200 metres Breaststroke, Men
| Date | 6 – 8 August 1928 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Zwemstadion, Amsterdam |
| Participants | 21 from 13 countries |
Only Triple jumper Mikio Oda, a week before, had ever won Olympic gold for Japan before Yoshiyuki Tsuruta swam in the 200 metres breaststroke. Tsuruta’s main rival was Erich Rademacher, the German world record holder who missed the 1924 Games where he would have been a strong favourite. The two traded the Olympic record in the heats but Rademacher may have suffered from his participation in the water polo competition and although Tsuruta was always pressurised, he was never headed as he won with a metre to spare. Teófilo Yldefonso of the Phillipines came perilously close to being knocked out of the competition in his heat, qualified for the semi-finals only as a fastest loser but swam an inspired final to gain the very first medal for the Philippines in Olympic history. Karl Schäfer of Austria, who was eliminated at the semi-final stage, had represented his country in the preceding Winter Olympics as a skater and would gain greater recognition by winning the men’s figure skating gold at the Winter Games in both 1932 and 1936.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoshiyuki Tsuruta |  JPN | 2:50.0 (1 h4) | 2:49.2 (1 h1) | 2:48.8 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Erich Rademacher |  GER | 2:52.0 (1 h3) | 2:56.6 (1 h2) | 2:50.6 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Teófilo Yldefonso |  PHI | 2:57.4 (3 h2) | 2:53.2 (3 h1) | 2:56.4 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Erwin Sietas | GER | 2:57.4 (2 h1) | 2:57.8 (3 h2) | 2:56.6 (4) | |||
| 5 | Erik Harling |  SWE | 2:56.4 (1 h2) | 2:57.2 (2 h2) | 2:56.8 (5) | |||
| 6 | Walter Spence |  CAN | 2:56.6 (1 h1) | 2:53.0 (2 h1) | 2:57.2 (6) | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | Robert Wyss |  SUI | 3:02.6 (2 h4) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Karl Schäfer |  AUT | 2:56.6 (2 h2) | – (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | Tom Blankenburg |  USA | 3:04.2 (2 h3) | – (5 h1) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | Louis Van Parijs |  BEL | 3:00.0 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | Léon Talon |  FRA | 3:05.0 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | Leen Korpershoek |  NED | 3:04.0 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | William Rozier | FRA | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Yuki Mawatari | JPN | – (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Jack Aubin | CAN | – (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Reggie Flint |  GBR | – (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | Hugh Smith | GBR | – (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | Ernst Budig | GER | 2:58.6 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | José Francesch |  ESP | – (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | Tage Wissnell | SWE | – (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| AC h3 r1/3 | Joseph De Combe | BEL | – (DNF h3) | – | – | DNF | ||
| Edwin Friedberger | AUT | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| Ottone Andriancich |  ITA | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| Jerzy Jurkowski |  POL | – (DNS h3) | – | – |
Round One
| Date | 6 August 1928 — 11:15 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the semi-finals. |
Heat #1
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Walter Spence | CAN | 2:56.6 | ||
| 2 | – | Erwin Sietas | GER | 2:57.4 | ||
| 3 | – | Louis Van Parijs | BEL | 3:00.0 | ||
| 4 | – | William Rozier | FRA | – | ||
| 5 | – | Hugh Smith | GBR | – | ||
| – | Edwin Friedberger | AUT | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Erik Harling | SWE | 2:56.4 | ||
| 2 | – | Karl Schäfer | AUT | 2:56.6 | ||
| 3 | – | Teófilo Yldefonso | PHI | 2:57.4 | ||
| 4 | – | Yuki Mawatari | JPN | – | ||
| 5 | – | Ernst Budig | GER | 2:58.6 | ||
| – | Ottone Andriancich | ITA | – |
Heat #3
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Erich Rademacher | GER | 2:52.0 | ||
| 2 | – | Tom Blankenburg | USA | 3:04.2 | ||
| 3 | – | Léon Talon | FRA | 3:05.0 | ||
| 4 | – | Jack Aubin | CAN | – | ||
| – | Joseph De Combe | BEL | – | |||
| – | Jerzy Jurkowski | POL | – |
Heat #4
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Yoshiyuki Tsuruta | JPN | 2:50.0 | ||
| 2 | – | Robert Wyss | SUI | 3:02.6 | ||
| 3 | – | Leen Korpershoek | NED | 3:04.0 | ||
| 4 | – | Reggie Flint | GBR | – | ||
| 5 | – | José Francesch | ESP | – | ||
| 6 | – | Tage Wissnell | SWE | – |
Semi-Finals
| Date | 7 August 1928 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top three in each heat advanced to the final. |
Heat #1
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoshiyuki Tsuruta | JPN | 2:49.2 | ||
| 2 | Walter Spence | CAN | 2:53.0 | ||
| 3 | Teófilo Yldefonso | PHI | 2:53.2 | ||
| 4 | Robert Wyss | SUI | – | ||
| 5 | Tom Blankenburg | USA | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erich Rademacher | GER | 2:56.6 | ||
| 2 | Erik Harling | SWE | 2:57.2 | ||
| 3 | Erwin Sietas | GER | 2:57.8 | ||
| 4 | Karl Schäfer | AUT | – |
Final Round
| Date | 8 August 1928 — 15:20 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Yoshiyuki Tsuruta | JPN | 2:48.8 | ||
| 2 | – | Erich Rademacher | GER | 2:50.6 | ||
| 3 | – | Teófilo Yldefonso | PHI | 2:56.4 | ||
| 4 | – | Erwin Sietas | GER | 2:56.6 | ||
| 5 | – | Erik Harling | SWE | 2:56.8 | ||
| 6 | – | Walter Spence | CAN | 2:57.2 |