{"id":441221,"date":"2020-07-31T08:32:56","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T15:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=441221"},"modified":"2020-07-31T08:35:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T15:35:00","slug":"tokyo-vision-evgeny-rylov-and-ryan-murphy-set-for-clash-of-the-titans-in-the-200-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-vision-evgeny-rylov-and-ryan-murphy-set-for-clash-of-the-titans-in-the-200-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Tokyo Vision: Evgeny Rylov And Ryan Murphy Set For Clash Of The Titans In The 200 Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tokyo Vision: Evgeny Rylov And Ryan Murphy Set For Clash Of The Titans In The 200 Back<\/strong><\/p>\n

Had the COVID-19 pandemic not shaken the world, the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo<\/a> would be unfolding right now, titles and podium finishes earned by the finest athletes from around the world. Instead, we are in a competition lull and hopeful that the Games will be held next summer, with COVID-19 neutralized.<\/p>\n

As we reach the nine days over which the swimming competition of a delayed Olympiad would have taken place, Swimming World is taking a glimpse at what might have unfolded this summer, had the Olympics not been postponed. Following the official schedule, we offer our virtual fields of eight finalists for each event and take a brief look at how the racing might have panned out until a few strokes away from decision and a result that will not be known until July\/August 2021.<\/p>\n

League of Olympic Legends: Roland Matthes Tops 200 Backstroke Podium With Peirsol and Naber<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Event:<\/strong> Men\u2019s 200m Backstroke
\nWorld Record:<\/strong> Aaron Piersol (2009) \u2013 1:51.92<\/p>\n

Historical Note #1: <\/strong>The men\u2019s 200 backstroke first featured in the Games in Paris 1900 where Ernst Hoppenberg<\/strong> of Germany won the inaugural title in 2:47.00 ahead of Karl Ruberl<\/strong> (Austria) and Johannes Drost<\/strong> (Netherlands). It was not contested again until Tokyo 1964 when Jed Graef<\/strong> led a USA clean sweep of the podium.<\/p>\n

Historical Note #2: Roland Matthes<\/strong> (GDR) is the only man to have won two Olympic gold medals in the 200 back. His first title came in Mexico 1968 \u2013 where he also won the 100 \u2013 a feat he repeated four years later in Munich. Following his swansong in Montreal four years later, the German retired with eight medals of which four were gold. Matthes was unbeaten over 21 years and is known as the GOAT of the stroke and the “Rolls-Royce of swimming.”<\/p>\n

Virtual Vision<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Finalists (Listed Alphabetically)<\/strong><\/p>\n