| | Event type
200 metres Breaststroke, Men
| Date | 26 – 29 August 1920 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Zwemstadion van Antwerpen, Antwerpen |
| Participants | 24 from 11 countries |
The defending champion was Walter Bathe of Germany, who set the Olympic record of 3:01.8 in the 1912 final. The world record was held by Percy Courtman (GBR), who had recorded 2:56.6 in 1914. Bathe could not compete in Antwerp, because Germany was not invited, and Courtman also did not show for this event. The event was wide-open but Håkan Malmrot of Sweden won his heat, his semi-final, and final without being pressed. Four days earlier, Malmrot had also won the 400 breaststroke.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Håkan Malmrot |  SWE | 3:04.0 (1 h3) | 3:09.0 (1 h2) | 3:04.4 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Thor Henning | SWE | 3:12.8 (1 h4) | 3:16.0 (3 h1) | 3:09.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Arvo Aaltonen |  FIN | 3:11.6 (2 h3) | 3:12.4 (2 h2) | 3:12.2 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Jack Howell |  USA | 3:09.8 (1 h1) | 3:10.8 (1 h1) | – (4) | |||
| 5 | Ivan Stedman |  AUS | 3:18.8 (2 h4) | 3:16.0 (3 h2) | – (5) | |||
| AC r3/3 | Per Cederblom | SWE | 3:12.2 (2 h1) | 3:14.6 (2 h1) | – ( | DNF | ||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | Olle Dickson | SWE | 3:16.0 (1 h2) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Mike McDermott | USA | 3:16.4 (2 h2) | – (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | Paul Neeckx |  BEL | 3:16.6 (3 h2) | – (5 h1) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | Edmond Henry | BEL | 3:18.0 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | Édouard Van Haelen | BEL | 3:22.6 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | William Stoney |  GBR | 3:20.8 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Rex Lassam | GBR | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Théodore Michel |  LUX | – (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Stephen Ruddy | USA | – (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Herbert Taylor | USA | – (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | Sydney Gooday |  CAN | – (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | Émile Arbogast |  FRA | – (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | Eduard Stibor |  TCH | – (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | Lucien Lebaillif | FRA | – (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | Ernest Parker | GBR | – (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | George Robertson | GBR | – (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | Luis Balcells |  ESP | – (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 7 h4 r1/3 | Félicien Courbet | BEL | – (7 h4) | – | – |
Round One (26 August 1920 — 16:00)
Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Jack Howell | USA | 3:09.8 | |||
| 2 | – | Per Cederblom | SWE | 3:12.2 | |||
| 3 | – | Edmond Henry | BEL | 3:18.0 | |||
| 4 | – | Rex Lassam | GBR | – | |||
| 5 | – | Sydney Gooday | CAN | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Olle Dickson | SWE | 3:16.0 | |||
| 2 | – | Mike McDermott | USA | 3:16.4 | |||
| 3 | – | Paul Neeckx | BEL | 3:16.6 | |||
| 4 | – | Théodore Michel | LUX | – | |||
| 5 | – | Émile Arbogast | FRA | – | |||
| 6 | – | Ernest Parker | GBR | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Håkan Malmrot | SWE | 3:04.0 | |||
| 2 | – | Arvo Aaltonen | FIN | 3:11.6 | |||
| 3 | – | Édouard Van Haelen | BEL | 3:22.6 | |||
| 4 | – | Stephen Ruddy | USA | – | |||
| 5 | – | Eduard Stibor | TCH | – | |||
| 6 | – | George Robertson | GBR | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Thor Henning | SWE | 3:12.8 | |||
| 2 | – | Ivan Stedman | AUS | 3:18.8 | |||
| 3 | – | William Stoney | GBR | 3:20.8 | |||
| 4 | – | Herbert Taylor | USA | – | |||
| 5 | – | Lucien Lebaillif | FRA | – | |||
| 6 | – | Luis Balcells | ESP | – | |||
| 7 | – | Félicien Courbet | BEL | – |
Semi-Finals (28 August 1920 — 16:30)
Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Jack Howell | USA | 3:10.8 | |||
| 2 | – | Per Cederblom | SWE | 3:14.6 | |||
| 3 | – | Thor Henning | SWE | 3:16.0 | |||
| 4 | – | Olle Dickson | SWE | – | |||
| 5 | – | Paul Neeckx | BEL | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Håkan Malmrot | SWE | 3:09.0 | |||
| 2 | – | Arvo Aaltonen | FIN | 3:12.4 | |||
| 3 | – | Ivan Stedman | AUS | 3:16.0 | |||
| 4 | – | Mike McDermott | USA | – |
Final (29 August 1920 — 11:15)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Håkan Malmrot | SWE | 3:04.4 | |||
| 2 | – | Thor Henning | SWE | 3:09.2 | |||
| 3 | – | Arvo Aaltonen | FIN | 3:12.2 | |||
| 4 | – | Jack Howell | USA | – | |||
| 5 | – | Ivan Stedman | AUS | – | |||
| – | Per Cederblom | SWE | – |