| Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Freestyle | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | women | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| Backstroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Breaststroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Butterfly | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Individual medley | ||
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| Freestyle relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| 4 × 200 m | men | |
| Medley relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
The men's 200 metre butterfly event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place August 28. This swimming event used the butterfly stroke. Because an Olympic-size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of four lengths of the pool.
Medalists
| Gold | Mark Spitz United States
|
| Silver | Gary Hall, Sr. United States
|
| Bronze | Robin Backhaus United States
|
Results
Heats
Heat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Hall, Sr. |  United States |
2:03.70 | OR, Q |
| 2 | András Hargitay |  Hungary |
2:05.05 | Q |
| 3 | Roger Pyttel |  East Germany |
2:08.72 | |
| 4 | Sean Maher |  Great Britain |
2:09.39 | |
| 5 | Jorge Jaramillo |  Colombia |
2:10.24 | |
| 6 | Walter Mack |  West Germany |
2:11.03 | |
| 7 | Vasil Dobrev |  Bulgaria |
2:11.28 |
Key: OR = Olympic record, Q = Qualified
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robin Backhaus | United States |
2:03.11 | OR, Q |
| 2 | Folkert Meeuw | West Germany |
2:06.13 | Q |
| 3 | Yasuhiro Komazaki |  Japan |
2:08.72 | |
| 4 | Hugo Valencia |  Mexico |
2:09.56 | |
| 5 | Andrzej Chudziński |  Poland |
2:12.62 | |
| 6 | Geoffrey Ferreira |  Trinidad and Tobago |
2:19.76 | |
| Angelo Tozzi |  Italy |
2:10.82 | DQ |
Key: DQ = Disqualified, OR = Olympic record, Q = Qualified
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hans Fassnacht | West Germany |
2:05.39 | Q |
| 2 | Jorge Delgado, Jr. |  Ecuador |
2:05.61 | Q |
| 3 | Viktor Sharygin |  Soviet Union |
2:06.76 | |
| 4 | James Findlay |  Australia |
2:08.36 | |
| 5 | Ron Jacks |  Canada |
2:09.04 | |
| 6 | Ricardo Marmolejo | Mexico |
2:10.00 | |
| 7 | Jacques Leloup |  Belgium |
2:10.79 | |
| 8 | Roy Chan |  Singapore |
2:20.30 |
Key: Q = Qualified
Heat 4
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Spitz | United States |
2:02.11 | OR, Q |
| 2 | Hartmut Flöckner | East Germany |
2:05.54 | Q |
| 3 | John Mills | Great Britain |
2:06.58 | |
| 4 | Brian Brinkley | Great Britain |
2:06.82 | |
| 5 | Byron MacDonald | Canada |
2:12.12 | |
| 6 | Gaetano Carboni | Italy |
2:12.16 | |
| 7 | Hsu Tung-Hsiung |  Chinese Taipei |
2:16.35 | |
| 8 | Carlos Singson |  Philippines |
2:23.70 |
Key: OR = Olympic record, Q = Qualified
Final
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Mark Spitz | United States |
2:00.70 | WR |
 |
Gary Hall, Sr. | United States |
2:02.86 | |
 |
Robin Backhaus | United States |
2:03.23 | |
| 4 | Jorge Delgado, Jr. | Ecuador |
2:04.60 | |
| 5 | Hans Fassnacht | West Germany |
2:04.69 | |
| 6 | András Hargitay | Hungary |
2:04.69 | |
| 7 | Hartmut Flöckner | East Germany |
2:05.34 | |
| 8 | Folkert Meeuw | West Germany |
2:05.57 |
Key: WR = World record
References
- "Swimming at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Butterfly". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
| Olympic champions in men's 200 m butterfly | |
|---|---|
|
