Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metre breaststroke

Men's 400 metre breaststroke
at the Games of the V Olympiad
Venue Djurgårdsbrunnsviken
Dates July 8–12
Competitors 17 from 10 nations
Medalists
1st, gold medalist(s) Walter Bathe  Germany
2nd, silver medalist(s) Thor Henning  Sweden
3rd, bronze medalist(s) Percy Courtman  Great Britain

The men's 400 metre breaststroke was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the second appearance of the event, which had been introduced (as the 440 yard breaststroke) in 1904. The competition was held from Monday July 8, 1912 to Friday July 12, 1912.

Seventeen swimmers from ten nations competed.

The final of the event was a rematch between the five swimmers who had competed in the final of the 200 metre race. Bathe won once again (and indeed, set a new Olympic record each time he raced in both breaststroke events), with Henning providing a stiff challenge in the semifinals. Neither Lützow nor Malisch were able to medal in the longer race, as Henning took silver and Courtman finished third.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

World Record ?
Olympic Record 7:23.6(*) Germany Georg Zacharias St. Louis (USA) September 7, 1904

(*) 440 yards (= 402.34 m)

In the first heat Thor Henning set a new Olympic record with 6:52.4 minutes. Only to be improved in the second heat by Paul Malisch who swam 6:47.0 minutes. In the fourth heat Percy Courtman improved the Olympic record with 6:43.8 minutes. And again one heat later in the fifth run Walter Bathe swam 6:34.6. In the first semi-final Bathe and Henning bettered the record with 6:32.0 minutes. Bathe was able to improve the record in the final with 6:29.6 minutes.

Results

Quarterfinals

Monday July 8, 1912: The top two in each heat advanced along with the fastest loser overall.

Heat 1

Oszkár Demján was disqualified, because he touched the wall with only one hand at the second turn.

PlaceSwimmerTimeQual.
1 Thor Henning (SWE)6:52.4QS OR
2 George Innocent (GBR)7:07.8QS
— Josef Wastl (AUT)DNF
— Oszkár Demján (HUN)(6:35.8)DSQ

Heat 2

PlaceSwimmerTimeQual.
1 Paul Malisch (GER)6:47.0QS OR
2 Lennart Lindroos (FIN)7:03.0QS
3 Nils Andersson (SWE)7:17.0
— Mike McDermott (USA)(7:07.0)DSQ

Heat 3

PlaceSwimmerTimeQual.
1 Wilhelm Lützow (GER)6:49.8QS
2 Félicien Courbet (BEL)6:52.6QS
3 Zeno von Singalewicz (AUT)7:04.0qs
4 Frank Schryver (ANZ)7:07.8

Heat 4

PlaceSwimmerTimeQual.
1 Percy Courtman (GBR)6:43.8QS OR
2 Arvo Aaltonen (FIN)6:48.8QS
3 Vilhelm Lindgrén (FIN)7:12.6

Heat 5

PlaceSwimmerTimeQual.
1 Walter Bathe (GER)6:34.6QS OR
2 Georgy Baimakov (RUS)7:28.6QS

Semifinals

Thursday July 11, 1912: The top two from each heat and the faster of the two third place swimmers advanced.

Semifinal 1

PlaceSwimmerTimeQual.
1 Walter Bathe (GER)6:32.0QF OR
2 Thor Henning (SWE)6:32.0QF =OR
3 Percy Courtman (GBR)6:36.6qf
4 Félicien Courbet (BEL)6:59.8
— Zeno von Singalewicz (AUT)DNF
— Georgy Baimakov (RUS)DNS

Semifinal 2

PlaceSwimmerTimeQual.
1 Wilhelm Lützow (GER)6:44.6QF
2 Paul Malisch (GER)6:47.6QF
3 Arvo Aaltonen (FIN)6:56.8
4 Lennart Lindroos (FIN)7:02.4
— George Innocent (GBR)DNF

Final

Friday July 12, 1912:

Final
PlaceSwimmerTime
1 Walter Bathe (GER)6:29.6 OR
2 Thor Henning (SWE)6:35.6
3 Percy Courtman (GBR)6:36.4
4 Paul Malisch (GER)6:37.0
— Wilhelm Lützow (GER)DNF

References

  1. ↑ "Swimming at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's 400 metres Breaststroke". Sports Reference. Retrieved 28 August 2016.

Notes

  • Bergvall, Erik (ed.) (1913). Adams-Ray, Edward (trans.)., ed. The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand.
  • Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 29 January 2007.
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