Swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle
Men's 100 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad | ||||||||||
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Georgia Tech Aquatic Center | ||||||||||
Date | 22 July 1996 (heats & finals) | |||||||||
Competitors | 61 from 45 nations | |||||||||
Winning time | 48.74 | |||||||||
Medalists | ||||||||||
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Swimming at the 1996 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 | women |
Medley relay | ||
4 × 100 m | men | women |
The men's
Background
This was the 22nd 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]
Four of the eight finalists from the 1992 Games returned: gold medalist
In 1992, Popov defeated defending gold medalist
Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 21st 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 | Matt Biondi (USA) | 48.63 | Seoul, South Korea | 22 September 1988 |
No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.
Schedule
All times are
Date | Time | Round |
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Monday, 22 July 1996 | Heats Finals |
Results
Heats
Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A, while the next eight to final B.[3]
Finals
Final B
Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 3 | Jon Olsen | United States | 49.80 | |
10 | 4 | Christian Tröger | Germany | 49.90 | |
11 | 8 | Björn Zikarsky | Germany | 49.91 | |
12 | 1 | Sion Brinn | Jamaica | 50.09 | NR |
13 | 2 | Chris Fydler | Australia | 50.31 | |
14 | 7 | Rostyslav Svanidze | Ukraine | 50.43 | |
15 | 5 | Stephen Clarke | Canada | 50.45 | |
16 | 6 | Bartosz Kizierowski | Poland | 50.51 |
Final A
Hall led going into the turn, but Popov led coming out of it. Hall caught Popov again in the second length, but Popov pulled away at the finish.[2]
Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Alexander Popov |
Russia | 48.74 | =NR | |
5 | Gary Hall, Jr. |
United States | 48.81 | ||
3 | Gustavo Borges | Brazil | 49.02 | ||
4 | 1 | Pieter van den Hoogenband | Netherlands | 49.13 | NR |
5 | 8 | Fernando Scherer | Brazil | 49.57 | |
6 | 7 | Pavlo Khnykin | Ukraine | 49.65 | |
7 | 2 | Ricardo Busquets | Puerto Rico | 49.68 | |
8 | 6 | Francisco Sánchez | Venezuela | 49.84 |
References
- ^ "Swimming at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d "100 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 37. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 37. Retrieved 9 September 2017.