Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre freestyle
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Men's 200 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool | ||||||||||||
Dates | 18 September 1988 (heats) 19 September 1988 (finals) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 63 from 41 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 1:47.25 WR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 18–19 September at the Olympic Park Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.[1] There were 63 competitors from 41 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers.[2]
Australia's Duncan Armstrong set a new world record to win the Olympic title in the event. Swimming in lane six and coming from third at the final turn, he edged out a vastly experienced field for the gold medal in 1:47.25. His time also sliced 0.19 seconds off the global standard set by West Germany's Michael Gross at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[3]
Sweden's Anders Holmertz overtook U.S. swimmer Matt Biondi about midway through the final stretch, but could not catch Armstrong near the wall to finish with a silver in 1:47.89. It was Sweden's first medal in the men's 200 metre freestyle. Leading almost the entire race, Biondi faded down the stretch to break the 1:48 barrier and take the bronze at 1:47.99.[4][5]
Poland's Artur Wojdat, a top qualifier on the morning preliminaries, dropped off the podium to a fourth-place time in 1:48.40. Meanwhile, Gross missed a chance to defend his Olympic title with a fifth-place finish in 1:48.59.[5]