World record progression 200 metres breaststroke

The first world record in the men's 200 metres breaststroke in long course (50 metres) swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in 1908 and the first world record in the women's 200 metres breaststroke was recognised in 1921. In the short course (25 metres) swimming events the world's governing body recognizes world records since March 3, 1991.

There have been two rule changes enacted by FINA for this event that have resulted in the nullification of world records.

In the mid-1930s, many breaststroke swimmers began practicing an early variant of the butterfly stroke that involved recovering the arms above the water in an effort to reduce drag. This technique was disallowed when the butterfly stroke was established as a distinct stroke with its own rules in 1952, and world records set using the technique were nullified.

Another style was developed by the Japanese swimmer Masaru Furukawa shortly after this rule change. It involved swimming underwater for as much of each pool length as possible without surfacing, as the act of breaking the water's surface created resistance, slowing a swimmer. This method of swimming the breaststroke was disallowed by FINA in 1956 and records set with the technique were nullified.

(see History of swimming)

Graphic data for World Record Progression in Men and Women Swimming 50m-100m-200m Long and Short Course Butterfly-Backstroke-Breaststroke-Freestyle

Men

Long course

Time	Swimmer	Date	Place
3:09.2	Frederick Holman	July 18, 1908	London, United Kingdom
3:08.3	Robert Andersson	April 18, 1909	Stockholm, Sweden
3:00.8	Félicien Courbet	October 2, 1910	Schaarbeek, Belgium
2:56.6	Percy Courtman	July 28, 1914	Garston, United Kingdom
2:54.4	Erich Rademacher	November 12, 1922	Amsterdam, Netherlands
2:52.6	Bob Skelton	March 21, 1924	Milwaukee, United States
2:50.4	Erich Rademacher	April 7, 1924	Magdeburg, Germany
2:48.0	Erich Rademacher	March 11, 1927	Brussels, Belgium
2:45.0	Yoshiyuki Tsuruta	July 27, 1929	Kyoto, Japan
2:44.6	Lionel Spence	April 2, 1931	Chicago, United States
2:44.0	Lionel Spence	April 1, 1932	New Haven, United States
2:42.6	Jacques Cartonnet	February 8, 1933	Paris, France
2:42.4	Erwin Sietas	March 16, 1935	Düsseldorf, Germany
2:39.6	Jacques Cartonnet	May 4, 1935	Paris, France
2:37.2	Jack Kasley	March 28, 1936	New Haven, United States
2:36.8	Alfred Nakache	July 6, 1941	Marseille, France
2:35.6	Joe Verdeur	April 5, 1946	Bainbridge, United States
2:35.0	Joe Verdeur	February 15, 1947	New Haven, United States
2:32.0	Joe Verdeur	February 14, 1948	New Haven, United States
2:30.5	Joe Verdeur	April 2, 1948	New Haven, United States
2:30.0	Joe Verdeur	June 28, 1948	New Haven, United States
2:28.3	Joe Verdeur	March 31, 1950	New Haven, United States
2:27.3	Herbert Klein	June 9, 1951	Munich, West Germany
2:37.4	Knud Gleie	March 14, 1952	Copenhagen, Denmark
2:36.6	Masaru Furukawa	April 10, 1954	Tokyo, Japan
2:35.4	Masaru Furukawa	April 10, 1954	Tokyo, Japan
2:35.2	Mamoru Tanaka	September 17, 1954	Tokyo, Japan
2:33.7	Masaru Furukawa	August 5, 1955	Tokyo, Japan
2:31.0	Masaru Furukawa	October 1, 1955	Tokyo, Japan
2:36.5	Terence Gathercole	June 28, 1958	Townsville, Australia
2:33.6	Chet Jastremski	July 28, 1961	Tokyo, Japan
2:29.6	Chet Jastremski	August 19, 1961	Los Angeles, United States
2:28.2	Chet Jastremski	August 30, 1964	New York City, United States
2:27.8	Ian O'Brien	October 15, 1964	Tokyo, Japan
2:27.4	Vladimir Kosinsky	April 3, 1968	Tallinn, USSR
2:26.5	Nikolai Pankin	March 22, 1969	Minsk, USSR
2:25.4	Nikolai Pankin	April 19, 1969	Magdeburg, East Germany
2:23.5	Brian Job	August 22, 1970	Los Angeles, United States
2:22.79	John Hencken	August 5, 1972	Chicago, United States
2:21.55	John Hencken	September 2, 1972	Munich, West Germany
2:20.52	John Hencken	August 24, 1973	Louisville, United States
2:19.28	David Wilkie	September 6, 1973	Belgrade, Yugoslavia
2:18.93	John Hencken	August 24, 1974	Concord, United States
2:18.21	John Hencken	September 1, 1974	Concord, United States
2:15.11	David Wilkie	July 24, 1976	Montreal, Canada
2:14.77	Victor Davis	August 5, 1982	Guayaquil, Ecuador
2:14.58	Victor Davis	June 17, 1984	Etobicoke, Canada
2:13.34	Victor Davis	August 2, 1984	Los Angeles, United States
2:12.90	Mike Barrowman	August 4, 1989	Los Angeles, United States
2:12.90e	Nick Gillingham	August 19, 1989	Bonn, West Germany
2:12.89	Mike Barrowman	August 20, 1989	Tokyo, Japan
2:11.53	Mike Barrowman	July 20, 1990	Seattle, United States
2:11.23	Mike Barrowman	January 11, 1991	Perth, Australia
2:10.60	Mike Barrowman	August 13, 1991	Fort Lauderdale, United States
2:10.16	Mike Barrowman	July 29, 1992	Barcelona, Spain
2:09.97	Kosuke Kitajima	October 2, 2002	Busan, South Korea
2:09.52	Dimitri Komornikov	June 15, 2003	Barcelona, Spain
2:09.42	Kosuke Kitajima	July 24, 2003	Barcelona, Spain
2:09.04	Brendan Hansen	July 11, 2004	Long Beach, United States
2:08.74	Brendan Hansen	August 5, 2006	Irvine, United States
2:08.50	Brendan Hansen	August 21, 2006	Victoria, Canada
2:07.51	Kosuke Kitajima	June 8, 2008	Tokyo, Japan
2:07.31	Christian Sprenger	July 30, 2009	Rome, Italy
2:07.28	Dániel Gyurta	August 1, 2012	London, United Kingdom
2:07.01	Akihiro Yamaguchi	September 15, 2012	Gifu, Japan

Short course

Time	Swimmer	Date	Place
2:07.93	Nick Gillingham	October 20, 1991	Birmingham, United Kingdom
2:07.80	Philip Rogers	August 28, 1993	Melbourne, Australia
2:07.79	Andrey Korneyev	March 28, 1998	Paris, France
2:07.59	Roman Sloudnov	March 19, 2000	Athens, Greece
2:06.40	Ed Moses	March 25, 2000	Minneapolis, United States
2:04.37	Ed Moses	January 18, 2002	Paris, France
2:03.28	Ed Moses	January 22, 2002	Stockholm, Sweden
2:03.17	Ed Moses	January 26, 2002	Berlin, Germany
2:02.92	Ed Moses	January 17, 2004	Berlin, Germany
2:01.98	Christian Sprenger	August 10, 2009	Hobart, Australia
2:00.67	Dániel Gyurta	December 13, 2009	Istanbul, Turkey
2:00.48	Dániel Gyurta	August 31, 2014	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2:00.44[1]	Marco Koch	November 20, 2016	Berlin, Germany

Women

Long course

Time	Swimmer	Date	Place
3:38.2	E. Van Den Bogaert	August 7, 1921	Antwerp, Belgium
3:34.6	E. Van Den Bogaert	May 6, 1922	Brussels, Belgium
3:31.4	E. Van Den Bogaert	October 4, 1922	Antwerp, Belgium
3:20.4	Irene Gilbert	June 18, 1923	Rotherham, United Kingdom
3:20.2	Erna Murray	April 5, 1925	Leipzig, Germany
3:19.1	Brita Hazelius	August 11, 1926	Stockholm, Sweden
3:18.4	Mietje Baron	October 24, 1926	Brussels, Belgium
3:16.6	Else Jacobsen	August 20, 1927	Oslo, Norway
3:15.8	Charlotte Mühe	April 15, 1928	Magdeburg, Germany
3:11.2	Mietje Baron	April 22, 1928	Rotterdam, Netherlands
3:11.2	Charlotte Mühe	July 15, 1928	Berlin, Germany
3:10.6	Margery Hinton	July 20, 1931	Manchester, United Kingdom
3:08.4	Clare Dennis	January 18, 1932	Sydney, Australia
3:08.2	Lisa Rocke	April 21, 1932	Leipzig, Germany
3:03.4	Else Jacobsen	May 11, 1932	Stockholm, Sweden
3:00.4	Hideko Maehata	September 30, 1933	Tokyo, Japan
3:00.2	Jopie Waalberg	May 11, 1937	Amsterdam, Netherlands
2:58.0	Jopie Waalberg	June 27, 1937	Zaandijk, Netherlands
2:56.9	Jopie Waalberg	October 2, 1937	Ghent, Belgium
2:56.0	Maria Lenk	November 8, 1939	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2:55.5	Anni Kapell	March 19, 1941	Düsseldorf, Germany
2:52.6	Nel van Vliet	August 17, 1946	Bilthoven, Netherlands
2:51.9	Nel van Vliet	March 29, 1947	Amsterdam, Netherlands
2:49.2	Nel van Vliet	July 20, 1947	Hilversum, Netherlands
2:48.8	Eva Novak	October 21, 1950	Székesfehérvár, Hungary
2:48.5	Eva Novak	May 5, 1951	Moscow, USSR
2:46.4	Ada den Haan	November 13, 1956	Naarden, Netherlands
2:52.6	Ada den Haan	May 18, 1957	Blackpool, United Kingdom
2:51.9	Ada den Haan	August 3, 1957	Rhenen, Netherlands
2:51.3	Ada den Haan	August 4, 1957	Rhenen, Netherlands
2:50.3	Anita Lonsbrough	July 25, 1959	Waalwijk, Netherlands
2:50.2	Wiltrud Urselmann	June 6, 1960	Aachen, West Germany
2:49.5	Anita Lonsbrough	August 27, 1960	Rome, Italy
2:48.9	Karin Breyer	August 5, 1961	Budapest, Hungary
2:47.7	Galina Prozumenshchikova	April 11, 1964	Blackpool, United Kingdom
2:45.4	Galina Prozumenshchikova	May 17, 1964	East Berlin, East Germany
2:45.3	Galina Prozumenshchikova	September 12, 1965	Groningen, Netherlands
2:40.8	Galina Prozumenshchikova	August 22, 1966	Utrecht, Netherlands
2:40.5	Catie Ball	July 9, 1967	Santa Clara, California
2:39.5	Catie Ball	August 20, 1967	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2:38.5	Catie Ball	August 26, 1968	Los Angeles, California
2:37.89	Anne-Katrin Schott	July 6, 1974	Rostock, East Germany
2:37.44	Karla Linke	August 19, 1974	Vienna, Austria
2:34.99	Karla Linke	August 19, 1974	Vienna, Austria
2:33.35	Marina Koshevaia	July 21, 1976	Montreal, Quebec
2:33.32	Yuliya Bogdanova	April 7, 1978	Leningrad, USSR
2:33.11	Lina Kachushite	August 24, 1978	West Berlin
2:31.42	Lina Kachushite	August 24, 1978	West Berlin
2:31.09	Svetlana Varganova	March 30, 1979	Minsk, USSR
2:28.36	Lina Kachushite	April 6, 1979	Potsdam, East Germany
2:28.33	Silke Hörner	June 5, 1985	Leipzig, East Germany
2:28.20	Sylvia Gerasch	March 1, 1986	Leningrad, USSR
2:27.40	Silke Hörner	August 18, 1986	Madrid, Spain
2:27.27	Allison Higson	May 28, 1988	Montreal, Quebec
2:26.71	Silke Hörner	September 21, 1988	Seoul, South Korea
2:25.92	Anita Nall	March 2, 1992	Indianapolis, Indiana
2:25.35	Anita Nall	March 2, 1992	Indianapolis, Indiana
2:24.76	Rebecca Brown	March 15, 1994	Brisbane, Australia
2:24.69	Penelope Heyns	July 17, 1999	Los Angeles, California
2:24.51	Penelope Heyns	July 17, 1999	Los Angeles, California
2:24.42	Penelope Heyns	August 26, 1999	Sydney, Australia
2:23.64	Penelope Heyns	August 27, 1999	Sydney, Australia
2:22.99	Qi Hui	April 13, 2001	Hangzhou, China
2:22.99e	Amanda Beard	July 25, 2003	Barcelona, Spain
2:22.96	Leisel Jones	July 10, 2004	Brisbane, Australia
2:22.44	Amanda Beard	July 12, 2004	Long Beach, California
2:21.72	Leisel Jones	July 29, 2005	Montreal, Quebec
2:20.54	Leisel Jones	February 1, 2006	Melbourne, Australia
2:20.22	Rebecca Soni	August 15, 2008	Beijing, China
2:20.12	Annamay Pierse	July 30, 2009	Rome, Italy
2:20.00	Rebecca Soni	August 1, 2012	London, United Kingdom
2:19.59	Rebecca Soni	August 2, 2012	London, United Kingdom
2:19.11	Rikke Møller Pedersen	August 1, 2013	Barcelona, Spain

Short course

Time	Swimmer	Date	Place
2:22.89	Dai Guohong	December 3, 1993	Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2:21.99	Dai Guohong	December 3, 1993	Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2:20.85	Samantha Riley	December 1, 1995	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2:20.22	Masami Tanaka	April 2, 1999	Hong Kong
2:19.25	Qi Hui	January 28, 2001	Paris, France
2:18.86	Qi Hui	December 2, 2002	Shanghai, China
2:17.75	Leisel Jones	November 29, 2003	Melbourne, Australia
2:17.50	Annamay Pierse	March 14, 2009	Toronto, Canada
2:16.83	Annamay Pierse	August 7, 2009	Leeds, United Kingdom
2:15.42	Leisel Jones	November 15, 2009	Berlin, Germany
2:14.57	Rebecca Soni	December 18, 2009	Manchester, United Kingdom
2:14.39 [2]	Yuliya Efimova	December 14, 2013	Herning, Denmark

References

1. Kapser, Daniela (November 20, 2016). "Marco Koch breaks 200 SCM breast world record at German nationals". Swimswam. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
2. unratified due to doping violation

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