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

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.

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 →

Background edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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

Results edit

Heats edit

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

Heat 1 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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

Semifinal 1 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

Saturday 11 August 1928:

Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
  Johnny Weissmuller   United States 58.6 =OR
  István Bárány   Hungary 59.8
  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 edit

Rank Swimmer Nation Heats Semifinals Final Notes
  Johnny Weissmuller   United States 1:00.0 58.6 58.6 OR
  István Bárány   Hungary 1:01.2 1:00.8 59.8
  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 edit

  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.

External links edit