World record progression 200 metres freestyle

Graphs of the progression of the World Records in all four strokes (50m, 100m and 200m distances).

This is a history of the progression of the World Record for the Swimming event: the 200 Freestyle. It is a listing of the fastest-time-ever swum in the event, in both long course (50m) and short course (25m) swimming pool. These records are maintained/recognized by FINA, which oversees international competitive swimming and Aquatics.

The drop in world record times in the 2008/2009 coincided with the introduction of polyurethane suits from Speedo (LZR, 50% polyurethane) in 2008 and by Arena (X-Glide), Adidas (Hydrofoil) and Italian swimming suit manufacturer Jaked (all 100% polyurethane) in 2009. FINA's ban on non-textile suit came into effect on January 2010.^[1] FINA also release a list of approved suits.

The long course records are historically older than the short course records; the latter having only been recognized since the early 1990s.

Men

Long course

#	Time	Swimmer	Date	Event	Place
0	2:28.6	Freddy Lane	August 18, 1902	?	Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom	[2]
0	2:26.8	Zoltan Halmay	June 28, 1908	?	Budapest, Hungary	?
1	2:31.6	Otto Scheff	November 11, 1908	?	Vienna, Austria	?
2	2:30.0	Frank Beaurepaire	September 9, 1910	?	Exeter, United Kingdom	?
3	2:25.4	Charles Daniels	March 28, 1911	?	Pittsburgh, United States	?
4	2:21.6	Norman Ross	November 24, 1916	?	San Francisco, United States	?
5	2:19.8	Tedford Cann	April 10, 1920	?	Detroit, United States	?
6	2:15.6	Johnny Weissmuller	May 26, 1922	?	Honolulu, United States	?
7	2:15.2	Johnny Weissmuller	December 9, 1925	?	McKeesport, United States	?
8	2:08.0	Johnny Weissmuller	April 5, 1927	?	Ann Arbor, United States	?
9	2:07.2	Jack Medica	April 12, 1935	?	Chicago, United States	?
10	2:06.2	Bill Smith	February 12, 1944	?	Columbus, United States	?
11	2:05.4	Alex Jany	September 20, 1946	?	Marseille, France	?
12	2:04.6	John Marshall	March 31, 1950	Yale (?)	New Haven, United States	?
13	2:03.9	Ford Konno	February 27, 1954	?	Columbus, United States	?
14	2:03.4	Jack Wardrop	March 4, 1955	?	Columbus, United States	?
15	2:01.5	Dick Hanley	March 8, 1957	?	Minneapolis, United States	?
16	2:04.8	John Konrads	January 18, 1958	?	Sydney, Australia	?
17	2:03.2	John Konrads	May 5, 1958	?	Sydney, Australia	?
18	2:03.0	Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	August 22, 1958	?	Osaka, Japan	?
19	2:02.2	John Konrads	January 16, 1959	?	Sydney, Australia	?
20	2:01.5	Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	July 26, 1959	?	Osaka, Japan	?
21	2:01.2	Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	June 24, 1961	?	Osaka, Japan	?
22	2:01.1	Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	August 6, 1961	?	Tokyo, Japan	?
23	2:00.4	Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	August 20, 1961	Men's National Outdoor Swimming Championships	Los Angeles, United States	?
23=	2:00.4	Don Schollander	August 11, 1962	Men's National Outdoor Swimming Championships	Cuyahoga Falls, Summit County, Ohio, United States	?
24	2:00.3	Bob Windle	April 21, 1963	?	Tokyo, Japan	?
25	1:58.8	Don Schollander	July 27, 1963	5th Annual Los Angeles Invitiational	Los Angeles, United States	[3]
26	1:58.5	Don Schollander	August 17, 1963	6th US-Japan swimming and diving meet	Tokyo, Japan	[4]
27	1:58.4	Don Schollander	August 24, 1963	?	Osaka, Japan	?
28	1:58.2	Hans-Joachim Klein	May 24, 1964	?	Dortmund, West Germany	?
29	1:57.6	Don Schollander	August 1, 1964	?	Los Altos, United States	?
30	1:57.2	Don Schollander	July 29, 1966	?	Los Angeles, United States	?
31	1:56.2	Don Schollander	August 19, 1966	?	Lincoln, United States	?
32	1:56.0	Don Schollander	July 29, 1967	Pan-American Games	Winnipeg, Canada	?
33	1:55.7	Don Schollander	August 12, 1967	AAU Nationals	Oak Park, United States	?
34	1:54.8	Don Schollander	August 30, 1968	USA Olympic Trials (elec. 1:54.89)	Long Beach, United States	?
35	1:54.3	Don Schollander	August 30, 1968	USA Olympic Trials (elec. 1:54.28)	Long Beach, United States	?
35=	1:54.3	Mark Spitz	July 12, 1969	Santa Clara Invitational	Santa Clara, United States	?
36	1:54.2	Mark Spitz	September 4, 1971	USAvGDR Duel	Leipzig, East Germany	?
37	1:53.5	Mark Spitz	September 10, 1971	USAvUSSRvGBR Meet (1st leg relay)	Minsk, Belorussian SSR, Soviet Union	?
38	1:52.78	Mark Spitz	August 29, 1972	1972 Summer Olympics	Munich, West Germany	?
39	1:51.66	Tim Shaw	August 23, 1974	AAU Senior National Outdoor Swimming Championships	Concord, United States	?
40	1:51.41	Bruce Furniss	June 18, 1975	USA World Championship Trials	Long Beach, United States	?
41	1:50.89	Bruce Furniss	June 18, 1975	USA World Championship Trials	Long Beach, United States	?
42	1:50.32	Bruce Furniss	August 21, 1975	AAU Senior National Outdoor Swimming Championships	Kansas City, United States	?
43	1:50.29	Bruce Furniss	July 19, 1976	1976 Summer Olympics	Montreal, Canada	?
44	1:49.83	Sergey Kopliakov	April 7, 1979	URSvGDR Junior meet	Potsdam, East Germany	?
45	1:49.16	Rowdy Gaines	April 11, 1980	AAU Senior National Indoor Championships	Austin, United States	?
46	1:48.93	Rowdy Gaines	July 19, 1982	USA World Championship Trials	Mission Viejo, United States	?
47	1:48.28	Michael Gross	June 21, 1983	FRG Nationals & European Championship Trials	Hanover, West Germany	?
48	1:47.87	Michael Gross	August 22, 1983	European Swimming Championships	Rome, Italy	?
49	1:47.55	Michael Gross	June 8, 1984	FRG Olympic Trials	Munich, West Germany	?
50	1:47.44	Michael Gross	July 29, 1984	1984 Summer Olympics	Los Angeles, United States	?
51	1:47.25	Duncan Armstrong	September 19, 1988	1988 Summer Olympics	Seoul, South Korea	?
52	1:46.69	Giorgio Lamberti	August 15, 1989	European Swimming Championships	Bonn, West Germany	?
53	1:46.67	Grant Hackett	March 23, 1999	Australian Championships (1st leg relay)	Brisbane, Australia	?
54	1:46.34	Ian Thorpe	August 23, 1999	1999 Pan Pacific Championships	Sydney, Australia	?
55	1:46.00	Ian Thorpe	August 24, 1999	1999 Pan Pacific Championships	Sydney, Australia	?
56	1:45.69	Ian Thorpe	May 14, 2000	2000 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials	Sydney, Australia	?
57	1:45.51	Ian Thorpe	May 15, 2000	2000 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials	Sydney, Australia	?
58	1:45.35	Pieter van den Hoogenband	September 17, 2000	2000 Summer Olympics	Sydney, Australia	?
58=	1:45.35	Pieter van den Hoogenband	September 18, 2000	2000 Summer Olympics	Sydney, Australia	?
59	1:44.69	Ian Thorpe	March 27, 2001	2001 Australian Championships & World Championship Trials	Hobart, Australia	[5]
60	1:44.06	Ian Thorpe	July 25, 2001	2001 FINA World Championships	Fukuoka, Japan	?
61	1:43.86	Michael Phelps	March 27, 2007	2007 FINA World Championships	Melbourne, Australia	[6]
62	1:42.96	Michael Phelps	August 12, 2008	2008 Summer Olympics	Beijing, China	[7]
63	1:42.00	Paul Biedermann	July 28, 2009	2009 FINA World Championships	Rome, Italy

Short course

#	Time	Swimmer	Date	Event	Place
1	1:44.50	Michael Gross	December 1, 1981	German Nationals	Bremen	?
2	1:44.14	Michael Gross	February 5, 1988	Coca-Cola Sponsored Meet	Boulogne-Billancourt	?
3	1:43.64	Giorgio Lamberti	February 11, 1990	World Cup	Bonn, Germany	?
4	1:43.28	Ian Thorpe	April 1, 1999	World SC Championships	Hong Kong	?
5	1:42.54	Ian Thorpe	January 17, 2000	FINA World Cup	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	?
6	1:41.10	Ian Thorpe	February 6, 2000	FINA World Cup	Berlin, Germany	?
7	1:40.83	Paul Biedermann	Nov 16, 2008	FINA World Cup	Berlin, Germany	?
8	1:39.37	Paul Biedermann	Nov 15, 2009	FINA World Cup	Berlin, Germany	[8]

Women

Long course

#	Time	Swimmer	Date	Event	Place
1	2:56.0	Fanny Durack	March 4, 1915	?	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	?
2	2:47.6	Charlotte Boyle	August 25, 1921	?	New Brighton, Minnesota, United States	?
3	2:45.2	Gertrude Ederle	April 4, 1923	?	Brooklyn, New York, United States	?
4	2:40.6	Martha Norelius	February 28, 1926	?	Miami, Florida, United States	?
5	2:34.6	Helene Madison	March 6, 1930	?	St. Augustine, Florida, United States	?
6	2:28.6	Willy den Ouden	May 3, 1933	?	Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands	?
7	2:27.6	Willy den Ouden	May 5, 1934	?	Dundee, United Kingdom	?
8	2:25.3	Willy den Ouden	September 8, 1935	?	Copenhagen, Denmark	?
9	2:24.6	Rie van Veen	February 26, 1938	?	Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands	?
10	2:21.7	Ragnhild Hveger	September 11, 1938	?	Aarhus, Aarhus County, Denmark	?
11	2:20.7	Dawn Fraser	February 25, 1956	?	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	?
12	2:19.3	Lorraine Crapp	August 25, 1956	?	Townsville, Queensland, Australia	?
13	2:18.5	Lorraine Crapp	October 20, 1956	?	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	?
14	2:17.7	Dawn Fraser	February 10, 1958	?	Adelaide, South Australia, Australia	?
15	2:14.7	Dawn Fraser	February 22, 1958	?	Melbourne, Australia	?
16	2:11.6	Dawn Fraser	February 27, 1960	?	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	?
17	2:10.5	Lillian Watson	August 19, 1966	?	Lincoln, Nebraska, United States	?
18	2:09.7	Pam Kruse	August 19, 1967	AAU Nationals	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	?
19	2:09.5	Susan Pedersen	July 6, 1968	Santa Clara Invitational	Santa Clara, California, United States	?
20	2:08.8	Edith Wetzel	August 2, 1968	AAU Nationals	Lincoln, Nebraska, United States	?
21	2:07.9	Linda Gustavson	August 24, 1968	USA Olympic Trials	Los Angeles, United States	[9]
22	2:06.7	Debbie Meyer	August 24, 1968	USA Olympic Trials (elec. 2:06.86)	Los Angeles, United States	[9]
23	2:06.5	Shane Gould	May 1, 1971	Coca Cola International	London, United Kingdom	?
24	2:05.8	Shane Gould	November 26, 1971	?	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	?
25	2:05.21	Shirley Babashoff	August 4, 1972	USA Olympic Trials	Chicago, Illinois, United States	?
26	2:03.56	Shane Gould	September 1, 1972	1972 Summer Olympics	Munich, Bavaria, West Germany	?
27	2:03.22	Kornelia Ender	August 22, 1974	European Swimming Championships	Vienna, Austria	?
28	2:02.94	Shirley Babashoff	August 23, 1974	AAU Senior National Outdoor Championships	Concord, California, United States	?
28=	2:02.94	Shirley Babashoff	August 31, 1974	USAvGDR Dual Meet	Concord, California, United States	?
29	2:02.27	Kornelia Ender	March 15, 1975	GDRvURS Duel	Dresden, Dresden, East Germany	?
30	1:59.78	Kornelia Ender	June 2, 1976	GDR Olympic Trials	East Berlin, East Germany	?
31	1:59.26	Kornelia Ender	July 22, 1976	1976 Summer Olympics	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	?
32	1:59.04	Barbara Krause	July 2, 1978	GDR Nationals & World Championship Trials	East Berlin, East Germany	?
33	1:58.53	Cynthia Woodhead	August 22, 1978	FINA World Championships	West Berlin	?
34	1:58.43	Cynthia Woodhead	July 3, 1979	Pan-American Games	San Juan, Puerto Rico	?
35	1:58.23	Cynthia Woodhead	September 3, 1979	FINA World Cup	Tokyo, Japan	?
36	1:57.75	Kristin Otto	May 23, 1984	GDR Nationals	Magdeburg, Magdeburg, East Germany	?
37	1:57.55	Heike Friedrich	June 18, 1986	GDR Nationals & World Championship Trials	East Berlin, East Germany	?
38	1:56.78	Franziska van Almsick	September 6, 1994	1994 World Championships	Rome, Lazio, Italy	?
39	1:56.64	Franziska van Almsick	August 3, 2002	2002 European Championships	Berlin, Germany	?
40	1:56.47	Federica Pellegrini	March 27, 2007	2007 World Championships	Melbourne, Australia	[6]
41	1:55.52	Laure Manaudou	March 28, 2007	2007 World Championships	Melbourne, Australia	[10]
42	1:55.45	Federica Pellegrini	August 11, 2008	2008 Summer Olympics	Beijing, China
43	1:54.82	Federica Pellegrini	August 13, 2008	2008 Summer Olympics	Beijing, China
44	1:54.47	Federica Pellegrini	March 8, 2009	Italian Championships	Riccione, Italy	[11]
45	1:53.67	Federica Pellegrini	July 28, 2009	2009 World Championships	Roma, Italy
46	1:52.98	Federica Pellegrini	July 29, 2009	2009 World Championships	Roma, Italy

Short course

#	Time	Swimmer	Date	Event	Place
1	1:55.84	Franziska van Almsick	January 9, 1993	World Cup	Beijing, PR China	?
2	1:55.42	Claudia Poll	December 1, 1995	World Championships	Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	?
3	1:54.17	Claudia Poll	April 18, 1997	World Championships	Gothenburg, Västergötland, Sweden	?
4	1:54.04	Lindsay Benko	April 7, 2002	World Championships	Moscow, Central Federal District, Russia	?
5	1:53.29	Libby Lenton	November 19, 2005	World Cup	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	[12]
6	1:53.18	Coralie Balmy	December 6, 2008	2008 French Championships	Angers, France	[13]
7	1:51.85	Federica Pellegrini	December 14, 2008	European Championships	Rijeka, Croatia	[14]
8	1:51.17	Federica Pellegrini	December 13, 2009	European Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	[15]
9	1:50.78	Sarah Sjöström	December 7, 2014	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	[16]

References

1. "Hi-tech suits banned from January". BBC News/BBC Sport. 2009-07-31. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
2. "World Record Progression". Ishof.org. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
3. "Schollander sets world swim mark". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 28, 1963. p. 16 of sports.
4. "U.S. swimmers set 2 world records". The New York Times. UPI. August 18, 1963. pp. 1 and 12 of sports.
5. Hanson, Ian (March 27, 2001). "1:44.69 – 200m world record to Ian Thorpe". Swimming Australia. Archived from the original on September 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
6. Paxinos, Stathi; Cowley, Michael (March 28, 2007). "Jones and Phelps lead the way in records deluge". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
7. The Sydney Morning Herald. August 12, 2008 http://www.smh.com.au/news/swimming/three-down-five-to-go-for-us-superfish/2008/08/12/1218306830824.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
8. "Word Cup 2009 Berlin Results Men's 200m Freestyle" (PDF). omegatiming.com. November 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
9. "Two U.S. women set swim marks in Olympic Trials". The New York Times. August 25, 1968. pp. 1 and 11 of sports.
10. Paxinos, Stathi (March 29, 2007). "King of the pool does it again". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
11. "Pellegrini improves her 200 free world record". Associated Press. March 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
12. Hanson, Ian (November 19, 2005). "Lenton's slashing world record swim in Sydney". Swimming Australia. Archived from the original on September 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
13. "Lane 9 News Archive: French Short Course Nationals: Pair of World Records Fall During Second Night". Swimmingworldmagazine.com. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
14. http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2008/rijeka2008/C73A1_Res1Heat_135_Finals_1_Women_200_Free.pdf
15. http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2009/Istanbul/C73A1_Res1Heat_135_Finals_1_Women_200_Free.pdf
16. http://www.omegatiming.com/File/Download?id=00010E010D01001602FFFFFFFFFFFF02