| | Event type
100 metres Freestyle, Men
| Date | 24 – 25 July 1976 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Piscine olympique, Montréal, Québec |
| Participants | 41 from 27 countries |
American Jim Montgomery had broken the world record in this event in August 1975 in Kansas City, finishing in 50.59. But he bettered that in the semi-finals in Montréal with 50.39 and entered the final as a clear favorite. He went out fast in the finishing, hitting the wall in 24.14, 6/10ths ahead of teammate Jack Babashoff. But he did not slow, winning the gold medal in 49.99 for another world record and becoming the first man to swim 100 metres in under 50 seconds. Babashoff trailed behind in 50.81 for the silver with West German Peter Nocke getting bronze. One man who might have challenged Montgomery in Montréal was not there. That was Jonty Skinner of South Africa, who could not compete because his nation was banned by the IOC because of their apartheid policies. A few weeks after Montréal, Skinner lowered Montgomery’s world record to 49.44.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Montgomery |  USA | 52.13 (1 h6) | 50.39 (1 h1) | 49.99 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Jack Babashoff | USA | 51.53 (2 h3) | 51.46 (1 h2) | 50.81 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Peter Nocke |  FRG | 51.59 (2 h5) | 51.83 (2 h2) | 51.31 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Klaus Steinbach | FRG | 51.47 (1 h3) | 51.62 (3 h1) | 51.68 (4) | |||
| 5 | Marcello Guarducci |  ITA | 51.57 (1 h2) | 51.35 (2 h1) | 51.70 (5) | |||
| 6 | Joe Bottom | USA | 51.47 (1 h5) | 51.92 (3 h2) | 51.79 (6) | |||
| 7 | Vladimir Bure |  URS | 51.81 (1 h4) | 51.93 (4 h1) | 52.03 (7) | |||
| 8 | Andrey Krylov | URS | 52.02 (2 h4) | 52.32 (4 h2) | 52.15 (8) | |||
| 9 | Michel Rousseau |  FRA | 52.43 (2 h6) | 52.36 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | Roberto Pangaro | ITA | 53.05 (3 h6) | 52.68 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 11 | Steve Pickell |  CAN | 52.65 (2 h2) | 52.89 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 12 | René Écuyer | FRA | 53.20 (4 h2) | 52.92 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 13 | Gary MacDonald | CAN | 52.91 (3 h4) | 52.96 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 14 | Andrey Bogdanov | URS | 53.23 (1 h1) | 53.05 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 15 | Martin Smith |  GBR | 53.17 (3 h2) | 53.11 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 16 | Svante Rasmuson |  SWE | 53.20 (4 h4) | 53.34 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 17 | Kevin Burns | GBR | 53.23 (4 h6) | – | – | |||
| 18 | Glenn Patching |  AUS | 53.29 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 19 | Bruce Robertson | CAN | 53.37 (3 h5) | – | – | |||
| 20 | Peter Coughlan | AUS | 53.49 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 21 | Ramón Volcán |  VEN | 53.53 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 22 | Fritz Warncke |  NOR | 53.55 (5 h6) | – | – | |||
| 23 | Dan Larsson | SWE | 53.81 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 24 | Stefan Georgiev |  BUL | 53.85 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 25 | Jorge Delgado |  ECU | 53.91 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 26 | Roger Pyttel |  GDR | 53.93 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 27 | Neil Rogers | AUS | 53.96 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 28 | Dirk Braunleder | FRG | 54.04 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 29 | Jorge Comas |  ESP | 54.05 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 30 | Gianni Versari |  PAN | 54.11 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 31 | Mark Crocker |  HKG | 54.14 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 32 | Paul Jouanneau |  BRA | 54.49 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 33 | Helmut Levy |  COL | 54.60 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 34 | Kozo Higuchi |  JPN | 54.67 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 35 | Fernando Canales |  PUR | 55.31 (6 h6) | – | – | |||
| 36 | Steven Newkirk |  ISV | 55.43 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 37 | José Gomes Pereira |  POR | 55.46 (7 h6) | – | – | |||
| 38 | Kris Sumono |  INA | 55.50 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 39 | Gerardo Rosario |  PHI | 56.00 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 40 | Sigurður Ólafsson |  ISL | 56.01 (8 h6) | – | – | |||
| 41 | Campari Knoepffler |  NCA | 58.48 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| Gerardo Vera | VEN | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| John Ebito |  NGR | – (DNS h5) | – | – |
Round One (24 July 1976 — 11:00)
Fastest 16 advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Andrey Bogdanov | URS | 53.23 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Stefan Georgiev | BUL | 53.85 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Roger Pyttel | GDR | 53.93 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Dirk Braunleder | FRG | 54.04 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Jorge Comas | ESP | 54.05 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Mark Crocker | HKG | 54.14 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Kozo Higuchi | JPN | 54.67 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Marcello Guarducci | ITA | 51.57 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Steve Pickell | CAN | 52.65 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Martin Smith | GBR | 53.17 | |||
| 4 | 3 | René Écuyer | FRA | 53.20 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Ramón Volcán | VEN | 53.53 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Helmut Levy | COL | 54.60 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Kris Sumono | INA | 55.50 |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Klaus Steinbach | FRG | 51.47 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Jack Babashoff | USA | 51.53 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Jorge Delgado | ECU | 53.91 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Neil Rogers | AUS | 53.96 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Paul Jouanneau | BRA | 54.49 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Campari Knoepffler | NCA | 58.48 | |||
| 2 | Gerardo Vera | VEN | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Vladimir Bure | URS | 51.81 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Andrey Krylov | URS | 52.02 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Gary MacDonald | CAN | 52.91 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Svante Rasmuson | SWE | 53.20 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Glenn Patching | AUS | 53.29 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Gerardo Rosario | PHI | 56.00 |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Joe Bottom | USA | 51.47 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Peter Nocke | FRG | 51.59 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Bruce Robertson | CAN | 53.37 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Peter Coughlan | AUS | 53.49 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Dan Larsson | SWE | 53.81 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Gianni Versari | PAN | 54.11 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Steven Newkirk | ISV | 55.43 | |||
| 8 | John Ebito | NGR | – |
Heat Six
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Jim Montgomery | USA | 52.13 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Michel Rousseau | FRA | 52.43 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Roberto Pangaro | ITA | 53.05 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Kevin Burns | GBR | 53.23 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Fritz Warncke | NOR | 53.55 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Fernando Canales | PUR | 55.31 | |||
| 7 | 7 | José Gomes Pereira | POR | 55.46 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Sigurður Ólafsson | ISL | 56.01 |
Swim-Off for 16th Place
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Andrey Bogdanov | URS | 52.82 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Kevin Burns | GBR | 53.11 |
Semi-Finals (24 July 1976 — 19:00)
Fastest eight advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Jim Montgomery | USA | 50.39 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Marcello Guarducci | ITA | 51.35 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Klaus Steinbach | FRG | 51.62 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Vladimir Bure | URS | 51.93 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Roberto Pangaro | ITA | 52.68 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Steve Pickell | CAN | 52.89 | |||
| 7 | 1 | René Écuyer | FRA | 52.92 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Andrey Bogdanov | URS | 53.05 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Jack Babashoff | USA | 51.46 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Peter Nocke | FRG | 51.83 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Joe Bottom | USA | 51.92 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Andrey Krylov | URS | 52.32 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Michel Rousseau | FRA | 52.36 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Gary MacDonald | CAN | 52.96 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Martin Smith | GBR | 53.11 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Svante Rasmuson | SWE | 53.34 |
Final (25 July 1976 — 20:15)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Jim Montgomery | USA | 49.99 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Jack Babashoff | USA | 50.81 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Peter Nocke | FRG | 51.31 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Klaus Steinbach | FRG | 51.68 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Marcello Guarducci | ITA | 51.70 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Joe Bottom | USA | 51.79 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Vladimir Bure | URS | 52.03 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Andrey Krylov | URS | 52.15 |