The men's 100 metre backstroke

Backstroke

The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...

was one of six swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 events on the swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics

At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, six swimming events were contested. These were the first Olympic Games in which a 100 metre pool had been especially constructed . Previous Olympic events were swum in open water...

 programme. 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.

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(*)	Walter Brack Walter Brack Walter Brack was a German backstroke and breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics....	St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...  (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )	September 6, 1904

(*) 100 yards (= 91.44 m)

In the first heat Arno Bieberstein

Arno Bieberstein

Arno Bieberstein was a German backstroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.He won a gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke event and did not compete in any other competition....

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.

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		1:25.6	QQ OR
2		1:30.0
3		Unknown

Heat 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:33.4	QQ
2		1:34.4
3		Unknown

Heat 3

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:30.2	QQ
2		1:36.0
3		Unknown

Heat 4

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:26.2	QQ
2		1:26.4	qq
3		Unknown

Heat 5

Parvin had no competition in the fifth heat.

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:35.2	QQ

Heat 6

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:25.8	QQ
2		1:29.0
3		Unknown
—		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		1:27.4	QQ
2		Unknown
3		Unknown
—		(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		1:25.6	QF =OR
2		Unknown	QF
3		Unknown
4		Unknown

Semifinal 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:28.2	QF
2		1:28.8	QF
3		Unknown
4		Unknown

Final

Friday July 17, 1908.

Place	Swimmer	Time
1		1:24.6 WR
2		1:26.6
3		1:27.0
4		Unknown

Sources