| | Event type
200 metres Backstroke, Men
| Date | 11 – 12 August 1900 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Seine, Pont de Courbevoie – Pont d'Asnières, Paris |
| Participants | 16 from 7 countries |
Robert Crawshaw was noted by The New York Herald Tribune to be the “champion breast and back swimmer of the world”. But in the heats he was soundly beaten by German champion Ernst Hoppenberg. Some sources state that Crawshaw then did not finish the final, while The Field states that he did not compete. If so, it is likely due to his trouncing in the heats. The backstroke event started with the swimmers on a high pontoon from which they had to dive into the water and then turn onto their backs to begin the backstroke.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernst Hoppenberg |  GER | 2:54.4 (1 h1) | 2:47.0 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Karl Ruberl |  AUT | 2:56.0 (1 h3) | 2:56.0 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Johannes Drost |  NED | 3:10.2 (2 h3) | 3:01.0 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Johannes Bloemen | NED | 3:09.2 (1 h2) | 3:02.2 (4) | |||
| 5 | Bill Burgess |  FRA | 3:50.4 (3 h1) | 3:12.0 (5) | |||
| 6 | de Romand | FRA | 3:56.6 (2 h2) | 3:38.0 (6) | |||
| 7 | Paolo Bussetti |  ITA | 4:09.2 (4 h1) | 3:45.0 (7) | |||
| 8 | Erik Eriksson |  SWE | 4:05.4 (4 h3) | 3:56.4 (8) | |||
| AC r2/2 | Georges Leuillieux | FRA | 3:10.2 (3 h3) | – ( | DNF | ||
| AC r2/2 | Robert Crawshaw |  GBR | 3:15.0 (2 h1) | – ( | DNF | ||
| 3 h2 r1/2 | Chevrand | FRA | 4:42.0 (3 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/2 | Lapostolet | FRA | 4:34.6 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/2 | Lué | FRA | 4:10.0 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/2 | Fumouze | FRA | 5:17.0 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/2 | Pierre Peyrusson | FRA | 4:15.6 (6 h3) | – | |||
| 7 h3 r1/2 | Texier | FRA | 4:49.0 (7 h3) | – | |||
| Fred Lane | GBR | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| Otto Wahle | AUT | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| Paul Kaisermann | FRA | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| René Lériche | FRA | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| Louis Marc | FRA | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| Eucher | FRA | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| Kléber Fiolet | FRA | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| Abel | FRA | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| Bossard | FRA | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| Foy | FRA | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| Gille | FRA | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| Jean | FRA | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| Other | FRA | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| Pescon | FRA | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| Rob Derbyshire | GBR | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| William Henry | GBR | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| John Jarvis | GBR | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| Peter Kemp | GBR | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| Albert Campbell | GBR | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| A. J. Gough | GBR | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| Harry Winter | GBR | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| Risbeck | GER | – (DNS h2) | – |
Round One (11 August 1900 — 11:00)
Winner and next seven fastest losers advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Ernst Hoppenberg | GER | 2:54.4 | |||
| 2 | – | Robert Crawshaw | GBR | 3:15.0 | |||
| 3 | – | Bill Burgess | FRA | 3:50.4 | |||
| 4 | – | Paolo Bussetti | ITA | 4:09.2 | |||
| 5 | – | Lapostolet | FRA | 4:34.6 | |||
| 6 | – | Fumouze | FRA | 5:17.0 | |||
| – | Fred Lane | GBR | – | ||||
| – | Louis Marc | FRA | – | ||||
| – | Abel | FRA | – | ||||
| – | Bossard | FRA | – | ||||
| – | Gille | FRA | – | ||||
| – | Jean | FRA | – | ||||
| – | William Henry | GBR | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Johannes Bloemen | NED | 3:09.2 | |||
| 2 | – | de Romand | FRA | 3:56.6 | |||
| 3 | – | Chevrand | FRA | 4:42.0 | |||
| – | Otto Wahle | AUT | – | ||||
| – | Kléber Fiolet | FRA | – | ||||
| – | Foy | FRA | – | ||||
| – | Pescon | FRA | – | ||||
| – | John Jarvis | GBR | – | ||||
| – | Peter Kemp | GBR | – | ||||
| – | A. J. Gough | GBR | – | ||||
| – | Harry Winter | GBR | – | ||||
| – | Risbeck | GER | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Karl Ruberl | AUT | 2:56.0 | |||
| 2 | – | Johannes Drost | NED | 3:10.2 | |||
| 3 | – | Georges Leuillieux | FRA | 3:10.2 | |||
| 4 | – | Erik Eriksson | SWE | 4:05.4 | |||
| 5 | – | Lué | FRA | 4:10.0 | |||
| 6 | – | Pierre Peyrusson | FRA | 4:15.6 | |||
| 7 | – | Texier | FRA | 4:49.0 | |||
| – | Paul Kaisermann | FRA | – | ||||
| – | René Lériche | FRA | – | ||||
| – | Eucher | FRA | – | ||||
| – | Other | FRA | – | ||||
| – | Rob Derbyshire | GBR | – | ||||
| – | Albert Campbell | GBR | – |
Final (12 August 1900 — 15:30)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Ernst Hoppenberg | GER | 2:47.0 | |||
| 2 | – | Karl Ruberl | AUT | 2:56.0 | |||
| 3 | – | Johannes Drost | NED | 3:01.0 | |||
| 4 | – | Johannes Bloemen | NED | 3:02.2 | |||
| 5 | – | Bill Burgess | FRA | 3:12.0 | |||
| 6 | – | de Romand | FRA | 3:38.0 | |||
| 7 | – | Paolo Bussetti | ITA | 3:45.0 | |||
| 8 | – | Erik Eriksson | SWE | 3:56.4 | |||
| – | Robert Crawshaw | GBR | – | ||||
| – | Georges Leuillieux | FRA | – |