The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

took place between October 11 and 13. There were 34 competitors from 21 nations, with each nation having up to 3 swimmers. The medals were swept by the United States, with

Jed Graef Jed Richard Graef (born May 1, 1942) is an American former competition swimming (sport), swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Graef grew up in Verona, New Jersey and learned the backstroke while competing with the Montclair ...

Gary Dilley Gary J. Dilley (born January 15, 1945) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic medalist. He represented the United States at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he received a silver medal in men's 200-meter backstroke, finis ...

, and Bob Bennett taking gold, silver, and bronze respectively.

Background

This was the second appearance of the 200 metre backstroke event. It was first held in 1900. The event did not return until 1964; since then, it has been on the programme at every Summer Games. From 1904 to 1960, a men's 100 metre backstroke was held instead. In 1964, only the 200 metres was held. Beginning in 1968 and ever since, both the 100 and 200 metre versions have been held. As there were 64 years between the prior edition of this event and this one, no swimmers returned from the 1900 Games. Reigning Olympic champion

Ernst Hoppenberg Ernst Heinrich Hoppenberg (26 July 1878 in Bremen – 29 September 1937 in Kirn) was a German swimmer and water polo player who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the 200 metre events. He participated in Swimmin ...

had died in 1937. The American team was so strong that the world record holder, Tom Stock, did not make the team. 16 nations made their debut in the event, while 5 returned from the 1900 Games. Sweden was the only nation that had competed in the event in 1900 that did not compete again in 1964, other than Germany (now competing as the United Team of Germany).

Competition format

The competition used a three-round (heats, semifinals, final) format. The advancement rule followed the format introduced in 1952. A swimmer's place in the heat was not used to determine advancement; instead, the fastest times from across all heats in a round were used. There were 9 heats of 7 or 8 swimmers each. The top 24 swimmers advanced to the semifinals. There were 3 semifinals of 8 swimmers each. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties. This

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

event used

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of four lengths of the pool.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics. The Olympic record was 64 years old, as the event had not been held since the 1900 Games. In the first heat, Bob Bennett broke the record by over 30 seconds, swimming an unrushed 2:16.1. The Olympic record continued to drop throughout the heats and semifinals (with only one of the 7 races in the first two rounds not resulting the record being broken).

Shigeo Fukushima was a Japanese former swimmer who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics. References 1943 births 1998 deaths Japanese male medley swimmers Japanese male backstroke swimmers Olympic swimmers of Japan Swimmers at the 1964 Summer O ...

swam 2:14.7 in heat 2,

2:14.5 in heat 3,

2:14.2 in heat 5, Dilley 2:13.8 in semifinal 1, and Graef 2:13.7 in semifinal 2. In the final, Graef and Dilley both broke the world record; the former took gold and the new record with 2:10.3.

Schedule

Results

Heats

Five heats were held; the fastest sixteen swimmers advanced to the semifinals.

Semifinals

Two heats were held; the fastest eight swimmers advanced to the final.

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming At The 1964 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 Metre Backstroke Men's backstroke 200 metre 200 metre backstroke at the Olympics Men's events at the 1964 Summer Olympics