Men's 200 metre backstroke
at the Games of the XX Olympiad
Gold medalist Roland Matthes (1970)
VenueOlympia Schwimmhalle
Date2 September (heats, final)
Competitors36 from 23 nations
Winning time2:02.82 =WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Roland Matthes  East Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mike Stamm  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Mitch Ivey  United States

The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1972 Summer Olympics took place on September 2 at the Olympia Schwimmhalle.[1] There were 36 competitors from 23 nations, with each nation having up to 3 swimmers.[2] The podium was very similar to the previous Games in 1968, with Roland Matthes of East Germany winning gold and the United States taking the other two medals, including one going to Mitch Ivey. Matthes and Ivey were the first two men to earn multiple medals in the event, with Matthes the first to win back-to-back championships and Ivey adding his 1972 bronze to his 1968 silver. Mike Stamm was the silver medalist in Munich. Matthes also defended his 1968 100 metre backstroke title, giving him the backstroke double a second time.[2]

Background

This was the fourth 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]

Two of the 8 finalists from the 1968 Games returned: gold medalist Roland Matthes of East Germany and silver medalist Mitch Ivey of the United States. The American team also included Mike Stamm, who had briefly held the world record in the event in 1970 before Matthes broke it in 1970 (and then bettered his own record in 1971 and at the East German Olympic trials in 1972).[2]

Brazil, Cambodia (then Khmer Republic), El Salvador, and Yugoslavia each made their debut in the event. Italy and the Netherlands each made their fourth appearance, the only two nations to have competed at each appearance of the event to that point.

Competition format

The competition used a two-round (heats and 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 5 heats of up to 8 swimmers each. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties.

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

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics.

World record Roland Matthes (GDR)2:02.8 Leipzig, East Germany10 July 1972
Olympic record Roland Matthes (GDR)2:09.6 Mexico City, Mexico25 October 1968

Mike Stamm broke the Olympic record with a time of 2:07.51 in the second heat. Roland Matthes broke that record with 2:06.62 in the fifth heat. Matthes's final time of 2:02.82 is considered equal to his prior world record of 2:02.8. In all, six of the finalists beat the old Olympic record set in 1968; four were better than the record set in the heats.

Schedule

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Saturday, 2 September 197210:35
18:10		Heats
Final

Results

Heats

RankHeatSwimmerNationTimeNotes
15Roland Matthes East Germany2:06.62Q, OR
22Mike Stamm United States2:07.51Q, OR
33Brad Cooper Australia2:07.90Q
43Tim McKee United States2:08.19Q
55Lothar Noack East Germany2:08.80Q
64Mitch Ivey United States2:09.32Q
71Zoltán Verrasztó Hungary2:09.89Q
84Jean-Paul Berjeau France2:09.93Q
94Bob Schoutsen Netherlands2:10.56
101Colin Cunningham Great Britain2:11.06
114Tadashi Honda Japan2:11.11
125Anders Sandberg Sweden2:11.36
132Neil Martin Australia2:12.09
145Ejvind Pedersen Denmark2:12.30
151Bill Kennedy Canada2:12.55
163Massimo Nistri Italy2:12.85
172Nenad Miloš Yugoslavia2:12.99
182Lutz Wanja East Germany2:13.46
195Helmut Podolan Austria2:13.63
204Róbert Rudolf Hungary2:13.64
213José Urueta Mexico2:13.85
223Lars Børgesen Denmark2:14.50
235Pierre Baehr France2:14.65
244John Hawes Canada2:15.34
251Rafael Rocha Mexico2:15.81
264Norbert Verweyen West Germany2:15.94
271Ian MacKenzie Canada2:16.36
283Rômulo Arantes Filho Brazil2:18.15
294Predrag Miloš Yugoslavia2:18.43
305Bruce Featherston Australia2:18.63
315Gustavo González Argentina2:19.74
323Gerardo Rosario Philippines2:23.53
332Sarun Van Khmer Republic2:24.42
342Chiang Jin Choon Malaysia2:26.51
351Sergio Hasbún El Salvador2:27.93
361Mark Crocker Hong Kong2:33.64

Final

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1st place, gold medalist(s)Roland Matthes East Germany2:02.82=WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s)Mike Stamm United States2:04.09
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)Mitch Ivey United States2:04.33
4Brad Cooper Australia2:06.59
5Tim McKee United States2:07.29
6Lothar Noack East Germany2:08.67
7Zoltán Verrasztó Hungary2:10.09
8Jean-Paul Berjeau France2:11.77

References

  1. ↑ "Swimming at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Backstroke". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "200 metres Backstroke, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
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