| | Event type
100 metres Backstroke, Men
| Date | 12 – 14 August 1936 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmstadion, Reichssportfeld, Berlin |
| Participants | 30 from 17 countries |
Masaji Kiyokowa returned to defend his title but the four years since Los Angeles had seen the emergence of Adolph Kiefer. Kiefer’s father had been a swimming instructor in the German army and Keifer was to arrive in his father’s homeland as the world record holder. Kiefer was already clearly ahead at the halfway point, and was never threatened during the race. He broke the Olympic record and finished ahead of fellow American Al Vande Weghe who moved past Kiyokawa in the closing stages. The race was watched by a relatively small crowd, the result of bad weather and a clash with the handball final.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 440 | Adolph Kiefer |  USA | 1:06.9 (1 h1) | 1:06.8 (1 h1) | 1:05.9 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 441 | Al Vande Weghe | USA | 1:10.6 (2 h3) | 1:08.6 (2 h1) | 1:07.7 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 207 | Masaji Kiyokawa |  JPN | 1:07.2 (2 h1) | 1:09.7 (2 h2) | 1:08.4 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 439 | Taylor Drysdale | USA | 1:09.0 (1 h2) | 1:08.6 (1 h2) | 1:09.4 (4) | |||
| 5 | 209 | Kiichi Yoshida | JPN | 1:10.0 (1 h5) | 1:09.5 (4 h1) | 1:09.7 (5) | |||
| 6 | 208 | Yasuhiko Kojima | JPN | 1:09.7 (1 h3) | 1:09.9 (3 h2) | 1:10.4 (6) | |||
| 7 | 18 | Percy Oliver |  AUS | 1:10.2 (2 h5) | 1:09.4 (3 h1) | 1:10.7 (7) | |||
| 8 | 488 | Heinz Schlauch |  GER | 1:10.1 (2 h2) | 1:10.8 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 9 | 325 | Nils Christiansen |  PHI | 1:11.5 (3 h3) | 1:11.1 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 10 | 59 | Gordon Kerr |  CAN | 1:12.9 (2 h4) | 1:11.2 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 11 | 490 | Erwin Simon | GER | 1:11.7 (4 h3) | 1:11.7 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 12 | 489 | Hans Schwarz | GER | 1:11.0 (3 h1) | 1:11.8 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 13 | – | Draško Vilfan |  YUG | 1:11.7 (3 h2) | 1:13.3 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 14 | – | Jack Besford |  GBR | 1:12.0 (1 h4) | 1:13.6 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 15 | 166 | Piet Metman |  NED | 1:13.7 (3 h5) | 1:14.1 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 16 | 333 | Björn Borg |  SWE | 1:15.2 (3 h4) | 1:16.3 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 17 | 399 | Elemér Gombos |  HUN | 1:12.4 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 18 | 167 | Stans Scheffer | NED | 1:13.6 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 19 | 398 | György Erdélyi | HUN | 1:14.7 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 20 | 130 | Jack Middleton | GBR | 1:15.0 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 21 | 400 | Árpád Lengyel | HUN | 1:15.2 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 22 | 47 | Benevenuto Nunes |  BRA | 1:16.9 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 23 | – | Alberto Caballero | BRA | 1:17.0 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 24 | 56 | Munroe Bourne | CAN | 1:17.2 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 25 | 82 | Børge Bæth |  DEN | 1:17.3 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 26 | 263 | Marcel Neumann |  LUX | 1:18.8 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| =27 | 73 | Alfonso Casasempere |  CHI | 1:21.0 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| =27 | – | Décio Amaral Filho | BRA | 1:21.0 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 29 | 101 | Boris Roolaid |  EST | 1:21.1 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 30 | 3 | Emmanouil Mallidis |  GRE | 1:21.5 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 285 | Kurt Patuzzi |  AUT | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| 41 | Edmund Cooper |  BER | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| – | Ross Doe | BER | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| – | Ilmari Niemeläinen |  FIN | – | – | – | ||||
| 396 | Ferenc Csík | HUN | – | – | – | ||||
| 401 | Sándor Barócsy | HUN | – | – | – | ||||
| 317 | Daniel Carpio |  PER | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| 246 | Boris Praunsperger | YUG | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
Round One
| Date | 12 August 1936 — 10:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top three in each heat and the fastest fourth-place advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Adolph Kiefer | USA | 1:06.9 | ||
| 2 | – | Masaji Kiyokawa | JPN | 1:07.2 | ||
| 3 | – | Taylor Drysdale | USA | 1:09.0 | ||
| 4 | – | Yasuhiko Kojima | JPN | 1:09.7 | ||
| 5 | – | Kiichi Yoshida | JPN | 1:10.0 | ||
| 6 | – | Heinz Schlauch | GER | 1:10.1 | ||
| 7 | – | Percy Oliver | AUS | 1:10.2 | ||
| 8 | – | Al Vande Weghe | USA | 1:10.6 | ||
| 9 | – | Hans Schwarz | GER | 1:11.0 | ||
| 10 | – | Nils Christiansen | PHI | 1:11.5 | ||
| =11 | – | Draško Vilfan | YUG | 1:11.7 | ||
| =11 | – | Erwin Simon | GER | 1:11.7 | ||
| 13 | – | Jack Besford | GBR | 1:12.0 | ||
| 14 | – | Elemér Gombos | HUN | 1:12.4 | ||
| 15 | – | Gordon Kerr | CAN | 1:12.9 | ||
| 16 | – | Stans Scheffer | NED | 1:13.6 | ||
| 17 | – | Piet Metman | NED | 1:13.7 | ||
| 18 | – | György Erdélyi | HUN | 1:14.7 | ||
| 19 | – | Jack Middleton | GBR | 1:15.0 | ||
| =20 | – | Árpád Lengyel | HUN | 1:15.2 | ||
| =20 | – | Björn Borg | SWE | 1:15.2 | ||
| 22 | – | Benevenuto Nunes | BRA | 1:16.9 | ||
| 23 | – | Alberto Caballero | BRA | 1:17.0 | ||
| 24 | – | Munroe Bourne | CAN | 1:17.2 | ||
| 25 | – | Børge Bæth | DEN | 1:17.3 | ||
| 26 | – | Marcel Neumann | LUX | 1:18.8 | ||
| =27 | – | Décio Amaral Filho | BRA | 1:21.0 | ||
| =27 | – | Alfonso Casasempere | CHI | 1:21.0 | ||
| 29 | – | Boris Roolaid | EST | 1:21.1 | ||
| 30 | – | Emmanouil Mallidis | GRE | 1:21.5 | ||
| – | Ross Doe | BER | – | |||
| – | Kurt Patuzzi | AUT | – | |||
| – | Daniel Carpio | PER | – | |||
| – | Boris Praunsperger | YUG | – | |||
| – | Edmund Cooper | BER | – |
Heat #1
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Adolph Kiefer | USA | 1:06.9 | ||
| 2 | – | Masaji Kiyokawa | JPN | 1:07.2 | ||
| 3 | – | Hans Schwarz | GER | 1:11.0 | ||
| 4 | – | Elemér Gombos | HUN | 1:12.4 | ||
| 5 | – | Jack Middleton | GBR | 1:15.0 | ||
| 6 | – | Benevenuto Nunes | BRA | 1:16.9 | ||
| – | Ross Doe | BER | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Taylor Drysdale | USA | 1:09.0 | ||
| 2 | – | Heinz Schlauch | GER | 1:10.1 | ||
| 3 | – | Draško Vilfan | YUG | 1:11.7 | ||
| 4 | – | Stans Scheffer | NED | 1:13.6 | ||
| 5 | – | Árpád Lengyel | HUN | 1:15.2 | ||
| 6 | – | Munroe Bourne | CAN | 1:17.2 | ||
| 7 | – | Décio Amaral Filho | BRA | 1:21.0 |
Heat #3
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Yasuhiko Kojima | JPN | 1:09.7 | ||
| 2 | – | Al Vande Weghe | USA | 1:10.6 | ||
| 3 | – | Nils Christiansen | PHI | 1:11.5 | ||
| 4 | – | Erwin Simon | GER | 1:11.7 | ||
| 5 | – | György Erdélyi | HUN | 1:14.7 | ||
| 6 | – | Marcel Neumann | LUX | 1:18.8 | ||
| – | Kurt Patuzzi | AUT | – |
Heat #4
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Jack Besford | GBR | 1:12.0 | ||
| 2 | – | Gordon Kerr | CAN | 1:12.9 | ||
| 3 | – | Björn Borg | SWE | 1:15.2 | ||
| 4 | – | Boris Roolaid | EST | 1:21.1 | ||
| 5 | – | Emmanouil Mallidis | GRE | 1:21.5 | ||
| – | Daniel Carpio | PER | – | |||
| – | Boris Praunsperger | YUG | – |
Heat #5
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Kiichi Yoshida | JPN | 1:10.0 | ||
| 2 | – | Percy Oliver | AUS | 1:10.2 | ||
| 3 | – | Piet Metman | NED | 1:13.7 | ||
| 4 | – | Alberto Caballero | BRA | 1:17.0 | ||
| 5 | – | Børge Bæth | DEN | 1:17.3 | ||
| 6 | – | Alfonso Casasempere | CHI | 1:21.0 | ||
| – | Edmund Cooper | BER | – |
Semi-Finals
| Date | 13 August 1936 — 16:50 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top three in each heat and the fastest fourth-place advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Adolph Kiefer | USA | 1:06.8 | ||
| =2 | – | Al Vande Weghe | USA | 1:08.6 | ||
| =2 | – | Taylor Drysdale | USA | 1:08.6 | ||
| 4 | – | Percy Oliver | AUS | 1:09.4 | ||
| 5 | – | Kiichi Yoshida | JPN | 1:09.5 | ||
| 6 | – | Masaji Kiyokawa | JPN | 1:09.7 | ||
| 7 | – | Yasuhiko Kojima | JPN | 1:09.9 | ||
| 8 | – | Heinz Schlauch | GER | 1:10.8 | ||
| 9 | – | Nils Christiansen | PHI | 1:11.1 | ||
| 10 | – | Gordon Kerr | CAN | 1:11.2 | ||
| 11 | – | Erwin Simon | GER | 1:11.7 | ||
| 12 | – | Hans Schwarz | GER | 1:11.8 | ||
| 13 | – | Draško Vilfan | YUG | 1:13.3 | ||
| 14 | – | Jack Besford | GBR | 1:13.6 | ||
| 15 | – | Piet Metman | NED | 1:14.1 | ||
| 16 | – | Björn Borg | SWE | 1:16.3 |
Heat #1
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Adolph Kiefer | USA | 1:06.8 | ||
| 2 | – | Al Vande Weghe | USA | 1:08.6 | ||
| 3 | – | Percy Oliver | AUS | 1:09.4 | ||
| 4 | – | Kiichi Yoshida | JPN | 1:09.5 | ||
| 5 | – | Nils Christiansen | PHI | 1:11.1 | ||
| 6 | – | Erwin Simon | GER | 1:11.7 | ||
| 7 | – | Hans Schwarz | GER | 1:11.8 | ||
| 8 | – | Björn Borg | SWE | 1:16.3 |
Heat #2
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Taylor Drysdale | USA | 1:08.6 | ||
| 2 | – | Masaji Kiyokawa | JPN | 1:09.7 | ||
| 3 | – | Yasuhiko Kojima | JPN | 1:09.9 | ||
| 4 | – | Heinz Schlauch | GER | 1:10.8 | ||
| 5 | – | Gordon Kerr | CAN | 1:11.2 | ||
| 6 | – | Draško Vilfan | YUG | 1:13.3 | ||
| 7 | – | Jack Besford | GBR | 1:13.6 | ||
| 8 | – | Piet Metman | NED | 1:14.1 |
Final Round
| Date | 14 August 1936 — 16:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Adolph Kiefer | USA | 1:05.9 | ||
| 2 | – | Al Vande Weghe | USA | 1:07.7 | ||
| 3 | – | Masaji Kiyokawa | JPN | 1:08.4 | ||
| 4 | – | Taylor Drysdale | USA | 1:09.4 | ||
| 5 | – | Kiichi Yoshida | JPN | 1:09.7 | ||
| 6 | – | Yasuhiko Kojima | JPN | 1:10.4 | ||
| 7 | – | Percy Oliver | AUS | 1:10.7 |