100 metres Freestyle, Men
| Date | 8 – 9 August 1936 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmstadion, Reichssportfeld, Berlin |
| Participants | 45 from 23 countries |
The world record for this event had passed between only three swimmers since 1912 Olympics, Duke Kahanamoku, Johnny Weissmuller and, since 1934, Peter Fick of the USA. Fick travelled to Germany as the marginal favourite although the strength in depth of the Japanese team made sure that predicting the competition would be difficult. Fick disappointed in the final but the Japanese victory did not materialize either. Although Ferenc Csik was the reigning European champion, he was not expected to defeat the American or Japanese favourites but as they battled each other, Csik came through on the outside to surprise them all. Ferenc Csik would not live to see the next Olympic Games. By then a qualified doctor, he died during an air raid in 1945.
Masanori Yusa and Shigeo Arai of Japan were awarded the other medals although the actual finishing positions are a matter of debate. Photographic evidence suggests that 4th placed Masahuru Taguchi may in fact have been the true silver medallist with only the first and last places in the final certain to be correct.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferenc Csík |  HUN | 58.3 (2 h1) | 58.1 (2 h1) | 57.6 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Masanori Yusa |  JPN | 57.8 (1 h2) | 57.5 (1 h2) | 57.9 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Shigeo Arai | JPN | 57.7 (1 h4) | 57.9 (2 h2) | 58.0 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Masaharu Taguchi | JPN | 57.5 (1 h5) | 57.9 (1 h1) | 58.1 (4) | |||
| 5 | Helmut Fischer |  GER | 57.9 (2 h4) | 58.7 (4 h1) | 59.3 (5) | |||
| 6 | Peter Fick |  USA | 57.6 (1 h1) | 58.2 (3 h1) | 59.7 (6) | |||
| 7 | Art Lindegren | USA | 58.3 (1 h7) | 58.7 (3 h2) | 59.9 (7) | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Arthur Highland | USA | 59.9 (2 h2) | 59.4 (4 h2) | – | |||
| =5 h1 r2/3 | Heikki Hietanen |  FIN | 1:01.0 (3 h7) | 1:00.5 (=5 h1) | – | |||
| =5 h1 r2/3 | Jikirum Adjaluddin |  PHI | 1:01.0 (2 h3) | 1:00.5 (=5 h1) | – | |||
| =5 h1 r2/3 | Draško Vilfan |  YUG | 1:00.5 (1 h6) | 1:00.5 (=5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | Bill Kendall |  AUS | 1:01.0 (3 h2) | 59.9 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | Hermann Heibel | GER | 1:01.4 (2 h6) | 1:00.3 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | Oszkár Abay-Nemes | HUN | 1:00.2 (2 h7) | 1:01.1 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r2/3 | Mickey Ffrench-Williams |  GBR | 1:00.7 (1 h3) | 1:01.0 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r2/3 | John Christensen |  DEN | 1:01.1 (2 h5) | 1:01.6 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | Rom Gabrielsen | GBR | 1:01.2 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | Heiko Schwartz | GER | 1:01.8 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | Ödön Gróf | HUN | 1:01.3 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 3 h5 r1/3 | George Larson |  CAN | 1:01.5 (3 h5) | – | – | |||
| 3 h6 r1/3 | Freddie Dove | GBR | 1:01.6 (3 h6) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Bob Hamerton | CAN | 1:02.1 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Egon Roolaid |  EST | 1:01.5 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Munroe Bourne | CAN | 1:02.4 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Leonard Spence |  BER | 1:01.9 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/3 | Zaki Saad al-Dine |  EGY | 1:03.7 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 4 h6 r1/3 | José Obial | PHI | 1:01.7 (4 h6) | – | – | |||
| 4 h7 r1/3 | Piet Stam |  NED | 1:01.3 (4 h7) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | Álvaro Tatto |  BRA | 1:02.6 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | René Cavalero |  FRA | 1:02.2 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | Isaac Moraes | BRA | 1:03.5 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | Claude Desusclade | FRA | 1:07.2 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | Juan Paz |  PER | 1:05.6 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 5 h6 r1/3 | Leônidas da Silva | BRA | 1:03.3 (5 h6) | – | – | |||
| 5 h7 r1/3 | Poul Petersen | DEN | 1:01.6 (5 h7) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | Qadri Mahmud | EGY | 1:03.8 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | Sjoerd Mooi Wilten | NED | 1:03.4 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | Günther Zobernig |  AUT | 1:03.9 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | Richardos Brousalis |  GRE | 1:07.5 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h5 r1/3 | Spyridon Mavrogiorgos | GRE | 1:08.2 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 6 h6 r1/3 | John Young | BER | 1:07.8 (6 h6) | – | – | |||
| 6 h7 r1/3 | Roger Zirilli |  SUI | 1:04.1 (6 h7) | – | – | |||
| 7 h1 r1/3 | Arturo Álvarez Calderón | PER | 1:04.9 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 7 h2 r1/3 | Alberto Conrad |  BOL | 1:17.5 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 8 h1 r1/3 | Chen Zhenxiang |  CHN | 1:06.5 (8 h1) | – | – | |||
| Jan Guillini |  BEL | – (DNS h7) | – | – | ||||
| Artem Nakache | FRA | – (DNS h6) | – | – | ||||
| Walter Ledgard Jiménez | PER | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| Alfred Doria | SUI | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| Victor Dunand | SUI | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| Darko Prvan | YUG | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| Manoel Villar | BRA | – | – | – |
Round One (8 August 1936 — 9:00)
Top two in each heat and the next two fastest advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Peter Fick | USA | 57.6 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Ferenc Csík | HUN | 58.3 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Rom Gabrielsen | GBR | 1:01.2 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Bob Hamerton | CAN | 1:02.1 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Álvaro Tatto | BRA | 1:02.6 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Qadri Mahmud | EGY | 1:03.8 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Arturo Álvarez Calderón | PER | 1:04.9 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Chen Zhenxiang | CHN | 1:06.5 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Masanori Yusa | JPN | 57.8 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Arthur Highland | USA | 59.9 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Bill Kendall | AUS | 1:01.0 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Egon Roolaid | EST | 1:01.5 | |||
| 5 | 6 | René Cavalero | FRA | 1:02.2 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Sjoerd Mooi Wilten | NED | 1:03.4 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Alberto Conrad | BOL | 1:17.5 | |||
| 1 | Alfred Doria | SUI | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Mickey Ffrench-Williams | GBR | 1:00.7 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Jikirum Adjaluddin | PHI | 1:01.0 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Heiko Schwartz | GER | 1:01.8 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Munroe Bourne | CAN | 1:02.4 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Isaac Moraes | BRA | 1:03.5 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Günther Zobernig | AUT | 1:03.9 | |||
| 2 | Walter Ledgard Jiménez | PER | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Shigeo Arai | JPN | 57.7 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Helmut Fischer | GER | 57.9 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Ödön Gróf | HUN | 1:01.3 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Leonard Spence | BER | 1:01.9 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Claude Desusclade | FRA | 1:07.2 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Richardos Brousalis | GRE | 1:07.5 | |||
| 1 | Darko Prvan | YUG | – |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Masaharu Taguchi | JPN | 57.5 | |||
| 2 | 1 | John Christensen | DEN | 1:01.1 | |||
| 3 | 5 | George Larson | CAN | 1:01.5 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Zaki Saad al-Dine | EGY | 1:03.7 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Juan Paz | PER | 1:05.6 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Spyridon Mavrogiorgos | GRE | 1:08.2 | |||
| 2 | Victor Dunand | SUI | – |
Heat Six
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Draško Vilfan | YUG | 1:00.5 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Hermann Heibel | GER | 1:01.4 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Freddie Dove | GBR | 1:01.6 | |||
| 4 | 7 | José Obial | PHI | 1:01.7 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Leônidas da Silva | BRA | 1:03.3 | |||
| 6 | 1 | John Young | BER | 1:07.8 | |||
| 6 | Artem Nakache | FRA | – |
Heat Seven
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Art Lindegren | USA | 58.3 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Oszkár Abay-Nemes | HUN | 1:00.2 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Heikki Hietanen | FIN | 1:01.0 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Piet Stam | NED | 1:01.3 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Poul Petersen | DEN | 1:01.6 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Roger Zirilli | SUI | 1:04.1 | |||
| 4 | Jan Guillini | BEL | – |
Semi-Finals (8 August 1936 — 15:00)
Top three in each heat and the fastest fourth-place advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Masaharu Taguchi | JPN | 57.9 | |||
| 2 | – | Ferenc Csík | HUN | 58.1 | |||
| 3 | – | Peter Fick | USA | 58.2 | |||
| 4 | – | Helmut Fischer | GER | 58.7 | |||
| =5 | – | Heikki Hietanen | FIN | 1:00.5 | |||
| =5 | – | Draško Vilfan | YUG | 1:00.5 | |||
| =5 | – | Jikirum Adjaluddin | PHI | 1:00.5 | |||
| 8 | – | Mickey Ffrench-Williams | GBR | 1:01.0 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Masanori Yusa | JPN | 57.5 | |||
| 2 | – | Shigeo Arai | JPN | 57.9 | |||
| 3 | – | Art Lindegren | USA | 58.7 | |||
| 4 | – | Arthur Highland | USA | 59.4 | |||
| 5 | – | Bill Kendall | AUS | 59.9 | |||
| 6 | – | Hermann Heibel | GER | 1:00.3 | |||
| 7 | – | Oszkár Abay-Nemes | HUN | 1:01.1 | |||
| 8 | – | John Christensen | DEN | 1:01.6 |
Final (9 August 1936 — 15:20)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Ferenc Csík | HUN | 57.6 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Masanori Yusa | JPN | 57.9 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Shigeo Arai | JPN | 58.0 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Masaharu Taguchi | JPN | 58.1 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Helmut Fischer | GER | 59.3 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Peter Fick | USA | 59.7 | |||
| 7 | 3 | Art Lindegren | USA | 59.9 |