| Men's 200 metre individual medley at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | ||||||||||||
| Date | August 13, 2008 (heats) August 14, 2008 (semifinals) August 15, 2008 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 47 from 42 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 1:54.23 WR | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| ← 20042012 → | |||||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Qualification | ||
| Freestyle | ||
| 50 m | men | women |
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | women | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| Backstroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Breaststroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Butterfly | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Individual medley | ||
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| Freestyle relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| 4 × 200 m | men | women |
| Medley relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| Marathon | ||
| 10 km | men | women |
The men's 200 metre individual medley event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 13–15 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps blasted a new world record to defend his title in the event, and more importantly, claim his sixth Olympic gold, twelfth career, and fourteenth overall medal. He established a sterling time of 1:54.23 to lower his prior standard from the Olympic trials by almost six-tenths of a second (0.60). Hungary's László Cseh added a third silver to his collection, finishing with a European record of 1:56.52. Phelps' teammate and archrival Ryan Lochte earned a bronze in a time of 1:56.53, just a hundredth of a second (0.01) behind Cseh. The podium placements also replicated the results of the 400 m individual medley, held on the first day of the Games.
Brazil's Thiago Pereira finished fourth with a time of 1:58.14, and was followed in the fifth spot by Japan's Ken Takakuwa, in an Asian record of 1:58.22. A full second later, Great Britain's James Goddard posted a time of 1:59.24 to earn a sixth spot, while Canada's Keith Beavers (1:59.43) and Goddard's teammate Liam Tancock (2:00.76) rounded out the finale.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Michael Phelps (USA) |
1:54.80 | Omaha, United States | 5 July 2008 | |
| Olympic record |  Michael Phelps (USA) |
1:57.14 | Athens, Greece | 19 August 2004 | - |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 15 | Final | Michael Phelps | United States |
1:54.23 | WR |
Results
Heats
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Michael Phelps | United States |
1:57.70 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | László Cseh |  Hungary |
1:58.19 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Ken Takakuwa |  Japan |
1:58.49 | Q, AS |
| 4 | 1 | Liam Tancock |  Great Britain |
1:59.42 | Q |
| 5 | 6 | Keith Beavers |  Canada |
1:59.43 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | Darian Townsend |  South Africa |
1:59.65 | |
| 7 | 7 | Gal Nevo |  Israel |
2:00.43 | |
| 8 | 8 | Dinko Jukić |  Austria |
2:00.98 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ryan Lochte | United States |
1:57.69 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Thiago Pereira |  Brazil |
1:58.06 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | James Goddard | Great Britain |
1:58.63 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Bradley Ally |  Barbados |
1:59.53 | |
| 5 | 2 | Takuro Fujii | Japan |
1:59.59 | |
| 6 | 6 | Alessio Boggiatto |  Italy |
1:59.77 | |
| 7 | 8 | Leith Brodie |  Australia |
2:00.57 | |
| 8 | 7 | Vytautas Janušaitis |  Lithuania |
2:00.76 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5 | Michael Phelps | United States
|
1:54.23 | WR |
|
6 | László Cseh | Hungary
|
1:56.52 | EU |
|
4 | Ryan Lochte | United States
|
1:56.53 | |
| 4 | 3 | Thiago Pereira | Brazil
|
1:58.14 | |
| 5 | 2 | Ken Takakuwa | Japan
|
1:58.22 | AS |
| 6 | 7 | James Goddard | Great Britain
|
1:59.24 | |
| 7 | 8 | Keith Beavers | Canada
|
1:59.43 | |
| 8 | 1 | Liam Tancock | Great Britain
|
2:00.76 |
References
- "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ Lohn, John (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Michael Phelps Wins Sixth Gold, World Record in 200 IM". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- Crouse, Karen (15 August 2008). "Phelps Moves 200 Meters Closer to His Goal". New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- Van Valkenburg, Kevin (5 July 2008). "Phelps in a world of his own". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
