# Swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre breaststroke

The men's 200 metre breaststroke was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held on Tuesday July 15, 1924, on Wednesday July 16, 1924, and on Thursday July 17, 1924.
Despite Erich Rademacher from Germany being arguably the fastest breaststroker in the world at the time, and holding the world record in the event, he was not able to compete due to Germany's role in WWI. Despite this, he would establish his dominance in the event by beating the world record several times, which was over 5 seconds faster than the Olympic record set in this event.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 2:50.4 | Erich Rademacher | Magdeburg (GER) | April 7, 1924 |
| Olympic Record | 3:01.8 | Walter Bathe | Stockholm (SWE) | July 12, 1912 |
In the first heat Bob Skelton set a new Olympic record with 2:56.0 minutes.

## Results
### Heats

Tuesday July 15, 1924: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced.
Heat 1
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Bob Skelton (USA) | 2:56.0 | QQ OR |
| 2 | Thor Henning (SWE) | 3:02.4 | QQ |
| 3 | Zoltán Bitskey (HUN) | 3:05.4 | qq |
| 4 | Ivan Stedman (AUS) | 3:09.6 | |
| 5 | William Stoney (GBR) | 3:10.3 | |
| 6 | Georges Vallerey (FRA) | 3:11.2 | |
Heat 2
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Joseph De Combe (BEL) | 3:02.0 | QQ |
| 2 | Edward Maw (GBR) | 3:07.0 | QQ |
| 3 | Márton Sipos (HUN) | 3:09.8 | |
| 4 | Arvo Aaltonen (FIN) | 3:11.0 | |
| 5 | Marius Zwiller (FRA) | 3:11.2 | |
Heat 3
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Bill Kirschbaum (USA) | 3:01.0 | QQ |
| 2 | Rudolf Piowatý (TCH) | 3:10.8 | QQ |
| 3 | Bo Johnsson (SWE) | 3:12.2 | |
| 4 | Viljo Viklund (FIN) | 3:12.4 | |
| 5 | Luciano Trolli (ITA) | 3:23.0 | |
Heat 4
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Reginald Flint (GBR) | 3:05.2 | QQ |
| 2 | Frigyes Hollósi (HUN) | 3:06.4 | QQ |
| 3 | Henri Bouvier (FRA) | 3:07.8 | |
| 4 | Gerlacus Moes (NED) | 3:18.8 | |
| 5 | Emerico Biach (ITA) | 3:26.8 | |
| 6 | Ivo Pavelić (YUG) | 3:28.4 | |
Heat 5
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Bengt Linders (SWE) | 3:03.4 | QQ |
| 2 | Robert Wyss (SUI) | 3:03.6 | QQ |
| 3 | Clarrie Heard (NZL) | 3:09.0 | |
| 4 | Tsunenobu Ishida (JPN) | 3:09.2 | |
| 5 | Jaroslav Müller (TCH) | 3:22.0 | |
| 6 | Mário Marques (POR) | 3:32.4 | |

### Semifinals

Wednesday July 16, 1924: The fastest two in each semi-final and the faster of the two third-placed swimmer advanced to the final.
Semifinal 1
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Bob Skelton (USA) | 3:00.2 | QF |
| 2 | Bill Kirschbaum (USA) | 3:02.6 | QF |
| 3 | Robert Wyss (SUI) | 3:04.2 | qf |
| 4 | Frigyes Hollósi (HUN) | 3:05.6 | |
| 5 | Reginald Flint (GBR) | 3:06.8 | |
| 6 | Rudolf Piowatý (TCH) | 3:11.8 | |
Semifinal 2
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Joseph De Combe (BEL) | 3:00.2 | QF |
| 2 | Bengt Linders (SWE) | 3:01.4 | QF |
| 3 | Thor Henning (SWE) | 3:05.0 | |
| 4 | Edward Maw (GBR) | 3:07.0 | |
| 5 | Zoltán Bitskey (HUN) | 3:09.2 | |

### Final

Thursday July 17, 1924:
| Place | Swimmer | Time |
| 1 | Bob Skelton (USA) | 2:56.6 |
| 2 | Joseph De Combe (BEL) | 2:59.2 |
| 3 | Bill Kirschbaum (USA) | 3:01.0 |
| 4 | Bengt Linders (SWE) | 3:02.2 |
| 5 | Robert Wyss (SUI) | 3:05.6 |