| | Event type

200 metres Breaststroke, Men

Date	23 September 1988
Status	Olympic
Location	Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul
Participants	54 from 40 countries

Hungaryian József Szabó was the favorite coming into Seoul, having won the 1986 World Championships and the 1987 Europeans, but he was recovering from knee surgery in December 1987. Szabó had pioneered a new rolling-style “wave-action” breaststroke technique and moved well ahead of his competitors, but others were learning it, notably American Mike Barrowman, almost breaking the world record at the US Olympic Trials in August. Barrowman had been taught it by Szabó’s coach, József Nagy.

The final started out at sprint pace, led by Soviet Valery Lozik, but Szabó caught him at the end of the third lap, and Lozik would drop back to fifth. Szabó could not be caught, with silver going to Britain’s Nick Gillingham and bronze to Spain’s unheralded Sergio López. Barrowman dropped back to fourth, but would dominate the event over the next quadrennium and win the gold in Barcelona.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	320	József Szabó	HUN	2:14.97 (2 h6)	–	2:13.52 (1)	Gold
2	241	Nick Gillingham	GBR	2:14.58 (1 h6)	–	2:14.12 (2)	Silver
3	153	Sergio López	ESP	2:17.06 (3 h6)	–	2:15.21 (3)	Bronze
4	544	Mike Barrowman	USA	2:15.85 (1 h7)	–	2:15.45 (4)
5	524	Valery Lozik	URS	2:16.31 (1 h5)	–	2:16.16 (5)
6	506	Vadim Alekseyev	URS	2:17.15 (4 h6)	–	2:16.70 (6)
7	74	Jon Cleveland	CAN	2:16.87 (2 h5)	–	2:17.10 (7)
8	321	Péter Szabó	HUN	2:17.10 (2 h7)	–	2:17.12 (8)
9	456	Alexandre Yokochi	POR	2:17.87 (5 h6)	2:18.01 (1)	–
10	385	Shigehiro Takahashi	JPN	2:17.69 (4 h7)	2:18.03 (2)	–
11	49	Sidney Appelboom	BEL	2:18.02 (1 h4)	2:18.08 (3)	–
12	489	Radek Beinhauer	TCH	2:18.02 (3 h5)	2:18.13 (4)	–
13	468	Étienne Dagon	SUI	2:18.68 (4 h5)	2:18.17 (5)	–
14	78	Cam Grant	CAN	2:17.62 (3 h7)	2:18.36 (6)	–
15	492	Alexander Marček	TCH	2:18.44 (5 h7)	2:18.51 (7)	–
16	192	Cédric Pénicaud	FRA	2:18.72 (6 h6)	2:18.95 (8)	–
17	249	Adrian Moorhouse	GBR	2:18.51 (6 h7)	–	–		1
18	332	Gary O'Toole	IRL	2:18.93 (5 h5)	–	–
19	577	Kirk Stackle	USA	2:19.47 (6 h5)	–	–
20	122	Pablo Restrepo	COL	2:19.58 (7 h6)	–	–
21	18	Ian McAdam	AUS	2:19.68 (7 h7)	–	–
22	411	Yun Ju-Il	KOR	2:19.94 (2 h4)	–	–
23	422	Javier Careaga	MEX	2:20.11 (1 h3)	–	–
24	145	Joaquín Fernández	ESP	2:20.34 (8 h6)	–	–
25	294	Ron Dekker	NED	2:20.84 (3 h4)	–	–
26	470	Pierre-Yves Eberle	SUI	2:20.85 (2 h3)	–	–
27	263	Christian Poswiat	GDR	2:20.99 (4 h4)	–	–
28	52	Luc Van de Vondel	BEL	2:21.50 (5 h4)	–	–
29	166	Petri Suominen	FIN	2:22.01 (6 h4)	–	–
30	382	Hironobu Nagahata	JPN	2:22.23 (7 h4)	–	–
=31	226	Mark Warnecke	FRG	2:22.55 (3 h3)	–	–
=31	227	Hartmut Wedekind	FRG	2:22.55 (7 h5)	–	–
33	496	Tsai Hsin-Yen	TPE	2:23.80 (1 h2)	–	–
34	36	Thomas Böhm	AUT	2:24.15 (4 h3)	–	–
35	93	Chang Qing	CHN	2:24.45 (5 h3)	–	–
36	435	Richard Lockhart	NZL	2:24.52 (6 h3)	–	–
37	337	Eyal Shtigman	ISR	2:25.18 (7 h3)	–	–
38	101	Jin Fu	CHN	2:26.05 (8 h4)	–	–
39	327	Wirmandi Sugriat	INA	2:26.17 (2 h2)	–	–
40	437	Manuel Gutiérrez	PAN	2:26.57 (3 h2)	–	–
41	431	Jan-Erick Olsen	NOR	2:26.70 (8 h7)	–	–
42	433	Anthony Beks	NZL	2:27.26 (1 h1)	–	–
43	336	Arnþór Ragnarsson	ISL	2:27.93 (4 h2)	–	–
44	65	Cicero Torteli	BRA	2:28.82 (5 h2)	–	–
45	268	Nikolaos Fokianos	GRE	2:28.91 (6 h2)	–	–
46	440	Patrick Concepcion	PHI	2:29.62 (8 h3)	–	–
47	462	Ng Yue Meng	SGP	2:30.74 (2 h1)	–	–
48	289	Michael Watt	HKG	2:30.78 (7 h2)	–	–
49	341	Kraig Singleton	ISV	2:36.45 (3 h1)	–	–
50	584	Quách Hoài Nam	VIE	2:39.69 (4 h1)	–	–
51	416	Amine El-Domyati	LBN	2:44.34 (5 h1)	–	–
52	502	Obaid Al-Rumaithi	UAE	2:50.49 (6 h1)	–	–
DQ	133	Christian Toft	DEN	– (DQ h2)	–	–
DQ	187	David Leblanc	FRA	– (DQ h5)	–	–

Round One

Date	23 September 1988 — 10:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Nick Gillingham	GBR	2:14.58	Q
2	–	József Szabó	HUN	2:14.97	Q
3	–	Mike Barrowman	USA	2:15.85	Q
4	–	Valery Lozik	URS	2:16.31	Q
5	–	Jon Cleveland	CAN	2:16.87	Q
6	–	Sergio López	ESP	2:17.06	Q
7	–	Péter Szabó	HUN	2:17.10	Q
8	–	Vadim Alekseyev	URS	2:17.15	Q
9	–	Cam Grant	CAN	2:17.62	q
10	–	Shigehiro Takahashi	JPN	2:17.69	q
11	–	Alexandre Yokochi	POR	2:17.87	q
=12	–	Sidney Appelboom	BEL	2:18.02	q
=12	–	Radek Beinhauer	TCH	2:18.02	q
14	–	Alexander Marček	TCH	2:18.44	q
15	–	Adrian Moorhouse	GBR	2:18.51	q
16	–	Étienne Dagon	SUI	2:18.68	q
17	–	Cédric Pénicaud	FRA	2:18.72
18	–	Gary O'Toole	IRL	2:18.93
19	–	Kirk Stackle	USA	2:19.47
20	–	Pablo Restrepo	COL	2:19.58
21	–	Ian McAdam	AUS	2:19.68
22	–	Yun Ju-Il	KOR	2:19.94
23	–	Javier Careaga	MEX	2:20.11
24	–	Joaquín Fernández	ESP	2:20.34
25	–	Ron Dekker	NED	2:20.84
26	–	Pierre-Yves Eberle	SUI	2:20.85
27	–	Christian Poswiat	GDR	2:20.99
28	–	Luc Van de Vondel	BEL	2:21.50
29	–	Petri Suominen	FIN	2:22.01
30	–	Hironobu Nagahata	JPN	2:22.23
=31	–	Mark Warnecke	FRG	2:22.55
=31	–	Hartmut Wedekind	FRG	2:22.55
33	–	Tsai Hsin-Yen	TPE	2:23.80
34	–	Thomas Böhm	AUT	2:24.15
35	–	Chang Qing	CHN	2:24.45
36	–	Richard Lockhart	NZL	2:24.52
37	–	Eyal Shtigman	ISR	2:25.18
38	–	Jin Fu	CHN	2:26.05
39	–	Wirmandi Sugriat	INA	2:26.17
40	–	Manuel Gutiérrez	PAN	2:26.57
41	–	Jan-Erick Olsen	NOR	2:26.70
42	–	Anthony Beks	NZL	2:27.26
43	–	Arnþór Ragnarsson	ISL	2:27.93
44	–	Cicero Torteli	BRA	2:28.82
45	–	Nikolaos Fokianos	GRE	2:28.91
46	–	Patrick Concepcion	PHI	2:29.62
47	–	Ng Yue Meng	SGP	2:30.74
48	–	Michael Watt	HKG	2:30.78
49	–	Kraig Singleton	ISV	2:36.45
50	–	Quách Hoài Nam	VIE	2:39.69
51	–	Amine El-Domyati	LBN	2:44.34
52	–	Obaid Al-Rumaithi	UAE	2:50.49
DQ	–	Christian Toft	DEN	–
DQ	–	David Leblanc	FRA	–

Heat #1

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	–	Anthony Beks	NZL	2:27.26	31.77 (1)	1:07.79 (1)	1:46.30 (1)	36.02 (1)	38.51 (1)	40.96 (3)
2	–	Ng Yue Meng	SGP	2:30.74	33.01 (2)	1:11.67 (2)	1:50.95 (2)	38.66 (2)	39.28 (2)	39.79 (1)
3	–	Kraig Singleton	ISV	2:36.45	35.29 (4)	1:15.27 (3)	1:55.61 (3)	39.98 (3)	40.34 (3)	40.84 (2)
4	–	Quách Hoài Nam	VIE	2:39.69	34.79 (3)	1:15.94 (4)	1:57.41 (4)	41.15 (4)	41.47 (4)	42.28 (4)
5	–	Amine El-Domyati	LBN	2:44.34	35.97 (6)	1:18.45 (6)	2:01.98 (5)	42.48 (6)	43.53 (5)	42.36 (5)
6	–	Obaid Al-Rumaithi	UAE	2:50.49	35.96 (5)	1:18.20 (5)	2:03.36 (6)	42.24 (5)	45.16 (6)	47.13 (6)

Heat #2

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	–	Tsai Hsin-Yen	TPE	2:23.80	33.67 (7)	1:09.80 (2)	1:46.55 (1)	36.13 (1)	36.75 (1)	37.25 (1)
2	–	Wirmandi Sugriat	INA	2:26.17	33.18 (4)	1:10.53 (4)	1:48.30 (3)	37.35 (4)	37.77 (2)	37.87 (2)
3	–	Manuel Gutiérrez	PAN	2:26.57	32.38 (1)	1:09.02 (1)	1:47.33 (2)	36.64 (2)	38.31 (3)	39.24 (5)
4	–	Arnþór Ragnarsson	ISL	2:27.93	33.24 (5)	1:10.97 (6)	1:49.77 (5)	37.73 (6)	38.80 (5)	38.16 (3)
5	–	Cicero Torteli	BRA	2:28.82	32.90 (2)	1:09.89 (3)	1:48.62 (4)	36.99 (3)	38.73 (4)	40.20 (6)
6	–	Nikolaos Fokianos	GRE	2:28.91	33.02 (3)	1:10.87 (5)	1:49.81 (6)	37.85 (7)	38.94 (6)	39.10 (4)
7	–	Michael Watt	HKG	2:30.78	33.54 (6)	1:11.09 (7)	1:50.40 (7)	37.55 (5)	39.31 (7)	40.38 (7)
DQ	–	Christian Toft	DEN	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #3

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	–	Javier Careaga	MEX	2:20.11	31.92 (3)	1:07.24 (1)	1:43.21 (1)	35.32 (1)	35.97 (2)	36.90 (2)
2	–	Pierre-Yves Eberle	SUI	2:20.85	31.86 (2)	1:08.17 (3)	1:43.99 (2)	36.31 (4)	35.82 (1)	36.86 (1)
3	–	Mark Warnecke	FRG	2:22.55	31.61 (1)	1:07.81 (2)	1:44.70 (3)	36.20 (2)	36.89 (3)	37.85 (5)
4	–	Thomas Böhm	AUT	2:24.15	32.34 (5)	1:08.60 (4)	1:46.36 (5)	36.26 (3)	37.76 (6)	37.79 (4)
5	–	Chang Qing	CHN	2:24.45	32.29 (4)	1:08.87 (5)	1:46.70 (7)	36.58 (6)	37.83 (7)	37.75 (3)
6	–	Richard Lockhart	NZL	2:24.52	32.47 (6)	1:09.21 (7)	1:46.23 (4)	36.74 (7)	37.02 (4)	38.29 (6)
7	–	Eyal Shtigman	ISR	2:25.18	32.64 (7)	1:08.96 (6)	1:46.38 (6)	36.32 (5)	37.42 (5)	38.80 (7)
8	–	Patrick Concepcion	PHI	2:29.62	33.05 (8)	1:10.23 (8)	1:49.73 (8)	37.18 (8)	39.50 (8)	39.89 (8)

Heat #4

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	–	Sidney Appelboom	BEL	2:18.02	32.37 (4)	1:08.10 (3)	1:43.04 (1)	35.73 (2)	34.94 (1)	34.98 (1)	q
2	–	Yun Ju-Il	KOR	2:19.94	32.83 (8)	1:08.64 (4)	1:44.87 (4)	35.81 (3)	36.23 (3)	35.07 (2)
3	–	Ron Dekker	NED	2:20.84	31.17 (1)	1:07.20 (2)	1:43.81 (2)	36.03 (4)	36.61 (5)	37.03 (6)
4	–	Christian Poswiat	GDR	2:20.99	32.77 (7)	1:09.40 (6)	1:45.72 (6)	36.63 (5)	36.32 (4)	35.27 (3)
5	–	Luc Van de Vondel	BEL	2:21.50	32.40 (5)	1:09.07 (5)	1:45.08 (5)	36.67 (6)	36.01 (2)	36.42 (5)
6	–	Petri Suominen	FIN	2:22.01	31.70 (2)	1:06.96 (1)	1:44.00 (3)	35.26 (1)	37.04 (6)	38.01 (7)
7	–	Hironobu Nagahata	JPN	2:22.23	32.56 (6)	1:09.50 (7)	1:46.91 (7)	36.94 (7)	37.41 (8)	35.32 (4)
8	–	Jin Fu	CHN	2:26.05	32.29 (3)	1:09.65 (8)	1:47.03 (8)	37.36 (8)	37.38 (7)	39.02 (8)

Heat #5

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	–	Valery Lozik	URS	2:16.31	30.83 (1)	1:05.37 (1)	1:40.53 (1)	34.54 (2)	35.16 (2)	35.78 (3)	Q
2	–	Jon Cleveland	CAN	2:16.87	31.40 (4)	1:05.92 (2)	1:41.20 (2)	34.52 (1)	35.28 (3)	35.67 (2)	Q
3	–	Radek Beinhauer	TCH	2:18.02	31.73 (6)	1:07.75 (6)	1:42.82 (6)	36.02 (7)	35.07 (1)	35.20 (1)	q
4	–	Étienne Dagon	SUI	2:18.68	31.21 (3)	1:06.74 (4)	1:42.23 (3)	35.53 (5)	35.49 (4)	36.45 (5)	q
5	–	Gary O'Toole	IRL	2:18.93	31.44 (5)	1:06.82 (5)	1:42.53 (4)	35.38 (3)	35.71 (5)	36.40 (4)
6	–	Kirk Stackle	USA	2:19.47	31.14 (2)	1:06.62 (3)	1:42.70 (5)	35.48 (4)	36.08 (6)	36.77 (6)
7	–	Hartmut Wedekind	FRG	2:22.55	32.33 (7)	1:08.25 (7)	1:45.29 (7)	35.92 (6)	37.04 (7)	37.26 (7)
DQ	–	David Leblanc	FRA	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #6

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	–	Nick Gillingham	GBR	2:14.58	30.58 (1)	1:04.98 (1)	1:39.83 (1)	34.40 (1)	34.85 (3)	34.75 (2)	Q
2	–	József Szabó	HUN	2:14.97	31.56 (3)	1:06.05 (3)	1:40.63 (2)	34.49 (2)	34.58 (1)	34.34 (1)	Q
3	–	Sergio López	ESP	2:17.06	31.78 (4)	1:06.82 (4)	1:41.57 (4)	35.04 (4)	34.75 (2)	35.49 (4)	Q
4	–	Vadim Alekseyev	URS	2:17.15	31.06 (2)	1:05.64 (2)	1:40.75 (3)	34.58 (3)	35.11 (4)	36.40 (7)	Q
5	–	Alexandre Yokochi	POR	2:17.87	31.92 (5)	1:07.05 (5)	1:42.41 (5)	35.13 (5)	35.36 (6)	35.46 (3)	q
6	–	Cédric Pénicaud	FRA	2:18.72	32.18 (7)	1:07.52 (6)	1:43.19 (7)	35.34 (6)	35.67 (7)	35.53 (5)
7	–	Pablo Restrepo	COL	2:19.58	32.07 (6)	1:07.73 (7)	1:43.06 (6)	35.66 (7)	35.33 (5)	36.52 (8)
8	–	Joaquín Fernández	ESP	2:20.34	32.63 (8)	1:08.40 (8)	1:44.30 (8)	35.77 (8)	35.90 (8)	36.04 (6)

Heat #7

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	–	Mike Barrowman	USA	2:15.85	31.39 (=3)	1:06.37 (3)	1:41.20 (2)	34.98 (=1)	34.83 (1)	34.65 (1)	Q
2	–	Péter Szabó	HUN	2:17.10	31.21 (2)	1:06.19 (1)	1:41.17 (1)	34.98 (=1)	34.98 (2)	35.93 (5)	Q
3	–	Cam Grant	CAN	2:17.62	31.13 (1)	1:06.35 (2)	1:41.55 (3)	35.22 (4)	35.20 (3)	36.07 (6)	q
4	–	Shigehiro Takahashi	JPN	2:17.69	31.39 (=3)	1:06.51 (4)	1:41.77 (4)	35.12 (3)	35.26 (4)	35.92 (4)	q
5	–	Alexander Marček	TCH	2:18.44	31.73 (6)	1:07.28 (6)	1:42.86 (7)	35.55 (6)	35.58 (6)	35.58 (2)	q
6	–	Adrian Moorhouse	GBR	2:18.51	31.76 (7)	1:07.43 (7)	1:42.79 (6)	35.67 (7)	35.36 (5)	35.72 (3)	q
7	–	Ian McAdam	AUS	2:19.68	31.61 (5)	1:06.95 (5)	1:42.70 (5)	35.34 (5)	35.75 (7)	36.98 (7)
8	–	Jan-Erick Olsen	NOR	2:26.70	32.59 (8)	1:09.46 (8)	1:47.61 (8)	36.87 (8)	38.15 (8)	39.09 (8)

B Final

Date	23 September 1988 — 20:00

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	–	Alexandre Yokochi	POR	2:18.01	31.80 (5)	1:07.20 (5)	1:42.70 (=4)	35.40 (3)	35.50 (3)	35.31 (3)
2	–	Shigehiro Takahashi	JPN	2:18.03	31.50 (2)	1:06.83 (2)	1:42.59 (3)	35.33 (2)	35.76 (7)	35.44 (4)
3	–	Sidney Appelboom	BEL	2:18.08	32.11 (8)	1:08.17 (8)	1:42.56 (2)	36.06 (8)	34.39 (1)	35.52 (5)
4	–	Radek Beinhauer	TCH	2:18.13	32.05 (7)	1:07.79 (6)	1:43.12 (7)	35.74 (6)	35.33 (2)	35.01 (2)
5	–	Étienne Dagon	SUI	2:18.17	31.11 (1)	1:06.61 (1)	1:42.22 (1)	35.50 (5)	35.61 (4)	35.95 (7)
6	–	Cam Grant	CAN	2:18.36	31.51 (3)	1:06.99 (4)	1:42.70 (=4)	35.48 (4)	35.71 (5)	35.66 (6)
7	–	Alexander Marček	TCH	2:18.51	31.82 (6)	1:07.81 (7)	1:43.53 (8)	35.99 (7)	35.72 (6)	34.98 (1)
8	–	Cédric Pénicaud	FRA	2:18.95	31.76 (4)	1:06.98 (3)	1:42.81 (6)	35.22 (1)	35.83 (8)	36.14 (8)

Final Round

Date	23 September 1988 — 20:00

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	–	József Szabó	HUN	2:13.52	30.57 (4)	1:04.81 (3)	1:38.99 (2)	34.24 (=2)	34.18 (1)	34.53 (1)
2	–	Nick Gillingham	GBR	2:14.12	30.45 (2)	1:04.92 (4)	1:39.25 (3)	34.47 (5)	34.33 (2)	34.87 (3)
3	–	Sergio López	ESP	2:15.21	31.10 (6)	1:05.52 (5)	1:40.15 (5)	34.42 (4)	34.63 (3)	35.06 (4)
4	–	Mike Barrowman	USA	2:15.45	30.85 (5)	1:05.65 (6)	1:40.71 (6)	34.80 (7)	35.06 (6)	34.74 (2)
5	–	Valery Lozik	URS	2:16.16	29.98 (1)	1:03.86 (1)	1:38.75 (1)	33.88 (1)	34.89 (4)	37.41 (8)
6	–	Vadim Alekseyev	URS	2:16.70	30.49 (3)	1:04.73 (2)	1:39.71 (4)	34.24 (=2)	34.98 (5)	36.99 (7)
7	–	Jon Cleveland	CAN	2:17.10	31.52 (8)	1:06.63 (8)	1:41.76 (8)	35.11 (8)	35.13 (7)	35.34 (5)
8	–	Péter Szabó	HUN	2:17.12	31.31 (7)	1:05.96 (7)	1:41.19 (7)	34.65 (6)	35.23 (8)	35.93 (6)