| Date | 18 – 19 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul |
| Participants | 63 from 41 countries |
In 1984 Australian Jon Sieben, swimming in lane six, had won the 200 butterfly in a big upset over West German Michael Groß. When Australia’s Duncan Armstrong won this event in Seoul in the world record time of 1:47.25, his coach, Laurie Lawrence, shouted out, “That’s right, mate! Lucky lane 6!” Armstrong’s victory was one of the biggest upsets in Seoul, as he came into the Olympics ranked 46th in the world, after ranking 25th in 1987.
There were several contenders considered before the race, but Armstrong was not among them. Sweden’s Anders Holmertz had won the 1987 Europeans, while Groß was the 1986 World Champion. Groß still held the world record, set when he won the 1984 Olympic gold medal. American Matt Biondi was formidable, but he was slightly better in the sprints. The fastest time in the prelims was set by Poland’s Artur Wojdat. In the final, Armstrong lined up next to Biondi in lane five. Armstrong swam as close to Biondi’s lane marker as he could, drafting in his wake for the first 100 metres. Biondi led at 150 with Holmertz second, but Armstrong came home the fastest for the gold medal, Holmertz in second and Biondi dropping back to bronze.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | B Final | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Duncan Armstrong |  AUS | 1:48.86 (2 h9) | – | 1:47.25 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 477 | Anders Holmertz |  SWE | 1:49.28 (1 h7) | – | 1:47.89 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 548 | Matt Biondi |  USA | 1:48.39 (2 h8) | – | 1:47.99 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 445 | Artur Wojdat |  POL | 1:48.02 (1 h8) | – | 1:48.40 (4) | |||
| 5 | 204 | Michael Groß |  FRG | 1:48.55 (1 h9) | – | 1:48.59 (5) | |||
| 6 | 265 | Steffen Zesner |  GDR | 1:49.13 (4 h8) | – | 1:48.77 (6) | |||
| 7 | 555 | Troy Dalbey | USA | 1:48.96 (3 h9) | – | 1:48.86 (7) | |||
| 8 | 202 | Thomas Fahrner | FRG | 1:49.02 (3 h8) | – | 1:49.19 (8) | |||
| 9 | 357 | Roberto Gleria |  ITA | 1:49.51 (4 h9) | 1:49.28 (1) | – | |||
| 10 | 255 | Thomas Flemming | GDR | 1:49.52 (5 h9) | 1:50.18 (2) | – | |||
| 11 | 25 | Tom Stachewicz | AUS | 1:51.02 (6 h7) | 1:50.83 (3) | – | |||
| 12 | 523 | Aleksey Kuznetsov |  URS | 1:50.84 (4 h7) | 1:51.03 (4) | – | |||
| 13 | 129 | Franz Mortensen |  DEN | 1:51.15 (5 h8) | 1:51.44 (5) | – | |||
| 14 | 442 | Mariusz Podkościelny | POL | 1:50.95 (5 h7) | 1:51.63 (6) | – | |||
| 15 | 383 | Shigeo Ogata |  JPN | 1:51.14 (1 h6) | 1:51.89 (7) | – | |||
| 16 | 245 | Paul Howe |  GBR | 1:51.22 (7 h7) | 1:51.99 (8) | – | |||
| 17 | 173 | Stéphan Caron |  FRA | 1:49.66 (2 h7) | – | – | 1 | ||
| 18 | 359 | Giorgio Lamberti | ITA | 1:50.47 (3 h7) | – | – | 2 | ||
| 19 | 543 | Carlos Scanavino |  URU | 1:51.42 (6 h8) | – | – | |||
| 20 | 467 | Alberto Bottini |  SUI | 1:51.45 (8 h7) | – | – | |||
| 21 | 486 | Tom Werner | SWE | 1:51.96 (7 h8) | – | – | |||
| 22 | 508 | Iurie Bașcatov | URS | 1:52.04 (6 h9) | – | – | |||
| 23 | 57 | Cristiano Michelena |  BRA | 1:52.34 (7 h9) | – | – | |||
| 24 | 296 | Patrick Dybiona |  NED | 1:52.67 (1 h5) | – | – | |||
| 25 | 473 | Stéfan Voléry | SUI | 1:52.94 (2 h5) | – | – | |||
| 26 | 424 | Rodrigo González |  MEX | 1:52.99 (3 h5) | – | – | |||
| 27 | 242 | Michael Green | GBR | 1:53.03 (2 h6) | – | – | |||
| =28 | 163 | Daniel Serra |  ESP | 1:53.05 (=3 h6) | – | – | |||
| =28 | 335 | Magnús Ólafsson |  ISL | 1:53.05 (=3 h6) | – | – | |||
| 30 | 56 | Júlio López | BRA | 1:53.16 (5 h6) | – | – | |||
| 31 | 128 | Jan Larsen | DEN | 1:53.61 (6 h6) | – | – | |||
| 32 | 423 | Ignacio Escamilla | MEX | 1:53.63 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 33 | 50 | Jean-Marie Arnould |  BEL | 1:53.73 (7 h6) | – | – | |||
| 34 | 322 | Zoltán Szilágyi |  HUN | 1:53.75 (8 h6) | – | – | |||
| 35 | 176 | Ludovic Dépickère | FRA | 1:53.81 (8 h8) | – | – | |||
| 36 | 458 | Sal Vassallo |  PUR | 1:53.82 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 37 | 302 | Norbert Ágh | HUN | 1:54.72 (8 h9) | – | – | |||
| 38 | 419 | Yves Clausse |  LUX | 1:54.90 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 39 | 113 | Xie Jun |  CHN | 1:55.04 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 40 | 441 | René Concepcion |  PHI | 1:55.58 (1 h4) | – | – | |||
| 41 | 42 | Alexander Placheta |  AUT | 1:56.11 (2 h4) | – | – | |||
| 42 | 602 | Vaughan Smith |  ZIM | 1:56.13 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| 43 | 461 | David Lim |  SGP | 1:56.44 (1 h3) | – | – | |||
| 44 | 439 | Eric Buhain | PHI | 1:56.84 (2 h3) | – | – | |||
| 45 | 398 | Gwon Sang-Won |  KOR | 1:56.88 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 46 | 463 | Oon Jin Gee | SGP | 1:57.28 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 47 | 137 | Moustafa Amer |  EGY | 1:57.50 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 48 | 326 | Richard Bera |  INA | 1:57.60 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 49 | 284 | Jonathan Sakovich |  GUM | 1:57.72 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 50 | 330 | Stephen Cullen |  IRL | 1:57.90 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 51 | 285 | Arthur Li |  HKG | 1:58.10 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 52 | 498 | Hakan Eskioğlu |  TUR | 1:58.45 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 53 | 420 | Jeffrey Ong |  MAS | 1:58.62 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 54 | 399 | Gwon Sun-Geun | KOR | 1:58.95 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 55 | 497 | Wu Ming-Hsun |  TPE | 2:00.43 (1 h2) | – | – | |||
| 56 | 288 | Tsang Yi Ming | HKG | 2:01.02 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 57 | 331 | Richard Gheel | IRL | 2:01.73 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 58 | 339 | Hans Foerster |  ISV | 2:01.94 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 59 | 342 | Kristan Singleton | ISV | 2:06.45 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 60 | 164 | Jason Chute |  FIJ | 2:09.05 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 61 | 503 | Mohamed Bin Abid |  UAE | 2:09.43 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 62 | 504 | Ahmad Faraj | UAE | 2:13.21 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 63 | 418 | Émile Lahoud |  LBN | 2:16.39 (7 h2) | – | – |
| Date | 18 September 1988 — 9:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Wu Ming-Hsun | TPE | 2:00.43 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Hans Foerster | ISV | 2:01.94 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Kristan Singleton | ISV | 2:06.45 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Jason Chute | FIJ | 2:09.05 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Mohamed Bin Abid | UAE | 2:09.43 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Ahmad Faraj | UAE | 2:13.21 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Émile Lahoud | LBN | 2:16.39 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | David Lim | SGP | 1:56.44 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Eric Buhain | PHI | 1:56.84 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Gwon Sang-Won | KOR | 1:56.88 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Oon Jin Gee | SGP | 1:57.28 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Arthur Li | HKG | 1:58.10 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Gwon Sun-Geun | KOR | 1:58.95 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Tsang Yi Ming | HKG | 2:01.02 | ||
| 8 | 2 | Richard Gheel | IRL | 2:01.73 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | René Concepcion | PHI | 1:55.58 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Alexander Placheta | AUT | 1:56.11 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Moustafa Amer | EGY | 1:57.50 | ||
| 4 | 7 | Richard Bera | INA | 1:57.60 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Jonathan Sakovich | GUM | 1:57.72 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Stephen Cullen | IRL | 1:57.90 | ||
| 7 | 3 | Hakan Eskioğlu | TUR | 1:58.45 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Jeffrey Ong | MAS | 1:58.62 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Patrick Dybiona | NED | 1:52.67 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Stéfan Voléry | SUI | 1:52.94 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Rodrigo González | MEX | 1:52.99 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Ignacio Escamilla | MEX | 1:53.63 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Sal Vassallo | PUR | 1:53.82 | ||
| 6 | 8 | Yves Clausse | LUX | 1:54.90 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Xie Jun | CHN | 1:55.04 | ||
| 8 | 7 | Vaughan Smith | ZIM | 1:56.13 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Shigeo Ogata | JPN | 1:51.14 | ||
| 2 | 8 | Michael Green | GBR | 1:53.03 | ||
| =3 | 1 | Magnús Ólafsson | ISL | 1:53.05 | ||
| =3 | 3 | Daniel Serra | ESP | 1:53.05 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Júlio López | BRA | 1:53.16 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Jan Larsen | DEN | 1:53.61 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Jean-Marie Arnould | BEL | 1:53.73 | ||
| 8 | 5 | Zoltán Szilágyi | HUN | 1:53.75 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Anders Holmertz | SWE | 1:49.28 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Stéphan Caron | FRA | 1:49.66 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Giorgio Lamberti | ITA | 1:50.47 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Aleksey Kuznetsov | URS | 1:50.84 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Mariusz Podkościelny | POL | 1:50.95 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Tom Stachewicz | AUS | 1:51.02 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Paul Howe | GBR | 1:51.22 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Alberto Bottini | SUI | 1:51.45 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Artur Wojdat | POL | 1:48.02 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Matt Biondi | USA | 1:48.39 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Thomas Fahrner | FRG | 1:49.02 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Steffen Zesner | GDR | 1:49.13 | ||
| 5 | 8 | Franz Mortensen | DEN | 1:51.15 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Carlos Scanavino | URU | 1:51.42 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Tom Werner | SWE | 1:51.96 | ||
| 8 | 7 | Ludovic Dépickère | FRA | 1:53.81 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Michael Groß | FRG | 1:48.55 | ||
| 2 | 7 | Duncan Armstrong | AUS | 1:48.86 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Troy Dalbey | USA | 1:48.96 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Roberto Gleria | ITA | 1:49.51 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Thomas Flemming | GDR | 1:49.52 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Iurie Bașcatov | URS | 1:52.04 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Cristiano Michelena | BRA | 1:52.34 | ||
| 8 | 1 | Norbert Ágh | HUN | 1:54.72 |
| Date | 19 September 1988 — 12:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Roberto Gleria | ITA | 1:49.28 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Thomas Flemming | GDR | 1:50.18 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Tom Stachewicz | AUS | 1:50.83 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Aleksey Kuznetsov | URS | 1:51.03 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Franz Mortensen | DEN | 1:51.44 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Mariusz Podkościelny | POL | 1:51.63 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Shigeo Ogata | JPN | 1:51.89 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Paul Howe | GBR | 1:51.99 |
| Date | 19 September 1988 — 12:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Duncan Armstrong | AUS | 1:47.25 | ||
| 2 | 8 | Anders Holmertz | SWE | 1:47.89 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Matt Biondi | USA | 1:47.99 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Artur Wojdat | POL | 1:48.40 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Michael Groß | FRG | 1:48.59 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Steffen Zesner | GDR | 1:48.77 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Troy Dalbey | USA | 1:48.86 | ||
| 8 | 7 | Thomas Fahrner | FRG | 1:49.19 |
