Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre backstroke
| Men's 100 metre backstroke at the Games of the V Olympiad | ||||||||||
| Venue | Djurgårdsbrunnsviken | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | July 9–13 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 18 from 7 nations | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freestyle | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | |||
| 1500 m | men | |||
| Backstroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | |||
| Breaststroke | ||||
| 200 m | men | |||
| 400 m | men | |||
| Freestyle relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | women | |||
| 4×200 m | men | |||
The men's 100 metre backstroke was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second appearance of the event, which had been introduced in 1908. In 1904 a 100 yard event was held. The competition was held from Tuesday July 9, 1912 to Saturday July 13, 1912.
Eighteen swimmers from seven nations competed.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 1:15.6 |  Otto Fahr |
Magdeburg (GER) | April 29, 1912 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | 1:24.6 | Arno Bieberstein |
London (GBR) | July 17, 1908 |
The Olympic record fell during the very first heat. Harry Hebner's 1:21.0 in the first heat stood until Hebner raced again. In the first semifinal, he bettered his own new record with a 1:20.8. He was unable to match that pace in the final, but still took the win with a finish that was over 1 second faster than the second-place swimmer.
Results
Quarterfinals
The top two in each heat advanced along with the fastest loser overall.
Quarterfinal 1
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Harry Hebner (USA) | 1:21.0 | QS OR |
| 2 | Otto Groß (GER) | 1:24.0 | QS |
| 3 |  Åke Bergman (SWE) | 1:33.8 | |
| — | Oscar Schiele (GER) | DQ |
Quarterfinal 2
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Otto Fahr (GER) | 1:22.0 | QS |
| 2 |  George Webster (GBR) | 1:29.4 | QS |
| 3 | Hugo Lundevall (SWE) | 1:46.8 | |
| — | .svg.png){kind=small} János Wenk (HUN) | DQ |
Quarterfinal 3
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | András Baronyi (HUN) | 1:22.0 | QS |
| 2 | Paul Kellner (GER) | 1:26.0 | QS |
| 3 |  Harry Svendsen (NOR) | 1:47.2 | |
| — | .svg.png){kind=small} Oscar Grégoire (BEL) | DQ |
Quarterfinal 4
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herbert Haresnape (GBR) | 1:27.0 | QS |
| 2 | Erich Schultze (GER) | 1:27.2 | QS |
| 3 | Gunnar Sundman (SWE) | 1:31.2 | qs |
| 4 | John Johnsen (NOR) | 1:34.2 |
Quarterfinal 5
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | László Szentgróthy (HUN) | 1:26.6 | QS |
| 2 | Frank Sandon (GBR) | 1:31.8 | QS |
Semifinals
The top two from each heat and the faster of the two third place swimmers advanced.
Semifinal 1
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Hebner (USA) | 1:20.8 | QF OR |
| 2 | Otto Fahr (GER) | 1:21.8 | QF |
| 3 | András Baronyi (HUN) | 1:26.2 | qf |
| 4 | László Szentgróthy (HUN) | 1:26.4 | |
| 5 | Erich Schultze (GER) | ||
| 6 | George Webster (GBR) |
Semifinal 1
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Otto Groß (GER) | 1:26.0 | QF |
| 2 | Paul Kellner (GER) | 1:26.2 | QF |
| 3 | Herbert Haresnape (GBR) | 1:26.8 | |
| 4 | Frank Sandon (GBR) | 1:32.2 | |
| — | Gunnar Sundman (SWE) | 1:35.0 |
Final
| Place | Swimmer | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Hebner (USA) | 1:21.2 |
| 2 | Otto Fahr (GER) | 1:22.4 |
| 3 | Paul Kellner (GER) | 1:24.0 |
| 4 | András Baronyi (HUN) | 1:25.2 |
| 5 | Otto Groß (GER) | 1:25.8 |
References
- Bergvall, Erik (ed.) (1913). Adams-Ray, Edward (trans.)., ed. The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand.
- Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 29 January 2007.