| | Event type
200 metres Backstroke, Men
| Date | 26 July 1996 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia |
| Participants | 39 from 33 countries |
In 1992 this race had provided the host nation of Spain with one of their greatest ever Olympic moments as home swimmer Martín López-Zubero had become their first ever Olympic swimming champion. He returned from a brief retirement to defend his Olympic title although Vladimir Selkov, the silver medalist from Barcelona and current world champion, was now thought to have usurped the Spaniard’s position as world number one.
Neither Selkov or López-Zubero arrived at Atlanta with the fastest time of the year so far – that honour belonged to the Italian Emanuele Merisi who had swam a fast 1:57.70 at the Italian Olympic trails. However none of the three could perform up to expectations at the Olympic Games and Selkov failed even to reach the final. The men who did produce their best on the important day were two Americans who were both from Florida and who had competed against each other since they were very young.
Brad Bridgewater took up the pace after the first turn with Tripp Schwenk hanging on his heels. Both men tired down the home stretch but they had enough to hold on for a US 1-2 with Bridgewater touching ahead of Schwenk. Merisi come through for third in a time well outside his personal best
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | B Final | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Bridgewater |  USA | 1:59.04 (1 h5) | – | 1:58.54 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Tripp Schwenk | USA | 1:59.58 (1 h4) | – | 1:58.99 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Emanuele Merisi |  ITA | 2:00.01 (1 h6) | – | 1:59.18 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Bartosz Sikora |  POL | 2:00.99 (3 h4) | – | 2:00.05 (4) | |||
| 5 | Hajime Itoi |  JPN | 2:00.43 (2 h6) | – | 2:00.10 (5) | |||
| 6 | Martín López-Zubero |  ESP | 2:00.77 (2 h4) | – | 2:00.74 (6) | |||
| 7 | Mirko Mazzari | ITA | 1:59.95 (2 h5) | – | 2:01.27 (7) | |||
| 8 | Rodolfo Falcón |  CUB | 2:01.20 (3 h5) | – | 2:08.14 (8) | |||
| 9 | Ryuji Horii | JPN | 2:02.33 (4 h6) | 2:01.54 (1) | – | |||
| 10 | Chris Renaud |  CAN | 2:02.48 (6 h5) | 2:01.70 (2) | – | |||
| 11 | Marko Strahija |  CRO | 2:01.95 (1 h3) | 2:01.84 (3) | – | |||
| 12 | Olivér Ágh |  HUN | 2:01.84 (5 h4) | 2:02.17 (4) | – | |||
| 13 | Adam Ruckwood |  GBR | 2:01.35 (4 h4) | 2:02.40 (5) | – | |||
| 14 | Ji Sang-Jun |  KOR | 2:01.39 (5 h5) | 2:02.68 (6) | – | |||
| 15 | Rogério Romero |  BRA | 2:03.49 (2 h3) | 2:03.20 (7) | – | |||
| 16 | Sergey Ostapchuk |  RUS | 2:03.50 (6 h4) | 2:03.91 (8) | – | |||
| 17 | Vladimir Selkov | RUS | 2:01.32 (4 h5) | – | – | 1 | ||
| 18 | Ralf Braun |  GER | 2:01.50 (3 h6) | – | – | 2 | ||
| 19 | Miroslav Machovič |  SVK | 2:04.15 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 20 | Neisser Bent | CUB | 2:04.23 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 21 | Derya Büyükuncu |  TUR | 2:04.28 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 22 | Arūnas Savickas |  LTU | 2:04.38 (1 h2) | – | – | |||
| 23 | Steven Dewick |  AUS | 2:04.46 (5 h6) | – | – | |||
| 24 | Rastislav Bizub |  CZE | 2:04.55 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 25 | Raymond Papa |  PHI | 2:05.09 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 26 | Dulyarit Phuangthong |  THA | 2:05.26 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 27 | Nicolás Rajcevich |  CHI | 2:05.79 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 28 | Nicky Neckles |  BAR | 2:05.88 (1 h1) | – | – | |||
| 29 | Nuno Laurentino |  POR | 2:05.95 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 30 | Carlos Arena |  MEX | 2:05.96 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 31 | Alex Lim |  MAS | 2:06.17 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 32 | Martin Harris | GBR | 2:07.75 (6 h6) | – | – | |||
| 33 | Artur Elizarov |  MDA | 2:07.86 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 34 | Nicolae Butacu |  ROU | 2:08.59 (7 h6) | – | – | |||
| 35 | Adrian O'Connor |  IRL | 2:08.90 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 36 | Gerald Koh |  SGP | 2:09.86 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 37 | Panagiotis Adamidis |  GRE | 2:10.22 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 38 | Trương Ngọc Tuấn |  VIE | 2:12.05 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 39 | Zhao Yi |  CHN | 2:13.31 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| Jani Sievinen |  FIN | – (DNS h6) | – | – | ||||
| Stev Theloke | GER | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| Tamás Deutsch | HUN | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| Fahad Al-Otaibi |  KUW | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| Volodymyr Nikolaichuk |  UKR | – (DNS h3) | – | – |
Round One
| Date | 26 July 1996 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final. |
Heat #1
| 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 | – | Nicky Neckles | BAR | 2:05.88 | 29.60 (2) | 1:01.65 (2) | 1:34.37 (1) | 32.05 (2) | 32.72 (1) | 31.51 (2) | ||
| 2 | – | Alex Lim | MAS | 2:06.17 | 29.52 (1) | 1:01.40 (1) | 1:34.82 (2) | 31.88 (1) | 33.42 (2) | 31.35 (1) | ||
| 3 | – | Gerald Koh | SGP | 2:09.86 | 30.03 (3) | 1:02.70 (3) | 1:36.47 (3) | 32.67 (4) | 33.77 (3) | 33.39 (3) | ||
| 4 | – | Trương Ngọc Tuấn | VIE | 2:12.05 | 31.32 (4) | 1:03.88 (4) | 1:37.70 (4) | 32.56 (3) | 33.82 (4) | 34.35 (4) |
Heat #2
| 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 | – | Arūnas Savickas | LTU | 2:04.38 | 29.38 (2) | 1:00.25 (2) | 1:32.12 (1) | 30.87 (1) | 31.87 (1) | 32.26 (3) | ||
| 2 | – | Dulyarit Phuangthong | THA | 2:05.26 | 29.62 (4) | 1:01.37 (3) | 1:33.50 (3) | 31.75 (3) | 32.13 (2) | 31.76 (2) | ||
| 3 | – | Nicolás Rajcevich | CHI | 2:05.79 | 29.77 (5) | 1:02.11 (5) | 1:34.43 (4) | 32.34 (6) | 32.32 (4) | 31.36 (1) | ||
| 4 | – | Carlos Arena | MEX | 2:05.96 | 29.09 (1) | 1:00.19 (1) | 1:32.47 (2) | 31.10 (2) | 32.28 (3) | 33.49 (6) | ||
| 5 | – | Artur Elizarov | MDA | 2:07.86 | 29.91 (6) | 1:02.19 (6) | 1:35.04 (5) | 32.28 (=4) | 32.85 (6) | 32.82 (4) | ||
| 6 | – | Adrian O'Connor | IRL | 2:08.90 | 30.10 (7) | 1:02.66 (7) | 1:35.43 (6) | 32.56 (7) | 32.77 (5) | 33.47 (5) | ||
| 7 | – | Panagiotis Adamidis | GRE | 2:10.22 | 29.51 (3) | 1:01.79 (4) | 1:35.72 (7) | 32.28 (=4) | 33.93 (7) | 34.50 (7) | ||
| – | Fahad Al-Otaibi | KUW | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #3
| 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 | – | Marko Strahija | CRO | 2:01.95 | 28.96 (2) | 59.98 (=2) | 1:31.03 (1) | 31.02 (2) | 31.05 (1) | 30.92 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Rogério Romero | BRA | 2:03.49 | 28.80 (1) | 59.85 (1) | 1:31.54 (2) | 31.05 (3) | 31.69 (2) | 31.95 (4) | ||
| 3 | – | Miroslav Machovič | SVK | 2:04.15 | 29.08 (3) | 1:00.49 (5) | 1:32.48 (5) | 31.41 (6) | 31.99 (5) | 31.67 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | Derya Büyükuncu | TUR | 2:04.28 | 29.17 (4) | 59.98 (=2) | 1:31.94 (3) | 30.81 (1) | 31.96 (4) | 32.34 (5) | ||
| 5 | – | Rastislav Bizub | CZE | 2:04.55 | 29.64 (7) | 1:00.71 (6) | 1:32.83 (6) | 31.07 (5) | 32.12 (6) | 31.72 (3) | ||
| 6 | – | Raymond Papa | PHI | 2:05.09 | 29.31 (6) | 1:00.37 (4) | 1:32.22 (4) | 31.06 (4) | 31.85 (3) | 32.87 (7) | ||
| 7 | – | Nuno Laurentino | POR | 2:05.95 | 29.25 (5) | 1:00.93 (7) | 1:33.27 (7) | 31.68 (7) | 32.34 (7) | 32.68 (6) | ||
| – | Volodymyr Nikolaichuk | UKR | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #4
| 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 | – | Tripp Schwenk | USA | 1:59.58 | 27.91 (1) | 57.39 (1) | 1:27.86 (1) | 29.48 (1) | 30.47 (1) | 31.72 (4) | ||
| 2 | – | Martín López-Zubero | ESP | 2:00.77 | 28.40 (2) | 58.89 (4) | 1:29.81 (4) | 30.49 (4) | 30.92 (3) | 30.96 (1) | ||
| 3 | – | Bartosz Sikora | POL | 2:00.99 | 28.59 (5) | 58.80 (3) | 1:29.63 (3) | 30.21 (3) | 30.83 (2) | 31.36 (3) | ||
| 4 | – | Adam Ruckwood | GBR | 2:01.35 | 28.43 (3) | 58.54 (2) | 1:29.48 (2) | 30.11 (2) | 30.94 (4) | 31.87 (5) | ||
| 5 | – | Olivér Ágh | HUN | 2:01.84 | 28.88 (6) | 59.58 (6) | 1:30.81 (5) | 30.70 (5) | 31.23 (5) | 31.03 (2) | ||
| 6 | – | Sergey Ostapchuk | RUS | 2:03.50 | 28.55 (4) | 59.51 (5) | 1:31.50 (6) | 30.96 (6) | 31.99 (6) | 32.00 (6) | ||
| 7 | – | Zhao Yi | CHN | 2:13.31 | 30.17 (7) | 1:03.27 (7) | 1:38.88 (7) | 33.10 (7) | 35.61 (7) | 34.43 (7) | ||
| – | Tamás Deutsch | HUN | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #5
| 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 | – | Brad Bridgewater | USA | 1:59.04 | 27.74 (1) | 57.45 (1) | 1:27.94 (1) | 29.71 (1) | 30.49 (2) | 31.10 (2) | ||
| 2 | – | Mirko Mazzari | ITA | 1:59.95 | 29.13 (7) | 59.55 (7) | 1:30.10 (5) | 30.42 (4) | 30.55 (3) | 29.85 (1) | ||
| 3 | – | Rodolfo Falcón | CUB | 2:01.20 | 29.02 (6) | 58.87 (4) | 1:29.35 (2) | 29.85 (2) | 30.48 (1) | 31.85 (6) | ||
| 4 | – | Vladimir Selkov | RUS | 2:01.32 | 27.99 (2) | 58.42 (2) | 1:29.79 (3) | 30.43 (5) | 31.37 (5) | 31.53 (3) | ||
| 5 | – | Ji Sang-Jun | KOR | 2:01.39 | 28.44 (3) | 58.44 (3) | 1:29.83 (4) | 30.00 (3) | 31.39 (6) | 31.56 (=4) | ||
| 6 | – | Chris Renaud | CAN | 2:02.48 | 28.45 (4) | 59.14 (5) | 1:30.92 (7) | 30.69 (7) | 31.78 (7) | 31.56 (=4) | ||
| 7 | – | Neisser Bent | CUB | 2:04.23 | 28.74 (5) | 59.24 (6) | 1:30.39 (6) | 30.50 (6) | 31.15 (4) | 33.84 (7) | ||
| – | Stev Theloke | GER | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #6
| 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 | – | Emanuele Merisi | ITA | 2:00.01 | 28.44 (3) | 58.74 (3) | 1:29.13 (1) | 30.30 (=1) | 30.39 (1) | 30.88 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Hajime Itoi | JPN | 2:00.43 | 28.06 (2) | 58.36 (1) | 1:29.29 (2) | 30.30 (=1) | 30.93 (2) | 31.14 (3) | ||
| 3 | – | Ralf Braun | GER | 2:01.50 | 28.63 (4) | 59.51 (4) | 1:30.45 (3) | 30.88 (5) | 30.94 (3) | 31.05 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | Ryuji Horii | JPN | 2:02.33 | 29.22 (6) | 59.89 (6) | 1:30.91 (4) | 30.67 (3) | 31.02 (4) | 31.42 (4) | ||
| 5 | – | Steven Dewick | AUS | 2:04.46 | 28.67 (5) | 59.62 (5) | 1:32.48 (5) | 30.95 (6) | 32.86 (5) | 31.98 (5) | ||
| 6 | – | Martin Harris | GBR | 2:07.75 | 27.70 (1) | 58.53 (2) | 1:32.49 (6) | 30.83 (4) | 33.96 (7) | 35.26 (7) | ||
| 7 | – | Nicolae Butacu | ROU | 2:08.59 | 29.23 (7) | 1:00.49 (7) | 1:34.24 (7) | 31.26 (7) | 33.75 (6) | 34.35 (6) | ||
| – | Jani Sievinen | FIN | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
B Final
| Date | 26 July 1996 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Ryuji Horii | JPN | 2:01.54 | 28.69 (2) | 59.07 (1) | 1:30.34 (1) | 30.38 (1) | 31.27 (3) | 31.20 (7) | ||
| 2 | – | Chris Renaud | CAN | 2:01.70 | 29.16 (=5) | 1:00.29 (5) | 1:31.60 (5) | 31.13 (4) | 31.31 (4) | 30.10 (2) | ||
| 3 | – | Marko Strahija | CRO | 2:01.84 | 29.12 (3) | 1:00.18 (4) | 1:31.20 (2) | 31.06 (3) | 31.02 (1) | 30.64 (3) | ||
| 4 | – | Olivér Ágh | HUN | 2:02.17 | 29.14 (4) | 1:00.06 (3) | 1:31.40 (3) | 30.92 (2) | 31.34 (5) | 30.77 (=4) | ||
| 5 | – | Adam Ruckwood | GBR | 2:02.40 | 29.16 (=5) | 1:00.75 (8) | 1:32.38 (7) | 31.59 (8) | 31.63 (6) | 30.02 (1) | ||
| 6 | – | Ji Sang-Jun | KOR | 2:02.68 | 29.45 (8) | 1:00.59 (6) | 1:31.76 (6) | 31.14 (5) | 31.17 (2) | 30.92 (6) | ||
| 7 | – | Rogério Romero | BRA | 2:03.20 | 29.29 (7) | 1:00.73 (7) | 1:32.43 (8) | 31.44 (7) | 31.70 (7) | 30.77 (=4) | ||
| 8 | – | Sergey Ostapchuk | RUS | 2:03.91 | 28.16 (1) | 59.33 (2) | 1:31.58 (4) | 31.17 (6) | 32.25 (8) | 32.33 (8) |
Final Round
| Date | 26 July 1996 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Brad Bridgewater | USA | 1:58.54 | 28.06 (2) | 57.72 (1) | 1:27.92 (1) | 29.66 (1) | 30.20 (1) | 30.62 (6) | ||
| 2 | – | Tripp Schwenk | USA | 1:58.99 | 28.13 (4) | 57.90 (2) | 1:28.56 (2) | 29.77 (2) | 30.66 (4) | 30.43 (4) | ||
| 3 | – | Emanuele Merisi | ITA | 1:59.18 | 28.53 (6) | 58.89 (5) | 1:29.16 (4) | 30.36 (3) | 30.27 (2) | 30.02 (1) | ||
| 4 | – | Bartosz Sikora | POL | 2:00.05 | 28.39 (5) | 59.00 (6) | 1:29.85 (5) | 30.61 (5) | 30.85 (5) | 30.20 (2) | ||
| 5 | – | Hajime Itoi | JPN | 2:00.10 | 28.01 (1) | 58.63 (3) | 1:29.10 (3) | 30.62 (6) | 30.47 (3) | 31.00 (7) | ||
| 6 | – | Martín López-Zubero | ESP | 2:00.74 | 28.67 (7) | 59.21 (7) | 1:30.33 (6) | 30.54 (4) | 31.12 (7) | 30.41 (3) | ||
| 7 | – | Mirko Mazzari | ITA | 2:01.27 | 29.09 (8) | 59.79 (8) | 1:30.74 (7) | 30.70 (8) | 30.95 (6) | 30.53 (5) | ||
| 8 | – | Rodolfo Falcón | CUB | 2:08.14 | 28.07 (3) | 58.74 (4) | 1:32.32 (8) | 30.67 (7) | 33.58 (8) | 35.82 (8) |