The men's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place between 30 November and 6 December.
This
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
event used the
breaststroke
Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...
. Because an
Olympic-size swimming pool
An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Champions ...
is 50 metres long, this race consisted of four lengths of the pool.
Medalists
Results
Heats
Three heats were held; the swimmers with the fastest eight times advanced to the Finals. The athletes that advanced are highlighted.
Heat One
Heat Two
Heat Three
Final
A loophole in the rules allowed swimmers to swim below the surface of the water, which was quicker and more efficient, with Furukawa spending 75% of the race underwater. Underwater swimming was banned in early 1957.
Key: DSQ = Disqualified
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 Metre Breaststroke
Men's breaststroke 200 metre
Men's events at the 1956 Summer Olympics