The women's 200 metre breaststroke event, included in the swimming competition at the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
, took place on October 22–23, at the
Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez
The Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez is an indoor swimming pool Olympic facility located in Mexico City, Mexico. It has a capacity of 4,300.
It hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics for competitions of swimming, diving, water polo, and the swimmin ...
. In this event, swimmers covered four lengths of the 50-metre (160 ft)
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
-sized pool employing the
breaststroke. It was the tenth appearance of the event, which first appeared at the
1924 Summer Olympics in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. A total of 31 competitors from 20 nations participated in the event.
American Catie Ball was the large favourite to win the event, as she had broken the
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
in this event the last three times. However, she was suffering from a
virus infection and was forced to withdraw from the heats.
Her 16-year-old teammate
Sharon Wichman
Sharon Lynn Wichman (born May 13, 1952), also known by her married name Sharon Jones, is an American former competition swimmer
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through wate ...
won the event, breaking bronze medalist
Galina Prozumenshchikova
Galina Nikolayevna Prozumenshchikova ( rus, Галина Николаевна Прозуменщикова, p=ɡɐˈlʲinə nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvnə prəzʊˈmʲenʲɕːɪkəvə; 26 November 1948 – 19 July 2015) was a Soviet breaststroke swimme ...
's
Olympic record
Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including:
* Archery (list)
* Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS)
* Athletics (list)
...
in the final.
[OCGOM, p. 369]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were:
The following records were established during the competition:
Results
Heats
Final
Sources
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming At The 1968 Summer Olympics - Women's 200 Metre Breaststroke
Women's breaststroke 200 metre
1968 in women's swimming
Women's events at the 1968 Summer Olympics