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

The men's 100 metre backstroke was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Tuesday to Thursday, 7 to 9 August 1928.

Men's 100 metre backstroke
at the Games of the IX Olympiad
VenueOlympic Sports Park Swim Stadium
Date7–9 August
Competitors19 from 12 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) George Kojac  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Walter Laufer  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Paul Wyatt  United States
← 1924
1932 →

Nineteen swimmers from twelve nations competed.

Records edit

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

World Record 1:09.0   George Kojac Detroit (U.S.) 23 June 1928
Olympic Record 1:13.2   Warren Kealoha Paris (FRA) 18 July 1924

In the first heat George Kojac set a new Olympic record with 1:09.2 minutes. In the final he set a new world record with 1:08.2 minutes.

Results edit

Heats edit

Tuesday 7 August 1928: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced. As there was a tie for second place in the fifth heat both swimmers advanced instead of a third placed.

Heat 1 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 George Kojac   United States 1:09.2 Q, OR
2 Toshio Irie   Japan 1:13.4 Q
3 Albert Schumberg   Germany 1:16.6
4 Roland Johansson   Sweden 1:17.4

Heat 2 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Walter Laufer   United States 1:12.8 Q
2 John Besford   Great Britain 1:15.0 Q
3 Aladár Bitskey   Hungary 1:15.6
4 Johann Schulz   Germany 1:17.2

Heat 3 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Tom Boast   Australia 1:17.0 Q
2 Gérard Blitz   Belgium 1:18.8 Q
3 Len Moorhouse   New Zealand 1:20.4

Heat 4 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Ernst Küppers   Germany 1:14.0 Q
2 Willie Francis   Great Britain 1:16.4 Q
3 Émile Zeibig   France 1:20.0
4 Eugène Kuborn   Luxembourg Unknown

Heat 5 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Paul Wyatt   United States 1:14.0 Q
2 Eskil Lundahl   Sweden 1:14.4 Q
Munroe Bourne   Canada 1:14.4
4 Shourai Kimura   Japan Unknown

Semifinals edit

Wednesday 8 August 1928: The fastest three in each semi-final advanced.

Semifinal 1 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 George Kojac   United States 1:10.0 Q
2 Toshio Irie   Japan 1:14.0 Q
3 John Besford   Great Britain 1:14.8 Q
4 Munroe Bourne   Canada Unknown
5 Eskil Lundahl   Sweden Unknown
6 Willie Francis   Great Britain Unknown

Semifinal 2 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 Walter Laufer   United States 1:12.6 Q
2 Paul Wyatt   United States 1:14.2 Q
Ernst Küppers   Germany 1:14.2 Q
4 Tom Boast   Australia Unknown
Gérard Blitz   Belgium DNS

Final edit

Thursday 9 August 1928:

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
  George Kojac   United States 1:08.2 WR
  Walter Laufer   United States 1:10.0
  Paul Wyatt   United States 1:12.0
4 Toshio Irie   Japan 1:13.6
5 Ernst Küppers   Germany 1:13.8
6 John Besford   Great Britain 1:15.4

References edit

  1. ^ "Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Backstroke". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2016.

External links edit