| Date | 5 – 7 August 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Wembley Arena, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 32 from 20 countries |
Joe Verdeur entered the Games as an outstanding favorite for this event, having broken the world record on six occasions in the preceding two years. Whilst his times in London were well down on his record breaking performances, he led the United States to a clean sweep of the podium positions. The superiority of the butterfly technique in this event was evident in the fact that only one of the finalists used the traditional breaststroke, and he, Bob Bonte of the Netherlands, finished eighth and last. Out of 32 entrants, 20 used the butterfly stroke, including 12 of the 16 semi-finalists.
Alfred Nakache of France, a veteran of the Berlin Games, bowed out in the semi-finals, but his achievement in returning to the Olympic arena was remarkable. A Jew, he had been deported to Auschwitz in 1944, and his wife and daughter both died there.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 79 | Joe Verdeur |  USA | 2:40.0 (1 h2) | 2:40.7 (1 h2) | 2:39.3 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 44 | Keith Carter | USA | 2:46.3 (1 h4) | 2:43.0 (2 h2) | 2:40.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | – | Bob Sohl | USA | 2:44.9 (1 h1) | 2:44.4 (3 h1) | 2:43.9 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 83 | John Davies |  AUS | 2:48.3 (2 h4) | 2:44.8 (4 h1) | 2:43.7 (4) | |||
| 5 | 111 | Tone Cerer |  YUG | 2:46.3 (2 h5) | 2:47.3 (4 h2) | 2:46.1 (5) | |||
| 6 | 86 | Willy Otto Jordan |  BRA | 2:46.4 (1 h3) | 2:43.9 (2 h1) | 2:46.4 (6) | |||
| 7 | 89 | Ahmed Kandil |  EGY | 2:45.5 (1 h5) | 2:43.7 (1 h1) | 2:47.5 (7) | |||
| 8 | 96 | Bob Bonte |  NED | 2:48.7 (2 h2) | 2:47.0 (3 h2) | 2:47.6 (8) | |||
| 9 | 97 | Sándor Németh |  HUN | 2:48.2 (2 h3) | 2:48.1 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | 94 | Roy Romain |  GBR | 2:49.4 (3 h3) | 2:49.6 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 11 | 85 | Walter Pavlicek |  AUT | 2:50.6 (3 h4) | 2:50.1 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 12 | 91 | Maurice Lusien |  FRA | 2:49.5 (3 h5) | 2:51.4 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 13 | 105 | René Amabuyok |  PHI | 2:52.6 (4 h1) | 2:51.8 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 14 | 100 | Sigurður Th. Jónsson |  ISL | 2:50.6 (4 h5) | 2:52.4 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 15 | 104 | Apolonio Castillo |  MEX | 2:50.7 (3 h1) | 2:53.5 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 16 | – | Alfred Nakache | FRA | 2:50.4 (2 h1) | 2:59.1 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 17 | 88 | Jiří Linhart |  TCH | 2:53.8 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 18 | 106 | Jack Cayco | PHI | 2:54.0 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 19 | 82 | Carlos Espejo |  ARG | 2:55.0 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 20 | 100 | Sigurður Jónsson | ISL | 2:56.4 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 21 | 93 | Goldup Davies | GBR | 2:56.6 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 22 | 109 | Hans Widmer |  SUI | 2:56.7 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 23 | 108 | Walter Kunz | SUI | 2:57.6 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 24 | 110 | Nicolas Wildhaber | SUI | 2:59.2 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 25 | – | John Service | GBR | 3:00.4 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 26 | 81 | César Benetti | ARG | 3:00.6 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 27 | 10 | Peter Salmon |  CAN | 3:01.5 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 28 | – | Kevin Hallett | AUS | 3:02.0 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 29 | – | Atli Steinarsson | ISL | 3:02.3 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 30 | 107 | Des Cohen |  RSA | 3:03.3 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 31 | 103 | Prafulla Mullick |  IND | 3:14.9 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| 32 | 75 | Iftikhar Ahmed Shah |  PAK | 3:28.1 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 55 | Peter Mingie | CAN | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| 90 | Ahmed Fouad Nessim | EGY | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| 98 | László Jeney | HUN | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| – | Gusztáv Kettesi | HUN | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| 73 | Jaffar Ali Shah | PAK | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| 87 | Ľudovít Komadel | TCH | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
| Date | 5 August 1948 — 19:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the next six fastest advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Joe Verdeur | USA | 2:40.0 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Bob Sohl | USA | 2:44.9 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Ahmed Kandil | EGY | 2:45.5 | ||
| =4 | 1 | Keith Carter | USA | 2:46.3 | ||
| =4 | 1 | Tone Cerer | YUG | 2:46.3 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Willy Otto Jordan | BRA | 2:46.4 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Sándor Németh | HUN | 2:48.2 | ||
| 8 | 2 | John Davies | AUS | 2:48.3 | ||
| 9 | 8 | Bob Bonte | NED | 2:48.7 | ||
| 10 | 7 | Roy Romain | GBR | 2:49.4 | ||
| 11 | 6 | Maurice Lusien | FRA | 2:49.5 | ||
| 12 | 1 | Alfred Nakache | FRA | 2:50.4 | ||
| =13 | 4 | Walter Pavlicek | AUT | 2:50.6 | ||
| =13 | 4 | Sigurður Th. Jónsson | ISL | 2:50.6 | ||
| 15 | 6 | Apolonio Castillo | MEX | 2:50.7 | ||
| 16 | 7 | René Amabuyok | PHI | 2:52.6 | ||
| 17 | 8 | Jiří Linhart | TCH | 2:53.8 | ||
| 18 | 2 | Jack Cayco | PHI | 2:54.0 | ||
| 19 | 3 | Carlos Espejo | ARG | 2:55.0 | ||
| 20 | 5 | Sigurður Jónsson | ISL | 2:56.4 | ||
| 21 | 4 | Goldup Davies | GBR | 2:56.6 | ||
| 22 | 2 | Hans Widmer | SUI | 2:56.7 | ||
| 23 | 3 | Walter Kunz | SUI | 2:57.6 | ||
| 24 | 7 | Nicolas Wildhaber | SUI | 2:59.2 | ||
| 25 | 4 | John Service | GBR | 3:00.4 | ||
| 26 | 8 | César Benetti | ARG | 3:00.6 | ||
| 27 | 1 | Peter Salmon | CAN | 3:01.5 | ||
| 28 | 5 | Kevin Hallett | AUS | 3:02.0 | ||
| 29 | 1 | Atli Steinarsson | ISL | 3:02.3 | ||
| 30 | 6 | Des Cohen | RSA | 3:03.3 | ||
| 31 | 7 | Prafulla Mullick | IND | 3:14.9 | ||
| 32 | 4 | Iftikhar Ahmed Shah | PAK | 3:28.1 | ||
| 5 | Peter Mingie | CAN | – | |||
| 3 | László Jeney | HUN | – | |||
| 6 | Gusztáv Kettesi | HUN | – | |||
| 3 | Ahmed Fouad Nessim | EGY | – | |||
| 6 | Jaffar Ali Shah | PAK | – | |||
| 5 | Ľudovít Komadel | TCH | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Bob Sohl | USA | 2:44.9 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Alfred Nakache | FRA | 2:50.4 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Apolonio Castillo | MEX | 2:50.7 | ||
| 4 | 7 | René Amabuyok | PHI | 2:52.6 | ||
| 5 | 4 | John Service | GBR | 3:00.4 | ||
| 5 | Peter Mingie | CAN | – | |||
| 3 | László Jeney | HUN | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Joe Verdeur | USA | 2:40.0 | ||
| 2 | 8 | Bob Bonte | NED | 2:48.7 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Carlos Espejo | ARG | 2:55.0 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Sigurður Jónsson | ISL | 2:56.4 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Hans Widmer | SUI | 2:56.7 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Goldup Davies | GBR | 2:56.6 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Peter Salmon | CAN | 3:01.5 | ||
| 6 | Gusztáv Kettesi | HUN | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Willy Otto Jordan | BRA | 2:46.4 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Sándor Németh | HUN | 2:48.2 | ||
| 3 | 7 | Roy Romain | GBR | 2:49.4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Walter Kunz | SUI | 2:57.6 | ||
| 5 | 8 | César Benetti | ARG | 3:00.6 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Atli Steinarsson | ISL | 3:02.3 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Des Cohen | RSA | 3:03.3 | ||
| 8 | 4 | Iftikhar Ahmed Shah | PAK | 3:28.1 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Keith Carter | USA | 2:46.3 | ||
| 2 | 2 | John Davies | AUS | 2:48.3 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Walter Pavlicek | AUT | 2:50.6 | ||
| 4 | 7 | Nicolas Wildhaber | SUI | 2:59.2 | ||
| 3 | Ahmed Fouad Nessim | EGY | – | |||
| 6 | Jaffar Ali Shah | PAK | – | |||
| 5 | Ľudovít Komadel | TCH | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ahmed Kandil | EGY | 2:45.5 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Tone Cerer | YUG | 2:46.3 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Maurice Lusien | FRA | 2:49.5 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Sigurður Th. Jónsson | ISL | 2:50.6 | ||
| 5 | 8 | Jiří Linhart | TCH | 2:53.8 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Jack Cayco | PHI | 2:54.0 | ||
| 7 | 5 | Kevin Hallett | AUS | 3:02.0 | ||
| 8 | 7 | Prafulla Mullick | IND | 3:14.9 |
| Date | 6 August 1948 — 16:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top three in each heat and the next two fastest advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Joe Verdeur | USA | 2:40.7 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Keith Carter | USA | 2:43.0 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Ahmed Kandil | EGY | 2:43.7 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Willy Otto Jordan | BRA | 2:43.9 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Bob Sohl | USA | 2:44.4 | ||
| 6 | 3 | John Davies | AUS | 2:44.8 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Bob Bonte | NED | 2:47.0 | ||
| 8 | 6 | Tone Cerer | YUG | 2:47.3 | ||
| 9 | 3 | Sándor Németh | HUN | 2:48.1 | ||
| 10 | 7 | Roy Romain | GBR | 2:49.6 | ||
| 11 | 8 | Walter Pavlicek | AUT | 2:50.1 | ||
| 12 | 2 | Maurice Lusien | FRA | 2:51.4 | ||
| 13 | 1 | René Amabuyok | PHI | 2:51.8 | ||
| 14 | 8 | Sigurður Th. Jónsson | ISL | 2:52.4 | ||
| 15 | 1 | Apolonio Castillo | MEX | 2:53.5 | ||
| 16 | 2 | Alfred Nakache | FRA | 2:59.1 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ahmed Kandil | EGY | 2:43.7 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Willy Otto Jordan | BRA | 2:43.9 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Bob Sohl | USA | 2:44.4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | John Davies | AUS | 2:44.8 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Roy Romain | GBR | 2:49.6 | ||
| 6 | 1 | René Amabuyok | PHI | 2:51.8 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Sigurður Th. Jónsson | ISL | 2:52.4 | ||
| 8 | 2 | Alfred Nakache | FRA | 2:59.1 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Joe Verdeur | USA | 2:40.7 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Keith Carter | USA | 2:43.0 | ||
| 3 | 7 | Bob Bonte | NED | 2:47.0 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Tone Cerer | YUG | 2:47.3 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Sándor Németh | HUN | 2:48.1 | ||
| 6 | 8 | Walter Pavlicek | AUT | 2:50.1 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Maurice Lusien | FRA | 2:51.4 | ||
| 8 | 1 | Apolonio Castillo | MEX | 2:53.5 |
| Date | 7 August 1948 — 14:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Joe Verdeur | USA | 2:39.3 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Keith Carter | USA | 2:40.2 | ||
| 3 | 7 | Bob Sohl | USA | 2:43.9 | ||
| 4 | 2 | John Davies | AUS | 2:43.7 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Tone Cerer | YUG | 2:46.1 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Willy Otto Jordan | BRA | 2:46.4 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Ahmed Kandil | EGY | 2:47.5 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Bob Bonte | NED | 2:47.6 |
