SwimSwam Pulse: 53% Think a 2:19 Will Win Olympic 200 Breast Gold

SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.

Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers to pick the Olympic-winning time in the women’s 200 breast:

RESULTS

Question: What time will win Olympic gold in the women’s 200 breast?

  • Sub-2:19 – 24.2%
  • A 2:19 – 53.6%
  • A 2:20 – 17.9%
  • A 2:21 or slower – 4.2%

More than half of voters predicted a 2:19 to win the Olympic gold medal in the women’s 200 breaststroke – right at the world record-level.

The world record has held strong at 2:19.11 since 2013. Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen hit that time at 2013 World Championships. Winning times at major meets since then, though, have been consistently slower than the 2:19 range. That includes 2015 Worlds (2:21.15), the 2016 Olympics (2:20.30) and 2019 Worlds (2:20.17). The only outlier is 2017 Worlds, where Yulia Efimova won in 2:19.64.

Since Moller Pedersen’s big swim, just four women have broken 2:20 in nearly eight years. That includes Moller Pedersen (four more times), Efimova (twice since the standing world record was set), Viktoria Gunes (once in 2015) and Rie Kaneto (once in 2016). Moller Pedersen and Kaneto have both retired, and Efimova missed the Russian Olympic team in this event, leaving Gunes as the only one of the four who could be competing in Tokyo.

 

Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Pollwhich carries on the theme of Olympic-winning times with another controversial event:

What time will win Olympic gold in the men's 400 IM?

View Results

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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE

A3 Performance is an independently-owned, performance swimwear company built on a passion for swimming, athletes, and athletic performance. We encourage swimmers to swim better and faster at all ages and levels, from beginners to Olympians.  Driven by a genuine leader and devoted staff that are passionate about swimming and service, A3 Performance strives to inspire and enrich the sport of swimming with innovative and impactful products that motivate swimmers to be their very best – an A3 Performer.

The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner

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Old Man Chalmers
2 years ago

not sure how people think a 2:18 will win when efimova (who looks terrible rn) was the last one to go 2:19 and that was 4 years ago

maybe?
2 years ago

Renshaw v Schoenmaker in Tokyo right now unless Lazor or King go sub 2-21 today

Smith-King-Huske-Manuel
2 years ago

2:20 low, like really low.

maybe?
Reply to  Smith-King-Huske-Manuel
2 years ago

I think between a 2:19.7 – 2:20.2

Justanotherfreestyler
2 years ago

I bet Chase goes sub 4:09 I just wonder if anyone else will be faster.

Khachaturian
Reply to  Justanotherfreestyler
2 years ago

Seto?!?!?!?!?

Irish Ringer
Reply to  Khachaturian
2 years ago

Seto 4:06, Chase 4:07

Texas Tap Water
Reply to  Justanotherfreestyler
2 years ago

Uh, Seto will go sub 4:07 lol

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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