| Date | 15 – 18 July 1908 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | White City Stadium, London |
| Participants | 27 from 10 countries |
In the final, Pontus Hanson took the lead and held a two metre margin through 50 metres. At 100 metres, William Robinson (GBR) and Hanson were equal first. By 150 metres, Hanson had faded to last, but he would recover slightly to get the bronze medal. Fred Holman did not take the lead until the last lap, but pulled away to win by two yards.
Holman never won a British breaststroke championship, as he could never defeat the top breaststroker of the era, Percy Courtman, who was ASA champion at 220 yards in 1907-09 and 1912-13. Courtman competed in this event but, in round one, he finished second to Belgium’s Félicien Courbet, and did not qualify for the semi-finals.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Holman |  GBR | 3:10.6 (1 h1) | 3:10.0 (1 h1) | 3:09.2 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | William Robinson | GBR | 3:13.0 (1 h5) | 3:11.8 (1 h2) | 3:12.8 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Pontus Hanson |  SWE | 3:15.0 (2 h4) | 3:13.0 (2 h2) | 3:14.6 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Ödön Toldi |  HUN | 3:14.4 (1 h4) | 3:16.4 (2 h1) | 3:15.2 (4) | |||
| 3 h1 r2/3 | Erich Seidel |  GER | 3:17.2 (1 h3) | at 1½ yards (3 h1) | – | |||
| 3 h2 r2/3 | Wilhelm Persson | SWE | 3:17.6 (1 h2) | – (3 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | József Fabinyi | HUN | 3:23.4 (1 h6) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Félicien Courbet |  BEL | 3:16.4 (1 h7) | – (4 h2) | – | |||
| 2 h1 r1/3 | Richard Rößler | GER | 3:18.0 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 2 h2 r1/3 | András Baronyi | HUN | 3:18.0 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 2 h3 r1/3 | Hjalmar Johansson | SWE | 3:21.2 (2 h3) | – | – | |||
| 2 h5 r1/3 | Per Fjästad | SWE | 3:31.4 (2 h5) | – | – | |||
| 2 h6 r1/3 | Torsten Kumfeldt | SWE | 3:24.6 (2 h6) | – | – | |||
| 2 h7 r1/3 | Percy Courtman | GBR | 3:18.4 (2 h7) | – | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | Max Gumpel | SWE | – (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | Gus Goessling |  USA | – (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | Alf Davies | GBR | at 10 yards (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | Sydney Gooday | GBR | at 2½ yards (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 3 h5 r1/3 | John Henriksson |  FIN | – (3 h5) | – | – | |||
| 3 h6 r1/3 | Harald Klem |  DEN | – (3 h6) | – | – | |||
| 3 h7 r1/3 | Adolf Andersson | SWE | – (3 h7) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Pierre Strauwen | BEL | – (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Amilcare Beretta |  ITA | – (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| AC h2 r1/3 | Herman Cederberg | FIN | – (AC h2) | – | – | |||
| AC h2 r1/3 | Frederick Naylor | GBR | – (AC h2) | – | – | |||
| AC h5 r1/3 | Edmund Cooke |  ANZ | – (DNF h5) | – | – | DNF | ||
| AC h6 r1/3 | Hugo Jonsson | FIN | – (DNF h6) | – | – | DNF | ||
| G. Bowidon |  FRA | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| A. Frick | FRA | – (DNS h6) | – | – | ||||
| Walter Brack | GER | – (DNS h7) | – | – | ||||
| Georg Zacharias | GER | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| Imre Waizner | HUN | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| Francesco Negri | ITA | – (DNS h7) | – | – | ||||
| G. Petit | ITA | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| Al Gosnell | USA | – (DNS h5) | – | – |
| Date | 15 July 1908 — 14:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner of each heat and the fastest loser advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Holman | GBR | 3:10.6 | ||
| 2 | Richard Rößler | GER | 3:18.0 | ||
| 3 | Max Gumpel | SWE | – | ||
| Imre Waizner | HUN | – | |||
| G. Petit | ITA | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilhelm Persson | SWE | 3:17.6 | ||
| 2 | András Baronyi | HUN | 3:18.0 | ||
| 3 | Gus Goessling | USA | – | ||
| Herman Cederberg | FIN | – | |||
| Frederick Naylor | GBR | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erich Seidel | GER | 3:17.2 | ||
| 2 | Hjalmar Johansson | SWE | 3:21.2 | ||
| 3 | Alf Davies | GBR | at 10 yards | ||
| 4 | Pierre Strauwen | BEL | – | ||
| G. Bowidon | FRA | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ödön Toldi | HUN | 3:14.4 | ||
| 2 | Pontus Hanson | SWE | 3:15.0 | ||
| 3 | Sydney Gooday | GBR | at 2½ yards | ||
| 4 | Amilcare Beretta | ITA | – | ||
| Georg Zacharias | GER | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Robinson | GBR | 3:13.0 | ||
| 2 | Per Fjästad | SWE | 3:31.4 | ||
| 3 | John Henriksson | FIN | – | ||
| Edmund Cooke | ANZ | – | |||
| Al Gosnell | USA | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | József Fabinyi | HUN | 3:23.4 | ||
| 2 | Torsten Kumfeldt | SWE | 3:24.6 | ||
| 3 | Harald Klem | DEN | – | ||
| Hugo Jonsson | FIN | – | |||
| A. Frick | FRA | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Félicien Courbet | BEL | 3:16.4 | ||
| 2 | Percy Courtman | GBR | 3:18.4 | ||
| 3 | Adolf Andersson | SWE | – | ||
| Walter Brack | GER | – | |||
| Francesco Negri | ITA | – |
| Date | 16 July 1908 — 14:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 2 in each heat advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Holman | GBR | 3:10.0 | ||
| 2 | Ödön Toldi | HUN | 3:16.4 | ||
| 3 | Erich Seidel | GER | at 1½ yards | ||
| 4 | József Fabinyi | HUN | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Robinson | GBR | 3:11.8 | ||
| 2 | Pontus Hanson | SWE | 3:13.0 | ||
| 3 | Wilhelm Persson | SWE | – | ||
| 4 | Félicien Courbet | BEL | – |
| Date | 18 July 1908 — 14:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Holman | GBR | 3:09.2 | ||
| 2 | William Robinson | GBR | 3:12.8 | ||
| 3 | Pontus Hanson | SWE | 3:14.6 | ||
| 4 | Ödön Toldi | HUN | 3:15.2 |
