Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre backstroke
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The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 13–15 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1] There were 40 competitors from 31 nations.[2]
Men's 200 metre backstroke at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | ||||||||||||
Dates | August 13, 2008 (heats) August 14, 2008 (semifinals) August 15, 2008 (final) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 40 from 31 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 1:53.94 WR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Billed as the Clash of the Titans, Ryan Lochte stormed home on the final lap to defeat his teammate Aaron Peirsol and claim his first individual Olympic gold medal. He touched the wall first in 1:53.94, faster than the world record he shared with Peirsol at 1:54.32.[3][4][5] It was the fourth consecutive gold medal in the men's 200 backstroke for the United States, all by different swimmers.
Peirsol enjoyed a head-to-head battle against Lochte in the first 150 metres, but ended up only with a silver in 1:54.33. This made Peirsol the first man to earn three medals in the 200 metre backstroke, adding to his silver in 2000 and gold in 2004. Russia's Arkady Vyatchanin added a second bronze to his collection (he had earlier finished third in the 100 metres backstroke), finishing in a new European record of 1:54.93 to hold off Austria's Markus Rogan (1:55.49), the silver medalist in Athens four years earlier.[4] Earlier in the semifinals, Vyatchanin edged out Germany's Helge Meeuw in a swimoff to secure a last spot for the top 8 final.[6] The medal was the first for Russia in the 200 metre backstroke, though Russian swimmers had earned medals for the Soviet Union and Unified Team in the event.
Japan's Ryosuke Irie finished fifth with a time of 1:55.72, and was followed in the sixth spot by Australia's Hayden Stoeckel, who shared bronze medals with Vyatchanin in the 100 m backstroke, in an Oceanian record of 1:56.39. Romania's Răzvan Florea (1:56.52) and Great Britain's Gregor Tait (1:57.00) rounded out the finale.[4]