Olympic Swimming 2021: Women's 200m Individual Medley Medal Winners and Times

Adam WellsJuly 28, 2021

TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 27: Yui Ohashi of Team Japan competes in the Women's 200m Individual Medley Semifinal on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 27, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

The United States won two medals, but Japan's Yui Ohashi captured the top prize in the women's 200-meter individual medley final at the 2021 Olympics.

Ohashi, Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass finished in the top three spots during Tuesday's race. The win is Ohashi's second of these Games after the 400-meter individual medley on Sunday.

#TokyoOlympics @NBCOlympics
2⃣medals, 1⃣ race!<br><br>Alex Walsh🥈 and Kate Douglass🥉 take home silver AND bronze for <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamUSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamUSA</a> in the women's 200m IM! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TokyoOlympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TokyoOlympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/YoL4nQmeJM">pic.twitter.com/YoL4nQmeJM</a>

Women's 200m Individual Medley Results

Gold: Yui Ohashi, Japan (2:08.52)

Silver: Alex Walsh, United States (2:08.65)

Bronze: Kate Douglass, United States (2:09.04)

4th: Abbie Wood, Great Britain (2:09.15)

5th: Yu Yiting, China (2:09.57)

6th: Sydney Pickrem, Canada (2:10.05)

7th: Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (2:12.38)

8th: Alicia Wilson, Great Britain (2:12.86)

Tuesday's race was a thriller, with Ohashi just sneaking by Walsh and Douglass in the final stretch. All three were running neck and neck for most of the final 50 meters.

Walsh appeared to have a slight edge around the 25-meter mark, but Ohashi started to pick up steam to win her second gold medal in Tokyo.

Pat Forde @ByPatForde
Walsh was on her knees outside the mixed zone yesterday after the semifinals, looked rough. She emptied the tank in the semis and then came back and fought Ohashi to the wall today.

Ohashi has been building toward this moment for years, dating back to her gold medal win at the 2016 Asian Championships.

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She followed that up by setting a Japanese record in the 200-meter individual medley at the 2017 World Championships with a time of 2:07.91, but that wasn't quite good enough to get past Hungary's Katinka Hosszu.

Walsh and Douglass, both 19, had stellar Olympic debuts in this event. It's fitting that they would end up on the medal podium together. The University of Virginia teammates both won NCAA championships this year to help the program win its first-ever team title.

Ohashi's margin of victory of 0.13 seconds is the smallest in Olympic history since the women's 200-meter individual medley was added in 1972.

Walsh's silver medal is the best finish by an American woman in this event since Amanda Beard finished second in 2004.