Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre backstroke explained

Event:Men's 100 metre backstroke
Games:1908 Summer
Venue:White City Stadium
Dates:July 16
July 17
Competitors:21
Nations:11
Gold:Arno Bieberstein
Goldnoc:GER
Silver:Ludvig Dam
Silvernoc:DEN
Bronze:Herbert Haresnape
Bronzenoc:GBR
Prev:1904
(100 yd)
Next:1912

The men's 100 metre backstroke was one of six swimming events on the swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the only backstroke event on the schedule. It was the first appearance of the event, after a 100-yard event was held in 1904. The competition was held on Thursday July 16, 1908 and on Friday July 17, 1908.

Each nation could enter up to 12 swimmers.[2] Twenty-one swimmers from eleven nations competed.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.

World Record??
Olympic Record1:16.8(*) Walter BrackSt. Louis (USA)September 6, 1904

(*) 100 yards (= 91.44 m)

In the first heat Arno Bieberstein set the first Olympic record with 1:25.6 minutes. In the first semi-final he equalized his time and in the final he bettered his own record with 1:24.6 minutes. The time set in the final was the first official world record for this distance.

Competition format

With a much larger field than in 1904, the 1908 competition expanded to three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The 1908 Games also restored the wild-card system from 1900, allowing the fastest swimmers who did not win their heat to advance. The nine heats consisted of between 1 and 6 swimmers, with the winner of the heat advancing along with the fastest loser from across the heats (all tied swimmers advanced in the case of equal times). There were two semifinals, intended to be of 5 swimmers each but one of which actually had 6 due to a tie in the heats; the top 2 finishers in each semifinal (regardless of overall time) advanced to the 4-person final.[3]

Each race involved a single length of the 100 metre pool, with no turns. There was little regulation of the stroke, other than that the swimmer had to remain on his back and turns had to be made with both hands touching the wall.[4]

Results

First round

Thursday July 16, 1908: The fastest swimmer in each heat and the fastest loser advanced, qualifying 8 swimmers for the semifinals.

Heat 1

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time width=90Qual.
1 1:25.6 QQ OR
2 1:30.0
3 Unknown

Heat 2

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time width=90Qual.
1 1:33.4 QQ
2 1:34.4
3 Unknown

Heat 3

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time width=90Qual.
1 1:30.2 QQ
2 1:36.2
3 Unknown

Heat 4

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time width=90Qual.
1 1:26.2 QQ
2 1:26.4 qq
3 Unknown

Heat 5

Parvin had no competition in the fifth heat.

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time width=90Qual.
1 1:35.2 QQ

Heat 6

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time width=90Qual.
1 1:25.8 QQ
2 1:29.0
3 Unknown
Did not finish

Heat 7

Kugler started before the signal, causing him to be disqualified and his first-place finish nullified.

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time width=90Qual.
1 1:27.4 QQ
2 Unknown
3 Unknown
(1:27.0) DSQ

Semifinals

Thursday July 16, 1908: The fastest two swimmers from each semifinal advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time width=90Qual.
1 1:25.6 QF =OR
2 Unknown QF
3 Unknown
4 Unknown

Semifinal 2

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time width=90Qual.
1 1:28.2 QF
2 1:28.8 QF
3 Unknown
4 Unknown

Final

Friday July 17, 1908.

Place width=240Swimmer width=90Time
1 1:24.6 WR
2 1:26.6
3 1:27.0
4 Unknown

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Swimming at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Backstroke . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417170119/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1908/SWI/mens-100-metres-backstroke.html . dead . 17 April 2020 . 28 August 2016 . Sports Reference.
  2. Official Report, p. 40.
  3. Official Report, p. 571.
  4. Official Report, pp. 573–74.