2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
- When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
- Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
- Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
- Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
- Full aquatics schedule
- SwimSwam Event Previews
- Entry Lists
- Live Results
- Day 3 Finals Heat Sheet
The highly anticipated final in the men’s 200 freestyle lived up to the hype during Day 3 finals in Tokyo, as Tom Dean snared gold in a roller-coaster race with a new British National Record of 1:44.22.
Dean, 21, took the race out aggressively, just like he did at the British Olympic Trials in April, but not quite as fast as South Korean teenage standout Hwang Sunwoo. Hwang, the fastest swimmer in the prelims at 1:44.62, blasted out to the early lead, flipping in 49.78 at the 100-meter wall.
Dean sat third in 50.46, maintaining that place through the 150 before the race changed drastically coming home. Hwang began to fade, and Dean’s teammate Duncan Scott, who set a British Record of 1:44.47 earlier this year, started to make up ground on the field.
With Hwang falling back, Dean inched into the lead, and narrowly held off Scott to win gold in 1:44.22, taking down Scott’s British Record by a quarter of a second.
Scott took second in 1:44.26, resetting his best time, while Dean’s swim improved on his PB of 1:44.58, which was set racing head-to-head with Scott at those British Trials.
Split Comparison
| Scott, Previous British Record | Dean, Previous Best Time | Dean, New British Record |
| 24.45 | 23.98 | 24.21 |
| 50.25 (25.80) | 50.57 (26.59) | 50.46 (26.25) |
| 1:16.88 (26.63) | 1:17.36 (26.79) | 1:17.38 (26.92) |
| 1:44.47 (27.59) | 1:44.58 (27.22) | 1:44.22 (26.84) |
Dean and Scott also become Great Britain’s first-ever Olympic medalists in the men’s 200 freestyle, and they move into sixth and seventh all-time in the event, respectively.
All-Time Performers, Men’s 200 Freestyle (LCM)
- Paul Biedermann (GER), 1:42.00 – 2009
- Michael Phelps (USA), 1:42.96 – 2008
- Yannick Agnel (FRA), 1:43.14 – 2012
- Danila Izotov (RUS), 1:43.90 – 2009
- Ian Thorpe (AUS), 1:44.06 – 2002
- Tom Dean (GBR), 1:44.22 – 2021
- Duncan Scott (GBR), 1:44.26 – 2021
- Danas Rapsys (LTU), 1:44.38 – 2019
- Sun Yang (CHN), 1:44.39 – 2017
- Ryan Lochte (USA), 1:44.44 – 2011
Two more men cracked 1:45 in the fight for bronze, with Brazil’s Fernando Scheffer (1:44.66) resetting his South American Record to oust 16-year-old Romanian David Popovici (1:44.68), who broke the European Junior Record.
Hwang ultimately faded to seventh in 1:45.26.
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it’s out!! Richards, Guy, Jarvis, Dean
Hahahah DEANOOOOO.
I here nothing but silence from USA AND AUS LOLLLLLL
Dean and Scheffer got a nice draft off of Hwang, who went out super fast between them. Great race all around.
Intersting this recent hasn’t moved much past 20yrs ago, Thorpe’s best takes this final, and the 400 by over 3 seconds. Yet the sprints and long distance are smoking fast. Popovic may start rewriting the record books in the 200m, fantastic time at 16, faster than Ian at the same age.
Think it’s a no brainer to put Dressel in that 4 x 200
Team USA doesn’t even have a chance to get a medal. Not worth risking Dressel’s other events for a bronze at best.
Are you kidding? Of course the US have a chance of a medal. They’ll win at least bronze and maybe silver.
Malyutin swam 1:45.0 but Girev, Shchegolev are really out of form. Krasnykh might do ok. But realistically they only have 2 sub 1:46 legs.
US beats Russia then its close with Australia for silver.
Kieran Smith has PB’d in both his events. Haas swam 1:45.6 which ain’t terrible. Kibler went 1:45.9 at trials and Seliskar went 1:46.3.
1. Smith 1:45.0 – 1:45.5
2. Kibler 1:45.0 – 1:45.5 split
3. Seliskar 1:45.5 – 1:46.0 split
4. Haas 1:45.0 – 1:45.5 split
I’d guess the US will be somewhere in the 7:01.5 –… Read more »
Australia has Neill, Chalmers, Horton and Graham. Plus Incerti
GB 4x200free relay!!!
WR incoming
Wrap it up!
duncan scott swam a 2001 ian thrope rape
HUH!?
Rape? I think you mean race mate
i think you’re correct
Lmao how did this pass SwimSwam’s moderation? I know it is a typo but still…