Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre backstroke

Men's 100 metre backstroke
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
VenueOlympic Aquatics Stadium
Dates7 August 2016 (heats &
semifinals)
8 August 2016 (final)
Competitors39 from 32 nations
Winning time51.97 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Ryan Murphy  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Xu Jiayu  China
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) David Plummer  United States
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2020 →
Swimming at the
2016 Summer Olympics
Qualification
Freestyle
50 mmenwomen
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
400 mmenwomen
800 mwomen
1500 mmen
Backstroke
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
Breaststroke
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
Butterfly
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
Individual medley
200 mmenwomen
400 mmenwomen
Freestyle relay
4 × 100 mmenwomen
4 × 200 mmenwomen
Medley relay
4 × 100 mmenwomen
Marathon
10 kmmenwomen

The men's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 7–8 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.[1]

Summary

Ryan Murphy continued the streak of American dominance in the sprint backstroke, as he pulled away from the rest of the field to claim his country's sixth straight Olympic title. He fired off a 51.97 to eclipse Matt Grevers' 2012 Olympic record by 0.19 of a second for gold, making him the only second swimmer in the event's history besides Aaron Peirsol to break the 52-second barrier and the fastest of all time in textile.[2][3] Meanwhile, China's Xu Jiayu put up a brisk effort to take silver with a 52.31, and spoil the 1–2 finish for the Americans.[4] Murphy's fellowman David Plummer, aged 30, finished with bronze in 52.40 at his maiden Games.[5][6]

Leading the race early on the initial length, Australia's defending world champion Mitch Larkin missed the podium with a fourth-place time in 52.43.[7] France's Camille Lacourt picked up the fifth spot in 52.70, with Russian swimmer and Youth Olympic champion Evgeny Rylov (52.74) trailing him by a 0.04-second margin. Japan's Ryosuke Irie (53.42), the Olympic bronze medalist from London 2012, and Romania's Robert Glință (53.50) rounded out the field.[6]

The medals for the competition were presented by Albert II, Prince of Monaco, IOC member, and the gifts were presented by Mustapha Larfaoui, FINA honorary life president.

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record  Aaron Peirsol (USA) 51.94 Indianapolis, United States 8 July 2009 [8][9]
Olympic record  Matt Grevers (USA) 52.16 London, United Kingdom 30 July 2012 [10]

The following records were established during the competition:

Date Round Name Nation Time Record
8 August Final Ryan Murphy  United States 51.97 OR

Murphy then set a new world record for the 100 m backstroke with a time of 51.85 seconds on August 13 in the lead-off leg as part of the 4 × 100 m medley relay.

Competition format

The competition consisted of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advanced to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.[1]

Results

Heats

Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 5 5 Camille Lacourt  France 52.96 Q
2 3 5 Xu Jiayu  China 53.01 Q
3 5 4 Mitch Larkin  Australia 53.04 Q
4 3 4 Ryan Murphy  United States 53.06 Q
5 4 4 David Plummer  United States 53.19 Q
6 3 3 Evgeny Rylov  Russia 53.25 Q
7 5 1 Joshua Beaver  Australia 53.47 Q
8 5 3 Ryosuke Irie  Japan 53.49 Q
9 4 2 Robert Glință  Romania 53.51 Q
10 4 5 Chris Walker-Hebborn  Great Britain 53.54 Q
11 4 3 Grigoriy Tarasevich  Russia 53.65 Q
12 4 6 Christopher Reid  South Africa 53.68 Q
13 5 6 Guilherme Guido  Brazil 53.80 Q
14 3 1 Shane Ryan  Ireland 53.85 Q, NR
15 3 2 Jan-Philip Glania  Germany 53.87 Q
16 2 6 Corey Main  New Zealand 53.99 Q
17 4 7 Javier Acevedo  Canada 54.11
18 5 2 Apostolos Christou  Greece 54.12
19 5 7 Junya Hasegawa  Japan 54.17
20 2 1 Hugo González  Spain 54.18
21 2 5 Li Guangyuan  China 54.36
22 4 8 Quah Zheng Wen  Singapore 54.38
23 4 1 Radosław Kawęcki  Poland 54.39
24 2 4 Danas Rapšys  Lithuania 54.40
25 3 8 Gábor Balog  Hungary 54.48
26 2 3 Tomasz Polewka  Poland 54.52
27 3 7 Yakov Toumarkin  Israel 54.66
28 3 6 Simone Sabbioni  Italy 54.91
29 5 8 Mikita Tsmyh  Belarus 54.97
30 2 7 Won Young-jun  South Korea 55.05
31 2 8 Albert Subirats  Venezuela 55.44
32 2 2 Viktar Staselovich  Belarus 55.68
33 1 4 Merdan Ataýew  Turkmenistan 56.34 NR
34 1 5 Timothy Wynter  Jamaica 57.20
35 1 3 David Van der Colff  Botswana 57.77
36 1 6 Driss Lahrichi  Morocco 58.01
37 1 2 Yaaqoub Al-Saadi  United Arab Emirates 59.58
38 1 1 Hamdan Bayusuf  Kenya 1:00.28
39 1 7 Noah Al-Khulaifi  Qatar 1:07.47

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 5 Ryan Murphy  United States 52.49 Q
2 4 Xu Jiayu  China 52.73 Q
3 3 Evgeny Rylov  Russia 52.84 Q
4 6 Irie Ryosuke  Japan 53.21 Q
5 7 Christopher Reid  South Africa 53.70
6 2 Chris Walker-Hebborn  Great Britain 53.75
7 8 Corey Main  New Zealand 54.29
8 1 Shane Ryan  Ireland 54.40

Semifinal 2

Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 3 David Plummer  United States 52.50 Q
2 5 Mitch Larkin  Australia 52.70 Q
3 4 Camille Lacourt  France 52.72 Q
4 2 Robert Glință  Romania 53.34 Q, NR
5 7 Grigoriy Tarasevich  Russia 53.46
6 8 Jan-Philip Glania  Germany 53.94
7 6 Joshua Beaver  Australia 53.95
8 1 Guilherme Guido  Brazil 54.16

Final

Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 Ryan Murphy  United States 51.97 OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2 Xu Jiayu  China 52.31 NR
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 David Plummer  United States 52.40
4 3 Mitch Larkin  Australia 52.43
5 6 Camille Lacourt  France 52.70
6 7 Evgeny Rylov  Russia 52.74
7 1 Ryosuke Irie  Japan 53.42
8 8 Robert Glință  Romania 53.50

References

  1. ^ a b "Men's 100m Backstroke". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  2. ^ Auerbach, Nicole (8 August 2016). "American Ryan Murphy wins gold in men's 100 back". USA Today. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Ryan Murphy extends U.S. gold streak in 100 backstroke to 6". ESPN. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  4. ^ "(Rio Games) Ryan Murphy takes 100m backstroke gold ahead of Xu Jiayu". Hong Kong: The Standard. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  5. ^ Fenno, Nathan (8 August 2016). "Ryan Murphy of the U.S. wins gold in 100 backstroke". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Ryan Murphy Keeps American Streak Alive with 100 Backstroke Olympic Record". Swimming World Magazine. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  7. ^ Barrett, Chris (8 August 2016). "Australian Mitch Larkin misses the medals in 100 metres backstroke in Rio". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Peirsol reclaims 100 back record". ESPN. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Aaron Peirsol's stunning swim steals limelight from Michael Phelps". Guardian.co.uk. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  10. ^ "2012 London Olympics: Matt Grevers Sets Olympic Record in 100 Back Win; Nick Thoman Gives U.S. 1-2 Finish". Swimming World Magazine. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.