Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle

Men's 100 metre freestyle
at the Games of the V Olympiad
Men's 100 metre freestyle; at the Games of the V Olympiad
	100 metre freestyle at the 1912 Games
Venue	Djurgårdsbrunnsviken
Dates	July 6–10
Competitors	34 from 12 nations
Winning time	1:03.4
Medalists
	← 1908 1920 →

The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme.^[1] It was the fourth appearance of the event, which had not been featured at the 1900 Games. The competition was held from Saturday July 6, 1912, to Wednesday July 10, 1912. Thirty-four swimmers from twelve nations competed. The event was won by Duke Kahanamoku of the United States, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event (tying Hungary for most all-time). Cecil Healy took silver, the only medal in the event for Australasia, the short-lived joint team of Australia and New Zealand. Another American, Ken Huszagh, took bronze.

Background

This was the fourth appearance of the men's 100 metre freestyle (including the 100 yard event in 1904 but excluding the Intercalated Games in 1906). 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]

One of the four finalists from 1908 returned: bronze medalist Harald Julin of Sweden. Charles Daniels, the defending gold medalist who had also won at the 1906 Intercalated Games and taken silver at the 1904 Olympics, had retired. The favorite was Kurt Bretting of Germany, who had broken Daniels' world record earlier in 1912. An intriguing entrant was the Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, rumored to have posted phenomenal times which were unverified because of the distance from the American mainland.^[2]

Germany, Norway, and Russia each made their debut in the event. Hungary and the United States each made their fourth appearance, having competed at each edition of the event to date.

Competition format

The rules for the swimming events provided that each event would consist of heats, a final, and "a sufficient number of intermediate heats in proportion to the number of competitors."^[3] This led to confusion, as the organizers declared that there should be two intermediate rounds (for a total of four rounds) while the American team believed that there would only be one before the final and consequently did not appear for the semifinals. After some negotiation, a four-round competition was held, with a special heat in the third round for competitors who had missed races due to the confusion.

For each round, the top two swimmers in each heat advanced to the next round, along with the fastest third-place swimmer. In the case of a tie, all tied swimmers would advance (swim-offs would only be used in the final). Each race consisted of a single length of the 100-meter course, and any stroke could be used.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

World Record	1:02.4	Kurt Bretting	Brussels (BEL)	April 6, 1912
Olympic Record	1:05.6	Charles Daniels	London (GBR)	July 20, 1908
Olympic Record	1:02.8(*)	Zoltán Halmay	St. Louis (USA)	September 5, 1904

(*) 100 yards (= 91.44 m)

In the fourth heat Perry McGillivray set a new Olympic record with 1:04.8 minutes. In the fifth heat Duke Kahanamoku bettered the Olympic record of 1:02.6 minutes. Finally Duke Kahanamoku improved the Olympic record with a time of 1:02.4 minutes in the third semifinal heat.

Schedule

Date	Time	Round
Saturday, 6 July 1912	19:00	Heats
Sunday, 7 July 1912	13:30 20:00	Quarterfinals Semifinals 1 and 2
Tuesday, 9 July 1912		Semifinal 3
Wednesday, 10 July 1912		Final

Results

Heats

The fastest two in each heat advanced. A tie for second in the seventh heat resulted in both swimmers advancing. In addition, the fastest third-place swimmer from across the heats also qualified for the quarterfinals.

Heat 1

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	László Beleznai	Hungary	1:08.0	Q
2	Robert Andersson	Sweden	1:09.4	Q
3	Andreas Asimakopoulos	Greece	1:15.4
4	Herbert von Kuhlberg	Russia	Unknown

Heat 2

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Kurt Bretting	Germany	1:07.0	Q
2	Paul Radmilovic	Great Britain	1:10.4	Q
3	Theodore Tartakover	Australasia	1:12.2
4	Jules Wuyts	Belgium	1:13.6

Heat 3

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Leslie Boardman	Australasia	1:06.0	Q
2	Nicholas Nerich	United States	1:07.6	Q
3	John Derbyshire	Great Britain	1:09.2
4–6	Davide Baiardo	Italy	Unknown
	Walther Binner	Germany	Unknown
	Alajos Kenyery	Hungary	Unknown

Heat 4

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Perry McGillivray	United States	1:04.8	Q, OR
2	Cecil Healy	Australasia	1:05.2	Q
3	Ken Huszagh	United States	1:06.2	q
4	Erik Andersson	Sweden	1:13.0
5	Georg Kunisch	Germany	Unknown

Heat 5

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Duke Kahanamoku	United States	1:02.6	Q, OR
2	William Longworth	Australasia	1:05.2	Q
3	Harry Hebner	United States	1:10.4
4	Gérard Meister	France	1:16.6

Heat 6

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Harold Hardwick	Australasia	1:05.8	Q
2	Max Ritter	Germany	1:08.0	Q
3	Herman Meyboom	Belgium	1:15.4
4	James Reilly	United States	Unknown

Heat 7

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Walter Ramme	Germany	1:10.2	Q
2	Harald Julin	Sweden	1:11.8	Q
2	Mario Massa	Italy	1:11.8	Q
4	John Johnsen	Norway	1:19.2

Heat 8

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Erik Bergqvist	Sweden	1:13.4	Q
2	Georges Rigal	France	1:17.8	Q
3	László Szentgróthy	Hungary	Unknown

Quarterfinals

Again, the top two in each heat advanced along with the fastest loser overall. Four of the qualified swimmers did not take part in their quarterfinal heats, and a fifth (Massa) did not appear due to a misunderstanding. Massa was later allowed to take part in the semifinals.

Quarterfinal 1

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Kurt Bretting	Germany	1:04.2	Q
2	William Longworth	Australasia	1:05.2	Q
3	Harold Hardwick	Australasia	1:06.0
4	Robert Andersson	Sweden	1:10.0
—	László Beleznai	Hungary	DNS
—	Georges Rigal	France	DNS

Quarterfinal 2

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Duke Kahanamoku	United States	1:03.8	Q
2	Walter Ramme	Germany	1:07.8	Q
3	Nicholas Nerich	United States	1:08.8
3	Max Ritter	Germany	1:08.8
—	Erik Bergqvist	Sweden	DNS
—	Harald Julin	Sweden	DNS

Quarterfinal 3

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Ken Huszagh	United States	1:04.2	Q
2	Perry McGillivray	United States	1:04.4	Q
3	Cecil Healy	Australasia	1:04.8	q
4	Leslie Boardman	Australasia	1:05.4
5	Paul Radmilovic	Great Britain	1:19.0
—	Mario Massa	Italy	DNS	q*

Semifinals

Further confusion struck the semifinals. Under the belief that the second round of the competition had been the semifinals, the American swimmers did not appear for the third round. This led to both semifinals being essentially walkovers, as the first had three swimmers and the second only one. Since the top two swimmers of each and the fastest third-place swimmer would advance, all four competitors had secured a place in the final before entering the water. Longworth swam in the first heat, despite suffering from what the official report referred to as "suppuration in the head", after swimming in a local bay and receiving a severe ear infection.

Healy met with the organisers and argued for the Americans to be allowed to swim in their own heat, due to a belief that any win without Kahanamoku competing, would be a hollow victory.^[4] The jury for the event then met and determined that a third heat should be held under special rules. If the winner of the extra heat were to beat the time set by the third-place swimmer of the first heat (1:06.2, a stiff pace but one which all three Americans had beat during the quarterfinals), he and the second-place finisher would advance. If the mark were not bettered, none of the swimmers from the third heat would advance. Massa, who had missed the quarterfinals due to a misunderstanding, was also allowed to start in the extra semifinal.

In the third heat, Kahanamoku not only beat Longworth's time, thus qualifying himself and Huszagh for the final, but bettered his own Olympic record which he had set in the first round. Huszagh out-touched McGillivray by a "hand's breadth" to take second place and the final qualification spot, though both finished well behind Kahanamoku and their own previous times. Massa did not finish the race.

Semifinal 1

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Cecil Healy	Australasia	1:05.6	Q
2	Walter Ramme	Germany	1:05.8	Q
3	William Longworth	Australasia	1:06.2	q

Semifinal 2

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Kurt Bretting	Germany	1:04.6	Q

Semifinal 3

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Duke Kahanamoku	United States	1:02.4	Q, =WR
2	Ken Huszagh	United States	1:06.2	Q
3	Perry McGillivray	United States	1:06.2
—	Mario Massa	Italy	DNF

Final

Longworth was unable to continue competing due to illness and did not start in the final.

Kahanamoku was clearly in control by the halfway point, with a tight race between Huszagh, Ramme, and Bretting for the next three spots with Healy close behind them. It was Healy who took the silver medal, though, as he swam by the other three near the finish. Ramme fell back to fifth while Huszagh and Bretting finished separated by "[o]nly a decimetre".

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Time
	Duke Kahanamoku	United States	1:03.4
	Cecil Healy	Australasia	1:04.6
	Ken Huszagh	United States	1:05.6
4	Kurt Bretting	Germany	1:05.8
5	Walter Ramme	Germany	1:06.4
6	William Longworth	Australasia	DNS

Results summary

Rank	Swimmer	Nation	Heats	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final	Notes
	Duke Kahanamoku	United States	1:02.6	1:03.8	1:02.4	1:03.4
	Cecil Healy	Australasia	1:05.2	1:04.8	1:05.6	1:04.6
	Ken Huszagh	United States	1:06.2	1:04.2	1:06.2	1:05.6
4	Kurt Bretting	Germany	1:07.0	1:04.2	1:04.6	1:05.8
5	Walter Ramme	Germany	1:10.2	1:07.8	1:05.8	1:06.4
6	William Longworth	Australasia	1:05.2	1:05.2	1:06.2	DNS
7	Perry McGillivray	United States	1:04.8	1:04.4	1:06.2	Did not advance
8	Mario Massa	Italy	1:11.8	DNS	DNF	Did not advance	To semifinals by dispensation
9	Leslie Boardman	Australasia	1:06.0	1:05.4	did not advance
10	Harold Hardwick	Australasia	1:05.8	1:06.0	did not advance
11	Nicholas Nerich	United States	1:07.6	1:08.8	did not advance
11	Max Ritter	Germany	1:08.0	1:08.8	did not advance
13	Robert Andersson	Sweden	1:09.4	1:10.0	did not advance
14	Paul Radmilovic	Great Britain	1:10.4	1:19.0	did not advance
15	László Beleznai	Hungary	1:08.0	DNS	did not advance
	Erik Bergqvist	Sweden	1:13.4	DNS	did not advance
	Harald Julin	Sweden	1:11.8	DNS	did not advance
	Georges Rigal	France	1:17.8	DNS	did not advance
19	John Derbyshire	Great Britain	1:09.2	did not advance
20	Harry Hebner	United States	1:10.4	did not advance
21	Theodore Tartakover	Australasia	1:12.2	did not advance
22	Erik Andersson	Sweden	1:13.0	did not advance
23	Jules Wuyts	Belgium	1:13.6	did not advance
24	Andreas Asimakopoulos	Greece	1:15.4	did not advance
24	Herman Meyboom	Belgium	1:15.4	did not advance
26	Gérard Meister	France	1:16.6	did not advance
27	John Johnsen	Norway	1:19.2	did not advance
28	László Szentgróthy	Hungary	Unknown	did not advance			3rd in heat
29	James Reilly	United States	Unknown	did not advance			4th in heat
29	Herbert von Kuhlberg	Russia	Unknown	did not advance			4th in heat
31	Davide Baiardo	Italy	Unknown	did not advance			4th to 6th in heat
	Walther Binner	Germany	Unknown	did not advance			4th to 6th in heat
	Alajos Kenyery	Hungary	Unknown	did not advance			4th to 6th in heat
34	Georg Kunisch	Germany	Unknown	did not advance			5th in heat

References

^ "Swimming at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b "100 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
^ Official Report, p. 1069.
^ "Australian Olympic Committee honours Cecil Healy, who defined sportsmanship before being killed in WWI". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 July 2024.

Notes

Bergvall, Erik (ed.) (1913). Adams-Ray, Edward (trans.). (ed.). The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 28 January 2007.

[SportsRef-1] "Swimming at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2016.

[Olympedia-2] "100 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 December 2020.

[OR1069-3] Official Report, p. 1069.

[4] "Australian Olympic Committee honours Cecil Healy, who defined sportsmanship before being killed in WWI". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 July 2024.

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