200 metres Freestyle, Men

This event should have been a contest between Fred Lane of Australia and John Henry “Rob” Derbyshire of Great Britain. Lane was Australian champion at 100 yards in 1898, New Zealand champion at 220 yards and 440 yards in 1899, and British champion at 100 yards (1902), 220 yards (1899-1900, 1902), and 440 yards (1899). At the Olympics, he actually competed with the British team. Derbyshire was the British 100 yard champion from 1898-1901, and had won the 220 yard titled in 1898. In 1900, Lane and Derbyshire tied for the British 220 yard championship. Unfortunately, Derbyshire was sick with a stomach virus and elected not to compete in Paris, which left Britain’s top entrant as Robert Crawshaw, who was primarily a breaststroke and backstroke specialist. In Derbyshire’s absence, Hungary’s Zoltán von Halmay was Lane’s chief competition.

Both Halmay and Lane qualified easily, although the fastest time in the heats was posted by Austria’s Karl Ruberl with 2:22.6 in the fifth heat. In the final, held the next day, Lane won quite easily besting Halmay by over six seconds. The times for the race are very quick for the time, as the race was swum downstream in the River Seine. None could be considered for record purposes.