| | Event type

100 metres Freestyle, Men

Date	2 – 3 September 1972
Status	Olympic
Location	Schwimmhalle, Olympiapark, München
Participants	48 from 29 countries

Mark Spitz had already won five gold medals in Munich, in his attempt to win seven golds in seven events. The day after the 100 freestyle final he would swim the medley relay final for the United States, which was pretty much a given for another gold medal. So his quest to win 7 in 7 came down to this race, the one race in which he was considered slightly vulnerable, as his teammate Jerry Heidenreich was a formidable challenger. The day before the final, in the heats and semis, he had held back and had not won either race. He considered dropping out of the final, to preserve his perfect record in Munich, but elected to race and go for seven.

Spitz started the final out fast, which surprised Heidenreich. He reached the turn well ahead and then hung on, as Heidenreich closed fast, but it was not enough to prevent Spitz from winning his sixth gold medal in Munich. Soviet Russian Vladimir Bure won the bronze medal. His son, Pavel Bure, later played for the Soviet and Russian national teams in ice hockey, and played for 12 years in the NHL.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	571	Mark Spitz	USA	52.46 (2 h7)	52.43 (2 h2)	51.22 (1)	Gold
2	560	Jerry Heidenreich	USA	52.38 (1 h6)	52.31 (1 h1)	51.65 (2)	Silver
3	524	Vladimir Bure	URS	52.87 (1 h3)	52.60 (3 h1)	51.77 (3)	Bronze
4	568	John Murphy	USA	53.07 (1 h5)	53.17 (4 h2)	52.08 (4)
5	19	Mike Wenden	AUS	52.34 (1 h7)	52.32 (1 h2)	52.41 (5)
6	–	Igor Grivennikov	URS	53.64 (1 h2)	52.55 (2 h1)	52.44 (6)
7	162	Michel Rousseau	FRA	52.93 (1 h4)	52.82 (4 h1)	52.90 (7)
8	244	Klaus Steinbach	FRG	52.91 (3 h7)	52.87 (3 h2)	52.92 (8)
9	48	José Roberto Aranha	BRA	54.06 (3 h3)	53.47 (5 h1)	–
10	79	Bob Kasting	CAN	54.07 (3 h6)	53.62 (5 h2)	–
11	532	Georgijs Kuļikovs	URS	53.78 (2 h5)	53.68 (6 h2)	–
12	84	Brian Phillips	CAN	53.75 (2 h6)	53.73 (6 h1)	–
13	134	Jorge Comas	ESP	53.70 (2 h3)	53.92 (7 h2)	–
14	196	Peter Bruch	GDR	54.25 (3 h5)	53.97 (7 h1)	–
15	16	Greg Rogers	AUS	53.98 (3 h4)	54.26 (8 h2)	–
16	–	Kersten Meier	FRG	53.96 (2 h4)	54.35 (8 h1)	–
17	45	Ruy Oliveira	BRA	54.26 (1 h1)	–	–
18	–	Gerhard Schiller	FRG	54.28 (4 h6)	–	–
19	163	Gilles Vigne	FRA	54.34 (2 h1)	–	–
20	–	Hartmut Flöckner	GDR	54.36 (4 h4)	–	–
21	200	Wilfried Hartung	GDR	54.37 (3 h1)	–	–
=22	401	Fritz Warncke	NOR	54.41 (4 h7)	–	–
=22	407	Colin Herring	NZL	54.41 (2 h2)	–	–
24	158	Alain Hermitte	FRA	54.57 (3 h2)	–	–
25	190	Malcolm Windeatt	GBR	54.70 (4 h1)	–	–
26	291	István Szentirmay	HUN	54.71 (4 h2)	–	–
27	332	Roberto Pangaro	ITA	54.74 (5 h7)	–	–
28	85	Bruce Robertson	CAN	54.76 (5 h4)	–	–
29	53	Paulo Zanetti	BRA	54.97 (4 h5)	–	–
30	–	Brian Brinkley	GBR	55.06 (5 h5)	–	–
31	491	Hanspeter Würmli	SUI	55.08 (4 h3)	–	–
32	17	Neil Rogers	AUS	55.32 (5 h3)	–	–
33	475	Marian Slavic	ROU	55.35 (6 h7)	–	–
34	284	Attila Császári	HUN	55.37 (5 h6)	–	–
35	307	Finnur Garðarsson	ISL	55.53 (6 h6)	–	–
36	438	Zbigniew Pacelt	POL	55.97 (6 h5)	–	–
37	301	Andrew Hunter	IRL	56.09 (7 h5)	–	–
38	509	Geoffrey Ferreira	TTO	56.27 (5 h1)	–	–
39	–	Salvador Vilanova	ESA	56.57 (7 h6)	–	–
40	–	Antonio Ferracuti	ESA	56.69 (5 h2)	–	–
41	389	Roberto Strauss	MEX	56.78 (6 h1)	–	–
42	–	Sandro Rudan	YUG	56.91 (6 h2)	–	–
43	580	Jorge van Balen	VEN	57.20 (7 h7)	–	–
44	266	Ronnie Wong	HKG	57.53 (8 h6)	–	–
45	351	Samnang Prak	CAM	59.18 (6 h3)	–	–
46	515	Feridun Aybars	TUR	59.32 (6 h4)	–	–
47	366	Bruno Bassoul	LBN	1:00.08 (7 h2)	–	–
48	360	Abdullah Abdulrahman	KUW	1:03.94 (8 h5)	–	–
DNS	61	Yuliyan Rusev	BUL	– (DNS h4)	–	–
DNS	118	Fernando González	ECU	–	–	–
DNS	415	Juan Carlos Bello	PER	– (DNS h7)	–	–
DNS	120	Daniel Pinargote	ECU	–	–	–
DNS	423	Luis Ayesa	PHI	– (DNS h3)	–	–
DNS	497	Anders Bellbring	SWE	– (DNS h1)	–	–

Round One

Date	2 September 1972 — 10:00
Format	Fastest 16 advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	Mike Wenden	AUS	52.34	Q
2	Jerry Heidenreich	USA	52.38	Q
3	Mark Spitz	USA	52.46	Q
4	Vladimir Bure	URS	52.87	Q
5	Klaus Steinbach	FRG	52.91	Q
6	Michel Rousseau	FRA	52.93	Q
7	John Murphy	USA	53.07	Q
8	Igor Grivennikov	URS	53.64	Q
9	Jorge Comas	ESP	53.70	Q
10	Brian Phillips	CAN	53.75	Q
11	Georgijs Kuļikovs	URS	53.78	Q
12	Kersten Meier	FRG	53.96	Q
13	Greg Rogers	AUS	53.98	Q
14	José Roberto Aranha	BRA	54.06	Q
15	Bob Kasting	CAN	54.07	Q
16	Peter Bruch	GDR	54.25	Q
17	Ruy Oliveira	BRA	54.26
18	Gerhard Schiller	FRG	54.28
19	Gilles Vigne	FRA	54.34
20	Hartmut Flöckner	GDR	54.36
21	Wilfried Hartung	GDR	54.37
=22	Colin Herring	NZL	54.41
=22	Fritz Warncke	NOR	54.41
24	Alain Hermitte	FRA	54.57
25	Malcolm Windeatt	GBR	54.70
26	István Szentirmay	HUN	54.71
27	Roberto Pangaro	ITA	54.74
28	Bruce Robertson	CAN	54.76
29	Paulo Zanetti	BRA	54.97
30	Brian Brinkley	GBR	55.06
31	Hanspeter Würmli	SUI	55.08
32	Neil Rogers	AUS	55.32
33	Marian Slavic	ROU	55.35
34	Attila Császári	HUN	55.37
35	Finnur Garðarsson	ISL	55.53
36	Zbigniew Pacelt	POL	55.97
37	Andrew Hunter	IRL	56.09
38	Geoffrey Ferreira	TTO	56.27
39	Salvador Vilanova	ESA	56.57
40	Antonio Ferracuti	ESA	56.69
41	Roberto Strauss	MEX	56.78
42	Sandro Rudan	YUG	56.91
43	Jorge van Balen	VEN	57.20
44	Ronnie Wong	HKG	57.53
45	Samnang Prak	CAM	59.18
46	Feridun Aybars	TUR	59.32
47	Bruno Bassoul	LBN	1:00.08
48	Abdullah Abdulrahman	KUW	1:03.94
DNS	Anders Bellbring	SWE	–
DNS	Luis Ayesa	PHI	–
DNS	Yuliyan Rusev	BUL	–
DNS	Juan Carlos Bello	PER	–

Heat #1

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	Ruy Oliveira	BRA	54.26	26.82 (6)	27.44 (1)
2	Gilles Vigne	FRA	54.34	26.02 (2)	28.32 (3)
3	Wilfried Hartung	GDR	54.37	26.38 (3)	27.99 (2)
4	Malcolm Windeatt	GBR	54.70	25.82 (1)	28.88 (4)
5	Geoffrey Ferreira	TTO	56.27	26.40 (4)	29.87 (5)
6	Roberto Strauss	MEX	56.78	26.48 (5)	30.30 (6)
DNS	Anders Bellbring	SWE	–	– (–)	–

Heat #2

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	Igor Grivennikov	URS	53.64	25.87 (1)	27.77 (1)	Q
2	Colin Herring	NZL	54.41	25.89 (2)	28.52 (3)
3	Alain Hermitte	FRA	54.57	26.54 (4)	28.03 (2)
4	István Szentirmay	HUN	54.71	26.15 (3)	28.56 (4)
5	Antonio Ferracuti	ESA	56.69	26.61 (5)	30.08 (5)
6	Sandro Rudan	YUG	56.91	26.73 (6)	30.18 (6)
7	Bruno Bassoul	LBN	1:00.08	29.12 (7)	30.96 (7)

Heat #3

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	Vladimir Bure	URS	52.87	25.55 (1)	27.32 (1)	Q
2	Jorge Comas	ESP	53.70	25.95 (2)	27.75 (2)	Q
3	José Roberto Aranha	BRA	54.06	25.97 (3)	28.09 (3)	Q
4	Hanspeter Würmli	SUI	55.08	26.48 (4)	28.60 (4)
5	Neil Rogers	AUS	55.32	26.51 (5)	28.81 (5)
6	Samnang Prak	CAM	59.18	28.26 (6)	30.92 (6)
DNS	Luis Ayesa	PHI	–	– (–)	–

Heat #4

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	Michel Rousseau	FRA	52.93	26.10 (2)	26.83 (1)	Q
2	Kersten Meier	FRG	53.96	26.30 (3)	27.66 (2)	Q
3	Greg Rogers	AUS	53.98	25.90 (1)	28.08 (4)	Q
4	Hartmut Flöckner	GDR	54.36	26.55 (5)	27.81 (3)
5	Bruce Robertson	CAN	54.76	26.43 (4)	28.33 (5)
6	Feridun Aybars	TUR	59.32	28.82 (6)	30.50 (6)
DNS	Yuliyan Rusev	BUL	–	– (–)	–

Heat #5

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	John Murphy	USA	53.07	25.63 (1)	27.44 (1)	Q
2	Georgijs Kuļikovs	URS	53.78	26.14 (3)	27.64 (2)	Q
3	Peter Bruch	GDR	54.25	26.28 (4)	27.97 (3)	Q
4	Paulo Zanetti	BRA	54.97	25.91 (2)	29.06 (7)
5	Brian Brinkley	GBR	55.06	27.07 (6)	27.99 (4)
6	Zbigniew Pacelt	POL	55.97	27.13 (7)	28.84 (5)
7	Andrew Hunter	IRL	56.09	27.04 (5)	29.05 (6)
8	Abdullah Abdulrahman	KUW	1:03.94	28.93 (8)	35.01 (8)

Heat #6

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	Jerry Heidenreich	USA	52.38	25.61 (1)	26.77 (1)	Q
2	Brian Phillips	CAN	53.75	26.21 (3)	27.54 (2)	Q
3	Bob Kasting	CAN	54.07	26.24 (5)	27.83 (3)	Q
4	Gerhard Schiller	FRG	54.28	26.22 (4)	28.06 (4)
5	Attila Császári	HUN	55.37	26.00 (2)	29.37 (6)
6	Finnur Garðarsson	ISL	55.53	26.76 (6)	28.77 (5)
7	Salvador Vilanova	ESA	56.57	27.04 (7)	29.53 (7)
8	Ronnie Wong	HKG	57.53	27.38 (8)	30.15 (8)

Heat #7

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	Mike Wenden	AUS	52.34	25.73 (2)	26.61 (1)	Q
2	Mark Spitz	USA	52.46	25.42 (1)	27.04 (3)	Q
3	Klaus Steinbach	FRG	52.91	26.21 (3)	26.70 (2)	Q
4	Fritz Warncke	NOR	54.41	26.37 (4)	28.04 (5)
5	Roberto Pangaro	ITA	54.74	26.74 (5)	28.00 (4)
6	Marian Slavic	ROU	55.35	27.17 (6)	28.18 (6)
7	Jorge van Balen	VEN	57.20	28.14 (7)	29.06 (7)
DNS	Juan Carlos Bello	PER	–	– (–)	–

Semi-Finals

Date	2 September 1972 — 18:00
Format	Top three in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the final.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	Jerry Heidenreich	USA	52.31	Q
2	Mike Wenden	AUS	52.32	Q
3	Mark Spitz	USA	52.43	Q
4	Igor Grivennikov	URS	52.55	Q
5	Vladimir Bure	URS	52.60	Q
6	Michel Rousseau	FRA	52.82	Q
7	Klaus Steinbach	FRG	52.87	Q
8	John Murphy	USA	53.17	Q
9	José Roberto Aranha	BRA	53.47
10	Bob Kasting	CAN	53.62
11	Georgijs Kuļikovs	URS	53.68
12	Brian Phillips	CAN	53.73
13	Jorge Comas	ESP	53.92
14	Peter Bruch	GDR	53.97
15	Greg Rogers	AUS	54.26
16	Kersten Meier	FRG	54.35

Heat #1

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	Jerry Heidenreich	USA	52.31	25.37 (2)	26.94 (1)	Q
2	Igor Grivennikov	URS	52.55	25.50 (5)	27.05 (2)	Q
3	Vladimir Bure	URS	52.60	25.36 (1)	27.24 (3)	Q
4	Michel Rousseau	FRA	52.82	25.47 (3)	27.35 (4)	Q
5	José Roberto Aranha	BRA	53.47	25.49 (4)	27.98 (7)
6	Brian Phillips	CAN	53.73	26.06 (6)	27.67 (6)
7	Peter Bruch	GDR	53.97	26.46 (8)	27.51 (5)
8	Kersten Meier	FRG	54.35	26.25 (7)	28.10 (8)

Heat #2

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	Mike Wenden	AUS	52.32	25.74 (2)	26.58 (1)	Q
2	Mark Spitz	USA	52.43	25.82 (4)	26.61 (2)	Q
3	Klaus Steinbach	FRG	52.87	26.17 (7)	26.70 (3)	Q
4	John Murphy	USA	53.17	25.76 (3)	27.41 (4)	Q
5	Bob Kasting	CAN	53.62	25.97 (6)	27.65 (6)
6	Georgijs Kuļikovs	URS	53.68	25.95 (5)	27.73 (7)
7	Jorge Comas	ESP	53.92	26.32 (8)	27.60 (5)
8	Greg Rogers	AUS	54.26	25.66 (1)	28.60 (8)

Final Round

Date	3 September 1972 — 18:45

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Mark Spitz	USA	51.22	24.56 (1)	26.66 (1)	WR
2	–	Jerry Heidenreich	USA	51.65	24.92 (2)	26.73 (2)
3	–	Vladimir Bure	URS	51.77	24.96 (3)	26.81 (3)
4	–	John Murphy	USA	52.08	25.26 (5)	26.82 (4)
5	–	Mike Wenden	AUS	52.41	25.38 (7)	27.03 (5)
6	–	Igor Grivennikov	URS	52.44	25.34 (6)	27.10 (6)
7	–	Michel Rousseau	FRA	52.90	25.08 (4)	27.82 (8)
8	–	Klaus Steinbach	FRG	52.92	25.66 (8)	27.26 (7)