| | Event type

100 metres Butterfly, Men

Date	20 – 21 October 1968
Status	Olympic
Location	Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez, Ciudad de México
Participants	47 from 28 countries

This was a new Olympic event but the favorite was well known – Mark Spitz, who was the world record holder. Spitz came to Mexico City attempting to win gold medals in six events. He disappointed, winning two gold medals in relays, and one silver and one bronze in individual events. Better things would be ahead for him in Munich four years hence. His biggest challenger in this event was his teammate Doug Russell, but Russell had never defeated Spitz at the distance. Normally a fast starter, he was invariably passed by Spitz on the home lap. In Mexico City, however, Russell went out slowly as Spitz led the final to the turn in 26.1. On the final lap, Russell pulled ahead and won the gold medal with Spitz second, winning his individual silver, and Ross Wales completing the American sweep. Spitz would return in 1972 and win this event in world record time, along with most everything else.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	15365	Doug Russell	USA	57.3 (1 h1)	55.9 (1 h3)	55.9 (1)	Gold
2	15367	Mark Spitz	USA	58.5 (1 h5)	57.4 (1 h1)	56.4 (2)	Silver
3	15369	Ross Wales	USA	58.7 (1 h3)	58.2 (2 h3)	57.2 (3)	Bronze
4	21041	Vladimir Nemshilov	URS	59.1 (2 h1)	59.0 (2 h2)	58.1 (4)
5	18151	Satoshi Maruya	JPN	58.1 (1 h4)	58.0 (1 h2)	58.6 (5)
6	21040	Yury Suzdaltsev	URS	59.3 (2 h3)	58.9 (3 h3)	58.8 (6)
7	12255	Lutz Stoklasa	FRG	59.2 (1 h6)	58.5 (2 h1)	58.9 (7)
8	13047	Robert Cusack	AUS	59.6 (2 h6)	59.2 (4 h3)	59.8 (8)
9	16690	Neil Jackson	GBR	59.7 (1 h2)	59.3 (3 h1)	–
10	16688	Martyn Woodroffe	GBR	59.7 (2 h4)	59.5 (3 h2)	–
=11	13941	Tom Arusoo	CAN	59.8 (3 h6)	59.6 (4 h2)	–
=11	17706	Avraham Melamed	ISR	59.4 (3 h3)	59.6 (4 h1)	–
13	–	Yasuo Takada	JPN	1:00.0 (2 h5)	59.8 (5 h3)	–
=14	12239	Werner Freitag	FRG	1:00.1 (3 h4)	59.9 (5 h1)	–
=14	–	Ingvar Eriksson	SWE	1:00.6 (5 h5)	59.9 (5 h2)	–
=14	20410	Bo Westergren	SWE	59.9 (2 h7)	59.9 (6 h1)	–
17	–	Gary Goodner	PUR	1:00.3 (2 h2)	1:00.1 (6 h3)	–
18	17857	Antonio Attanasio	ITA	1:00.0 (3 h1)	1:00.3 (6 h2)	–
19	13935	Ron Jacks	CAN	1:00.5 (3 h2)	1:00.5 (7 h2)	–
20	17925	Angelo Tozzi	ITA	1:00.6 (4 h5)	1:00.8 (7 h3)	–
21	19844	José Ferraioli	PUR	1:00.6 (3 h5)	1:00.9 (7 h1)	–
22	16682	John Thurley	GBR	1:00.7 (4 h1)	1:01.2 (8 h1)	–
23	12812	Luis Nicolao	ARG	59.3 (1 h7)	– (DNS h2)	–
24	15081	Arturo Lang-Lenton	ESP	1:00.7 (3 h7)	– (DNS h3)	–
25	23046	Horst-Günter Gregor	GDR	59.8 (4 h3)	–	–
26	21043	Sergey Konov	URS	1:00.8 (4 h2)	–	–
=27	21905	Eduardo Orejuela	ECU	1:00.9 (4 h7)	–	–
=27	20570	Ayis Capéronis	SUI	1:00.9 (5 h1)	–	–
29	17296	István Szentirmay	HUN	1:01.0 (5 h3)	–	–
30	13048	Graham Dunn	AUS	1:01.6 (4 h4)	–	–
=31	–	Giampiero Fossati	ITA	1:01.7 (5 h7)	–	–
=31	18758	Mario Santibáñez	MEX	1:01.7 (4 h6)	–	–
33	15887	Leroy Goff	PHI	1:02.0 (6 h3)	–	–
=34	–	Joseph Meyten	BEL	1:02.2 (6 h1)	–	–
=34	13968	Tomás Becerra	COL	1:02.2 (6 h5)	–	–
=36	13549	Nikita	BRA	1:02.3 (5 h2)	–	–
=36	20403	Peter Feil	SWE	1:02.3 (5 h6)	–	–
38	17614	Donnacha O'Dea	IRL	1:02.8 (5 h4)	–	–
39	16855	Ramiro Benavides	GUA	1:03.1 (6 h2)	–	–
40	17666	Guðmundur Gíslason	ISL	1:03.3 (6 h4)	–	–
41	18938	Maximiliano Aguilar	MEX	1:04.0 (6 h6)	–	–
42	23708	Lee Tong-Shing	TPE	1:05.2 (6 h7)	–	–
43	14930	Salvador Vilanova	ESA	1:06.4 (7 h3)	–	–
=44	21927	Andrew Loh	HKG	1:06.5 (7 h1)	–	–
=44	21928	Bob Loh	HKG	1:06.5 (7 h5)	–	–
46	14934	Rubén Guerrero	ESA	1:10.1 (7 h6)	–	–
47	14933	Friedrich Jokisch	ESA	1:10.5 (7 h4)	–	–
DNS	17290	László Cseh, Sr.	HUN	– (DNS h7)	–	–
DNS	20809	Geoffrey Ferreira	TTO	– (DNS h2)	–	–

Round One

Date	20 October 1968 — 10:00
Format	Fastest 24 advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Doug Russell	USA	57.3	QOR
2	1	Satoshi Maruya	JPN	58.1	Q
3	4	Mark Spitz	USA	58.5	Q
4	5	Ross Wales	USA	58.7	Q
5	1	Vladimir Nemshilov	URS	59.1	Q
6	2	Lutz Stoklasa	FRG	59.2	Q
=7	2	Yury Suzdaltsev	URS	59.3	Q
=7	4	Luis Nicolao	ARG	59.3	Q
9	4	Avraham Melamed	ISR	59.4	Q
10	3	Robert Cusack	AUS	59.6	Q
=11	3	Neil Jackson	GBR	59.7	Q
=11	3	Martyn Woodroffe	GBR	59.7	Q
=13	1	Horst-Günter Gregor	GDR	59.8	Q
=13	6	Tom Arusoo	CAN	59.8	Q
15	7	Bo Westergren	SWE	59.9	Q
=16	3	Antonio Attanasio	ITA	1:00.0	Q
=16	7	Yasuo Takada	JPN	1:00.0	Q
18	7	Werner Freitag	FRG	1:00.1	Q
19	2	Gary Goodner	PUR	1:00.3	Q
20	4	Ron Jacks	CAN	1:00.5	Q
=21	6	José Ferraioli	PUR	1:00.6	Q
=21	1	Angelo Tozzi	ITA	1:00.6	Q
=21	2	Ingvar Eriksson	SWE	1:00.6	Q
=24	6	John Thurley	GBR	1:00.7	Q
=24	6	Arturo Lang-Lenton	ESP	1:00.7
26	7	Sergey Konov	URS	1:00.8
=27	7	Ayis Capéronis	SUI	1:00.9
=27	5	Eduardo Orejuela	ECU	1:00.9
29	7	István Szentirmay	HUN	1:01.0
30	6	Graham Dunn	AUS	1:01.6
=31	4	Mario Santibáñez	MEX	1:01.7
=31	3	Giampiero Fossati	ITA	1:01.7
33	3	Leroy Goff	PHI	1:02.0
=34	2	Joseph Meyten	BEL	1:02.2
=34	3	Tomás Becerra	COL	1:02.2
=36	5	Nikita	BRA	1:02.3
=36	5	Peter Feil	SWE	1:02.3
38	4	Donnacha O'Dea	IRL	1:02.8
39	6	Ramiro Benavides	GUA	1:03.1
40	5	Guðmundur Gíslason	ISL	1:03.3
41	7	Maximiliano Aguilar	MEX	1:04.0
42	2	Lee Tong-Shing	TPE	1:05.2
43	6	Salvador Vilanova	ESA	1:06.4
=44	5	Andrew Loh	HKG	1:06.5
=44	5	Bob Loh	HKG	1:06.5
46	1	Rubén Guerrero	ESA	1:10.1
47	2	Friedrich Jokisch	ESA	1:10.5
DNS	–	Geoffrey Ferreira	TTO	–
DNS	–	László Cseh, Sr.	HUN	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Doug Russell	USA	57.3	QOR
2	1	Vladimir Nemshilov	URS	59.1	Q
3	3	Antonio Attanasio	ITA	1:00.0	Q
4	6	John Thurley	GBR	1:00.7	Q
5	7	Ayis Capéronis	SUI	1:00.9
6	2	Joseph Meyten	BEL	1:02.2
7	5	Andrew Loh	HKG	1:06.5

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	3	Neil Jackson	GBR	59.7	Q
2	2	Gary Goodner	PUR	1:00.3	Q
3	4	Ron Jacks	CAN	1:00.5	Q
4	7	Sergey Konov	URS	1:00.8
5	5	Nikita	BRA	1:02.3
6	6	Ramiro Benavides	GUA	1:03.1
DNS	–	Geoffrey Ferreira	TTO	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	5	Ross Wales	USA	58.7	Q
2	2	Yury Suzdaltsev	URS	59.3	Q
3	4	Avraham Melamed	ISR	59.4	Q
4	1	Horst-Günter Gregor	GDR	59.8	Q
5	7	István Szentirmay	HUN	1:01.0
6	3	Leroy Goff	PHI	1:02.0
7	6	Salvador Vilanova	ESA	1:06.4

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	1	Satoshi Maruya	JPN	58.1	Q
2	3	Martyn Woodroffe	GBR	59.7	Q
3	7	Werner Freitag	FRG	1:00.1	Q
4	6	Graham Dunn	AUS	1:01.6
5	4	Donnacha O'Dea	IRL	1:02.8
6	5	Guðmundur Gíslason	ISL	1:03.3
7	2	Friedrich Jokisch	ESA	1:10.5

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Mark Spitz	USA	58.5	Q
2	7	Yasuo Takada	JPN	1:00.0	Q
3	6	José Ferraioli	PUR	1:00.6	Q
4	1	Angelo Tozzi	ITA	1:00.6	Q
5	2	Ingvar Eriksson	SWE	1:00.6	Q
6	3	Tomás Becerra	COL	1:02.2
7	5	Bob Loh	HKG	1:06.5

Heat #6

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	2	Lutz Stoklasa	FRG	59.2	Q
2	3	Robert Cusack	AUS	59.6	Q
3	6	Tom Arusoo	CAN	59.8	Q
4	4	Mario Santibáñez	MEX	1:01.7
5	5	Peter Feil	SWE	1:02.3
6	7	Maximiliano Aguilar	MEX	1:04.0
7	1	Rubén Guerrero	ESA	1:10.1

Heat #7

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Luis Nicolao	ARG	59.3	Q
2	7	Bo Westergren	SWE	59.9	Q
3	6	Arturo Lang-Lenton	ESP	1:00.7
4	5	Eduardo Orejuela	ECU	1:00.9
5	3	Giampiero Fossati	ITA	1:01.7
6	2	Lee Tong-Shing	TPE	1:05.2
DNS	–	László Cseh, Sr.	HUN	–

Semi-Finals

Date	20 October 1968 — 17:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	3	Doug Russell	USA	55.9	QOR
2	4	Mark Spitz	USA	57.4	Q
3	3	Satoshi Maruya	JPN	58.0	Q
4	4	Ross Wales	USA	58.2	Q
5	5	Lutz Stoklasa	FRG	58.5	Q
6	2	Yury Suzdaltsev	URS	58.9	Q
7	4	Vladimir Nemshilov	URS	59.0	Q
8	5	Robert Cusack	AUS	59.2	Q
9	6	Neil Jackson	GBR	59.3
10	5	Martyn Woodroffe	GBR	59.5
=11	3	Avraham Melamed	ISR	59.6
=11	2	Tom Arusoo	CAN	59.6
13	6	Yasuo Takada	JPN	59.8
=14	7	Werner Freitag	FRG	59.9
=14	2	Bo Westergren	SWE	59.9
=14	7	Ingvar Eriksson	SWE	59.9
17	1	Gary Goodner	PUR	1:00.1
18	6	Antonio Attanasio	ITA	1:00.3
19	1	Ron Jacks	CAN	1:00.5
20	7	Angelo Tozzi	ITA	1:00.8
21	1	José Ferraioli	PUR	1:00.9
22	8	John Thurley	GBR	1:01.2
DNS	–	Luis Nicolao	ARG	–
DNS	–	Arturo Lang-Lenton	ESP	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Mark Spitz	USA	57.4	Q
2	5	Lutz Stoklasa	FRG	58.5	Q
3	6	Neil Jackson	GBR	59.3
4	3	Avraham Melamed	ISR	59.6
5	7	Werner Freitag	FRG	59.9
6	2	Bo Westergren	SWE	59.9
7	1	José Ferraioli	PUR	1:00.9
8	8	John Thurley	GBR	1:01.2

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	3	Satoshi Maruya	JPN	58.0	Q
2	4	Vladimir Nemshilov	URS	59.0	Q
3	5	Martyn Woodroffe	GBR	59.5
4	2	Tom Arusoo	CAN	59.6
5	7	Ingvar Eriksson	SWE	59.9
6	6	Antonio Attanasio	ITA	1:00.3
7	1	Ron Jacks	CAN	1:00.5
DNS	–	Luis Nicolao	ARG	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	3	Doug Russell	USA	55.9	QOR
2	4	Ross Wales	USA	58.2	Q
3	2	Yury Suzdaltsev	URS	58.9	Q
4	5	Robert Cusack	AUS	59.2	Q
5	6	Yasuo Takada	JPN	59.8
6	1	Gary Goodner	PUR	1:00.1
7	7	Angelo Tozzi	ITA	1:00.8
DNS	–	Arturo Lang-Lenton	ESP	–

Final Round

Date	21 October 1968 — 17:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Doug Russell	USA	55.9	OR
2	5	Mark Spitz	USA	56.4
3	6	Ross Wales	USA	57.2
4	1	Vladimir Nemshilov	URS	58.1
5	3	Satoshi Maruya	JPN	58.6
6	7	Yury Suzdaltsev	URS	58.8
7	2	Lutz Stoklasa	FRG	58.9
8	8	Robert Cusack	AUS	59.8