Men's 200 metre freestyle
at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
Gold medalist Michael Gross (2014)
VenueMcDonald's Olympic Swim Stadium
Date29 July 1984 (heats & final)
Competitors56 from 36 nations
Winning time1:47.44 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Michael Gross  West Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mike Heath  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Thomas Fahrner  West Germany

The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1984 Summer Olympics was held in the McDonald's Olympic Swim Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on July 29, 1984.[1] There were 56 competitors from 36 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers (down from a maximum of three in previous Games).[2] The event was won by Michael Gross of West Germany, the nation's first victory in the event. His countryman Thomas Fahrner took bronze. Americans placed second and fourth, with Mike Heath earning silver and Jeff Float in fourth place.

Background

This was the seventh 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]

Two of the 8 finalists from the 1980 Games returned: sixth-place finisher Paolo Revelli of Italy and seventh-place finisher Thomas Lejdström of Sweden. The reigning World Champion was Michael Gross of West Germany, having beaten American Rowdy Gaines. Gross, who had also set a world record in the event earlier in 1984, was heavily favoured in Los Angeles. The host United States was represented by Mike Heath and Jeff Float, both strong medal contenders.[2]

The People's Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Fiji, Honduras, the Netherlands Antilles, San Marino, Swaziland, Turkey, and Uruguay each made their debut in the event. Australia made its seventh appearance, the only nation to have competed in all prior editions of the event.

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 7 heats of up to 8 swimmers each. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. The 1984 event also introduced a consolation or "B" final; the swimmers placing 9th through 16th in the heats competed in this "B" final for placing. 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

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

World record Michael Gross (FRG)1:47.55 Munich, West Germany8 June 1984
Olympic record Sergey Koplyakov (URS)1:49.81 Moscow, Soviet Union21 July 1980

The following records were established during the competition:

DateRoundSwimmerNationTimeRecord
29 JulyHeat 7Michael Gross West Germany1:48.03OR
29 JulyFinal AMichael Gross West Germany1:47.44WR

Schedule

All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 29 July 19849:50
16:55
17:05		Heats
Final A
Final B

Results

Heats

Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A, while the next eight to final B.[3]

RankHeatLaneSwimmerNationTimeNotes
174Michael Gross West Germany1:48.03QA, OR
264Mike Heath United States1:49.87QA
344Thomas Fahrner West Germany1:50.00QA
434Alberto Mestre Venezuela1:50.73QA
554Jeff Float United States1:50.95QA
653Frank Drost Netherlands1:51.32QA, NR
715Peter Dale Australia1:51.42QA, NR
875Marco Dell'Uomo Italy1:51.67QA
945Anders Holmertz Sweden1:51.70QB
1065Thomas Lejdström Sweden1:51.76QB
43Alex Baumann Canada1:51.76QB, WD
1223Paul Easter Great Britain1:51.80QB
1356Juan Carlos Vallejo Spain1:51.97QB, NR
1435Andrew Astbury Great Britain1:52.01QB
1525Hans Kroes Netherlands1:52.37QB
1614Peter Szmidt Canada1:52.48QB
1763Carlos Scanavino Uruguay1:52.70QB
1855Justin Lemberg Australia1:52.73
1975Borut Petrič Yugoslavia1:52.74
2033Jorge Fernandes Brazil1:53.03
2128Cyro Delgado Brazil1:53.22
2224Paolo Revelli Italy1:53.46
2316Franz Mortensen Denmark1:54.09NR
2462Anthony Mosse New Zealand1:54.12NR
2512Stéfan Voléry Switzerland1:54.19NR
2672Hiroshi Sakamoto Japan1:54.71
2717Michael Miao Chinese Taipei1:55.01NR
2836Javier Miralpeix Spain1:55.25
2966Jean-Marie François Venezuela1:55.28
3013Darjan Petrič Yugoslavia1:55.68
3147César Sánchez Mexico1:55.82
3232Gökhan Attaroglu Turkey1:55.92
3326Shigeo Ogata Japan1:55.97
3477Shen Jianqiang China1:56.08
3552Mike Davidson New Zealand1:56.20
3622Thierry Jacot Switzerland1:56.54
3776Fernando Cañales Puerto Rico1:56.60
3857Evert Johan Kroon Netherlands Antilles1:57.05
3937William Wilson Philippines1:57.18
4027Sean Nottage Bahamas1:57.54
4167Scott Newkirk Virgin Islands1:57.74
4242Carlos Romo Mexico1:58.77
4346Fabián Ferrari Argentina1:59.39
4471Mohamed Youssef Egypt1:59.71
4541Erik Rosskopf Virgin Islands2:02.04
4621Samuela Tupou Fiji2:02.22
4751Ingi Jónsson Iceland2:02.23
4861Tsang Yi Ming Hong Kong2:03.11
4931Ng Wing Hon Hong Kong2:03.66
5078Roberto Granados Guatemala2:05.21
5111Rodrigo Leal Guatemala2:05.96
5218Juan José Piro Honduras2:12.51
5338Trevor Ncala Swaziland2:15.30
5448Michele Piva San Marino2:15.39
5558Percy Sayegh Lebanon2:20.76
5668Rami Kantari Lebanon2:25.43

Finals

Final B

RankLaneSwimmerNationTimeNotes
93Paul Easter Great Britain1:51.70
106Juan Carlos Vallejo Spain1:51.77NR
117Hans Kroes Netherlands1:52.36
124Anders Holmertz Sweden1:52.44
138Carlos Scanavino Uruguay1:52.54
141Peter Szmidt Canada1:52.56
152Andrew Astbury Great Britain1:53.02
165Thomas Lejdström Sweden1:53.63

Final A

RankLaneSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1st place, gold medalist(s)4Michael Gross West Germany1:47.44WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s)5Mike Heath United States1:49.10
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)3Thomas Fahrner West Germany1:49.69
42Jeff Float United States1:50.18
56Alberto Mestre Venezuela1:50.23NR
67Frank Drost Netherlands1:51.62
78Marco Dell'Uomo Italy1:52.20
81Peter Dale Australia1:53.84

References

  1. ↑ "Swimming at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "200 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Los Angeles 1984: Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Los Angeles 1984. LA84 Foundation. pp. 504–505. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
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