The men's 200 metre breaststroke was one of 6 swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 events on the Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics

At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, six swimming events were contested. These were the first Olympic Games in which a 100 metre pool had been especially constructed . Previous Olympic events were swum in open water...

 programme. It was the only breaststroke event on the schedule. 1908 was the first appearance of the 200 metre breaststroke, as 1904 had seen the introduction of the stroke to Olympic competition with the 400 metre event.

First round

The fastest swimmer in each heat and the fastest loser advanced, qualifying 8 swimmers for the semifinals.

Heat 1

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Frederick Holman Frederick Holman Frederick "Fred" Holman was a British breaststroke swimmer from Dawlish, Devon, who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics....		3:10.6
2	Richard Rösler		3:18.0
3	Max Gumpel Max Gumpel Max Leonard Gumpel was a Swedish water polo player and breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics and in the 1920 Summer Olympics....		Unknown

Heat 2

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Wilhelm Persson		3:17.6
2	András Baronyi András Baronyi András Baronyi was a Hungarian swimmer and track and field athlete who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics.He was born and died in Budapest....		3:18.0
3	Augustus Goessling Augustus Goessling Augustus M. Goessling was an American water polo player, breaststroke and backstroke swimmer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics and in the 1908 Summer Olympics.He was born and died in St...		Unknown
4-5	Herman Cederberg		Unknown
	Frank Naylor		Unknown

Heat 3

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Erich Zeidel		3:17.2
2	Hjalmar Johansson Hjalmar Johansson Carl Hjalmar August Johansson was a Swedish diver, swimmer and track and field athlete who competed in the 1906 Summer Olympics, 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics....		3:21.2
3	Arthur Davies		Unknown
4	Pierre Strauwen		Unknown

Heat 4

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Ödön Toldi		3:14.4
2	Pontus Hanson Pontus Hanson Pontus Hanson was a Swedish breaststroke swimmer and water polo player. He won a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in 200 m breaststroke, bronze medals at the 1908 and 1920 in men's water polo tournament and a silver medal in men's water polo at the 1912 Summer Olympics in...		3:15.0
3	Sydney Gooday		Unknown
4	Amilcare Beretta		Unknown

Heat 5

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	William Robinson William Robinson (swimmer) William Walker Robinson was a British breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.In the 1908 Olympics he won a silver medal in the 200 metre breaststroke.-External links:*...		3:13.0
2	Per Fjästad		3:31.4
3	John Henrikssen		Unknown
—	Edward Cooke		Did not finish

Heat 6

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	József Fabinyi		3:23.4
2	Torsten Kumfeldt Torsten Kumfeldt Karl Torsten Kumfeldt was a Swedish water polo player and breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics....		3:24.6
3	Harald Klem Harald Klem Harald Robert Severin Klem was a Danish gymnast and swimmer who competed in the 1906 Summer Olympics and in the 1908 Summer Olympics....		Unknown
—	Hugo Jonsson		Did not finish

Heat 7

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Félicien Courbet Félicien Courbet Félicien Courbet was a Belgian water polo player and breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics....		3:16.4
2	Percy Courtman Percy Courtman Percy Courtman was an English breaststroke swimmer from Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Lancashire who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics....		3:18.4
3	Adolf Andersson		Unknown

Semifinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Frederick Holman Frederick Holman Frederick "Fred" Holman was a British breaststroke swimmer from Dawlish, Devon, who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics....		3:10.0
2	Ödön Toldi		3:16.4
3	Erich Zeidel		Unknown
4	József Fabinyi		Unknown

Semifinal 2

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	William Robinson William Robinson (swimmer) William Walker Robinson was a British breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.In the 1908 Olympics he won a silver medal in the 200 metre breaststroke.-External links:*...		3:11.8
2	Pontus Hanson Pontus Hanson Pontus Hanson was a Swedish breaststroke swimmer and water polo player. He won a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in 200 m breaststroke, bronze medals at the 1908 and 1920 in men's water polo tournament and a silver medal in men's water polo at the 1912 Summer Olympics in...		3:13.0
3	Wilhelm Persson		Unknown
4	Félicien Courbet Félicien Courbet Félicien Courbet was a Belgian water polo player and breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics....		Unknown

Final

Place	Swimmer	Nation	Time
1	Frederick Holman Frederick Holman Frederick "Fred" Holman was a British breaststroke swimmer from Dawlish, Devon, who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics....		3:09.2
2	William Robinson William Robinson (swimmer) William Walker Robinson was a British breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.In the 1908 Olympics he won a silver medal in the 200 metre breaststroke.-External links:*...		3:12.8
3	Pontus Hanson Pontus Hanson Pontus Hanson was a Swedish breaststroke swimmer and water polo player. He won a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in 200 m breaststroke, bronze medals at the 1908 and 1920 in men's water polo tournament and a silver medal in men's water polo at the 1912 Summer Olympics in...		3:14.6
4	Ödön Toldi		3:15.2