| | Event type
200 metres Backstroke, Men
| Date | 2 September 1972 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmhalle, Olympiapark, München |
| Participants | 36 from 23 countries |
Roland Matthes had won this event and the 100 backstroke in 1968. Since Mexico City he had bettered the world record in the 200 back five times and the 100 back four times. Four days before this event he had defended his gold medal in the 100 backstroke and he started the 200 back as the clear favorite. The final saw Matthes started slowly as the early lead was set by American Mitch Ivey, followed by his teammate Mike Stamm, silver medalist in the 100 back. Ivey still led at 100 metres but Matthes had moved into second, but he caught Ivey at 125 metres and had a full bodylength lead by the final turn, the race all but over. He eventually won by over a second, but Stamm came on strong to catch a tiring Ivey and won the silver medal.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 207 | Roland Matthes |  GDR | 2:06.62 (1 h5) | 2:02.82 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 572 | Mike Stamm |  USA | 2:07.51 (1 h2) | 2:04.09 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 562 | Mitch Ivey | USA | 2:09.32 (1 h4) | 2:04.33 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 8 | Brad Cooper |  AUS | 2:07.90 (1 h3) | 2:06.59 (4) | |||
| 5 | 567 | Tim McKee | USA | 2:08.19 (2 h3) | 2:07.29 (5) | |||
| 6 | 208 | Lothar Noack | GDR | 2:08.80 (2 h5) | 2:08.67 (6) | |||
| 7 | 293 | Zoltán Verrasztó |  HUN | 2:09.89 (1 h1) | 2:10.09 (7) | |||
| 8 | 153 | Jean-Paul Berjeau |  FRA | 2:09.93 (2 h4) | 2:11.77 (8) | |||
| 9 | 275 | Bob Schoutsen |  NED | 2:10.56 (3 h4) | – | |||
| 10 | 173 | Colin Cunningham |  GBR | 2:11.06 (2 h1) | – | |||
| 11 | 340 | Tadashi Honda |  JPN | 2:11.11 (4 h4) | – | |||
| 12 | 502 | Anders Sandberg |  SWE | 2:11.36 (3 h5) | – | |||
| 13 | 13 | Neil Martin | AUS | 2:12.09 (2 h2) | – | |||
| 14 | 111 | Ejvind Pedersen |  DEN | 2:12.30 (4 h5) | – | |||
| 15 | 80 | Bill Kennedy |  CAN | 2:12.55 (3 h1) | – | |||
| 16 | 331 | Massimo Nistri |  ITA | 2:12.85 (3 h3) | – | |||
| 17 | – | Nenad Miloš |  YUG | 2:12.99 (3 h2) | – | |||
| 18 | 215 | Lutz Wanja | GDR | 2:13.46 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 19 | 30 | Helmut Podolan |  AUT | 2:13.63 (5 h5) | – | |||
| 20 | 288 | Róbert Rudolf | HUN | 2:13.64 (5 h4) | – | |||
| 21 | 391 | José Urueta |  MEX | 2:13.85 (4 h3) | – | |||
| 22 | 109 | Lars Børgesen | DEN | 2:14.50 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 23 | 152 | Pierre Baehr | FRA | 2:14.65 (6 h5) | – | |||
| 24 | 75 | John Hawes | CAN | 2:15.34 (6 h4) | – | |||
| 25 | 386 | Rafael Rocha | MEX | 2:15.81 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 26 | 246 | Norbert Verweyen |  FRG | 2:15.94 (7 h4) | – | |||
| 27 | 82 | Ian MacKenzie | CAN | 2:16.36 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 28 | 46 | Rômulo Arantes |  BRA | 2:18.15 (6 h3) | – | |||
| 29 | 590 | Predrag Miloš | YUG | 2:18.43 (8 h4) | – | |||
| 30 | – | Bruce Featherston | AUS | 2:18.63 (7 h5) | – | |||
| 31 | – | Gustavo González |  ARG | 2:19.74 (8 h5) | – | |||
| 32 | 429 | Gerardo Rosario |  PHI | 2:23.53 (7 h3) | – | |||
| 33 | – | Sarun Van |  CAM | 2:24.42 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 34 | 372 | Chiang Jin Choon |  MAS | 2:26.51 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 35 | – | Sergio Hasbún |  ESA | 2:27.93 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 36 | 265 | Mark Crocker |  HKG | 2:33.64 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 60 | Dimitar Kolarov |  BUL | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 285 | László Cseh, Sr. | HUN | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| 435 | Edmund Bartkowiak |  POL | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| 467 | Hsu Tung-Hsiung |  TPE | – (DNS h3) | – |
Round One
| Date | 2 September 1972 — 10:35 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. |
Heat #1
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoltán Verrasztó | HUN | 2:09.89 | 30.10 (1) | 1:02.85 (1) | 1:36.13 (1) | 32.75 (1) | 33.28 (1) | 33.76 (2) | ||
| 2 | Colin Cunningham | GBR | 2:11.06 | 30.48 (3) | 1:03.30 (2) | 1:37.35 (2) | 32.82 (2) | 34.05 (2) | 33.71 (1) | ||
| 3 | Bill Kennedy | CAN | 2:12.55 | 30.20 (2) | 1:03.75 (3) | 1:38.00 (3) | 33.55 (3) | 34.25 (3) | 34.55 (3) | ||
| 4 | Rafael Rocha | MEX | 2:15.81 | 31.27 (5) | 1:05.29 (4) | 1:40.58 (5) | 34.02 (4) | 35.29 (5) | 35.23 (4) | ||
| 5 | Ian MacKenzie | CAN | 2:16.36 | 31.23 (4) | 1:05.32 (5) | 1:40.14 (4) | 34.09 (5) | 34.82 (4) | 36.22 (5) | ||
| 6 | Sergio Hasbún | ESA | 2:27.93 | 33.88 (6) | 1:10.33 (6) | 1:48.86 (6) | 36.45 (6) | 38.53 (6) | 39.07 (6) | ||
| 7 | Mark Crocker | HKG | 2:33.64 | 35.43 (7) | 1:14.18 (7) | 1:53.62 (7) | 38.75 (7) | 39.44 (7) | 40.02 (7) | ||
| Dimitar Kolarov | BUL | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Stamm | USA | 2:07.51 | 29.01 (1) | 1:01.14 (1) | 1:34.00 (1) | 32.13 (1) | 32.86 (1) | 33.51 (1) | ||
| 2 | Neil Martin | AUS | 2:12.09 | 31.16 (4) | 1:04.84 (4) | 1:38.54 (4) | 33.68 (4) | 33.70 (2) | 33.55 (2) | ||
| 3 | Nenad Miloš | YUG | 2:12.99 | 30.97 (3) | 1:04.18 (3) | 1:38.46 (3) | 33.21 (3) | 34.28 (3) | 34.53 (3) | ||
| 4 | Lutz Wanja | GDR | 2:13.46 | 30.00 (2) | 1:02.89 (2) | 1:37.73 (2) | 32.89 (2) | 34.84 (4) | 35.73 (4) | ||
| 5 | Sarun Van | CAM | 2:24.42 | 32.26 (5) | 1:08.81 (5) | 1:46.62 (5) | 36.55 (5) | 37.81 (5) | 37.80 (5) | ||
| 6 | Chiang Jin Choon | MAS | 2:26.51 | 32.76 (6) | 1:09.39 (6) | 1:47.26 (6) | 36.63 (6) | 37.87 (6) | 39.25 (6) | ||
| László Cseh, Sr. | HUN | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – | |||
| Edmund Bartkowiak | POL | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #3
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Cooper | AUS | 2:07.90 | 29.79 (2) | 1:02.08 (1) | 1:35.15 (1) | 32.29 (1) | 33.07 (1) | 32.75 (2) | ||
| 2 | Tim McKee | USA | 2:08.19 | 29.53 (1) | 1:02.09 (2) | 1:35.52 (2) | 32.56 (2) | 33.43 (2) | 32.67 (1) | ||
| 3 | Massimo Nistri | ITA | 2:12.85 | 31.40 (5) | 1:04.62 (5) | 1:38.94 (4) | 33.22 (3) | 34.32 (3) | 33.91 (3) | ||
| 4 | José Urueta | MEX | 2:13.85 | 30.60 (4) | 1:04.29 (4) | 1:39.08 (5) | 33.69 (5) | 34.79 (5) | 34.77 (4) | ||
| 5 | Lars Børgesen | DEN | 2:14.50 | 30.43 (3) | 1:03.91 (3) | 1:38.46 (3) | 33.48 (4) | 34.55 (4) | 36.04 (5) | ||
| 6 | Rômulo Arantes | BRA | 2:18.15 | 32.17 (7) | 1:05.92 (6) | 1:41.49 (6) | 33.75 (6) | 35.57 (6) | 36.66 (6) | ||
| 7 | Gerardo Rosario | PHI | 2:23.53 | 31.75 (6) | 1:07.43 (7) | 1:44.39 (7) | 35.68 (7) | 36.96 (7) | 39.14 (7) | ||
| Hsu Tung-Hsiung | TPE | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
Heat #4
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitch Ivey | USA | 2:09.32 | 29.58 (1) | 1:02.52 (1) | 1:35.70 (1) | 32.94 (2) | 33.18 (1) | 33.62 (3) | ||
| 2 | Jean-Paul Berjeau | FRA | 2:09.93 | 30.72 (4) | 1:03.42 (3) | 1:36.79 (3) | 32.70 (1) | 33.37 (2) | 33.14 (1) | ||
| 3 | Bob Schoutsen | NED | 2:10.56 | 29.71 (2) | 1:02.76 (2) | 1:36.53 (2) | 33.05 (3) | 33.77 (3) | 34.03 (4) | ||
| 4 | Tadashi Honda | JPN | 2:11.11 | 30.38 (3) | 1:03.90 (4) | 1:37.68 (4) | 33.52 (5) | 33.78 (4) | 33.43 (2) | ||
| 5 | Róbert Rudolf | HUN | 2:13.64 | 31.45 (7) | 1:04.72 (5) | 1:38.75 (5) | 33.27 (4) | 34.03 (5) | 34.89 (5) | ||
| 6 | John Hawes | CAN | 2:15.34 | 30.78 (5) | 1:04.75 (6) | 1:39.33 (6) | 33.97 (7) | 34.58 (6) | 36.01 (7) | ||
| 7 | Norbert Verweyen | FRG | 2:15.94 | 31.89 (8) | 1:05.75 (7) | 1:40.90 (7) | 33.86 (6) | 35.15 (7) | 35.04 (6) | ||
| 8 | Predrag Miloš | YUG | 2:18.43 | 31.19 (6) | 1:05.88 (8) | 1:41.48 (8) | 34.69 (8) | 35.60 (8) | 36.95 (8) |
Heat #5
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roland Matthes | GDR | 2:06.62 | 29.97 (2) | 1:02.85 (2) | 1:35.43 (1) | 32.88 (3) | 32.58 (1) | 31.19 (1) | ||
| 2 | Lothar Noack | GDR | 2:08.80 | 29.89 (1) | 1:02.08 (1) | 1:35.59 (2) | 32.19 (1) | 33.51 (2) | 33.21 (2) | ||
| 3 | Anders Sandberg | SWE | 2:11.36 | 30.29 (4) | 1:03.15 (3) | 1:37.38 (3) | 32.86 (2) | 34.23 (5) | 33.98 (3) | ||
| 4 | Ejvind Pedersen | DEN | 2:12.30 | 30.65 (5) | 1:04.51 (5) | 1:38.07 (4) | 33.86 (6) | 33.56 (3) | 34.23 (4) | ||
| 5 | Helmut Podolan | AUT | 2:13.63 | 30.23 (3) | 1:03.35 (4) | 1:38.71 (5) | 33.12 (4) | 35.36 (8) | 34.92 (5) | ||
| 6 | Pierre Baehr | FRA | 2:14.65 | 30.92 (6) | 1:04.73 (6) | 1:39.14 (6) | 33.81 (5) | 34.41 (6) | 35.51 (6) | ||
| 7 | Bruce Featherston | AUS | 2:18.63 | 32.33 (7) | 1:07.62 (7) | 1:42.92 (8) | 35.29 (7) | 35.30 (7) | 35.71 (7) | ||
| 8 | Gustavo González | ARG | 2:19.74 | 32.73 (8) | 1:09.23 (8) | 1:42.90 (7) | 36.50 (8) | 33.67 (4) | 36.84 (8) |
Final Round
| Date | 2 September 1972 — 18:10 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | 50 m | 100 m | 150 m | 50-100 m Time (Rank) | 100-150 m Time (Rank) | 150-200 m Time (Rank) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Roland Matthes | GDR | 2:02.82 | 28.85 (3) | 59.96 (2) | 1:30.96 (1) | 31.11 (2) | 31.00 (1) | 31.86 (2) | ||
| 2 | – | Mike Stamm | USA | 2:04.09 | 28.68 (2) | 1:00.05 (3) | 1:32.02 (3) | 31.37 (3) | 31.97 (2) | 32.07 (3) | ||
| 3 | – | Mitch Ivey | USA | 2:04.33 | 28.29 (1) | 59.34 (1) | 1:31.41 (2) | 31.05 (1) | 32.07 (3) | 32.92 (6) | ||
| 4 | – | Brad Cooper | AUS | 2:06.59 | 29.98 (7) | 1:02.65 (7) | 1:34.91 (4) | 32.67 (5) | 32.26 (4) | 31.68 (1) | ||
| 5 | – | Tim McKee | USA | 2:07.29 | 29.38 (4) | 1:01.98 (4) | 1:34.96 (5) | 32.60 (4) | 32.98 (5) | 32.33 (4) | ||
| 6 | – | Lothar Noack | GDR | 2:08.67 | 29.42 (5) | 1:02.48 (5) | 1:36.09 (7) | 33.06 (7) | 33.61 (7) | 32.58 (5) | ||
| 7 | – | Zoltán Verrasztó | HUN | 2:10.09 | 29.57 (6) | 1:02.55 (6) | 1:35.94 (6) | 32.98 (6) | 33.39 (6) | 34.15 (8) | ||
| 8 | – | Jean-Paul Berjeau | FRA | 2:11.77 | 30.01 (8) | 1:03.47 (8) | 1:37.86 (8) | 33.46 (8) | 34.39 (8) | 33.91 (7) |