| | Event type
200 metres Freestyle, Men
| Date | 29 August 1972 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmhalle, Olympiapark, München |
| Participants | 46 from 27 countries |
Mark Spitz was the heavy favorite, as this was one of his four individual events in his attempt to win seven swimming gold medals in Munich. The day before the 200 freestyle, he had won his first two gold medals in the 200 butterfly and with the United States’ 4 x 100 freestyle relay team. His biggest challenger was thought to have been his teammate, Steve Genter, but Genter had been hospitalized in Munich only four days earlier with a collapsed lung (pneumothorax), and had to have the air and fluid drained from his chest cavity. However, Genter heroically came to the line on Tuesday morning for the prelims and qualified for the final easily.
In the final Spitz went out fast, leading Soviet Vladimir Bure, later a bronze medalist in the 100 free, at the first turn. But on the second lap, Genter took over the lead, 54.93 to Spitz’s 55.06. Spitz closed on the third lap, but Genter turned better to regain the lead for the final 50. Defending champion Michael Wenden of Australia closed to third at 150, but he fell back in the closing metres. The final lap was all Spitz who won by five metres and almost a second, with Genter taking a courageous silver. The bronze medal went to the fast closing Werner Lampe of West Germany. For Spitz it was three down, four to go.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 571 | Mark Spitz |  USA | 1:55.29 (1 h7) | 1:52.78 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 558 | Steve Genter | USA | 1:55.42 (1 h6) | 1:53.73 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 236 | Werner Lampe |  FRG | 1:55.97 (1 h3) | 1:53.99 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 19 | Mike Wenden |  AUS | 1:56.66 (1 h1) | 1:54.40 (4) | |||
| 5 | 573 | Fred Tyler | USA | 1:56.04 (1 h5) | 1:54.96 (5) | |||
| 6 | 244 | Klaus Steinbach | FRG | 1:55.80 (1 h4) | 1:55.65 (6) | |||
| 7 | 524 | Vladimir Bure |  URS | 1:56.15 (1 h2) | 1:57.24 (7) | |||
| 8 | 76 | Ralph Hutton |  CAN | 1:56.84 (2 h7) | 1:57.56 (8) | |||
| 9 | 200 | Wilfried Hartung |  GDR | 1:56.95 (2 h4) | – | |||
| 10 | – | Brian Brinkley |  GBR | 1:56.99 (2 h6) | – | |||
| 11 | 532 | Georgijs Kuļikovs | URS | 1:57.04 (2 h2) | – | |||
| 12 | 209 | Udo Poser | GDR | 1:57.23 (3 h7) | – | |||
| 13 | 581 | Gerardo Vera |  VEN | 1:57.33 (3 h4) | – | |||
| 14 | 15 | Robert Nay | AUS | 1:57.69 (2 h1) | – | |||
| 15 | 533 | Viktor Mazanov | URS | 1:57.92 (3 h1) | – | |||
| 16 | 196 | Peter Bruch | GDR | 1:58.49 (2 h5) | – | |||
| 17 | 20 | Graham White | AUS | 1:58.60 (2 h3) | – | |||
| 18 | 274 | Peter Prijdekker |  NED | 1:58.78 (3 h6) | – | |||
| 19 | 85 | Bruce Robertson | CAN | 1:59.02 (3 h5) | – | |||
| 20 | 500 | Hans Ljungberg |  SWE | 1:59.42 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 21 | 501 | Rolf Pettersson | SWE | 2:00.02 (4 h7) | – | |||
| 22 | 50 | Fedola |  BRA | 2:00.14 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 23 | 180 | John Mills | GBR | 2:00.17 (3 h3) | – | |||
| 24 | 475 | Marian Slavic |  ROU | 2:00.23 (4 h5) | – | |||
| 25 | 248 | Olaf, Baron von Schilling | FRG | 2:00.27 (4 h4) | – | |||
| 26 | 407 | Colin Herring |  NZL | 2:00.29 (5 h5) | – | |||
| 27 | 45 | Ruy Oliveira | BRA | 2:00.48 (4 h6) | – | |||
| 28 | 154 | Pierre Caland |  FRA | 2:00.75 (3 h2) | – | |||
| 29 | 169 | Michael Bailey | GBR | 2:00.79 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 30 | 332 | Roberto Pangaro |  ITA | 2:00.97 (5 h6) | – | |||
| 31 | 401 | Fritz Warncke |  NOR | 2:00.98 (4 h3) | – | |||
| 32 | 82 | Ian MacKenzie | CAN | 2:01.22 (6 h5) | – | |||
| 33 | 438 | Zbigniew Pacelt |  POL | 2:01.28 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 34 | 503 | Bernt Zarnowiecki | SWE | 2:01.34 (5 h4) | – | |||
| 35 | 321 | Arnaldo Cinquetti | ITA | 2:01.78 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 36 | 333 | Riccardo Targetti | ITA | 2:02.58 (6 h4) | – | |||
| 37 | 491 | Hanspeter Würmli |  SUI | 2:03.14 (7 h5) | – | |||
| 38 | 389 | Roberto Strauss |  MEX | 2:03.57 (8 h5) | – | |||
| 39 | 126 | Ali Moustafa Kenawi |  EGY | 2:05.30 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 40 | – | Sandro Rudan |  YUG | 2:05.88 (6 h6) | – | |||
| 41 | 423 | Luis Ayesa |  PHI | 2:05.97 (6 h3) | – | |||
| 42 | – | Tomás Rengifo |  ESA | 2:08.67 (7 h6) | – | |||
| 43 | 307 | Finnur Garðarsson |  ISL | 2:08.88 (8 h6) | – | |||
| 44 | 265 | Mark Crocker |  HKG | 2:12.85 (5 h7) | – | |||
| 45 | 351 | Samnang Prak |  CAM | 2:13.34 (6 h7) | – | |||
| 46 | 359 | Fawzi Burhma |  KUW | 2:33.75 (7 h4) | – | |||
| 61 | Yuliyan Rusev |  BUL | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 415 | Juan Carlos Bello |  PER | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 366 | Bruno Bassoul |  LBN | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| 284 | Attila Császári |  HUN | – (DNS h3) | – | ||||
| – | Salvador Vilanova | ESA | – (DNS h7) | – | ||||
| 380 | Guillermo García | MEX | – (DNS h7) | – | ||||
| 118 | Fernando González |  ECU | – | – | ||||
| 119 | Eduardo Orejuela | ECU | – | – | ||||
| 120 | Daniel Pinargote | ECU | – | – | ||||
| 456 | Andrew Young |  RHO | – | – |
Round One
| Date | 29 August 1972 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. |
Heat #1
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Wenden | AUS | 1:56.66 | 28.43 (4) | 57.71 (1) | 1:27.49 (1) | 29.28 (1) | 29.78 (2) | 29.17 (1) | ||
| 2 | Robert Nay | AUS | 1:57.69 | 28.85 (5) | 58.75 (5) | 1:28.24 (3) | 29.90 (=2) | 29.49 (1) | 29.45 (2) | ||
| 3 | Viktor Mazanov | URS | 1:57.92 | 27.83 (1) | 57.73 (2) | 1:28.13 (2) | 29.90 (=2) | 30.40 (3) | 29.79 (3) | ||
| 4 | Hans Ljungberg | SWE | 1:59.42 | 28.02 (2) | 58.29 (3) | 1:28.94 (4) | 30.27 (5) | 30.65 (4) | 30.48 (4) | ||
| 5 | Fedola | BRA | 2:00.14 | 28.37 (3) | 58.44 (4) | 1:29.43 (5) | 30.07 (4) | 30.99 (5) | 30.71 (5) | ||
| Yuliyan Rusev | BUL | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – | |||
| Juan Carlos Bello | PER | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vladimir Bure | URS | 1:56.15 | 25.80 (1) | 55.73 (1) | 1:26.51 (1) | 29.93 (2) | 30.78 (2) | 29.64 (=1) | ||
| 2 | Georgijs Kuļikovs | URS | 1:57.04 | 26.95 (2) | 56.74 (2) | 1:27.40 (2) | 29.79 (1) | 30.66 (1) | 29.64 (=1) | ||
| 3 | Pierre Caland | FRA | 2:00.75 | 28.27 (6) | 58.51 (5) | 1:29.78 (4) | 30.24 (4) | 31.27 (3) | 30.97 (=4) | ||
| 4 | Michael Bailey | GBR | 2:00.79 | 27.66 (3) | 58.18 (3) | 1:29.85 (5) | 30.52 (5) | 31.67 (6) | 30.94 (3) | ||
| 5 | Zbigniew Pacelt | POL | 2:01.28 | 28.12 (4) | 58.29 (4) | 1:29.71 (3) | 30.17 (3) | 31.42 (4) | 31.57 (6) | ||
| 6 | Arnaldo Cinquetti | ITA | 2:01.78 | 28.20 (5) | 59.19 (6) | 1:30.81 (6) | 30.99 (6) | 31.62 (5) | 30.97 (=4) | ||
| Bruno Bassoul | LBN | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #3
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Werner Lampe | FRG | 1:55.97 | 27.54 (1) | 56.42 (1) | 1:26.29 (1) | 28.88 (1) | 29.87 (1) | 29.68 (1) | ||
| 2 | Graham White | AUS | 1:58.60 | 28.13 (4) | 58.39 (2) | 1:28.86 (2) | 30.26 (2) | 30.47 (3) | 29.74 (2) | ||
| 3 | John Mills | GBR | 2:00.17 | 28.50 (5) | 59.19 (5) | 1:29.60 (3) | 30.69 (4) | 30.41 (2) | 30.57 (3) | ||
| 4 | Fritz Warncke | NOR | 2:00.98 | 27.96 (2) | 58.63 (3) | 1:29.92 (4) | 30.67 (3) | 31.29 (4) | 31.06 (4) | ||
| 5 | Ali Moustafa Kenawi | EGY | 2:05.30 | 28.83 (6) | 1:00.34 (6) | 1:32.99 (6) | 31.51 (6) | 32.65 (5) | 32.31 (5) | ||
| 6 | Luis Ayesa | PHI | 2:05.97 | 28.04 (3) | 59.02 (4) | 1:32.27 (5) | 30.98 (5) | 33.25 (6) | 33.70 (6) | ||
| Attila Császári | HUN | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #4
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Klaus Steinbach | FRG | 1:55.80 | 27.03 (1) | 55.90 (1) | 1:26.08 (1) | 28.87 (1) | 30.18 (2) | 29.72 (2) | ||
| 2 | Wilfried Hartung | GDR | 1:56.95 | 27.49 (2) | 56.93 (2) | 1:27.32 (3) | 29.44 (=3) | 30.39 (3) | 29.63 (1) | ||
| 3 | Gerardo Vera | VEN | 1:57.33 | 27.84 (4) | 57.10 (3) | 1:27.19 (2) | 29.26 (2) | 30.09 (1) | 30.14 (3) | ||
| 4 | Olaf, Baron von Schilling | FRG | 2:00.27 | 27.77 (3) | 57.21 (4) | 1:28.03 (4) | 29.44 (=3) | 30.82 (4) | 32.24 (5) | ||
| 5 | Bernt Zarnowiecki | SWE | 2:01.34 | 27.87 (5) | 57.59 (5) | 1:28.53 (5) | 29.72 (5) | 30.94 (5) | 32.81 (6) | ||
| 6 | Riccardo Targetti | ITA | 2:02.58 | 28.97 (6) | 1:00.02 (6) | 1:31.56 (6) | 31.05 (6) | 31.54 (6) | 31.02 (4) | ||
| 7 | Fawzi Burhma | KUW | 2:33.75 | 31.91 (7) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #5
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Tyler | USA | 1:56.04 | 27.60 (3) | 57.07 (1) | 1:26.77 (1) | 29.47 (1) | 29.70 (1) | 29.27 (1) | ||
| 2 | Peter Bruch | GDR | 1:58.49 | 27.83 (5) | 57.78 (4) | 1:28.56 (4) | 29.95 (4) | 30.78 (5) | 29.93 (2) | ||
| 3 | Bruce Robertson | CAN | 1:59.02 | 28.03 (7) | 58.44 (7) | 1:28.90 (5) | 30.41 (7) | 30.46 (2) | 30.12 (3) | ||
| 4 | Marian Slavic | ROU | 2:00.23 | 27.65 (4) | 57.54 (3) | 1:28.16 (2) | 29.89 (2) | 30.62 (4) | 32.07 (7) | ||
| 5 | Colin Herring | NZL | 2:00.29 | 27.56 (2) | 57.84 (5) | 1:28.44 (3) | 30.28 (5) | 30.60 (3) | 31.85 (5) | ||
| 6 | Ian MacKenzie | CAN | 2:01.22 | 28.00 (6) | 58.38 (6) | 1:29.60 (7) | 30.38 (6) | 31.22 (6) | 31.62 (4) | ||
| 7 | Hanspeter Würmli | SUI | 2:03.14 | 27.28 (1) | 57.20 (2) | 1:28.95 (6) | 29.92 (3) | 31.75 (7) | 34.19 (8) | ||
| 8 | Roberto Strauss | MEX | 2:03.57 | 28.78 (8) | 59.32 (8) | 1:31.56 (8) | 30.54 (8) | 32.24 (8) | 32.01 (6) |
Heat #6
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Genter | USA | 1:55.42 | 27.22 (1) | 55.99 (1) | 1:25.78 (1) | 28.77 (1) | 29.79 (2) | 29.64 (2) | ||
| 2 | Brian Brinkley | GBR | 1:56.99 | 27.48 (3) | 57.67 (2) | 1:27.44 (2) | 30.19 (3) | 29.77 (1) | 29.55 (1) | ||
| 3 | Peter Prijdekker | NED | 1:58.78 | 27.38 (2) | 58.15 (3) | 1:28.13 (3) | 30.77 (4) | 29.98 (3) | 30.65 (3) | ||
| 4 | Ruy Oliveira | BRA | 2:00.48 | 28.02 (5) | 58.19 (4) | 1:29.68 (5) | 30.17 (2) | 31.49 (5) | 30.80 (4) | ||
| 5 | Roberto Pangaro | ITA | 2:00.97 | 27.79 (4) | 59.09 (5) | 1:29.43 (4) | 31.30 (6) | 30.34 (4) | 31.54 (5) | ||
| 6 | Sandro Rudan | YUG | 2:05.88 | 28.38 (6) | 59.37 (6) | 1:32.24 (6) | 30.99 (5) | 32.87 (6) | 33.64 (6) | ||
| 7 | Tomás Rengifo | ESA | 2:08.67 | 28.50 (7) | 1:00.60 (7) | 1:34.52 (7) | 32.10 (7) | 33.92 (8) | 34.15 (8) | ||
| 8 | Finnur Garðarsson | ISL | 2:08.88 | 28.78 (8) | 1:01.79 (8) | 1:35.20 (8) | 33.01 (8) | 33.41 (7) | 33.68 (7) |
Heat #7
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Spitz | USA | 1:55.29 | 27.07 (1) | 57.04 (1) | 1:26.65 (1) | 29.97 (2) | 29.61 (2) | 28.64 (1) | ||
| 2 | Ralph Hutton | CAN | 1:56.84 | 27.70 (2) | 57.55 (2) | 1:27.41 (2) | 29.85 (1) | 29.86 (3) | 29.43 (3) | ||
| 3 | Udo Poser | GDR | 1:57.23 | 28.35 (3) | 58.83 (3) | 1:28.14 (3) | 30.48 (4) | 29.31 (1) | 29.09 (2) | ||
| 4 | Rolf Pettersson | SWE | 2:00.02 | 28.80 (4) | 59.17 (4) | 1:29.92 (4) | 30.37 (3) | 30.75 (4) | 30.10 (4) | ||
| 5 | Mark Crocker | HKG | 2:12.85 | 30.43 (6) | 1:04.09 (6) | 1:38.03 (6) | 33.66 (6) | 33.94 (5) | 34.82 (5) | ||
| 6 | Samnang Prak | CAM | 2:13.34 | 29.62 (5) | 1:02.30 (5) | 1:37.69 (5) | 32.68 (5) | 35.39 (6) | 35.65 (6) | ||
| Salvador Vilanova | ESA | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – | |||
| Guillermo García | MEX | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Final Round
| Date | 29 August 1972 — 18:40 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Mark Spitz | USA | 1:52.78 | 26.09 (1) | 55.06 (2) | 1:24.44 (2) | 28.97 (4) | 29.38 (4) | 28.34 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Steve Genter | USA | 1:53.73 | 26.66 (3) | 54.93 (1) | 1:24.28 (1) | 28.27 (1) | 29.35 (3) | 29.45 (5) | ||
| 3 | – | Werner Lampe | FRG | 1:53.99 | 26.82 (5) | 55.73 (4) | 1:25.27 (4) | 28.91 (3) | 29.54 (5) | 28.72 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | Mike Wenden | AUS | 1:54.40 | 26.97 (6) | 56.07 (5) | 1:25.23 (3) | 29.10 (5) | 29.16 (1) | 29.17 (4) | ||
| 5 | – | Fred Tyler | USA | 1:54.96 | 27.47 (7) | 56.91 (7) | 1:26.13 (6) | 29.44 (6) | 29.22 (2) | 28.83 (3) | ||
| 6 | – | Klaus Steinbach | FRG | 1:55.65 | 26.74 (4) | 55.50 (3) | 1:25.55 (5) | 28.76 (2) | 30.05 (6) | 30.10 (7) | ||
| 7 | – | Vladimir Bure | URS | 1:57.24 | 26.21 (2) | 56.16 (6) | 1:26.96 (7) | 29.95 (8) | 30.80 (8) | 30.28 (8) | ||
| 8 | – | Ralph Hutton | CAN | 1:57.56 | 27.51 (8) | 57.28 (8) | 1:27.65 (8) | 29.77 (7) | 30.37 (7) | 29.91 (6) |