2024 Olympic Previews: Ryan Murphy Aims To Reclaim 200 Back Gold

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• Pool Swimming: July 27 – August 4, 2024
  • Open Water Swimming: August 8 – 9, 2024
• La Défense Arena — Paris, France
• LCM (50 meters)
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• Full Schedule
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By The Numbers — Men’s 200 Backstroke

• World Record: 1:51.92 — Aaron Peirsol, United States (2009)
• World Junior Record: 1:55.14 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2017)
• Olympic Record: 1:53.27 — Evgeny Rylov, Russian Olympic Committee (2021)
• 2020 Olympic Champion: Evgeny Rylov, Russian Olympic Committee — 1:53.27

U.S. backstroke king Ryan Murphy got a shock at the 2023 World Championships as Hungary’s Hubert Kos upset him for gold in the men’s 200 back. Kos out-split Murphy on the second 100, 58.32 to 59.23, to claim his first world title in 1:54.14. Murphy, who won the event in 2022 for his first individual LC title, settled for silver in 1:54.83.

Now, the two will face off again in Paris and will likely be the gold medal favorites ahead of a tightly bunched 200 back field.

The Rematch

Despite both training in the United States, Murphy and Kos have not raced each other in the 200 back this season. Though Kos did race at the U.S. Open and the San Antonio PSS, he was busy for most of the season, helping Arizona State to a national championship in his sophomore year.

Kos’ season-best in this race comes from the U.S. Open, where he swam 1:55.95, ranking him deceptively low at 16th in the world this season. He did attend the 2024 European Championships but skipped the 200 back in favor of other races like the 100 fly and 200 IM.

Hubert Kos, credit Fabio Cetti

Before training with Bob Bowman, Kos—who followed Bowman to Austin—was more known for his IM skills but he’s developed into a world-class backstroker and owns the Hungarian record in both distances. Before last summer, he had a lifetime best of 1:57.64, which he lowered to 1:55.95 in the lead-up to the 2023 Worlds. That’s exactly his 2023-24 season best, signaling he should be much faster in Paris and be in the hunt for the Olympic gold.

While Kos hangs out as the 16th fastest in the world this season, Murphy leads the field into Paris. The 29-year-old has been a mainstay on the international backstroke scene since 2016. He’s medaled in this event at the last two Olympics, winning gold in Rio and silver in Tokyo. Since his superlative 2016 Games, he’s also earned one gold and three silvers at the World Championships.

He’s set himself up well to be back on the Olympic podium for a third straight time. This year, he won the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1:54.33, his fastest effort since the Tokyo Games. Murphy owns the fastest lifetime best in the field, checking in with a 1:53.57 from 2018. That was the last time Murphy broke 1:54, though he neared the mark at the 2019 World Championships.

It doesn’t seem like Murphy will definitely need to clear that barrier to win gold, and he’s also clearly in his best 200 backstroke form in years. It would be an even bigger upset than Kos’ last year if Murphy were to entirely miss the Paris podium.

Cal Bears Break In

Hugo Gonzalez and Keaton Jones have joined Murphy in breaking 1:55 so far this season, and like Murphy, both have benefitted from training at Backstroke University, better known as Cal Berkeley.

Gonzalez had one of the best meets of his career at the 2024 World Championships. After winning Spain’s first World Championship medal since 2017 with a silver in the 100 back, Gonzalez exploded to win gold in the 200 back, claiming his first world title in 1:55.30.

Hugo Gonzalez, credit Fabio Cetti

His title-winning swim was a personal best by over a second and marked his first swim under the 1:56 barrier. It moved him into the heart of this 200 backstroke field, which is clogged with 1:55 PBs. But Gonzalez wasn’t done there. At June’s Spanish Swimming Championships, Gonzalez popped a 1:54.51, breaking the super-suited Spanish record which had stood since 2009. That swim propelled Gonzalez above the messy middle of this field and squarely into medal contention. He’s ranked #2 in the world this season after Murphy bettered his time days later in Indianapolis.

Jones has also vaulted himself past the 1:55 fray. He just wrapped up his freshman season at Cal and joined Murphy under 1:55 in the U.S. Olympic Trials final, posting a lifetime best 1:54.61. It was a huge swim for Jones, whose personal best coming into the meet was 1:56.79 from the Fran Crippen SMOC meet in June. He also continues the Cal backstroke legacy on the United States Olympic roster, making it a third consecutive Games where both men’s 200 back representatives train at Cal.

Jones now sits 3rd in the world this season and is solidly in contention for the bronze medal. After a 2.18-second drop at Trials, the big question for Jones is whether he will be able to sustain that form through training camp and into what is not only his first Olympics but his first senior international meet.

Recent Olympic and Worlds Medalists

We’ll be without the defending Olympic champion Evgeny Rylov, but Tokyo bronze medallist Luke Greenbank is back in the mix after missing the 2023 World Championships. Greenbank followed up Olympic bronze with silver at the 2022 Worlds but did not qualify for Fukuoka. He was back in action in Doha and placed 9th (1:57.29), missing the final.

His lifetime best of 1:54.43 from the 2021 European Championships would indicate that he’ll be back in the heart of the medal race. But Greenbank hasn’t broken 1:55 since 2021 or 1:56 since 2022. His past times mean he’s capable of going medal-hunting but that’s an uncertain prospect given the swims he’s posted in the last 12 months.

Roman Mityukov, credit Fabio Cetti

Someone who has been right in the middle of the action is Roman Mityukov. The 23-year-old turned heads when he led the way into the Fukuoka final in a Swiss record. He lowered that mark for the second time in two days during the final, swimming 1:55.34 for bronze and Switzerland’s first 200 backstroke Worlds medal.

He upgraded to silver in Doha, just missing his national record with a 1:55.40. He’s posted two other 1:55 swims since Doha and 1:55.40 is at the top end of the crowd of 1:55s, which points to Mityukov being a solid threat at the Games. He seems to be on the verge of lowering his national record again in Paris. The question is if it will also be enough to make his way onto the Olympic podium, which based on the in-season results, looks like will take a 1:54. But Mityukov has picked up valuable racing experience in the last two Worlds, which will serve him well.

The last medalist we have yet to touch on is Pieter Coetze. At his first World Championships, the South African picked up the bronze in Doha with a 1:55.99, breaking 1:56 for the first time. He bettered the swim at the South African Championships in 1:55.85, which puts him a tenth off the super-suited national record. With Doha being Coetze’s first Worlds, we don’t have much information about how Coetze will fare in a fully loaded 200 backstroke field as he did not race this event at the Tokyo Games. Sitting at 1:55 high is a dangerous place to be—if the field is slow it could make the final but if the field is fast, it might be too much for Coetze.

The Long Journey To The Middle

That sentiment does not just apply to Coetze though. Rather, it applies to the majority of this 200 backstroke field. Because friends, even though we’ve sorted through the main contenders and the recent medalists, there are still six men in this field who have been 1:55-something in the qualification period. And there are another nine who have gone 1:56.

Let’s take a look at who we’ve got in the 1:55 crowd, based on their fastest time in the qualification period:

• Xu Jiayu, China — 1:55.37 (SB)
• Oleksandr Zheltyakov, Ukraine — 1:55.39 (PB)
• Apostolos Siskos, Greece — 1:55.42 (PB)
• Mewen Tomac, France — 1:55.54 (PB)
• Bradley Woodward, Australia — 1:55.56 (PB)
• Adam Telegdy, Hungary — 1:55.57 (PB)

All have been in a senior World Championships or Olympic final before, except Oleksandr Zheltyakov. The Ukrainian teenager turned heads at the 2023 World Junior Championships, medalling in all three backstroke distances. He took home gold in the 100/200 backstroke and silver in the 50 back, earning Male Swimmer of the Meet.

Oleksandr Zheltyakov, with permission, István Derencsény/LEN

After missing the 200 back semifinals at the 2024 World Championships, Zheltyakov has found his form in the run-up to Paris. He lowered the Ukrainian record he set last summer en route to gold at 2024 Euros, clocking a 1:55.39. 2024 Worlds was his first senior Worlds experience, which could provide him the learning experience needed to have a breakout on the international stage at the Games.

Apostolos Siskos has found his form in both the 100/200 backstroke this season. In the 200, he finished 6th in Doha and has already lowered his PB four times this season, bringing it to 1:55.42 at 2024 Euros, which is 1.37 seconds faster than his lifetime best coming into the calendar year.

Mewen Tomac, Bradley Woodward, and Adam Telegdy have all swum lifetime bests this season as well. Telegdy, a Tokyo finalist, returned to the 200 backstroke field in Doha after not qualifying in any backstrokes for the 2023 Worlds and focusing on the IMs. Woodward finished 6th in Fukuoka and got back under 1:56 at the Japan Swim Open with a personal best of 1:55.56.

Tomac finished just outside the medals in Fukuoka, earning 4th in a personal best 1:55.79. He erased that mark in style at the French Elite Championships, posting a French record 1:55.54. He took the mark from Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, who will be in this field as well. The two carry the hopes of the host country in the backstroke events and push each other in both the 100/200. Ndoye-Brouard hasn’t been as fast this season, carrying a season-best of 1:56.23. He was 9th in Tokyo and sits 15th on the entry list so he’s got some work to do to move up and challenge for the final.

Fancy Seeing You Here

It’s a little surprising to see Xu entered in the 200 backstroke. After a 4th place finish in Rio, he made the semifinals in Tokyo by finishing 15th in prelims but withdrew from the event (which pulled up Ndoye-Brouard). And while he’s been a fixture in the 100 backstroke, he hasn’t raced this event at the World Championships since finishing 5th in 2017.

Xu Jiayu, courtesy Rafael Domeyko

Nevertheless, he is the Chinese Record holder with a 1:53.99 from the 2018 Asian Games, which is a lifetime best second only to Murphy in this field. He’s been as fast as 1:55.37 in the qualification period (at the 2023 Asian Games) so he could be in the hunt for a finals spot if he swims.

Another unexpected face in this race is Germany’s Lukas Märtens. Märtens is more known for his freestyle exploits. Most recently, he rattled the 400 free world record. He’s more solidly a medal threat in the 200/400 free, but he’s also got decent speed in the 200 back. He finished 13th in Doha. Then, at the German Championships, he dropped a lifetime best of 1:56.00 to put him within shouting distance of his national record. There’s no direct conflict with his freestyle races, so maybe he’ll take another shot at the mark—1:55.87—in Paris.

It’s less of a surprise to see Thomas Ceccon since he expressed his interest in racing the event during an interview with SwimSwam at the Barcelona stop of the Mare Nostrum tour. Ceccon swam his lifetime best 1:56.49 at the Athens meet on the World Cup tour last fall. He’s shown off his versatility at in-season meets like Mare Nostrum and World Cup so it will be fascinating to see what kind of time he can put up in the 200 back fully tapered. While he’s sitting on the outside of the semifinals on the entry list, we have to imagine that the 100 back world record holder can be faster than 1:56. He could have a big swim in store that disrupts the status quo in this event.

The Verdict

We’re taking Ryan Murphy for gold here, as we’re expecting the sting of not defending his 200 back Olympic gold in Tokyo, along with getting upset in Fukuoka, to propel him to another gear. With that decision made, we predict Kos will grab silver and Gonzalez the bronze. The four swimmers in the 1:54 range this season are the clear favorites for the podium and with Gonzalez on a heater this season, we’re picking Jones to miss out on the medals. Depending on form, it’s possible Gonzalez could mount a real challenge to Murphy and Kos.

Jones’ lack of experience on the senior international stage is a question mark but in previous years the second U.S. man in this event has held taper to the Games well with Bryce Mefford taking 4th in Tokyo and Jacob Pebley 5th in Rio. Xu certainly can challenge Jones and has a lifetime best to threaten for the medals but we’ve got Jones holding down 4th, giving him the edge based on the bests they’re carrying into the Games.

After the top four this season, it’s dealer’s choice for who else makes the final. We’ve made our picks, but there are certainly plenty of legitimate arguments for swimmers we’ve left out to be the ones who make the final.

SwimSwam’s Picks

Dark Horse: Ollie Morgan (Great Britain) — Another swimmer lurking in the 1:56 range is Ollie Morgan. He had a huge meet at the British Trials, breaking the long-standing super-suited national record in the 100 backstroke with a 52.70. Morgan followed up in the 200 backstroke with another lifetime best, clocking 1:56.27. Given how tight the field is, even a small drop from Morgan could put him in the hunt for the final, especially with a slow field.