World record progression 200 metres backstroke

This is a history of the progression of the world record for the 200-meter backstroke event. It is a listing of the fastest-time-ever swum in the event, in both long course (50-meter) and short course (25-meter) swimming pools. These records are maintained/recognized by FINA, which oversees international competitive swimming and aquatics.

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

No	Time	Name	Nationality	Date	Location
1	3'04"4	Oscar Schiele	Germany	27 June 1909	Berlin, Germany^[1]
2	2'59"8	George Arnold	Germany	3 January 1910	Magdeburg, Germany
3	2'56"4	Maurice Wechesser	Belgium	18 October 1910	Schaerbeek, Belgium
4	2'50"6	Hermann Pentz	Germany	11 March 1911	Magdeburg, Germany
5	2'48"4	Otto Fahr	Germany	3 April 1912	Magdeburg, Germany
6	2'47"1	Walter Laufer	United States	24 June 1926	Bremen, Germany^[2]
7	2'44"9	Walter Laufer	United States	11 July 1926	Nuremberg, Germany
8	2'38"8	Walter Laufer	United States	13 July 1926	Magdeburg, Germany^[3]^[4]
9	2'37"8	Toshio Irie	Japan	14 October 1928	Tamagawa, Japan^[5]
10	2'32"2	George Kojac	United States	16 June 1930	New Haven, United States
11	2'27"8	Al Vande Weghe	United States	30 August 1934	Honolulu, Hawaii
12	2'24"0	Adolph Kiefer	United States	11 April 1935	Chicago, United States
13	2'23"0	Adolph Kiefer	United States	23 May 1941	Honolulu, Hawaii
14	2'22"9	Harry Holiday	United States	18 May 1943	Detroit, United States
15	2'19"3	Adolph Kiefer	United States	4 March 1944	Annapolis, United States
16	2'18"5	Allen Stack	United States	4 May 1949	New Haven, United States
17	2'18"3	Gilbert Bozon	France	26 June 1953	Algiers, Algeria

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
01	2:18.5		Allen Stack	United States	4 May 1949	-	New Haven, United States	^[6]^[7]
02	2:18.3		Gilbert Bozon	France	26 June 1953	-	Algiers, Algeria	^[6]
03	2:18.8		John Monckton	Australia	15 January 1958	-	Sydney, Australia	^[6]
04	2:18.4		John Monckton	Australia	18 February 1958	-	Melbourne, Australia	^[6]
05	2:17.9		Frank McKinney	United States	12 July 1959	-	Los Altos, United States	^[6]^[8]
06	2:17.8		Frank McKinney	United States	25 July 1959	-	Osaka, Japan	^[6]^[9]
07	2:17.6		Chuck Bittick	United States	26 June 1960	-	Los Angeles, United States	^[6]
08	2:16.0		Tom Stock	United States	24 July 1960	-	Toledo, United States	^[6]
09	2:13.2		Tom Stock	United States	2 July 1961	-	Chicago, United States	^[6]
10	2:11.5		Tom Stock	United States	20 August 1961	-	Los Angeles, United States	^[6]
11	2:10.9		Tom Stock	United States	10 August 1962	-	Cuyahoga Falls, United States	^[6]
12	2:10.3		Jed Graef	United States	13 October 1964	1964 Summer Olympics	Tokyo, Japan	^[6]
13	2:09.4		Charles Hickcox	United States	29 August 1967	1967 Summer Universiade	Tokyo, Japan	^[6]
14	2:07.9		Roland Matthes	East Germany	8 November 1967	-	Leipzig, East Germany	^[6]
15	2:07.5		Roland Matthes	East Germany	14 August 1968	GDR Olympic Trials	Leipzig, East Germany	^[6]
16	2:07.4		Roland Matthes	East Germany	12 July 1969	Santa Clara Invitational	Santa Clara, United States	^[6]^[10]
17	2:06.6		Gary Hall	United States	14 August 1969	AAU Nationals	Louisville, United States	^[6]
17	2:06.6	=	Roland Matthes	East Germany	29 August 1969	-	Berlin, West Germany	^[6]
18	2:06.3		Mike Stamm	United States	20 August 1970	AAU Nationals	Los Angeles, United States	^[6]
19	2:06.1		Roland Matthes	East Germany	11 September 1970	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	^[6]
20	2:05.6		Roland Matthes	East Germany	3 September 1971	GDR vs USA Duel	Leipzig, East Germany	^[6]
21	2:02.8		Roland Matthes	East Germany	10 July 1972	GDR Olympic Trials	Leipzig, East Germany	^[6]
21	2:02.82	=	Roland Matthes	East Germany	2 September 1972	1972 Summer Olympics	Munich, West Germany	^[6]
22	2:01.87		Roland Matthes	East Germany	6 September 1973	World Championships	Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia	^[6]
23	2:00.64		John Naber	United States	19 June 1976	USA Olympic Trials	Long Beach, United States	^[6]
24	1:59.19		John Naber	United States	24 July 1976	1976 Summer Olympics	Montreal, Canada	^[6]
25	1:58.93		Rick Carey	United States	3 August 1983	1983 U.S. Summer Nationals	Clovis, United States	^[6]^[11]
26	1:58.86		Rick Carey	United States	27 June 1984	1984 U.S. Olympic Trials	Indianapolis, United States	^[6]
27	1:58.41		Sergei Zabolotnov	Soviet Union	21 August 1984	Friendship Games	Moscow, Soviet Union	^[6]
28	1:58.14		Igor Polyansky	Soviet Union	3 March 1985	GDR vs URS Duel	Erfurt, East Germany	^[6]
29	1:57.30		Martin Zubero	Spain	13 August 1991	1991 U.S. Summer Nationals	Fort Lauderdale, United States	^[6]^[12]
30	1:56.57		Martin Zubero	Spain	23 November 1991	Alabama LC Invitational	Tuscaloosa, United States	^[6]^[13]
31	1:55.87		Lenny Krayzelburg	United States	27 August 1999	Pan Pacific Championships	Sydney, Australia	^[6]
32	1:55.15		Aaron Peirsol	United States	20 March 2002	US Spring National Championships	Minneapolis, United States	^[6]
33	1:54.74		Aaron Peirsol	United States	12 July 2004	US Olympic Trials	Long Beach, United States	^[14]
34	1:54.66		Aaron Peirsol	United States	29 July 2005	World Championships	Montreal, Canada	^[15]
35	1:54.44		Aaron Peirsol	United States	19 August 2006	Pan Pacific Championships	Victoria, Canada	^[16]
36	1:54.32		Ryan Lochte	United States	30 March 2007	World Championships	Melbourne, Australia	^[17]
36	1:54.32	=	Aaron Peirsol	United States	4 July 2008	US Olympic Trials	Omaha, United States	^[18]
37	1:53.94		Ryan Lochte	United States	15 August 2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China
-	1:52.86		Ryosuke Irie	Japan	10 May 2009	Duel in the Pool: Australia vs Japan	Canberra, Australia	^[19]
38	1:53.08		Aaron Peirsol	United States	11 July 2009	US National Championships	Indianapolis, United States	^[20]
39	1:51.92		Aaron Peirsol	United States	31 July 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy	^[21]

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
WB	1:55.93		Mark Tewksbury	Canada	1 March 1991	World Cup	Toronto, Canada
1	1:52.51		Martin Lopez-Zubero	Spain	10 April 1991	?	Gainesville, United States	^[22]
2	1:52.47		Lenny Krayzelburg	United States	18 November 1999	World Cup	College Park, United States	^[23]
3	1:52.43		Lenny Krayzelburg	United States	6 February 2000	World Cup	Berlin, Germany	^[24]
4	1:51.62		Matt Welsh	Australia	13 October 2000	?	Melbourne, Australia
4	1:51.62	=	Gordan Kožulj	Croatia	21 January 2001	World Cup	Berlin, Germany
6	1:51.17		Aaron Peirsol	United States	7 April 2002	World Championships	Moscow, Russia
7	1:50.52		Aaron Peirsol	United States	11 October 2004	World Championships	Indianapolis, United States
8	1:50.43		Markus Rogan	Austria	8 December 2005	European Championships	Trieste, Italy
9	1:49.05		Ryan Lochte	United States	9 April 2006	World Championships	Shanghai, China
10	1:47.84		Markus Rogan	Austria	13 April 2008	World Championships	Manchester, United Kingdom	^[25]
11	1:47.08		George Du Rand	South Africa	7 November 2009	World Cup	Moscow, Russia	^[26]
12	1:46.11		Arkady Vyatchanin	Russia	15 November 2009	World Cup	Berlin, Germany	^[27]
13	1:45.63		Mitch Larkin	Australia	27 November 2015	Australian Championships	Sydney, Australia	^[28]
14	1:45.12		Hubert Kós	Hungary	23 October 2025	World Cup	Toronto, Canada	^[29]

No	Time	Name	Nationality	Date	Location
1	3'06"8	Sybil Bauer	United States	4 July 1922	Brighton Beach, United States
2	3'03"8	Sybil Bauer	United States	9 February 1924	Miami, United States
3	2'59"2	Marie Braun	Netherlands	24 November 1928	Brussels, Belgium
4	2'58"8	Eleanor Holm	United States	1 February 1930	Buffalo, United States
5	2'58"2	Eleanor Holm	United States	1 March 1930	New York City, United States
6	2'50"4	Phyllis Harding	United Kingdom	19 September 1932	Wallasey, United Kingdom
7	2'49"6	Rie Mastenbroek	Netherlands	20 January 1935	Amsterdam, Netherlands
8	2'48"7	Eleanor Holm	United States	3 March 1936	Toledo, United States
9	2'44"6	Nida Senff	Netherlands	2 February 1937	Amsterdam, Netherlands
10	2'41"3	Ragnhild Hveger	Denmark	14 February 1937	Århus, Denmark
11	2'41"0	Cor Kint	Netherlands	17 April 1938	Århus, Denmark
12	2'40"6	Iet van Feggelen	Netherlands	26 October 1938	Düsseldorf, Germany
13	2'39"0	Iet van Feggelen	Netherlands	18 December 1938	Amsterdam, Netherlands
14	2'38"8	Cor Kint	Netherlands	29 November 1939	Rotterdam, Netherlands
15	2'35"3	Geertje Wielema	Netherlands	2 April 1950	Hilversum, Netherlands

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
1	2:39.9		Philippa Gould	New Zealand	16 Jan 1957	?	Auckland, New Zealand	^[30]
2	2:38.5		Lenie de Nijs	Netherlands	17 May 1957	?	Blackpool, United Kingdom
3	2:37.4		Chris von Saltza	United States	1 Aug 1958	?	Topeka, United States
4	2:37.1		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	12 Jul 1959	?	Tokyo, Japan
5	2:34.8		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	2 Apr 1960	?	Tokyo, Japan
6	2:33.5		Lynn Burke	United States	15 Jul 1960	?	Indianapolis, United States
7	2:33.3		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	23 Jul 1960	?	Tokyo, Japan
8	2:33.2		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	30 Jul 1961	?	Tokyo, Japan
9	2:32.1		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	3 Jun 1962	?	Beppu, Japan
10	2:31.6		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	29 Jul 1962	?	Osaka, Japan
11	2:29.6		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	10 Feb 1963	?	Sydney, Australia
12	2:28.9		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	18 Feb 1963	?	Perth, Australia
13	2:28.5		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	21 Feb 1963	?	Perth, Australia
14	2:28.2		Satoko Tanaka	Japan	4 Aug 1963	?	Tokyo, Japan
15	2:27.4		Cathy Ferguson	United States	28 Sep 1964	?	Los Angeles, United States
16	2:27.1		Karen Muir	South Africa	25 Jul 1966	?	Béziers, France
17	2:26.4		Karen Muir	South Africa	18 Aug 1966	?	Lincoln, United States
18	2:24.4		Elaine Tanner	Canada	26 Jul 1967	Pan American Games	Winnipeg, Canada
19	2:24.1		Karen Muir	South Africa	6 Jan 1968	?	Kimberley, South Africa
20	2:23.8		Karen Muir	South Africa	21 Jul 1968	?	Los Angeles, United States
21	2:21.5		Susie Atwood	United States	14 Aug 1969	AAU Nationals	Louisville, United States
22	2:20.64		Melissa Belote	United States	5 Aug 1972	USA Olympic Trials	Chicago, United States
23	2:20.58		Melissa Belote	United States	4 Sep 1972	Olympic Games	Munich, West Germany
24	2:19.19		Melissa Belote	United States	4 Sep 1972	Olympic Games	Munich, West Germany
25	2:18.41		Ulrike Richter	East Germany	7 Jul 1974	GDR Nationals/ECTs	Rostock, East Germany
26	2:17.35		Ulrike Richter	East Germany	25 Aug 1974	European Championships	Vienna, Austria
27	2:16.33		Nancy Garapick	Canada	27 Apr 1975	Eastern Championships	Brantford, Canada
28	2:16.10		Birgit Treiber	East Germany	6 Jun 1975	GDR Nationals/WCTs	Wittenberg, East Germany
29	2:15.46		Birgit Treiber	East Germany	27 Jul 1975	World Championships	Cali, Colombia
30	2:14.41		Antje Stille	East Germany	29 Feb 1976	GDR Winter Nationals	East Berlin, East Germany
31	2:13.50		Antje Stille	East Germany	13 Mar 1976	URS vs GDR Duel	Tallinn, Soviet Union
32	2:12.47		Birgit Treiber	East Germany	4 Jun 1976	GDR Olympic Trials	East Berlin, East Germany
33	2:11.93		Linda Jezek	United States	28 Aug 1978	World Championships	West Berlin, West Germany
34	2:11.77		Rica Reinisch	East Germany	27 Jul 1980	Olympic Games	Moscow, Soviet Union
35	2:09.91		Cornelia Sirch	East Germany	8 Aug 1982	World Championships	Guayaquil, Ecuador
36	2:08.60		Betsy Mitchell	United States	27 June 1986	U.S. Swimming World Championship Trials	Orlando, United States
37	2:06.62		Krisztina Egerszegi	Hungary	25 August 1991	European Championships	Athens, Greece
38	2:06.39		Kirsty Coventry	Zimbabwe	16 February 2008	US Grand Prix	Columbia, United States	^[31]
39	2:06.09		Margaret Hoelzer	United States	5 July 2008	US Olympic Trials	Omaha, United States	^[32]
40	2:05.24		Kirsty Coventry	Zimbabwe	16 August 2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	^[33]
41	2:04.81		Kirsty Coventry	Zimbabwe	1 August 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy	^[34]
42	2:04.06		Missy Franklin	United States	3 August 2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	^[35]
43	2:03.35	sf	Regan Smith	United States	26 July 2019	World Championships	Gwangju, South Korea	^[36]
44	2:03.14		Kaylee McKeown	Australia	10 March 2023	NSW State Championships	Sydney, Australia	^[37]

World record progression 200 metres backstroke

Long course

Old regulations

New regulations

Short course

Women

Long course

Old Regulations

New Regulations

Short course

All-time top 25

Men long course

Men short course

Women long course

Women short course

References

Related Articles

Ath.#	Perf.#	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	1:57.33	Kaylee McKeown	Australia	25 October 2025	Toronto	^[48]
2	2	1:57.86	Regan Smith	United States	25 October 2025	Toronto	^[48]
	3	1:57.87	McKeown #2		19 October 2025	Westmont	^[47]
	4	1:57.91	Smith #2		19 October 2025	Westmont	^[47]
	5	1:58.04	Smith #3		15 December 2024	Budapest	^[45]
	6	1:58.83	Smith #4		2 November 2024	Singapore	^[44]
	7	1:58.86	McKeown #3		12 October 2025	Carmel	^[142]
	8	1:58.94	McKeown #4		28 November 2020	Brisbane	^[43]
3	9	1:59.23	Katinka Hosszú	Hungary	5 December 2014	Doha	^[42]
4	10	1:59.25	Minna Atherton	Australia	23 November 2019	London	^[143]
	11	1:59.26	McKeown #5		18 December 2022	Melbourne	^[144]
5	12	1:59.35	Daryna Zevina	Ukraine	26 August 2016	Chartres	^[145]
	13	1:59.48	Atherton #2		26 October 2019	Budapest	^[146]
	13	1:59.48	McKeown #6		25 August 2022	Sydney	^[147]
6	15	1:59.49	Emily Seebohm	Australia	26 November 2015	Sydney	^[148]
	16	1:59.60	Smith #5		26 October 2024	Incheon	^[149]
	17	1:59.75	Hosszú #2		11 December 2015	Indianapolis	^[150]
	18	1:59.84	Hosszú #3		4 December 2015	Netanya	^[151]
	19	1:59.94	Seebohm #2		6 October 2018	Budapest	^[152]
	20	1:59.95	Hosszú #4		4 December 2015	Netanya	^[153]
7	21	1:59.96	Summer McIntosh	Canada	15 December 2024	Budapest	^[45]
8	22	2:00.03	Missy Franklin	United States	22 October 2011	Berlin	^[41]
	23	2:00.05	Hosszú #5		11 August 2017	Eindhoven	^[154]
	24	2:00.07	Smith #6		12 October 2025	Carmel	^[142]
	25	2:00.13	Seebohm #3		5 December 2014	Doha	^[42]
9		2:00.15	Anastasiya Shkurdai	Belarus	10 November 2023	Brest	^[155]
10		2:00.18	Shiho Sakai	Japan	14 November 2009	Berlin	^[40]
11		2:00.27	Beata Nelson	United States	21 November 2020	Budapest	^[156]
12		2:00.53	Claire Curzan	United States	18 December 2022	Melbourne	^[144]
13		2:00.69	Kathleen Baker	United States	6 October 2018	Budapest	^[152]
14		2:00.71	Lisa Bratton	United States	13 December 2018	Hangzhou	^[157]
15		2:00.76	Phoebe Bacon	United States	15 December 2024	Budapest	^[45]
16		2:00.83	Elizabeth Simmonds	Great Britain	16 December 2011	Atlanta	^[158]
17		2:00.91	Kirsty Coventry	Zimbabwe	11 April 2008	Manchester	^[39]
18		2:01.24	Belinda Hocking	Australia	22 October 2011	Berlin	^[41]
19		2:01.26	Kira Toussaint	Netherlands	4 November 2021	Kazan	^[159]
19		2:01.26	Kylie Masse	Canada	18 December 2022	Melbourne	^[144]
21		2:01.29	Amy Bilquist	United States	30 October 2020	Budapest	^[160]
22		2:01.33	Courtney Bartholomew	United States	11 December 2015	Indianapolis	^[150]
23		2:01.45	Margherita Panziera	Italy	6 December 2019	Glasgow	^[161]
24		2:01.57	Daria Ustinova	Russia	4 December 2015	Netanya	^[151]
25		2:01.58	Rhyan White	United States	19 December 2021	Abu Dhabi	^[162]

v t e World records in swimming
Freestyle	50 100 200 400 800 1500
Backstroke	50 100 200
Breaststroke	50 100 200
Butterfly	50 100 200
Individual medley	100 200 400
Relays	4 × 50 freestyle relay 4 × 100 freestyle relay 4 × 200 freestyle relay 4 × 50 medley relay 4 × 100 medley relay