Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre backstroke

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Men's 200 metre backstroke
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
Ryan Murphy 200 backstroke-2 (35064185201).jpg
Gold medalist Ryan Murphy (2017)
VenueOlympic Aquatics Stadium
Dates10 August 2016 (heats & semifinals)
11 August 2016 (final)
Competitors26 from 19 nations
Winning time1:53.62
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Ryan Murphy  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mitch Larkin  Australia
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Evgeny Rylov  Russia
← 2012
2020 →

The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on 10–11 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.[1] There were 26 competitors from 19 nations.[2]

Summary[]

The American tradition of excellence continued in the distance backstroke, as Ryan Murphy made a historic milestone to claim the country's sixth straight title, and strike a backstroke double for the first time since Aaron Peirsol did so in 2004. He held off a stiff competition from Australia's reigning world champion Mitch Larkin down the home stretch to earn his second individual gold at the Games with a time of 1:53.62.[3][2] Leading the race early on the initial length, Larkin pulled closer to Murphy about the midway through the final lap, but could not catch him near the wall to finish with a silver-medal time in 1:53.96.[4] Meanwhile, Russia's Evgeny Rylov finished with the bronze in 1:53.97, a hundredth of a second behind Larkin.[5]

Trailing the top three by over a second, China's Xu Jiayu, runner-up to Murphy in the 100 m backstroke on night three, took the fourth spot in 1:55.16, while his teenage teammate Li Guangyuan posted a sixth-place time in 1:55.89. U.S. swimmer Jacob Pebley, who had upset the defending champion Tyler Clary at the Olympic trials one month earlier, split the Chinese duo to finish fifth with a 1:55.52.[6] Germany's Christian Diener (1:56.27), along with double London 2012 medalist Ryosuke Irie of Japan (1:56.36), rounded out the field.[5]

The medals for the competition were presented by Yumilka Ruiz, Cuba, IOC member, and the gifts were presented by Dmitris Diathestopoulos, Member of the FINA Bureau.

Background[]

This was the 15th appearance of the 200 metre backstroke event. It was first held in 1900. The event did not return until 1964; since then, it has been on the programme at every Summer Games. From 1904 to 1960, a men's 100 metre backstroke was held instead. In 1964, only the 200 metres was held. Beginning in 1968 and ever since, both the 100 and 200 metre versions have been held.[2]

Three of the 8 finalists from the 2012 Games returned: silver medalist Ryosuke Irie of Japan, fourth-place finisher Radosław Kawęcki of Poland, and eighth-place finisher Mitch Larkin of Australia. Larkin, Kawęcki, and Evgeny Rylov of Russia had reached the podium at the 2015 World Championships, with Irie 4th and American Ryan Murphy taking 5th. Larkin was the favourite, though Murphy had a strong showing at the U.S. Olympic trials and had already won the 100 metre backstroke in Rio (defeating Larkin, who finished fourth).[2]

Azerbaijan, Belarus, and the Virgin Islands each made their debut in the event. Australia made its 14th appearance, most among nations to that point.

Qualification[]

Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to two swimmers if both met the Olympic Qualifying Time (or "OQT"). An NOC with no swimmers meeting the OQT but at least one swimmer meeting the Olympic Selection Time (or "OST") was not guaranteed a place, but was eligible for selection to fill the overall 900 swimmer quota for the Games. For 2016, the OQT was 1:58.22 while the OST was 2:02.36. The qualifying window was 1 March 2015 to 3 July 2016; only approved meets (generally international competitions and national Olympic trials) during that period could be used to meet the standards. There were also universality places available; if no male swimmer from a nation qualified in any event, the NOC could enter one male swimmer in an event.

The two swimmers per NOC limit had been in place since the 1984 Games.

Competition format[]

The competition followed the format established in 2000, with three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. 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. The top 16 swimmers from the heats advanced to the semifinals. The top 8 semifinalists advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties.[1]

This swimming event used backstroke. Because an Olympic-size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of four lengths of the pool.

Records[]

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record  Aaron Peirsol (USA) 1:51.92 Rome, Italy 31 July 2009 [7][8]
Olympic record  Tyler Clary (USA) 1:53.41 London, United Kingdom 2 August 2012 [9]

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule[]

All times are Brasilia Time (UTC-3)

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 10 August 2016 13:25
22:28
Heats
Semifinals
Thursday, 11 August 2016 22:26 Final

Results[]

Heats[]

Rank Heat Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 2 4 Evgeny Rylov  Russia 1:55.02 Q
2 2 5 Xu Jiayu  China 1:55.51 Q
3 4 4 Mitch Larkin  Australia 1:56.01 Q
4 3 4 Ryan Murphy  United States 1:56.29 Q
5 3 5 Jacob Pebley  United States 1:56.44 Q
6 2 3 Jan-Philip Glania  Germany 1:56.50 Q
4 7 Andrey Shabasov  Russia 1:56.50 Q
8 4 3 Ryosuke Irie  Japan 1:56.61 Q
9 2 2 Christian Diener  Germany 1:56.62 Q
10 4 6 Josh Beaver  Australia 1:56.65 Q
11 3 6 Li Guangyuan  China 1:56.85 Q
12 4 1 Leonardo de Deus  Brazil 1:57.00 Q, NR
13 2 6 Masaki Kaneko  Japan 1:57.19 Q
14 3 2 Hugo González  Spain 1:57.50 Q
15 4 8 Corey Main  New Zealand 1:57.51 Q
16 3 3 Yakov Toumarkin  Israel 1:57.58 Q
17 4 5 Radosław Kawęcki  Poland 1:57.61
18 1 4 Robert Glință  Romania 1:57.91
19 2 7 Ádám Telegdy  Hungary 1:59.09
20 1 5 Rexford Tullius  Virgin Islands 1:59.14
21 4 2 Danas Rapšys  Lithuania 1:59.58
22 3 1 Dávid Földházi  Hungary 1:59.69
3 8 Omar Pinzón  Colombia 1:59.69
24 3 7 Apostolos Christou  Greece 1:59.78
25 2 1 Mikita Tsmyh  Belarus 2:00.96
26 1 3 Boris Kirillov  Azerbaijan 2:05.01

Semifinals[]

Rank Heat Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 2 4 Evgeny Rylov  Russia 1:54.45 Q
2 2 5 Mitch Larkin  Australia 1:54.73 Q
3 2 3 Jacob Pebley  United States 1:54.92 Q
4 1 5 Ryan Murphy  United States 1:55.15 Q
5 1 4 Xu Jiayu  China 1:55.66 Q
6 2 7 Li Guangyuan  China 1:55.92 Q
7 1 6 Ryosuke Irie  Japan 1:56.31 Q
8 2 2 Christian Diener  Germany 1:56.37 Q
9 1 3 Jan-Philip Glania  Germany 1:56.53
10 1 2 Josh Beaver  Australia 1:56.57
11 2 1 Masaki Kaneko  Japan 1:56.78
12 2 6 Andrey Shabasov  Russia 1:56.84
13 1 7 Leonardo de Deus  Brazil 1:57.67
14 2 8 Corey Main  New Zealand 1:58.08
15 1 8 Yakov Toumarkin  Israel 1:58.63
16 1 1 Hugo González  Spain 1:59.08

Final[]

Rank Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 Ryan Murphy  United States 1:53.62
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 Mitch Larkin  Australia 1:53.96
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 Evgeny Rylov  Russia 1:53.97 EU
4 2 Xu Jiayu  China 1:55.16
5 3 Jacob Pebley  United States 1:55.52
6 7 Li Guangyuan  China 1:55.89
7 8 Christian Diener  Germany 1:56.27
8 1 Ryosuke Irie  Japan 1:56.36

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Men's 200m Backstroke". Rio 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "200 metres Backstroke, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  3. ^ Stubbs, Roman (12 August 2016). "Ryan Murphy sweeps the backstroke in Rio with gold medal in 200-meter event". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  4. ^ Pentony, Luke (11 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Mitch Larkin claims Olympic silver medal in 200 metres backstroke". ABC News Australia. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Ryan Murphy Continues American Dominance With Gold Medal Performance In 200 Back". Swimming World Magazine. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Ryan Murphy takes 200m backstroke gold, sweeps backstrokes in Rio". NBC Olympics. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Cavic supplants Phelps' 100 fly time". ESPN. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  8. ^ Michaelis, Vicky (31 July 2009). "Phelps earns relay gold medal, Peirsol sets 200m backstroke mark". USA Today. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  9. ^ Auerbach, Nicole (2 August 2012). "Clary tops Lochte, wins gold in 200-meter backstroke". USA Today. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
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