Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre breaststroke

The men's 200 metre breaststroke was a swimming event held during the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics. This event appeared for the fifth time in the Olympics, having started in 1908. The competition took place over three days, from Monday to Wednesday, August 6 to 8, 1928.

Twenty-one swimmers from 13 different countries took part in the race. Erich Rademacher from Germany was expected to win because he had held the world record for many years. However, he could not compete in the previous Olympics due to WWI.

In a surprising turn, Yoshiyuki Tsuruta won the race by using a new technique. He stayed underwater for most of the race, which was allowed by the rules at that time. Later, Rademacher found joy again when he won gold as the goalkeeper for the German water polo team in the men's water polo event.

Records

Before the 1928 Summer Olympics, there were special fast times for swimming this race that people had set before.

During the competition, Erich Rademacher first set a new fast time. Then, Yoshiyuki Tsuruta went even faster. He kept improving his time in each round, ending with the fastest ever in the final race.

World record	2:48.0	Erich Rademacher	Brussels (BEL)	11 March 1927
Olympic record	2:56.0	Robert Skelton	Paris (FRA)	15 July 1924

Results

Heats

On Monday, August 6, 1928, swimmers competed in heats. The two fastest swimmers in each heat and the fastest third-place swimmer from all heats moved on to the next round.

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Semifinals

On Tuesday, August 7, 1928, the semifinals took place. The three fastest swimmers in each semifinal advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

The final race was held on Wednesday, August 8, 1928.

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Walter Spence	Canada	2:56.6
2	Erwin Sietas	Germany	2:57.4
3	Louis Van Parijs	Belgium	3:00.0
4	William Rozier	France	Unknown
5	Hugh Smith	Great Britain	Unknown

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Erik Harling	Sweden	2:56.4
2	Karl Schäfer	Austria	2:56.6
3	Teófilo Yldefonso	Philippines	2:57.4
4	Yuki Mawatari	Japan	2:58.2
5	Ernst Budig	Germany	2:58.6

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Erich Rademacher	Germany	2:52.0
2	Thomas Blankenburg	United States	3:04.2
3	Léon Tallon	France	3:05.0
4	Jack Aubin	Canada	Unknown
—	Joseph De Combe	Belgium	DNF

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Yoshiyuki Tsuruta	Japan	2:50.0
2	Robert Wyss	Switzerland	3:02.6
3	Leen Korpershoek	Netherlands	3:04.0
4	Reginald Flint	Great Britain	Unknown
5	José Francesch	Spain	Unknown
6	Tage Wissnell	Sweden	Unknown

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Yoshiyuki Tsuruta	Japan	2:49.2
2	Walter Spence	Canada	2:53.0
3	Teófilo Yldefonso	Philippines	2:53.2
4	Robert Wyss	Switzerland	Unknown
5	Thomas Blankenburg	United States	Unknown

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Erich Rademacher	Germany	2:56.6
2	Erik Harling	Sweden	2:57.2
3	Erwin Sietas	Germany	2:57.8
4	Karl Schäfer	Austria	Unknown

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time
	Yoshiyuki Tsuruta	Japan	2:48.8
	Erich Rademacher	Germany	2:50.6
	Teófilo Yldefonso	Philippines	2:56.4
4	Erwin Sietas	Germany	2:56.6
5	Erik Harling	Sweden	2:56.8
6	Walter Spence	Canada	2:57.2