Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle

Men's 100 metre freestyle
at the Games of the IX Olympiad
The stadium
VenueOlympic Sports Park Swim Stadium
Dates10–11 August
Competitors30 from 17 nations
Winning time58.6 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Johnny Weissmuller
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) István Bárány
 Hungary
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Katsuo Takaishi
 Japan
← 1924
1932 →

The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the seventh appearance of the event, which had not been featured only at the 1900 Games. The competition was held on Friday and Saturday, 10 and 11 August 1928. Thirty swimmers from 17 nations competed. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. Johnny Weissmuller of the United States repeated as gold medalist in the event, the second man to do so (after Duke Kahanamoku, who Weissmuller had beaten in 1924 for his first gold). It was the fifth consecutive victory for an American swimmer in the men's 100 metre freestyle. István Bárány earned Hungary's first medal in the event since 1908 with his silver. Katsuo Takaishi's bronze was Japan's first men's 100 metre freestyle medal. Bárány and Takaishi prevented the Americans from sweeping the medals a third consecutive time (1920 and 1924), as the United States swimmers finished first, fourth, and fifth.

Background

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This was the seventh 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]

Two of the five finalists from 1924 returned: gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller of the United States and fifth-place finisher Katsuo Takaishi of Japan. Weissmuller, as in 1924, was a heavy favorite in the event. He held the world record and had not been beaten in seven years.[2]

Chile, Panama, and Poland each made their debut in the event. The United States made its seventh appearance, having competed at each edition of the event to date.

Competition format

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This freestyle swimming competition used a three-round (quarterfinals, semifinals, final) format. The advancement rule was the one used since 1912; for each round before the final, the top two in each heat plus the fastest third-place swimmer would advance. There were 7 heats of between 3 and 5 swimmers, allowing 15 swimmers to advance to the semifinals. The 3 semifinals had 5 swimmers each; 7 advanced to the final.

Each race involved two lengths of the 50-metre pool.

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.

World record  Johnny Weissmuller (USA) 57.4 Miami, United States 17 February 1924
Olympic record  Johnny Weissmuller (USA) 59.0 Paris, France 20 July 1924

Johnny Weissmuller improved his own Olympic record in the semifinals with 58.6 seconds and equalized this time again in the final.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Friday, 10 August 1928 10:00
16:00
Heats
Semifinals
Saturday, 11 August 1928 16:35 Final

Results

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Heats

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The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced.

Heat 1

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Walter Laufer  United States 1:00.8 Q
2 Katsuo Takaishi  Japan 1:01.2 Q
3 August Heitmann  Germany 1:02.2 q
4 Eskil Lundahl  Sweden 1:03.0
5 Hernán Schüler  Chile Unknown

Heat 2

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Rezső Wanié  Hungary 1:03.4 Q
2 Francisco Uranga  Argentina 1:05.6 Q
3 Gustave Klein  France 1:05.8
4 Mario Astaburuaga  Chile Unknown
5 Martial van Schelle  Belgium Unknown

Heat 3

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Johnny Weissmuller  United States 1:00.0 Q
2 Walter Spence  Canada 1:00.6 Q
3 Norman Brooks  Great Britain 1:03.4
4 Herbert Heinrich  Germany Unknown

Heat 4

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Antal Gáborfi  Hungary 1:04.0 Q
2 Antonio Conelli  Italy 1:07.0 Q
3 Adán Gordón  Panama 1:10.8

Heat 5

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Alberto Zorrilla  Argentina 1:01.8 Q
2 Knut Olsen  Norway 1:05.0 Q
3 Sven-Pelle Pettersson  Sweden 1:06.4
4 Faelo Zúñiga  Chile Unknown

Heat 6

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 George Kojac  United States 1:01.6 Q
2 Karl Schubert  Germany 1:03.8 Q
3 Reginald Sutton  Great Britain 1:04.0
4 Munroe Bourne  Canada Unknown

Heat 7

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 István Bárány  Hungary 1:01.2 Q
2 Emilio Polli  Italy 1:04.0 Q
3 Henk van Essen  Netherlands 1:07.4
4 José González  Spain Unknown
5 Władysław Kuncewicz  Poland 1:10.8

Semifinals

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The fastest two in each semi-final and the fastest third-placed from across the semi-finals advanced.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Katsuo Takaishi  Japan 1:00.0 Q
2 Walter Laufer  United States 1:00.6 Q
3 Walter Spence  Canada 1:01.4 q
4 Antal Gáborfi  Hungary 1:04.8
5 Antonio Conelli  Italy Unknown

Semifinal 2

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 George Kojac  United States 1:01.0 Q
2 Alberto Zorrilla  Argentina 1:01.6 Q
3 Rezső Wanié  Hungary 1:03.8
4 Francisco Uranga  Argentina Unknown
5 Karl Schubert  Germany Unknown

Semifinal 3

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Johnny Weissmuller  United States 58.6 Q, OR
2 István Bárány  Hungary 1:00.8 Q
3 August Heitmann  Germany 1:03.6
4 Knut Olsen  Norway Unknown
5 Emilio Polli  Italy Unknown

Final

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Saturday 11 August 1928:

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Johnny Weissmuller  United States 58.6 =OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) István Bárány  Hungary 59.8
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Katsuo Takaishi  Japan 1:00.0
4 George Kojac  United States 1:00.8
5 Walter Laufer  United States 1:01.0
6 Walter Spence  Canada 1:01.4
7 Alberto Zorrilla  Argentina 1:01.6

Results summary

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Rank Swimmer Nation Heats Semifinals Final Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Johnny Weissmuller  United States 1:00.0 58.6 58.6 OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) István Bárány  Hungary 1:01.2 1:00.8 59.8
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Katsuo Takaishi  Japan 1:01.2 1:00.0 1:00.0
4 George Kojac  United States 1:01.6 1:01.0 1:00.8
5 Walter Laufer  United States 1:00.8 1:00.6 1:01.0
6 Walter Spence  Canada 1:00.6 1:01.4 1:01.4
7 Alberto Zorrilla  Argentina 1:01.8 1:01.6 1:01.6
8 August Heitmann  Germany 1:02.2 1:03.6 Did not advance
9 Rezső Wanié  Hungary 1:03.4 1:03.8 Did not advance
10 Antal Gáborfi  Hungary 1:04.0 1:04.8 Did not advance
11 Knut Olsen  Norway 1:05.0 Unknown Did not advance 4th in semifinal
Francisco Uranga  Argentina 1:05.6 Unknown Did not advance 4th in semifinal
13 Antonio Conelli  Italy 1:07.0 Unknown Did not advance 5th in semifinal
Emillio Polli  Italy 1:04.0 Unknown Did not advance 5th in semifinal
Karl Schubert  Germany 1:03.8 Unknown Did not advance 5th in semifinal
16 Eskil Lundahl  Sweden 1:03.0 Did not advance
17 Norman Brooks  Great Britain 1:03.4 Did not advance
18 Reginald Sutton  Great Britain 1:04.0 Did not advance
19 Gustave Klein  France 1:05.8 Did not advance
20 Sven-Pelle Pettersson  Sweden 1:06.4 Did not advance
21 Henk van Essen  Netherlands 1:07.4 Did not advance
22 José González  Spain Unknown Did not advance Between 1:07.4 and 1:10.8
23 Adán Gordón  Panama 1:10.8 Did not advance
Władysław Kuncewicz  Poland 1:10.8 Did not advance 5th in heat
25 Mario Astaburuaga  Chile Unknown Did not advance 4th in heat
Munroe Bourne  Canada Unknown Did not advance 4th in heat
Herbert Heinrich  Germany Unknown Did not advance 4th in heat
Faelo Zúñiga  Chile Unknown Did not advance 4th in heat
29 Hernán Schüler  Chile Unknown Did not advance 5th in heat
Martial van Schelle  Belgium Unknown Did not advance 5th in heat

References

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  1. ^ "Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b "100 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
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