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The men's 200 metre breaststroke was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Monday to Wednesday, 6 to 8 August 1928.
| Men's 200 metre breaststroke at the Games of the IX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Olympic Sports Park Swim Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Date | 6–8 August | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 21 from 13 nations | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Twenty-one swimmers from 13 nations competed.
Coming into the event, Erich Rademacher from Germany was heavy favorite, as he had held the world record for several years despite not being able to compete at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics due to Germany's role in WWI.[2] However, Yoshiyuki Tsuruta pulled off an upset by beating Rademacher with a new technique of staying underwater for most of the race, which was allowed in the rules at the time.[3][4]
Despite this, Rademacher's disappointment was short lived, as he later won gold as the goalkeeper for the German water polo team in the men's water polo.[5]
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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 2:48.0 |  Erich Rademacher |
Brussels (BEL) | 11 March 1927 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | 2:56.0 |  Robert Skelton |
Paris (FRA) | 15 July 1924 |
In the third heat Erich Rademacher set a new Olympic record with 2:52.0 minutes. In the fourth heat Yoshiyuki Tsuruta bettered the record to 2:50.0 minutes. Tsuruta improved the record in the semi-finals with 2:49.2 minutes and in the final with 2:48.8 minutes.
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Heats
Monday 6 August 1928: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced.
Heat 1
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Spence |  Canada | 2:56.6 | Q |
| 2 | Erwin Sietas |  Germany | 2:57.4 | Q |
| 3 | Louis Van Parijs |  Belgium | 3:00.0 | |
| 4 | William Rozier |  France | Unknown | |
| 5 | Hugh Smith |  Great Britain | Unknown |
Heat 2
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Harling |  Sweden | 2:56.4 | Q |
| 2 | Karl Schäfer |  Austria | 2:56.6 | Q |
| 3 | Teófilo Yldefonso |  Philippines | 2:57.4 | q |
| 4 | Yuki Mawatari |  Japan | 2:58.2 | |
| 5 | Ernst Budig | Germany | 2:58.6 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erich Rademacher | Germany | 2:52.0 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Thomas Blankenburg |  United States | 3:04.2 | Q |
| 3 | Léon Tallon | France | 3:05.0 | |
| 4 | Jack Aubin | Canada | Unknown | |
| — | Joseph De Combe | Belgium | DNF |
Heat 4
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoshiyuki Tsuruta | Japan | 2:50.0 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Robert Wyss |  Switzerland | 3:02.6 | Q |
| 3 | Leen Korpershoek |  Netherlands | 3:04.0 | |
| 4 | Reginald Flint | Great Britain | Unknown | |
| 5 | José Francesch |  Spain | Unknown | |
| 6 | Tage Wissnell | Sweden | Unknown |
Semifinals
Tuesday 7 August 1928: The fastest three in each semi-final advanced.
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoshiyuki Tsuruta | Japan | 2:49.2 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Walter Spence | Canada | 2:53.0 | Q |
| 3 | Teófilo Yldefonso | Philippines | 2:53.2 | Q |
| 4 | Robert Wyss | Switzerland | Unknown | |
| 5 | Thomas Blankenburg | United States | Unknown |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erich Rademacher | Germany | 2:56.6 | Q |
| 2 | Erik Harling | Sweden | 2:57.2 | Q |
| 3 | Erwin Sietas | Germany | 2:57.8 | Q |
| 4 | Karl Schäfer | Austria | Unknown |
Final
Wednesday 8 August 1928:
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Yoshiyuki Tsuruta | Japan | 2:48.8 | OR |
 | Erich Rademacher | Germany | 2:50.6 | |
 | Teófilo Yldefonso | Philippines | 2:56.4 | |
| 4 | Erwin Sietas | Germany | 2:56.6 | |
| 5 | Erik Harling | Sweden | 2:56.8 | |
| 6 | Walter Spence | Canada | 2:57.2 |
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