World record progression 200 metres breaststroke
The first world record in the men's 200 metres breaststroke in long course (50 metres) swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in 1908 and the first world record in the women's 200 metres breaststroke was recognised in 1921. In the short course (25 metres) swimming events the world's governing body recognizes world records since March 3, 1991.
There have been two rule changes enacted by FINA for this event that have resulted in the nullification of world records.
In the mid-1930s, many breaststroke swimmers began practicing an early variant of the butterfly stroke that involved recovering the arms above the water in an effort to reduce drag. This technique was disallowed when the butterfly stroke was established as a distinct stroke with its own rules in 1953, and world records set using the technique were nullified.
Another style was developed by the Japanese swimmer Masaru Furukawa shortly after this rule change. It involved swimming underwater for as much of each pool length as possible without surfacing, as the act of breaking the water's surface created resistance, slowing a swimmer. This method of swimming the breaststroke was disallowed by FINA in 1956 and records set with the technique were nullified.
(see History of swimming)
Men
Long course
Time | Swimmer | Date | Place |
---|---|---|---|
3:09.2 | July 18, 1908 | London, United Kingdom | |
3:08.3 | April 18, 1909 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
3:00.8 | October 2, 1910 | Schaarbeek, Belgium | |
2:56.6 | July 28, 1914 | Garston, United Kingdom | |
2:54.4 | November 12, 1922 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
2:52.6 | March 21, 1924 | Milwaukee, United States | |
2:50.4 | April 7, 1924 | Magdeburg, Germany | |
2:48.0 | March 11, 1927 | Brussels, Belgium | |
2:45.0 | July 27, 1929 | Kyoto, Japan | |
2:44.6 | April 2, 1931 | Chicago, United States | |
2:44.0 | April 1, 1932 | New Haven, United States | |
2:42.6[1] | February 8, 1933 | Paris, France | |
2:42.4 | March 16, 1935 | Düsseldorf, Germany | |
2:39.6[2] | May 4, 1935 | Paris, France | |
2:37.2[3] | March 28, 1936 | New Haven, United States | |
2:36.8[4] | July 6, 1941 | Marseille, France | |
2:36.3[5] | July 10, 1948 | Detroit, Michigan, United States | |
2:35.6[6][7] | April 5, 1946 | Bainbridge, United States | |
2:35.0[8] | February 15, 1947 | New Haven, United States | |
2:34.4[9] | August 13, 1950 | Göppingen, West Germany | |
2:34.4[10] | August 1, 1952 | Helsinki, Finland | |
2:32.0[11] | February 14, 1948 | New Haven, United States | |
2:30.5[12] | April 2, 1948 | New Haven, United States | |
2:30.0[13] | June 28, 1948 | New Haven, United States | |
2:28.3[14][15] | March 31, 1950 | New Haven, United States | |
2:27.3[16] | June 9, 1951 | Munich, West Germany | |
2:37.4[17] | February 14, 1953 | Copenhagen, Denmark | |
2:36.6 | April 10, 1954 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:35.4 | April 10, 1954 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:35.2 | September 17, 1954 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:33.7 | August 5, 1955 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:31.0 | October 1, 1955 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:36.5 | June 28, 1958 | Townsville, Australia | |
2:33.6 | July 28, 1961 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:29.6 | August 19, 1961 | Los Angeles, United States | |
2:28.2 | August 30, 1964 | New York City, United States | |
2:27.8 | October 15, 1964 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:27.4 | April 3, 1968 | Tallinn, USSR | |
2:26.5 | March 22, 1969 | Minsk, USSR | |
2:25.4 | April 19, 1969 | Magdeburg, East Germany | |
2:23.5 | August 22, 1970 | Los Angeles, United States | |
2:22.79 | August 5, 1972 | Chicago, United States | |
2:21.55 | September 2, 1972 | Munich, West Germany | |
2:20.52 | August 24, 1973 | Louisville, United States | |
2:19.28 | September 6, 1973 | Belgrade, Yugoslavia | |
2:18.93 | August 24, 1974 | Concord, United States | |
2:18.21 | September 1, 1974 | Concord, United States | |
2:15.11 | July 24, 1976 | Montreal, Canada | |
2:14.77 | August 5, 1982 | Guayaquil, Ecuador | |
2:14.58 | June 17, 1984 | Etobicoke, Canada | |
2:13.34 | August 2, 1984 | Los Angeles, United States | |
2:12.90 | August 4, 1989 | Los Angeles, United States | |
2:12.90e = | August 19, 1989 | Bonn, West Germany | |
2:12.89 | August 20, 1989 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:11.53 | July 20, 1990 | Seattle, United States | |
2:11.23 | January 11, 1991 | Perth, Australia | |
2:10.60 | August 13, 1991 | Fort Lauderdale, United States | |
2:10.16 | July 29, 1992 | Barcelona, Spain | |
2:09.97 | October 2, 2002 | Busan, South Korea | |
2:09.52 | June 15, 2003 | Barcelona, Spain | |
2:09.42 | July 24, 2003 | Barcelona, Spain | |
2:09.04 | July 11, 2004 | Long Beach, United States | |
2:08.74 | August 5, 2006 | Irvine, United States | |
2:08.50 | August 21, 2006 | Victoria, Canada | |
2:07.51 | June 8, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:07.31 | July 30, 2009 | Rome, Italy | |
2:07.28 | August 1, 2012 | London, United Kingdom | |
2:07.01 | September 15, 2012 | Gifu, Japan | |
2:06.67 | January 29, 2017 | Tokyo, Japan | |
2:06.67 | July 25, 2019 | Gwangju, South Korea | |
2:06.12 | July 26, 2019 | Gwangju, South Korea |
Short course
Time | Swimmer | Date | Place |
---|---|---|---|
2:07.93 | October 20, 1991 | Birmingham, United Kingdom | |
2:07.80 | August 28, 1993 | Melbourne, Australia | |
2:07.79 | March 28, 1998 | Paris, France | |
2:07.59 | March 19, 2000 | Athens, Greece | |
2:06.40 | March 25, 2000 | Minneapolis, United States | |
2:04.37 | January 18, 2002 | Paris, France | |
2:03.28 | January 22, 2002 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
2:03.17 | January 26, 2002 | Berlin, Germany | |
2:02.92 | January 17, 2004 | Berlin, Germany | |
2:01.98 | August 10, 2009 | Hobart, Australia | |
2:00.67 | December 13, 2009 | Istanbul, Turkey | |
2:00.48 | August 31, 2014 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | |
2:00.44[18] | November 20, 2016 | Berlin, Germany | |
2:00.16 | December 13, 2018 | Hangzhou, China |
Women
Long course
Time | Swimmer | Date | Place |
---|---|---|---|
3:38.2 | August 7, 1921 | Antwerp, Belgium | |
3:34.6 | May 6, 1922 | Brussels, Belgium | |
3:31.4 | October 4, 1922 | Antwerp, Belgium | |
3:20.4 | June 18, 1923 | Rotherham, United Kingdom | |
3:20.2 | April 5, 1925 | Leipzig, Germany | |
3:19.1 | August 11, 1926 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
3:18.4 | October 24, 1926 | Brussels, Belgium | |
3:16.6 | August 20, 1927 | Oslo, Norway | |
3:15.8 | April 15, 1928 | Magdeburg, Germany | |
3:11.2 | April 22, 1928 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | |
3:11.2 = | July 15, 1928 | Berlin, Germany | |
3:10.6 | July 20, 1931 | Manchester, United Kingdom | |
3:08.4 | January 18, 1932 | Sydney, Australia | |
3:08.2 | April 21, 1932 | Leipzig, Germany | |
3:03.4 | May 11, 1932 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
3:00.4 | September 30, 1933 | Tokyo, Japan | |
3:00.2 | May 11, 1937 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
2:58.0 | June 27, 1937 | Zaandijk, Netherlands | |
2:56.9 | October 2, 1937 | Ghent, Belgium | |
2:56.0 | November 8, 1939 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
2:55.5 | March 19, 1941 | Düsseldorf, Germany | |
2:52.6 | August 17, 1946 | Bilthoven, Netherlands | |
2:51.9 | March 29, 1947 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
2:49.2 | July 20, 1947 | Hilversum, Netherlands | |
2:48.8 | October 21, 1950 | Székesfehérvár, Hungary | |
2:48.5 | May 5, 1951 | Moscow, USSR | |
2:46.4 | November 13, 1956 | Naarden, Netherlands | |
2:52.6 | May 18, 1957 | Blackpool, United Kingdom | |
2:51.9 | August 3, 1957 | Rhenen, Netherlands | |
2:51.3 | August 4, 1957 | Rhenen, Netherlands | |
2:50.3 | July 25, 1959 | Waalwijk, Netherlands | |
2:50.2 | June 6, 1960 | Aachen, West Germany | |
2:49.5 | August 27, 1960 | Rome, Italy | |
2:48.9 | August 5, 1961 | Budapest, Hungary | |
2:47.7 | April 11, 1964 | Blackpool, United Kingdom | |
2:45.4 | May 17, 1964 | East Berlin, East Germany | |
2:45.3 | September 12, 1965 | Groningen, Netherlands | |
2:40.8 | August 22, 1966 | Utrecht, Netherlands | |
2:40.5 | July 9, 1967 | Santa Clara, California | |
2:39.5 | August 20, 1967 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
2:38.5 | August 26, 1968 | Los Angeles, California | |
2:37.89 | July 6, 1974 | Rostock, East Germany | |
2:37.44 | August 19, 1974 | Vienna, Austria | |
2:34.99 | August 19, 1974 | Vienna, Austria | |
2:33.35 | July 21, 1976 | Montreal, Quebec | |
2:33.32 | April 7, 1978 | Leningrad, USSR | |
2:33.11 | August 24, 1978 | West Berlin | |
2:31.42 | August 24, 1978 | West Berlin | |
2:31.09 | March 30, 1979 | Minsk, USSR | |
2:28.36 | April 6, 1979 | Potsdam, East Germany | |
2:28.33 | June 5, 1985 | Leipzig, East Germany | |
2:28.20 | March 1, 1986 | Leningrad, USSR | |
2:27.40 | August 18, 1986 | Madrid, Spain | |
2:27.27 | May 28, 1988 | Montreal, Quebec | |
2:26.71 | September 21, 1988 | Seoul, South Korea | |
2:25.92 | March 2, 1992 | Indianapolis, Indiana | |
2:25.35 | March 2, 1992 | Indianapolis, Indiana | |
2:24.76 | March 15, 1994 | Brisbane, Australia | |
2:24.69 | July 17, 1999 | Los Angeles, California | |
2:24.51 | July 17, 1999 | Los Angeles, California | |
2:24.42 | August 26, 1999 | Sydney, Australia | |
2:23.64 | August 27, 1999 | Sydney, Australia | |
2:22.99 | April 13, 2001 | Hangzhou, China | |
2:22.99e = | July 25, 2003 | Barcelona, Spain | |
2:22.96 | July 10, 2004 | Brisbane, Australia | |
2:22.44 | July 12, 2004 | Long Beach, California | |
2:21.72 | July 29, 2005 | Montreal, Quebec | |
2:20.54 | February 1, 2006 | Melbourne, Australia | |
2:20.22 | August 15, 2008 | Beijing, China | |
2:20.12 | July 30, 2009 | Rome, Italy | |
2:20.00 | August 1, 2012 | London, United Kingdom | |
2:19.59 | August 2, 2012 | London, United Kingdom | |
2:19.11 | August 1, 2013 | Barcelona, Spain |
Short course
Time | Swimmer | Date | Place |
---|---|---|---|
2:22.92 | February 12, 1989 | Bonn, Germany | |
2:22.89 | December 3, 1993 | Palma de Mallorca, Spain | |
2:21.99 | December 3, 1993 | Palma de Mallorca, Spain | |
2:20.85 | December 1, 1995 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
2:20.22 | April 2, 1999 | Hong Kong | |
2:19.25 | January 28, 2001 | Paris, France | |
2:18.86 | December 2, 2002 | Shanghai, China | |
2:17.75 | November 29, 2003 | Melbourne, Australia | |
2:17.50 | March 14, 2009 | Toronto, Canada | |
2:16.83 | August 7, 2009 | Leeds, United Kingdom | |
2:15.42 | November 15, 2009 | Berlin, Germany | |
2:14.57 | December 18, 2009 | Manchester, United Kingdom | |
2:14.39 [19] | December 14, 2013 | Herning, Denmark |
All-time top 25
Men
- Correct as of March 2020
Pos | Time | Swimmer | Date | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2:06.12 | 26 July 2019 | South Korea | |
2 | 2:06.67 | 28 January 2017 | Japan | |
25 July 2019 | South Korea | |||
4 | 2:07.01 | 15 September 2012 | Japan | |
5 | 2:07.17 | 30 June 2016 | United States | |
6 | 2:07.18 | 16 April 2017 | Japan | |
8 March 2020 | Antwerp | |||
8 | 2:07.23 | 2 August 2013 | Spain | |
9 | 2:07.30 | 24 July 2014 | Great Britain | |
10 | 2:07.31 | 30 July 2009 | Italy | |
11 | 2:07.35 | 1 September 2017 | China | |
12 | 2:07.36 | 26 July 2019 | South Korea | |
13 | 2:07.41 | 28 June 2017 | United States | |
14 | 2:07.42 | 30 July 2009 | Italy | |
15 | 2:07.43 | 1 August 2012 | Great Britain | |
16 | 2:07.46 | 10 August 2016 | Brazil | |
17 | 2:07.47 | 18 August 2014 | Germany | |
18 | 2:07.49 | 19 April 2019 | Great Britain | |
19 | 2:07.51 | 6 June 2008 | Japan | |
20 | 2:07.62 | 8 August 2019 | Peru | |
21 | 2:07.73 | 9 August 2016 | Brazil | |
22 | 2:07.77 | 4 August 2019 | Japan | |
23 | 2:07.80 | 31 July 2009 | Italy | |
24 | 2:07.85 | 8 April 2017 | Sweden | |
25 | 2:07.89 | 30 July 2009 | Italy |
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 2:07.89:
- Matthew Wilson also swam 2:06.68 (2019), 2:07.16 (2019), 2:07.29 (2019).
- Ippei Watanabe also swam 2:06.73 (2019).
- Anton Chupkov also swam 2:06.80 (2018), 2:06.90 (2017), 2:06.83 (2019).
- Josh Prenot also swam 2:07.28 (2018) and 2:07.53 (2016).
- Marco Koch also swam 2:07.60 (2019).
- Andrew Wilson also swam 2:07.86 (2019).
- Christian Sprenger also swam 2:07.80 (2009).
- Zac Stubblety-Cook also swam 2:07.89 (2018).
Women
- Correct as of July 2019
Pos | Time | Swimmer | Date | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2:19.11 | 1 August 2013 | Spain | |
2 | 2:19.41 | 2 August 2013 | Spain | |
3 | 2:19.59 | 2 August 2012 | Great Britain | |
4 | 2:19.64 | 30 August 2015 | Singapore | |
5 | 2:19.65 | 4 April 2016 | Japan | |
6 | 2:20.12 | 30 July 2009 | Italy | |
7 | 2:20.54 | 1 February 2006 | Australia | |
8 | 2:20.72 | 2 August 2012 | Great Britain | |
9 | 2:20.77 | 19 May 2019 | United States | |
10 | 2:20.90 | 12 April 2015 | Japan | |
11 | 2:21.07 | 4 July 2019 | Russia | |
12 | 2:21.37 | 17 October 2009 | China | |
13 | 2:21.39 | 31 May 2019 | United States | |
14 | 2:21.45 | 11 April 2016 | Australia | |
15 | 2:21.62 | 31 July 2009 | Italy | |
16 | 2:21.74 | 1 August 2013 | Spain | |
17 | 2:21.77 | 28 July 2017 | Hungary | |
18 | 2:21.79 | 25 July 2019 | South Korea | |
19 | 2:21.85 | 8 April 2018 | Japan | |
20 | 2:21.93 | 28 July 2017 | Hungary | |
21 | 2:21.97 | 31 July 2009 | Italy | |
22 | 2:22.08 | 19 April 2017 | Great Britain | |
23 | 2:22.23 | 28 July 2017 | Hungary | |
24 | 2:22.24 | 30 July 2009 | Italy | |
25 | 2:22.33 | 10 August 2016 | Brazil |
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 2:22.33:
- Yuliya Yefimova also swam 2:20.17 (2019), 2:21.20 (2019).
- Tatjana Schoenmaker also swam 2:22.02 (2018).
References
- Short Course Record-Los Angeles Times 9 February 1933 Page A10
- New York Times 6 May 1935 Page 24
- Long Course Record-New York Times 9 July 1941 Page 26
- Long Course Record-New York Times 9 July 1941 Page 26
- Long Course Record-New York Times 11 July 1948 Page S1
- Short Course Record-New York Times 1 December 1947 Page 31
- Short Course Record-New York Times 16 February 1947 Page S2
- Short Course Record Los Angeles Times 15 February 1948 Page S31
- Long Course Record-Es fehlt noch die Goldmedaille in Spiegel Online
- Long Course Record Page 129 1952 US Olympic Book-Report of the US Olympic Committee-FINA recognizes any length pool for 200m breaststroke WR
- Short Course Record-Los Angeles Times 15 February 1948 Page 16
- Short Course Record-Los Angeles Times 29 June 1948 Page A9
- Short Course Record-Los Angeles Times 29 June 1948 Page A9
- Short Course Record-Los Angeles Times 10 June 1951 Page B12
- Short Course Record-New York Times 1 April 1950 Page B23
- Short Course Record-Los Angeles Times 10 June 1951 Page B12
- Lord, Craig. "How History Backs Kitajima's Theory". swimnews.com.
- Kapser, Daniela (November 20, 2016). "Marco Koch breaks 200 SCM breast world record at German nationals". Swimswam. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
- unratified due to doping violation
- (in Dutch) Zwemkroniek
- (in Italian) Agenda Diana