| | Event type

200 metres Breaststroke, Men

Date	31 July – 2 August 1952
Status	Olympic
Location	Helsingin Uimastadion, Helsinki
Participants	40 from 27 countries

For the first and last time in Olympic breaststroke history, every finalist used the butterfly stroke, as by the next Olympic Games the butterfly would be contested as a separate event. Although the German world record holder Herbert Klein was in the field, there was no clear favorite for this race, and the evenly matched performances of some of the main contenders in the heats and semi-finals did not help to resolve the issue of favoritism.

Klein led the final at the halfway stage but was passed by Australia’s John Davies and Bo Stassforth of the USA over the second half of the race. Although Davies had finished fourth in this event in 1948 in London, his victory in Helsinki was unexpected.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	20	John Davies	AUS	2:39.7 (1 h2)	2:36.8 (1 h1)	2:34.4 (1)	Gold
2	601	Bo Stassforth	USA	2:39.3 (1 h4)	2:38.7 (3 h2)	2:34.7 (2)	Silver
3	489	Herbert Klein	GER	2:37.0 (1 h6)	2:37.0 (1 h2)	2:35.9 (3)	Bronze
4	278	Nobuyasu Hirayama	JPN	2:41.5 (3 h5)	2:39.1 (3 h1)	2:37.4 (4)
5	276	Takayoshi Kajikawa	JPN	2:39.6 (3 h3)	2:37.3 (2 h2)	2:38.6 (5)
6	277	Jiro Nagasawa	JPN	2:40.4 (2 h2)	2:39.0 (4 h2)	2:39.1 (6)
7	433	Maurice Lusien	FRA	2:40.9 (2 h5)	2:39.1 (5 h2)	2:39.8 (7)
8	556	Ľudovít Komadel	TCH	2:38.9 (1 h3)	2:38.8 (2 h1)	2:40.1 (8)
9	602	Jerry Holan	USA	2:36.8 (1 h5)	2:39.2 (4 h1)	–
10	21	David Hawkins	AUS	2:41.2 (2 h4)	2:39.8 (6 h2)	–
11	603	Monte Nitzkowski	USA	2:40.6 (1 h1)	2:41.4 (5 h1)	–
12	301	Nikola Trojanović	YUG	2:42.4 (3 h2)	2:41.8 (7 h2)	–
13	145	Daan Buijze	NED	2:41.9 (2 h6)	2:42.6 (6 h1)	–
14	–	Orlando Cossani	ARG	2:39.6 (2 h3)	2:43.1 (7 h1)	–
15	319	Leo Portelance	CAN	2:42.5 (3 h4)	2:43.8 (8 h1)	–
16	362	Vladimir Borisenko	URS	2:43.2 (3 h6)	2:46.2 (8 h2)	–
17	434	Pierre Joly	FRA	2:43.4 (2 h1)	–	–
18	521	Aulis Kähkönen	FIN	2:43.8 (4 h6)	–	–
19	–	Marek Petrusewicz	POL	2:44.0 (3 h1)	–	–
20	327	Manuel Sanguily	CUB	2:44.5 (5 h6)	–	–
21	334	Walter Ocampo	MEX	2:44.8 (4 h3)	–	–
22	463	Bengt Rask	SWE	2:45.3 (4 h2)	–	–
23	72	Otávio Mobiglia	BRA	2:46.1 (5 h3)	–	–
24	–	Juha Tikka	FIN	2:46.3 (4 h1)	–	–
25	41	Ludovicus Schoenmaekers	BEL	2:46.5 (5 h2)	–	–
=26	363	Yury Kurchashov	URS	2:47.3 (6 h2)	–	–
=26	364	Pyotr Skripchenkov	URS	2:47.3 (4 h4)	–	–
=26	300	Blago Barbieri	YUG	2:47.3 (5 h4)	–	–
29	71	Adhemar Grijó Filho	BRA	2:47.6 (4 h5)	–	–
30	–	Vlastimil Linhart	TCH	2:48.0 (6 h6)	–	–
31	194	Brian Barnes	GBR	2:48.6 (5 h1)	–	–
32	96	Awad Moukhtar Halloudah	EGY	2:50.5 (7 h6)	–	–
33	173	Habib Suharko	INA	2:51.3 (5 h5)	–	–
34	544	Knud Gleie	DEN	2:51.4 (6 h4)	–	–
35	–	Vladimír Skovajsa	TCH	2:53.3 (7 h4)	–	–
36	535	Alfons Oehy	SUI	2:54.8 (7 h2)	–	–
37	328	René Kohn	LUX	2:59.3 (6 h1)	–	–
38	407	Muhammad Bashir	PAK	3:01.3 (8 h2)	–	–
39	–	Eduardo Barbeiro	POR	3:04.6 (8 h6)	–	–
DQ	234	Giorgio Grilz	ITA	– (DQ h3)	–	–
DNS	564	Károly Szittya	HUN	– (DNS h3)	–	–
DNS	180	Adi Bharucha	IND	– (DNS h4)	–	–
DNS	336	Óscar Cendejas	MEX	– (DNS h5)	–	–
DNS	335	Alejandro Fierro	MEX	– (DNS h1)	–	–
DNS	179	Jehangir Naigamwalla	IND	– (DNS h5)	–	–

Round One

Date	31 July 1952 — 17:00
Format	Fastest 16 advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Jerry Holan	USA	2:36.8	QOR
2	1	Herbert Klein	GER	2:37.0	Q
3	4	Ľudovít Komadel	TCH	2:38.9	QOR
4	4	Bo Stassforth	USA	2:39.3	Q
=5	1	Orlando Cossani	ARG	2:39.6	Q
=5	2	Takayoshi Kajikawa	JPN	2:39.6	Q
7	7	John Davies	AUS	2:39.7	Q
8	4	Jiro Nagasawa	JPN	2:40.4	Q
9	7	Monte Nitzkowski	USA	2:40.6	Q
10	7	Maurice Lusien	FRA	2:40.9	Q
11	5	David Hawkins	AUS	2:41.2	Q
12	6	Nobuyasu Hirayama	JPN	2:41.5	Q
13	6	Daan Buijze	NED	2:41.9	Q
14	8	Nikola Trojanović	YUG	2:42.4	Q
15	8	Leo Portelance	CAN	2:42.5	Q
16	4	Vladimir Borisenko	URS	2:43.2	Q
17	5	Pierre Joly	FRA	2:43.4
18	5	Aulis Kähkönen	FIN	2:43.8
19	6	Marek Petrusewicz	POL	2:44.0
20	7	Manuel Sanguily	CUB	2:44.5
21	6	Walter Ocampo	MEX	2:44.8
22	6	Bengt Rask	SWE	2:45.3
23	3	Otávio Mobiglia	BRA	2:46.1
24	3	Juha Tikka	FIN	2:46.3
25	2	Ludovicus Schoenmaekers	BEL	2:46.5
=26	1	Yury Kurchashov	URS	2:47.3
=26	2	Pyotr Skripchenkov	URS	2:47.3
=26	7	Blago Barbieri	YUG	2:47.3
29	3	Adhemar Grijó Filho	BRA	2:47.6
30	2	Vlastimil Linhart	TCH	2:48.0
31	2	Brian Barnes	GBR	2:48.6
32	3	Awad Moukhtar Halloudah	EGY	2:50.5
33	5	Habib Suharko	INA	2:51.3
34	6	Knud Gleie	DEN	2:51.4
35	1	Vladimír Skovajsa	TCH	2:53.3
36	3	Alfons Oehy	SUI	2:54.8
37	4	René Kohn	LUX	2:59.3
38	5	Muhammad Bashir	PAK	3:01.3
39	8	Eduardo Barbeiro	POR	3:04.6
DQ	5	Giorgio Grilz	ITA	–
DNS	1	Alejandro Fierro	MEX	–
DNS	7	Károly Szittya	HUN	–
DNS	3	Adi Bharucha	IND	–
DNS	1	Jehangir Naigamwalla	IND	–
DNS	2	Óscar Cendejas	MEX	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	7	Monte Nitzkowski	USA	2:40.6	Q
2	5	Pierre Joly	FRA	2:43.4
3	6	Marek Petrusewicz	POL	2:44.0
4	3	Juha Tikka	FIN	2:46.3
5	2	Brian Barnes	GBR	2:48.6
6	4	René Kohn	LUX	2:59.3
DNS	1	Alejandro Fierro	MEX	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	7	John Davies	AUS	2:39.7	Q
2	4	Jiro Nagasawa	JPN	2:40.4	Q
3	8	Nikola Trojanović	YUG	2:42.4	Q
4	6	Bengt Rask	SWE	2:45.3
5	2	Ludovicus Schoenmaekers	BEL	2:46.5
6	1	Yury Kurchashov	URS	2:47.3
7	3	Alfons Oehy	SUI	2:54.8
8	5	Muhammad Bashir	PAK	3:01.3

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Ľudovít Komadel	TCH	2:38.9	QOR
2	1	Orlando Cossani	ARG	2:39.6	Q
3	2	Takayoshi Kajikawa	JPN	2:39.6	Q
4	6	Walter Ocampo	MEX	2:44.8
5	3	Otávio Mobiglia	BRA	2:46.1
DQ	5	Giorgio Grilz	ITA	–
DNS	7	Károly Szittya	HUN	–

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Bo Stassforth	USA	2:39.3	Q
2	5	David Hawkins	AUS	2:41.2	Q
3	8	Leo Portelance	CAN	2:42.5	Q
4	2	Pyotr Skripchenkov	URS	2:47.3
5	7	Blago Barbieri	YUG	2:47.3
6	6	Knud Gleie	DEN	2:51.4
7	1	Vladimír Skovajsa	TCH	2:53.3
DNS	3	Adi Bharucha	IND	–

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Jerry Holan	USA	2:36.8	QOR
2	7	Maurice Lusien	FRA	2:40.9	Q
3	6	Nobuyasu Hirayama	JPN	2:41.5	Q
4	3	Adhemar Grijó Filho	BRA	2:47.6
5	5	Habib Suharko	INA	2:51.3
DNS	1	Jehangir Naigamwalla	IND	–
DNS	2	Óscar Cendejas	MEX	–

Heat #6

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	1	Herbert Klein	GER	2:37.0	Q
2	6	Daan Buijze	NED	2:41.9	Q
3	4	Vladimir Borisenko	URS	2:43.2	Q
4	5	Aulis Kähkönen	FIN	2:43.8
5	7	Manuel Sanguily	CUB	2:44.5
6	2	Vlastimil Linhart	TCH	2:48.0
7	3	Awad Moukhtar Halloudah	EGY	2:50.5
8	8	Eduardo Barbeiro	POR	3:04.6

Semi-Finals

Date	31 July 1952 — 17:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	John Davies	AUS	2:36.8	Q=OR
2	Herbert Klein	GER	2:37.0	Q
3	Takayoshi Kajikawa	JPN	2:37.3	Q
4	Bo Stassforth	USA	2:38.7	Q
5	Ľudovít Komadel	TCH	2:38.8	Q
6	Jiro Nagasawa	JPN	2:39.0	Q
=7	Nobuyasu Hirayama	JPN	2:39.1	Q
=7	Maurice Lusien	FRA	2:39.1	Q
9	Jerry Holan	USA	2:39.2
10	David Hawkins	AUS	2:39.8
11	Monte Nitzkowski	USA	2:41.4
12	Nikola Trojanović	YUG	2:41.8
13	Daan Buijze	NED	2:42.6
14	Orlando Cossani	ARG	2:43.1
15	Leo Portelance	CAN	2:43.8
16	Vladimir Borisenko	URS	2:46.2

Heat #1

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	John Davies	AUS	2:36.8	Q=OR
2	Ľudovít Komadel	TCH	2:38.8	Q
3	Nobuyasu Hirayama	JPN	2:39.1	Q
4	Jerry Holan	USA	2:39.2
5	Monte Nitzkowski	USA	2:41.4
6	Daan Buijze	NED	2:42.6
7	Orlando Cossani	ARG	2:43.1
8	Leo Portelance	CAN	2:43.8

Heat #2

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	Herbert Klein	GER	2:37.0	Q
2	Takayoshi Kajikawa	JPN	2:37.3	Q
3	Bo Stassforth	USA	2:38.7	Q
4	Jiro Nagasawa	JPN	2:39.0	Q
5	Maurice Lusien	FRA	2:39.1	Q
6	David Hawkins	AUS	2:39.8
7	Nikola Trojanović	YUG	2:41.8
8	Vladimir Borisenko	URS	2:46.2

Final Round

Date	2 August 1952 — 17:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	John Davies	AUS	2:34.4	OR
2	6	Bo Stassforth	USA	2:34.7
3	5	Herbert Klein	GER	2:35.9
4	1	Nobuyasu Hirayama	JPN	2:37.4
5	3	Takayoshi Kajikawa	JPN	2:38.6
6	7	Jiro Nagasawa	JPN	2:39.1
7	8	Maurice Lusien	FRA	2:39.8
8	2	Ľudovít Komadel	TCH	2:40.1