Swimming At The 1964 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 Metre Freestyle
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The men's
100 metre freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics. The first swimmer to break the one-minute barrier (long course) was Johnny Weissmuller, in 1 ...
event at the 1964 Olympic Games took place between October 11 and 12. There were 66 competitors from 33 nations. Nations were again able to bring up to three swimmers each after a one-Games limit of two in 1960. The event was won by
Don Schollander Donald Arthur Schollander (born April 30, 1946) is an American former competition swimmer, five-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events. He won a total of five gold medals and one silver medal at the 1964 and 1968 S ...
of the United States, the nation's first victory in the event since 1952 and eighth overall (most of any nation). Great Britain (
Bobby McGregor Robert Bilsand McGregor, MBE (born 3 April 1944), nicknamed the "Falkirk Flyer", is a Scottish former competitive swimmer. Swimming career He competed in eight events at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 100-metre ...
's silver) and the United Team of Germany (
Hans-Joachim Klein Hans-Joachim Klein (; 21 December 1947 – 9 November 2022) was a German left-wing militant and a member of the Revolutionary Cells group. His '' nom de guerre'' was "Angie". In 1975, Klein participated in an attack on OPEC headquarters in Vie ...
's bronze) both earned their first medal in the men's 100 metre freestyle.


Background

This was the 14th 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. Two of the eight finalists from the 1960 Games returned: fifth-place finisher
Gyula Dobay Gyula Dobay (18 November 1937 – 11 June 2007) was a freestyle swimmer from Hungary. He competed at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics in eight events in total with the best result of fifth place in the 100 m freestyle in 1960.
of Hungary and eighth-place finisher
Per-Ola Lindberg Per-Ola Lindberg (24 March 1940 – 19 December 2022) was a Swedish freestyle swimmer who competed at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics. He placed fifth-sixth in the 4 × 100 m and 4 × 200 m relays, and finished eighth in the individual 100 m i ...
of Sweden.
John Devitt John Thomas Devitt, AM (born 4 February 1937) is an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won in controversial circumstances, bein ...
of Australia, the winner of a controversial finish in 1960, had retired, as had silver medalist Lance Larson of the United States. The American team in Tokyo was led by
Don Schollander Donald Arthur Schollander (born April 30, 1946) is an American former competition swimmer, five-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events. He won a total of five gold medals and one silver medal at the 1964 and 1968 S ...
, who was expected to vie with Scotsman
Bobby McGregor Robert Bilsand McGregor, MBE (born 3 April 1944), nicknamed the "Falkirk Flyer", is a Scottish former competitive swimmer. Swimming career He competed in eight events at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 100-metre ...
. Iran, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and Thailand each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 14th appearance, having competed at each edition of the event to date.


Competition format

The competition used a three-round (heats, semifinals, final) format. The advancement rule followed the format introduced in 1952. A swimmer's place in the heat was not used to determine advancement; instead, the fastest times from across all heats in a round were used. There were 9 heats of 7 or 8 swimmers each. The top 24 swimmers advanced to the semifinals. There were 3 semifinals of 8 swimmers each. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties. This
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
event used
freestyle swimming Freestyle is a category of swimming competition, defined by the rules of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), in which competitors are subject to a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races are the most commo ...
, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated (unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events). Nearly all swimmers use the
front crawl The front crawl or forward crawl, also known as the Australian crawl or American crawl, is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a f ...
or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of two lengths of the pool.


Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Gary Ilman Gary Steven Ilman (August 13, 1943 — August 16, 2014) was an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder in two relay events.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, AthletesGary Ilman. Ret ...
dropped more than a second off the Olympic record in the very first heat, recording a time of 54.0 seconds. Seven swimmers beat the old record in the heats, with two more tying it. Ilman shaved off another tenth in the first semifinal, finishing in 53.9 seconds. Ten swimmers beat the old record in that round, with another matching it. The new record fell again in the final, with
Don Schollander Donald Arthur Schollander (born April 30, 1946) is an American former competition swimmer, five-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events. He won a total of five gold medals and one silver medal at the 1964 and 1968 S ...
swimming 53.4 seconds and
Bobby McGregor Robert Bilsand McGregor, MBE (born 3 April 1944), nicknamed the "Falkirk Flyer", is a Scottish former competitive swimmer. Swimming career He competed in eight events at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 100-metre ...
53.5 seconds.


Schedule


Results


Heats

Nine heats were held; the fastest 24 swimmers advanced to the semifinals.


Semifinals

Three heats were held; the fastest eight swimmers advanced to the final.


Final

The officials used unofficial electronic scoring to determine which swimmer won the bronze medal - Klein had finished one one-thousandth of a second sooner than Ilman.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming At The 1964 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 Metre Freestyle Men's freestyle 100 metre Men's events at the 1964 Summer Olympics