol | United States |
1:54.33 | |
 |
8 | Arkady Vyatchanin | Russia |
1:54.93 | EU |
| 4 | 3 | Markus Rogan | Austria |
1:55.49 | NR |
| 5 | 6 | Ryosuke Irie | Japan |
1:55.72 | |
| 6 | 1 | Hayden Stoeckel | Australia |
1:56.39 | OC |
| 7 | 2 | Răzvan Florea | Romania |
1:56.52 | |
| 8 | 7 | Gregor Tait | Great Britain |
1:57.00 |
References
- ↑ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ "Lochte, Peirsol take gold, silver in 200 back". NBC News. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- 1 2 3 Lohn, John (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Ryan Lochte Claims Epic Battle Against Aaron Peirsol With 200 Back World Record". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ "Lochte grabs 200m backstroke gold". BBC Sport. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ Lohn, John (13 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Americans Go 1-2 in Men's 200 Back, Aaron Peirsol Top Seed". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ Clarey, Christopher (31 March 2007). "American sets a record, but, no, it’s not Phelps". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ↑ Van Valkenburg, Kevin (5 July 2008). "Phelps in a world of his own". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 6 August 2008.