Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle
Men's 100 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool | ||||||||||||
Date | 22 September 1988 (heats & finals) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 77 from 51 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 48.63 OR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics | ||
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Freestyle | ||
50 m | men | women |
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
800 m | women | |
1500 m | men | |
Backstroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Breaststroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Butterfly | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Individual medley | ||
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
Freestyle relay | ||
4 × 100 m | men | women |
4 × 200 m | men | |
Medley relay | ||
4 × 100 m | men | women |
The men's
Nations had been limited to two swimmers each since the 1984 Games.American
Background
This was the 20th appearance of the men's 100 metre freestyle. The event has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1900 (when the shortest freestyle was the 200 metres), though the 1904 version was measured in yards rather than metres.[2]
Three of the eight finalists from the 1984 Games returned: two-time bronze medalist Per Johansson of Sweden, fifth-place finisher Dano Halsall of Switzerland, and sixth-place finisher Stéphan Caron of France. Caron was also the runner-up in the 1986 world championships behind Matt Biondi of the United States.
Biondi had come to Seoul with the goal of matching Mark Spitz's seven gold medals in a single Games. That goal had already been frustrated by the time of the 100 metre freestyle (his best race), as his first three events had resulted in only one golds along with a silver and a bronze. Biondi still had an excellent chance of achieving as many gold medals (5) as anyone not named Spitz had before 1988, however, with the 100 free, 50 free, and two relays to go, though Kristin Otto was on her way towards 6 golds in Seoul as well.[2]
Guam, Senegal, the United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 19th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.
Competition format
This freestyle swimming competition used the A/B final format instituted in 1984. The competition consisted of two rounds: heats and finals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the A final, competing for medals through 8th place. The swimmers with the next 8 times in the semifinals competed in the B final for 9th through 16th place. Swim-offs were used as necessary to determine advancement.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | Matt Biondi (USA) | 48.42 | Austin, United States | 10 August 1988 |
Olympic record | Rowdy Gaines (USA) | 49.80 | Los Angeles, United States | 31 July 1984 |
The following records were established during the competition:
Date | Round | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
22 September | Heat 8 | Chris Jacobs | United States | 49.20 | OR |
22 September | Heat 10 | Matt Biondi | United States | 49.04 | OR |
22 September | Final A | Matt Biondi | United States | 48.63 | OR |
Schedule
All times are
Date | Time | Round |
---|---|---|
Thursday, 22 September 1988 | 10:00 20:00 |
Heats Finals |
Results
Heats
Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A, while the next eight to final B.[6]
Finals
Final B
Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 1 | Tom Stachewicz |
Australia | 50.71 |
10 | 2 | Sandy Goss | Canada | 50.73 |
11 | 8 | Stéfan Voléry | Switzerland | 50.74 |
12 | 3 | Sven Lodziewski | East Germany | 51.00 |
13 | 5 | Franz Mortensen | Denmark | 51.05 |
14 | 6 | Thomas Fahrner | West Germany | 51.12 |
15 | 7 | Tsvetan Golomeev | Bulgaria | 51.16 |
16 | 4 | Hilton Woods | Netherlands Antilles | 51.25 |
Final A
Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Matt Biondi | United States | 48.63 | OR | |
5 | Chris Jacobs | United States | 49.08 | ||
3 | Stéphan Caron | France | 49.62 | ||
4 | 2 | Gennadiy Prigoda | Soviet Union | 49.75 | |
5 | 6 | Iurie Başcatov |
Soviet Union | 50.08 | |
6 | 1 | Andrew Baildon | Australia | 50.23 | |
7 | 7 | Per Johansson | Sweden | 50.35 | |
8 | 8 | Tommy Werner | Sweden | 50.54 |
References
- ^ "Swimming at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ a b c "100 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ New York Times. 23 September 1988. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ Husar, John (22 September 1988). "'Tight' Biondi Sets Record In Heats". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- Seoul 1988. LA84 Foundation. p. 401. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- Seoul 1988. LA84 Foundation. p. 402. Retrieved 19 August 2013.