The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1972 Summer Olympics took place on August 29 at the Olympia Schwimmhalle.

His teammate Steve Genter took silver, with Werner Lampe of West Germany earning bronze.

[2] Two of the 8 finalists from the 1968 Games returned: gold medalist Michael Wenden of Australia and fourth-place finisher Ralph Hutton of Canada.

Mark Spitz was the world record holder and a heavy favourite coming into the Games, aiming for at least six gold medals.

[2] Brazil, Cambodia (then Khmer Republic), East Germany, Egypt, Iceland, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Romania, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia each made their debut in the event.

Australia and the United States made their fourth appearance each, the only two nations to have competed in all prior editions of the event.

Clark's Olympic record was set as the first leg in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay final.