Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre freestyle
| Men's 200 metre freestyle at the Games of the II Olympiad | |||||||
| Fred Lane 1900.jpg Gold medalist Frederick Lane | |||||||
| Venue | River Seine | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | August 11 (semifinals) August 12 (final) | ||||||
| Competitors | 26 from 10 nations | ||||||
| Winning time | 2:25.2 | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
| |||||||
| 1904 (220 yd)» | |||||||
| Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Freestyle | |
| 200 m | men |
| 1000 m | men |
| 4000 m | men |
| Backstroke | |
| 200 m | men |
| Other | |
| 200 m team | men |
| 200 m obstacle | men |
| Underwater | men |
The men's 200 metre freestyle was a swimming event in the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It the shortest freestyle swimming event. It was on 11 August and 12 August 1900. There were 26 swimmers. These swimmers were from 10 different nations.[1] Frederick Lane of Australia won. Zoltán Halmay of Hungary was in 2nd place. Karl Ruberl of Austria was in 3rd place.
Background
[change | change source]This was the first 200 metres event in the Olympics. This event would also be in the 1904 Olympics. However, in 1904, the distance would be 220 yards. The 200 metres was not in the Olympics until the 1968 Summer Olympics. It has been at every Olympics since 1968.[2]
Frederick Lane of Australia was the favorite swimmer in this race. He had won the British 220 yards championships in 1899. Rob Derbyshire of Great Britain was also a favorite swimmer. He had won the 1898 British championships. Derbyshire and Lane tied the British championships in 1900. However, Derbyshire had a stomach virus. He did not compete in the 1900 games. This easily made Lane the favorite. Zoltán Halmay of Hungary was probably the 2nd famous swimmer.[2]
There were no official records in the 200 metres before this race. There would not be official world records until 1902. Otto Wahle had the fastest time in the first semifinal. His time was 2:35.6. This was the first Olympic record for this event. In the 5th semifinal, Karl Ruberl's time was 2:22.6. This became the new Olympic record.
Competition
[change | change source]The competition was in 2 rounds. There was the semifinals and the final. There were 5 semifinal rounds. Each semifinal had about 12 swimmers. However, many swimmers quit before the race. This left 4-6 swimmers in each round. The fastest swimmer in each semifinal went to the final. The 5 fastest times also went to the finals. If you went to the finals because you won a round, that would not count as one of the fastest 5 times. This meant that there was 10 swimmers in the finals.[2]
The races were in the Seine.[2] This swimming event used freestyle swimming. This means that the stroke was not regulated.
Schedule
[change | change source]| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 10 August 1900 | 10:00 | Semifinals |
| Sunday, 12 August 1900 | 14:30 | Final |
Results
[change | change source]Semifinals
[change | change source]In the first round, there were 5 semifinals. The winner of each semifinal went to the final The 5 fastest losers also went to the finals. The semifinals were on 11 August.
Semifinal 1
[change | change source]| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Otto Wahle |  Austria |
2:35.6 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Robert Crawshaw |  Great Britain |
2:40.0 | q |
| 3 | Julius Frey |  Germany |
2:50.4 | q |
| 4 | Erik Eriksson |  Sweden |
3:05.8 | |
| 5 | Paolo Bussetti |  Italy |
3:35.0 |
Semifinal 2
[change | change source]| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoltán Halmay |  Hungary |
2:38.0 | Q |
| 2 | Peter Kemp | Great Britain |
2:51.0 | |
| 3 | R. Féret |  France |
3:12.2 | |
| 4 | Victor Cadet | France |
3:24.0 |
Semifinal 3
[change | change source]| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frederick Lane | Australia |
2:59.0 | Q |
| 2 | René Tartara | France |
3:13.0 | |
| 3 | Victor Hochepied | France |
3:46.6 | |
| 4 | Texier | France |
3:47.0 | |
| 5 | Pierre Peyrusson | France |
3:47.6 | |
| — | Pujol | France |
DNF |
Semifinal 4
[change | change source]| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jules Clévenot | France |
3:05.0 | Q |
| 2 | Herman Alexander de By |  Netherlands |
3:10.4 | |
| 3 | Fred Hendschel |  United States |
3:42.0 | |
| 4 | Richard von Foregger | Austria |
4:32.0 | |
| 5 | Jacques Léauté | France |
4:39.4 |
Semifinal 5
[change | change source]| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karl Ruberl | Austria |
2:22.6 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Frederick Stapleton | Great Britain |
2:47.0 | q |
| 3 | Louis Martin | France |
2:47.4 | q |
| 4 | Maurice Hochepied | France |
2:48.0 | q |
| 5 | A. Adam | France |
4:28.0 | |
| 6 | Ronaux | France |
4:36.4 |
Final
[change | change source]The final was on 12 August. Wahle did not start in the final. Lane won easily. He was 6 seconds ahead of Halmay and Ruberl.
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Frederick Lane | Australia |
2:25.2 |
 |
Zoltán Halmay | Hungary |
2:31.4 |
 |
Karl Ruberl | Austria |
2:32.0 |
| 4 | Robert Crawshaw | Great Britain |
2:45.6 |
| 5 | Maurice Hochepied | France |
2:53.0 |
| 6 | Frederick Stapleton | Great Britain |
2:55.0 |
| 7 | Jules Clévenot | France |
2:56.2 |
| 8 | Julius Frey | Germany |
2:58.2 |
| 9 | Louis Martin | France |
Unknown |
| — | Otto Wahle | Austria |
DNS |
Results summary
[change | change source]| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Semifinals | Final | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Frederick Lane | Australia |
2:59.0 | 2:25.2 | |
|
Zoltán Halmay | Hungary |
2:38.0 | 2:31.4 | |
|
Karl Ruberl | Austria |
2:22.6 | 2:32.0 | OR |
| 4 | Robert Crawshaw | Great Britain |
2:40.0 | 2:45.6 | |
| 5 | Maurice Hochepied | France |
2:48.0 | 2:53.0 | |
| 6 | Frederick Stapleton | Great Britain |
2:47.0 | 2:55.0 | |
| 7 | Jules Clévenot | France |
3:05.0 | 2:56.2 | |
| 8 | Julius Frey | Germany |
2:50.4 | 2:58.2 | |
| 9 | Louis Martin | France |
2:47.4 | Unknown | |
| 10 | Otto Wahle | Austria |
2:35.6 | DNS | |
| 11 | Peter Kemp | Great Britain |
2:51.0 | Did not advance | |
| 12 | Erik Eriksson | Sweden |
3:05.8 | ||
| 13 | Herman Alexander de By | Netherlands |
3:10.4 | ||
| 14 | R. Féret | France |
3:12.2 | ||
| 15 | René Tartara | France |
3:13.0 | ||
| 16 | Victor Cadet | France |
3:24.0 | ||
| 17 | Paolo Bussetti | Italy |
3:35.0 | ||
| 18 | Fred Hendschel | United States |
3:42.0 | ||
| 19 | Victor Hochepied | France |
3:46.6 | ||
| 20 | Texier | France |
3:47.0 | ||
| 21 | Pierre Peyrusson | France |
3:47.6 | ||
| 22 | A. Adam | France |
4:28.0 | ||
| 23 | Richard von Foregger | Austria |
4:32.0 | ||
| 24 | Ronaux | France |
4:36.4 | ||
| 25 | Jacques Léauté | France |
4:39.4 | ||
| 26 | Pujol | France |
DNF |
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Swimming at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "200 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 June 2021.