Coming into the event, Erich Rademacher from Germany was heavy favorite, as he had held the world record for several years despite not being able to compete at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics due to Germany's role in WWI.

[2] However, Yoshiyuki Tsuruta pulled off an upset by beating Rademacher with a new technique of staying underwater for most of the race, which was allowed in the rules at the time.

[3][4] Despite this, Rademacher's disappointment was short lived, as he later won gold as the goalkeeper for the German water polo team in the men's water polo.

In the third heat Erich Rademacher set a new Olympic record with 2:52.0 minutes.

In the fourth heat Yoshiyuki Tsuruta bettered the record to 2:50.0 minutes.