Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre freestyle
March 07, 2023
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).
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
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
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.
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.
^. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
^ abcd"200 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
March 07, 2023
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The men s 200 metre freestyle event at the 1968 Olympic Games took place on 24 October at the Alberca Olimpica Francisco Marquez 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 freestyleat the Games of the XIX OlympiadGold medalist Michael WendenVenueAlberca Olimpica Francisco MarquezDate24 OctoberCompetitors57 from 26 nationsWinning time1 55 2 ORMedalistsMichael Wenden AustraliaDon Schollander United StatesJohn Nelson United States 1904 220 yd 1972 Contents 1 Background 2 Competition format 3 Records 4 Schedule 5 Results 5 1 Heats 5 2 Final 6 ReferencesBackground EditThis 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 EditThe 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 EditThe 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 1968Olympic record Steve Clark USA 2 00 0 Tokyo Japan 18 October 1964John 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 EditAll times are Central Standard Time UTC 6 Date Time RoundThursday 24 October 1968 10 0017 00 HeatsFinalResults EditHeats Edit 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 Note1 2 Michael Wenden Australia 1 59 3 Q OR2 1 John Nelson United States 1 59 5 Q OR3 8 Ralph Hutton Canada 2 00 0 Q4 Don Schollander United States 2 00 0 Q5 6 Alain Mosconi France 2 00 1 Q6 5 Steve Rerych United States 2 00 6 Q7 2 Bob Windle Australia 2 01 0 Q8 5 Semyon Belits Geyman Soviet Union 2 01 2 Q9 7 Juan Carlos Bello Peru 2 01 36 Leonid Ilyichov Soviet Union 2 01 311 9 Michel Rousseau France 2 01 512 8 Olaf Baron von Schilling West Germany 2 01 713 4 Luis Nicolao Argentina 2 01 83 Sandy Gilchrist Canada 2 01 815 3 Lester Eriksson Sweden 2 02 19 Kunihiro Iwasaki Japan 2 02 11 Wolfgang Kremer West Germany 2 02 118 1 Mark Anderson Australia 2 02 219 3 Gilles Moreau France 2 02 720 7 Julio Arango Colombia 2 03 121 6 George Smith Canada 2 03 222 1 Noboru Waseda Japan 2 03 423 4 Johan Schans Netherlands 2 04 124 6 Roosevelt Abdulgafur Philippines 2 04 825 5 Pano Caperonis Switzerland 2 04 94 Gunnar Larsson Sweden 2 04 927 5 Orjan Madsen Norway 2 05 428 3 Satoru Nakano Japan 2 05 529 4 Elt Drenth Netherlands 2 05 630 5 Ricardo Gonzalez Colombia 2 05 831 2 Wladyslaw Wojtakajtis Poland 2 06 032 8 Tony Asamali Philippines 2 06 233 7 Zbigniew Pacelt Poland 2 06 334 2 Matyas Borloi Hungary 2 06 535 1 Gary Goodner Puerto Rico 2 06 69 Aad Oudt Netherlands 2 06 637 6 Fernando Gonzalez Ecuador 2 07 338 6 Werner Krammel West Germany 2 07 939 4 Georgijs Kulikovs Soviet Union 2 08 340 7 Jorge Gonzalez Puerto Rico 2 09 141 2 Amnon Krauz Israel 2 09 35 Tony Jarvis Great Britain 2 09 343 7 Csaba Csatlos Hungary 2 10 08 Ingvar Eriksson Sweden 2 10 045 2 Gregorio Fiallo Cuba 2 10 546 3 Federico Sicard Colombia 2 11 147 6 Ramiro Benavides Guatemala 2 11 748 9 Luis Ayesa Philippines 2 12 249 7 Gabor Kucsera Hungary 2 12 850 1 Salvador Vilanova El Salvador 2 14 651 4 Ronnie Wong Hong Kong 2 15 052 8 Andrew Loh Hong Kong 2 15 853 3 Jose Martinez Cuba 2 16 154 5 Bob Loh Hong Kong 2 16 255 4 Angus Edghill Barbados 2 19 156 6 Jose Alvarado El Salvador 2 20 257 9 Ernesto Duron El Salvador 2 24 1 1 Guillermo Echevarria Mexico DNS2 Michele D Oppido Italy DNS3 Michael Turner Great Britain DNS5 Edgar Miranda Villalobos Costa Rica DNS7 Jose Aranha Brazil DNS7 Udo Poser East Germany DNS8 John Thurley Great Britain DNS8 Salvador Ruiz Mexico DNS8 Jose Ferraioli Puerto Rico DNS9 Carlos van der Maath Argentina DNS9 Pietro Boscaini Italy DNSFinal Edit 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 14 Ralph Hutton Canada 1 58 65 Alain Mosconi France 1 59 16 Bob Windle Australia 2 00 97 Semyon Belits Geiman Soviet Union 2 01 5 Steve Rerych United States DNSReferences Edit 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 a b c d 200 metres Freestyle Men Olympedia Retrieved 18 June 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics Men 27s 200 metre freestyle amp oldid 1117442254, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
