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

Men's 100 metre backstroke
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
VenueWhite City Stadium
DatesJuly 16
July 17
Competitors21 from 11 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Arno Bieberstein  Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ludvig Dam  Denmark
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Herbert Haresnape  Great Britain
← 1904
(100 yd)
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 Record 1:16.8(*) Germany Walter Brack St. 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 Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Arno Bieberstein (GER) 1:25.6 QQ OR
2  Frederick Unwin (GBR) 1:30.0
3  Hugo Jonsson (FIN) Unknown

Heat 2

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Max Ritter (GER) 1:33.4 QQ
2  Sidney Willis (GBR) 1:34.4
3  John Henriksson (FIN) Unknown

Heat 3

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Colin Lewis (GBR) 1:30.2 QQ
2  Bartholomeus Roodenburch (NED) 1:36.2
3  Robert Zimmerman (CAN) Unknown

Heat 4

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Herbert Haresnape (GBR) 1:26.2 QQ
2  Ludvig Dam (DEN) 1:26.4 qq
3  Amilcare Beretta (ITA) Unknown

Heat 5

Parvin had no competition in the fifth heat.

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Sidney Parvin (GBR) 1:35.2 QQ

Heat 6

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Jack Taylor (GBR) 1:25.8 QQ
2  Augustus Goessling (USA) 1:29.0
3  Gustaf Wretman (SWE) Unknown
 Oscar Grégoire (BEL) Did not finish

Heat 7

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

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Gustav Aurisch (GER) 1:27.4 QQ
2  George Cortlever (NED) Unknown
3  Eric Seward (GBR) Unknown
 Sándor Kugler (HUN) (1:27.0) DSQ

Semifinals

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

Semifinal 1

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Arno Bieberstein (GER) 1:25.6 QF =OR
2  Ludvig Dam (DEN) Unknown QF
3  Max Ritter (GER) Unknown
4  Sidney Parvin (GBR) Unknown

Semifinal 2

Place Swimmer Time Qual.
1  Gustav Aurisch (GER) 1:28.2 QF
2  Herbert Haresnape (GBR) 1:28.8 QF
3  Jack Taylor (GBR) Unknown
4  Colin Lewis (GBR) Unknown

Final

Friday July 17, 1908.

Place Swimmer Time
1  Arno Bieberstein (GER) 1:24.6 WR
2  Ludvig Dam (DEN) 1:26.6
3  Herbert Haresnape (GBR) 1:27.0
4  Gustav Aurisch (GER) Unknown

References

  1. ^ "Swimming at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Backstroke". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  2. ^ Official Report, p. 40.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 571.
  4. ^ Official Report, pp. 573–74.

Sources

  • Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
  • De Wael, Herman (2001). "Swimming 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Retrieved 13 May 2006.