| 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 the 1912 Olympics: Duke Kahanamoku, Johnny Weissmuller, and, since 1934, Peter Fick of the USA. Fick travelled to Germany as the marginal favorite, 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 Csík was the reigning European champion, he was not expected to defeat the American or Japanese favorites but, as they battled each other, Csík came through on the outside to surprise them all. Ferenc Csík 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 Masaharu Taguchi may in fact have been the true silver medalist, with only the first and last places in the final certain to be correct.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 396 | Ferenc Csík |  HUN | 58.3 (2 h1) | 58.1 (2 h1) | 57.6 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 206 | Masanori Yusa |  JPN | 57.8 (1 h2) | 57.5 (1 h2) | 57.9 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 204 | Shigeo Arai | JPN | 57.7 (1 h4) | 57.9 (2 h2) | 58.0 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 205 | Masaharu Taguchi | JPN | 57.5 (1 h5) | 57.9 (1 h1) | 58.1 (4) | |||
| 5 | 485 | Helmut Fischer |  GER | 57.9 (2 h4) | 58.7 (4 h1) | 59.3 (5) | |||
| 6 | 436 | Peter Fick |  USA | 57.6 (1 h1) | 58.2 (3 h1) | 59.7 (6) | |||
| 7 | 438 | Art Lindegren | USA | 58.3 (1 h7) | 58.7 (3 h2) | 59.9 (7) | |||
| 8 | 437 | Arthur Highland | USA | 59.9 (2 h2) | 59.4 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 9 | 17 | Bill Kendall |  AUS | 1:01.0 (3 h2) | 59.9 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | – | Hermann Heibel | GER | 1:01.4 (2 h6) | 1:00.3 (6 h2) | – | |||
| =11 | 102 | Heikki Hietanen |  FIN | 1:01.0 (3 h7) | 1:00.5 (=5 h1) | – | |||
| =11 | 323 | Jikirum Adjaluddin |  PHI | 1:01.0 (2 h3) | 1:00.5 (=5 h1) | – | |||
| =11 | – | Draško Vilfan |  YUG | 1:00.5 (1 h6) | 1:00.5 (=5 h1) | – | |||
| 14 | – | Mickey Ffrench-Williams |  GBR | 1:00.7 (1 h3) | 1:01.0 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 15 | 395 | Oszkár Abay-Nemes | HUN | 1:00.2 (2 h7) | 1:01.1 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 16 | 80 | John Christensen |  DEN | 1:01.1 (2 h5) | 1:01.6 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 17 | 128 | Rom Gabrielsen | GBR | 1:01.2 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| =18 | – | Ödön Gróf | HUN | 1:01.3 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| =18 | 165 | Piet Stam |  NED | 1:01.3 (4 h7) | – | – | |||
| =20 | 58 | George Larson |  CAN | 1:01.5 (3 h5) | – | – | |||
| =20 | 100 | Egon Roolaid |  EST | 1:01.5 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| =22 | 126 | Freddie Dove | GBR | 1:01.6 (3 h6) | – | – | |||
| =22 | – | Poul Petersen | DEN | 1:01.6 (5 h7) | – | – | |||
| 24 | 324 | José Obial | PHI | 1:01.7 (4 h6) | – | – | |||
| 25 | 487 | Heiko Schwartz | GER | 1:01.8 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 26 | 36 | Leonard Spence |  BER | 1:01.9 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 27 | 57 | Bob Hamerton | CAN | 1:02.1 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 28 | 105 | René Cavalero |  FRA | 1:02.2 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 29 | 56 | Munroe Bourne | CAN | 1:02.4 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 30 | – | Álvaro Tatto |  BRA | 1:02.6 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 31 | 44 | Leônidas da Silva | BRA | 1:03.3 (5 h6) | – | – | |||
| 32 | 164 | Bertus Mooi Wilten | NED | 1:03.4 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 33 | – | Isaac Moraes | BRA | 1:03.5 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 34 | 6 | Zaki Saad al-Dine |  EGY | 1:03.7 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 35 | 7 | Qadri Mahmud | EGY | 1:03.8 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 36 | 284 | Günther Zobernig |  AUT | 1:03.9 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 37 | – | Roger Zirilli |  SUI | 1:04.1 (6 h7) | – | – | |||
| 38 | 320 | Arturo Álvarez Calderón |  PER | 1:04.9 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 39 | 316 | Juan Paz | PER | 1:05.6 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 40 | 78 | Chen Zhenxiang |  CHN | 1:06.5 (8 h1) | – | – | |||
| 41 | 106 | Claude Desusclade | FRA | 1:07.2 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 42 | 1 | Richardos Brousalis |  GRE | 1:07.5 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 43 | 37 | John Young | BER | 1:07.8 (6 h6) | – | – | |||
| 44 | 2 | Spyridon Mavrogiorgos | GRE | 1:08.2 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 45 | 43 | Alberto Conrad |  BOL | 1:17.5 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 23 | Jan Guillini |  BEL | – (DNS h7) | – | – | ||||
| – | Alfred Nakache | FRA | – (DNS h6) | – | – | ||||
| 319 | Walter Ledgard Jiménez | PER | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| 354 | Alfred Doria | SUI | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| – | Victor Dunand | SUI | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| 244 | Darko Prvan | YUG | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| 45 | Manoel Villar | BRA | – | – | – |
| Date | 8 August 1936 — 9:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top two in each heat and the next two fastest advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | 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 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | 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 | Bertus Mooi Wilten | NED | 1:03.4 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Alberto Conrad | BOL | 1:17.5 | ||
| 1 | Alfred Doria | SUI | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | 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 | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | 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 | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | 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 | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | 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 | Alfred Nakache | FRA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | 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 | – |
| Date | 8 August 1936 — 15:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top three in each heat and the fastest fourth-place advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masanori Yusa | JPN | 57.5 | ||
| =2 | Masaharu Taguchi | JPN | 57.9 | ||
| =2 | Shigeo Arai | JPN | 57.9 | ||
| 4 | Ferenc Csík | HUN | 58.1 | ||
| 5 | Peter Fick | USA | 58.2 | ||
| =6 | Helmut Fischer | GER | 58.7 | ||
| =6 | Art Lindegren | USA | 58.7 | ||
| 8 | Arthur Highland | USA | 59.4 | ||
| 9 | Bill Kendall | AUS | 59.9 | ||
| 10 | Hermann Heibel | GER | 1:00.3 | ||
| =11 | Heikki Hietanen | FIN | 1:00.5 | ||
| =11 | Draško Vilfan | YUG | 1:00.5 | ||
| =11 | Jikirum Adjaluddin | PHI | 1:00.5 | ||
| 14 | Mickey Ffrench-Williams | GBR | 1:01.0 | ||
| 15 | Oszkár Abay-Nemes | HUN | 1:01.1 | ||
| 16 | John Christensen | DEN | 1:01.6 |
| Pos | Competitor | 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 |
| Pos | Competitor | 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 |
| Date | 9 August 1936 — 15:20 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | 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 |
