| | Event type
100 metres Breaststroke, Men
| Date | 18 – 19 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez, Ciudad de México |
| Participants | 39 from 24 countries |
This was a new Olympic event and was considered wide open, with no clear favorite. The Soviets were considered tough in the breaststroke and they qualified three swimmers for the final, led by Nikolay Pankin, the current world record holder. In the final the unheralded Don McKenzie of the United States took the early lead but was passed by Pankin and Vladimir Kosinsky at 80 metres. But McKenzie pushed through and overtook the two Soviets to win the gold medal in 1:07.7, Kosinsky edging out Pankin for the silver. Three days later Kosinsky would also win silver in the 200 metre breaststroke.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don McKenzie |  USA | 1:08.1 (1 h5) | 1:08.1 (2 h3) | 1:07.7 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Vladimir Kosinsky |  URS | 1:10.0 (2 h2) | 1:07.9 (1 h3) | 1:08.0 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Nikolay Pankin | URS | 1:08.9 (1 h1) | 1:08.1 (1 h2) | 1:08.0 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | José Sylvio Fiolo |  BRA | 1:09.5 (1 h4) | 1:08.6 (3 h3) | 1:08.1 (4) | |||
| 5 | Yevgeny Mikhaylov | URS | 1:09.3 (2 h5) | 1:08.8 (4 h3) | 1:08.4 (5) | |||
| 6 | Ian O'Brien |  AUS | 1:08.9 (1 h6) | 1:09.0 (2 h1) | 1:08.6 (6) | |||
| 7 | Alberto Forelli |  ARG | 1:09.3 (2 h6) | 1:08.9 (2 h2) | 1:08.7 (7) | |||
| 8 | Egon Henninger |  GDR | 1:09.6 (1 h3) | 1:08.9 (1 h1) | 1:09.7 (8) | |||
| 9 | Dave Perkowski | USA | 1:09.5 (3 h1) | 1:09.0 (3 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | Felipe Muñoz |  MEX | 1:10.6 (5 h5) | 1:09.4 (4 h2) | – | |||
| =11 | Bill Mahony |  CAN | 1:09.7 (3 h5) | 1:09.7 (5 h3) | – | |||
| =11 | Michael Günther |  FRG | 1:10.3 (4 h1) | 1:09.7 (3 h1) | – | |||
| =13 | Gregor Betz | FRG | 1:10.3 (2 h4) | 1:09.8 (6 h3) | – | |||
| =13 | Ladislau Koszta |  ROU | 1:10.1 (2 h3) | 1:09.8 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 15 | Klaus Katzur | GDR | 1:09.4 (2 h1) | 1:09.9 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 16 | Osamu Tsurumine |  JPN | 1:10.5 (5 h1) | 1:10.3 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 17 | Amman Jalmaani |  PHI | 1:10.6 (3 h4) | 1:10.4 (6 h1) | – | |||
| =18 | Józef Klukowski |  POL | 1:11.0 (3 h3) | 1:10.9 (7 h3) | – | |||
| =18 | Thomas Johnsson |  SWE | 1:10.0 (3 h6) | 1:10.9 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 20 | Sándor Szabó |  HUN | 1:11.3 (5 h3) | 1:11.1 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 21 | Thomas Aretz | FRG | 1:11.1 (4 h3) | 1:11.2 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 22 | Ken Merten | USA | 1:10.6 (3 h2) | 1:11.6 (8 h3) | – | |||
| 23 | Osvaldo Boretto | ARG | 1:10.3 (4 h5) | 1:11.8 (7 h2) | – | |||
| Nobutaka Taguchi | JPN | 1:09.8 (1 h2) | – (DQ h2) | – | ||||
| 25 | Slavko Kurbanović |  YUG | 1:11.6 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 26 | Roger Roberts |  GBR | 1:11.7 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 27 | Liam Ball |  IRL | 1:12.1 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| =28 | José Durán |  ESP | 1:12.3 (4 h6) | – | – | |||
| =28 | Yohan Kende |  ISR | 1:12.3 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 30 | Stuart Roberts | GBR | 1:12.7 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 31 | Nicolas Gilliard |  SUI | 1:12.8 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| =32 | Eduardo Moreno | MEX | 1:13.7 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| =32 | Leroy Goff | PHI | 1:13.7 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 34 | Iván Gómina |  COL | 1:15.1 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| =35 | Leiknir Jónsson |  ISL | 1:16.3 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| =35 | Javier Jiménez | MEX | 1:16.3 (5 h6) | – | – | |||
| 37 | Abel Muñoz |  ESA | 1:19.4 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 38 | Arturo Carranza | ESA | 1:28.0 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 39 | Eduardo Ramos | ESA | 1:31.2 (6 h6) | – | – | |||
| Massimo Sacchi |  ITA | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| István Zsadanyi | HUN | – (DNS h6) | – | – |
Round One (18 October 1968 — 10:00)
Fastest 24 advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Nikolay Pankin | URS | 1:08.9 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Klaus Katzur | GDR | 1:09.4 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Dave Perkowski | USA | 1:09.5 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Michael Günther | FRG | 1:10.3 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Osamu Tsurumine | JPN | 1:10.5 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Nicolas Gilliard | SUI | 1:12.8 | |||
| 7 | 5 | Eduardo Moreno | MEX | 1:13.7 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nobutaka Taguchi | JPN | 1:09.8 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Vladimir Kosinsky | URS | 1:10.0 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Ken Merten | USA | 1:10.6 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Liam Ball | IRL | 1:12.1 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Leiknir Jónsson | ISL | 1:16.3 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Abel Muñoz | ESA | 1:19.4 | |||
| – | Massimo Sacchi | ITA | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Egon Henninger | GDR | 1:09.6 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Ladislau Koszta | ROU | 1:10.1 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Józef Klukowski | POL | 1:11.0 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Thomas Aretz | FRG | 1:11.1 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Sándor Szabó | HUN | 1:11.3 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Stuart Roberts | GBR | 1:12.7 | |||
| 7 | 4 | Iván Gómina | COL | 1:15.1 |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | José Sylvio Fiolo | BRA | 1:09.5 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Gregor Betz | FRG | 1:10.3 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Amman Jalmaani | PHI | 1:10.6 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Slavko Kurbanović | YUG | 1:11.6 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Roger Roberts | GBR | 1:11.7 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Leroy Goff | PHI | 1:13.7 | |||
| 7 | 3 | Arturo Carranza | ESA | 1:28.0 |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Don McKenzie | USA | 1:08.1 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Yevgeny Mikhaylov | URS | 1:09.3 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Bill Mahony | CAN | 1:09.7 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Osvaldo Boretto | ARG | 1:10.3 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Felipe Muñoz | MEX | 1:10.6 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Yohan Kende | ISR | 1:12.3 |
Heat Six
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ian O'Brien | AUS | 1:08.9 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Alberto Forelli | ARG | 1:09.3 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Thomas Johnsson | SWE | 1:10.0 | |||
| 4 | 6 | José Durán | ESP | 1:12.3 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Javier Jiménez | MEX | 1:16.3 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Eduardo Ramos | ESA | 1:31.2 | |||
| – | István Zsadanyi | HUN | – |
Semi-Finals (18 October 1968 — 17:00)
Fastest eight advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Egon Henninger | GDR | 1:08.9 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Ian O'Brien | AUS | 1:09.0 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Michael Günther | FRG | 1:09.7 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Klaus Katzur | GDR | 1:09.9 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Osamu Tsurumine | JPN | 1:10.3 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Amman Jalmaani | PHI | 1:10.4 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Thomas Johnsson | SWE | 1:10.9 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Sándor Szabó | HUN | 1:11.1 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Nikolay Pankin | URS | 1:08.1 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Alberto Forelli | ARG | 1:08.9 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Dave Perkowski | USA | 1:09.0 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Felipe Muñoz | MEX | 1:09.4 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Ladislau Koszta | ROU | 1:09.8 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Thomas Aretz | FRG | 1:11.2 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Osvaldo Boretto | ARG | 1:11.8 | |||
| 8 | Nobutaka Taguchi | JPN | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Vladimir Kosinsky | URS | 1:07.9 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Don McKenzie | USA | 1:08.1 | |||
| 3 | 3 | José Sylvio Fiolo | BRA | 1:08.6 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Yevgeny Mikhaylov | URS | 1:08.8 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Bill Mahony | CAN | 1:09.7 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Gregor Betz | FRG | 1:09.8 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Józef Klukowski | POL | 1:10.9 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Ken Merten | USA | 1:11.6 |
Final (19 October 1968 — 17:00)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Don McKenzie | USA | 1:07.7 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Vladimir Kosinsky | URS | 1:08.0 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Nikolay Pankin | URS | 1:08.0 | |||
| 4 | 6 | José Sylvio Fiolo | BRA | 1:08.1 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Yevgeny Mikhaylov | URS | 1:08.4 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Ian O'Brien | AUS | 1:08.6 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Alberto Forelli | ARG | 1:08.7 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Egon Henninger | GDR | 1:09.7 |