| | Event type

100 metres Freestyle, Men

Date	28 July 1992
Status	Olympic
Location	Piscinas Bernat Picornell, Barcelona
Participants	75 from 52 countries

Swimming World said, “Its hard not to imagine Matt Biondi winning.” He was the defending champion, the world record holder with 48.42, had the eight fastest times in the event, and 12 of the top 13, and had won the event at the 1986 and 1991 World Championships and the 1985, 1987, and 1991 Pan Pacifics. Russian Aleksandr Popov was the 1991 European Champion and in 1991 had tied Biondi and France’s Stéphan Caron for the leading time in the world (49.18). But he was considered only a contender for a medal, not the gold. Someone forgot to tell him that.

Popov qualified first with 49.27. In the final he was only sixth at 50 metres, and then swam the back 50 in 24.99, the first time anyone had bettered 25 seconds for the back 50 of the 100 freestyle. This brought him home in a PR of 49.02 for the gold medal. Biondi led at the turn, but flagged badly in the final lap and placed only fifth.

The scoreboard initially showed Caron as second and Brazilian Gustavo Borges last in 1:02, which was an obvious mistake. It turned out his touchpad had malfunctioned so the officials reviewed the film and he was given 49.53, tying him with Biondi for fourth. But on further review, the officials realized they were looking at Biondi’s finish and Borges time was corrected to 49.43, giving him the silver medal.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	186	Aleksandr Popov	EUN	49.29 (1 h10)	–	49.02 (1)	Gold
2	62	Gustavo Borges	BRA	49.49 (2 h10)	–	49.43 (2)	Silver
3	215	Stéphan Caron	FRA	49.82 (1 h9)	–	49.50 (3)	Bronze
4	626	Jon Olsen	USA	49.63 (1 h8)	–	49.51 (4)
5	603	Matt Biondi	USA	49.75 (3 h10)	–	49.53 (5)
6	576	Tom Werner	SWE	50.08 (2 h8)	–	49.63 (6)
7	290	Christian Tröger	GER	50.05 (2 h9)	–	49.84 (7)
8	187	Gennady Prigoda	EUN	50.00 (4 h10)	–	50.25 (8)
9	503	Ricardo Busquets	PUR	50.31 (1 h7)	49.92 (1)	–
10	417	Raimundas Mažuolis	LTU	50.17 (3 h9)	50.13 (2)	–
11	227	Christophe Kalfayan	FRA	50.30 (5 h9)	50.49 (3)	–
12	286	Nils Rudolph	GER	50.29 (4 h9)	50.62 (4)	–
13	467	John Steel	NZL	50.59 (=5 h10)	50.69 (5)	–
14	16	Chris Fydler	AUS	50.26 (3 h8)	50.78 (6)	–
15	363	Roberto Gleria	ITA	50.66 (7 h10)	50.81 (7)	–
16	10	Andrew Baildon	AUS	50.59 (=5 h10)	50.93 (8)	–
17	366	Giorgio Lamberti	ITA	50.65 (4 h8)	–	–		1
=18	82	Stephen Clarke	CAN	50.73 (=5 h8)	–	–
=18	564	Håkan Karlsson	SWE	50.73 (=5 h8)	–	–
20	336	Béla Szabados	HUN	50.78 (7 h8)	–	–
21	243	Mike Fibbens	GBR	50.93 (6 h9)	–	–
22	425	Rodrigo González	MEX	51.04 (2 h7)	–	–
23	553	Stéfan Voléry	SUI	51.05 (1 h6)	–	–
24	249	Paul Howe	GBR	51.12 (8 h10)	–	–
25	64	Emanuel Fortes	BRA	51.17 (7 h9)	–	–
26	132	Franz Mortensen	DEN	51.29 (8 h9)	–	–
27	593	Uğur Taner	TUR	51.34 (8 h8)	–	–
28	456	Jarl Inge Melberg	NOR	51.39 (3 h7)	–	–
29	524	Seddon Keyter	RSA	51.42 (4 h7)	–	–
30	342	Mladen Kapor	IOA	51.44 (1 h1)	–	–
31	348	Yoav Bruck	ISR	51.46 (5 h7)	–	–
=32	165	Indrek Sei	EST	51.47 (2 h6)	–	–
=32	418	Yves Clausse	LUX	51.47 (6 h7)	–	–
34	398	Tsutomu Nakano	JPN	51.63 (7 h7)	–	–
35	481	Krzysztof Cwalina	POL	51.70 (3 h6)	–	–
36	465	Nick Sanders	NZL	51.77 (4 h6)	–	–
37	556	Giovanni Linscheer	SUR	51.82 (5 h6)	–	–
38	199	Janne Blomqvist	FIN	51.86 (1 h5)	–	–
39	320	Michael Wright	HKG	51.88 (6 h6)	–	–
40	119	Xie Jun	CHN	51.94 (7 h6)	–	–
41	106	Darren Ward	CAN	52.05 (8 h6)	–	–
42	316	Arthur Li	HKG	52.22 (2 h5)	–	–
43	45	Allan Murray	BAH	52.43 (3 h5)	–	–
44	128	Stavros Michailidis	CYP	52.54 (4 h5)	–	–
45	399	Shigeo Ogata	JPN	52.74 (1 h4)	–	–
46	642	Ivor Le Roux	ZIM	52.92 (5 h5)	–	–
47	555	Enrico Linscheer	SUR	52.94 (2 h4)	–	–
48	53	Marc Verbeeck	BEL	52.97 (6 h5)	–	–
49	6	Sebastián Lasave	ARG	53.07 (7 h5)	–	–
50	56	Geri Mewett	BER	53.14 (3 h4)	–	–
51	58	Ian Raynor	BER	53.16 (1 h3)	–	–
52	139	Mohamed El-Azoul	EGY	53.31 (4 h4)	–	–
53	300	Nikos Paleokrassas	GRE	53.47 (5 h4)	–	–
54	643	Rory McGown	ZIM	53.65 (2 h3)	–	–
55	313	Patrick Sagisi	GUM	53.90 (8 h5)	–	–
56	539	Kenneth Yeo	SGP	54.44 (6 h4)	–	–
57	322	Plutarco Castellanos	HON	54.66 (3 h3)	–	–
58	303	Gustavo Búcaro	GUA	54.74 (4 h3)	–	–
59	312	Adrian Romero	GUM	54.77 (1 h2)	–	–
60	352	Laurent Alfred	ISV	54.89 (5 h3)	–	–
61	306	Helder Torres	GUA	55.38 (6 h3)	–	–
62	1	Frank Leskaj	ALB	55.50 (7 h4)	–	–
63	415	Émile Lahoud	LBN	55.51 (2 h2)	–	–
64	529	Mouhamed Diop	SEN	55.82 (2 h1)	–	–
65	408	Hussein Al-Sadiq	KSA	55.96 (3 h2)	–	–
66	596	Ahmad Faraj	UAE	56.05 (4 h2)	–	–
67	532	Ivan Roberts	SEY	56.15 (5 h2)	–	–
68	530	Bruno N'Diaye	SEN	56.39 (3 h1)	–	–
69	410	Jarrah Al-Asmawi	KUW	56.72 (7 h3)	–	–
70	595	Mohamed Bin Abid	UAE	56.82 (6 h2)	–	–
71	198	Carl Probert	FIJ	57.25 (7 h2)	–	–
72	533	Kenny Roberts	SEY	58.86 (4 h1)	–	–
73	196	Foy Gordon Chung	FIJ	1:03.96 (5 h1)	–	–
74	420	Ahmed Imthiyaz	MDV	1:04.96 (6 h1)	–	–
75	421	Mohamed Rasheed	MDV	1:08.12 (7 h1)	–	–
DNS	412	Nayef Al-Hasawi	KUW	– (DNS h4)	–	–
DNS	528	Peter Williams	RSA	– (DNS h7)	–	–

Round One

Date	28 July 1992 — 10:30
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Aleksandr Popov	EUN	49.29	Q
2	–	Gustavo Borges	BRA	49.49	Q
3	–	Jon Olsen	USA	49.63	Q
4	–	Matt Biondi	USA	49.75	Q
5	–	Stéphan Caron	FRA	49.82	Q
6	–	Gennady Prigoda	EUN	50.00	Q
7	–	Christian Tröger	GER	50.05	Q
8	–	Tom Werner	SWE	50.08	Q	2
9	–	Raimundas Mažuolis	LTU	50.17	q
10	–	Chris Fydler	AUS	50.26	q
11	–	Nils Rudolph	GER	50.29	q
12	–	Christophe Kalfayan	FRA	50.30	q
13	–	Ricardo Busquets	PUR	50.31	q
=14	–	John Steel	NZL	50.59	q
=14	–	Andrew Baildon	AUS	50.59	q
16	–	Giorgio Lamberti	ITA	50.65	q
17	–	Roberto Gleria	ITA	50.66
=18	–	Håkan Karlsson	SWE	50.73
=18	–	Stephen Clarke	CAN	50.73
20	–	Béla Szabados	HUN	50.78
21	–	Mike Fibbens	GBR	50.93
22	–	Rodrigo González	MEX	51.04
23	–	Stéfan Voléry	SUI	51.05
24	–	Paul Howe	GBR	51.12
25	–	Emanuel Fortes	BRA	51.17
26	–	Franz Mortensen	DEN	51.29
27	–	Uğur Taner	TUR	51.34
28	–	Jarl Inge Melberg	NOR	51.39
29	–	Seddon Keyter	RSA	51.42
30	–	Mladen Kapor	IOA	51.44
31	–	Yoav Bruck	ISR	51.46
=32	–	Indrek Sei	EST	51.47
=32	–	Yves Clausse	LUX	51.47
34	–	Tsutomu Nakano	JPN	51.63
35	–	Krzysztof Cwalina	POL	51.70
36	–	Nick Sanders	NZL	51.77
37	–	Giovanni Linscheer	SUR	51.82
38	–	Janne Blomqvist	FIN	51.86
39	–	Michael Wright	HKG	51.88
40	–	Xie Jun	CHN	51.94
41	–	Darren Ward	CAN	52.05
42	–	Arthur Li	HKG	52.22
43	–	Allan Murray	BAH	52.43
44	–	Stavros Michailidis	CYP	52.54
45	–	Shigeo Ogata	JPN	52.74
46	–	Ivor Le Roux	ZIM	52.92
47	–	Enrico Linscheer	SUR	52.94
48	–	Marc Verbeeck	BEL	52.97
49	–	Sebastián Lasave	ARG	53.07
50	–	Geri Mewett	BER	53.14
51	–	Ian Raynor	BER	53.16
52	–	Mohamed El-Azoul	EGY	53.31
53	–	Nikos Paleokrassas	GRE	53.47
54	–	Rory McGown	ZIM	53.65
55	–	Patrick Sagisi	GUM	53.90
56	–	Kenneth Yeo	SGP	54.44
57	–	Plutarco Castellanos	HON	54.66
58	–	Gustavo Búcaro	GUA	54.74
59	–	Adrian Romero	GUM	54.77
60	–	Laurent Alfred	ISV	54.89
61	–	Helder Torres	GUA	55.38
62	–	Frank Leskaj	ALB	55.50
63	–	Émile Lahoud	LBN	55.51
64	–	Mouhamed Diop	SEN	55.82
65	–	Hussein Al-Sadiq	KSA	55.96
66	–	Ahmad Faraj	UAE	56.05
67	–	Ivan Roberts	SEY	56.15
68	–	Bruno N'Diaye	SEN	56.39
69	–	Jarrah Al-Asmawi	KUW	56.72
70	–	Mohamed Bin Abid	UAE	56.82
71	–	Carl Probert	FIJ	57.25
72	–	Kenny Roberts	SEY	58.86
73	–	Foy Gordon Chung	FIJ	1:03.96
74	–	Ahmed Imthiyaz	MDV	1:04.96
75	–	Mohamed Rasheed	MDV	1:08.12
DNS	–	Nayef Al-Hasawi	KUW	–
DNS	–	Peter Williams	RSA	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Mladen Kapor	IOA	51.44	24.15 (1)	27.29 (1)
2	–	Mouhamed Diop	SEN	55.82	25.96 (2)	29.86 (3)
3	–	Bruno N'Diaye	SEN	56.39	27.49 (3)	28.90 (2)
4	–	Kenny Roberts	SEY	58.86	27.91 (4)	30.95 (4)
5	–	Foy Gordon Chung	FIJ	1:03.96	30.51 (=5)	33.45 (5)
6	–	Ahmed Imthiyaz	MDV	1:04.96	30.51 (=5)	34.45 (6)
7	–	Mohamed Rasheed	MDV	1:08.12	31.65 (7)	36.47 (7)

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Adrian Romero	GUM	54.77	25.74 (1)	29.03 (4)
2	–	Émile Lahoud	LBN	55.51	26.96 (2)	28.55 (2)
3	–	Hussein Al-Sadiq	KSA	55.96	27.11 (4)	28.85 (3)
4	–	Ahmad Faraj	UAE	56.05	27.60 (7)	28.45 (1)
5	–	Ivan Roberts	SEY	56.15	26.97 (3)	29.18 (5)
6	–	Mohamed Bin Abid	UAE	56.82	27.13 (5)	29.69 (6)
7	–	Carl Probert	FIJ	57.25	27.27 (6)	29.98 (7)

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Ian Raynor	BER	53.16	24.96 (1)	28.20 (2)
2	–	Rory McGown	ZIM	53.65	25.68 (3)	27.97 (1)
3	–	Plutarco Castellanos	HON	54.66	26.20 (4)	28.46 (4)
4	–	Gustavo Búcaro	GUA	54.74	26.51 (5)	28.23 (3)
5	–	Laurent Alfred	ISV	54.89	25.67 (2)	29.22 (7)
6	–	Helder Torres	GUA	55.38	26.60 (6)	28.78 (5)
7	–	Jarrah Al-Asmawi	KUW	56.72	27.51 (7)	29.21 (6)

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Shigeo Ogata	JPN	52.74	25.61 (1)	27.13 (1)
2	–	Enrico Linscheer	SUR	52.94	25.76 (2)	27.18 (2)
3	–	Geri Mewett	BER	53.14	25.94 (5)	27.20 (3)
4	–	Mohamed El-Azoul	EGY	53.31	25.85 (4)	27.46 (4)
5	–	Nikos Paleokrassas	GRE	53.47	25.83 (3)	27.64 (5)
6	–	Kenneth Yeo	SGP	54.44	26.40 (6)	28.04 (6)
7	–	Frank Leskaj	ALB	55.50	26.80 (7)	28.70 (7)
DNS	–	Nayef Al-Hasawi	KUW	–	– (–)	–

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Janne Blomqvist	FIN	51.86	25.17 (2)	26.69 (1)
2	–	Arthur Li	HKG	52.22	24.83 (1)	27.39 (4)
3	–	Allan Murray	BAH	52.43	25.26 (4)	27.17 (2)
4	–	Stavros Michailidis	CYP	52.54	25.32 (6)	27.22 (3)
5	–	Ivor Le Roux	ZIM	52.92	25.48 (8)	27.44 (5)
6	–	Marc Verbeeck	BEL	52.97	25.28 (5)	27.69 (6)
7	–	Sebastián Lasave	ARG	53.07	25.18 (3)	27.89 (7)
8	–	Patrick Sagisi	GUM	53.90	25.45 (7)	28.45 (8)

Heat #6

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Stéfan Voléry	SUI	51.05	24.61 (1)	26.44 (1)
2	–	Indrek Sei	EST	51.47	24.68 (2)	26.79 (=4)
3	–	Krzysztof Cwalina	POL	51.70	24.91 (4)	26.79 (=4)
4	–	Nick Sanders	NZL	51.77	24.98 (5)	26.79 (=4)
5	–	Giovanni Linscheer	SUR	51.82	25.35 (7)	26.47 (2)
6	–	Michael Wright	HKG	51.88	25.38 (8)	26.50 (3)
7	–	Xie Jun	CHN	51.94	24.88 (3)	27.06 (=7)
8	–	Darren Ward	CAN	52.05	24.99 (6)	27.06 (=7)

Heat #7

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Ricardo Busquets	PUR	50.31	24.84 (5)	25.47 (1)	q
2	–	Rodrigo González	MEX	51.04	24.82 (4)	26.22 (2)
3	–	Jarl Inge Melberg	NOR	51.39	24.80 (3)	26.59 (4)
4	–	Seddon Keyter	RSA	51.42	24.52 (1)	26.90 (7)
5	–	Yoav Bruck	ISR	51.46	25.12 (7)	26.34 (3)
6	–	Yves Clausse	LUX	51.47	24.59 (2)	26.88 (6)
7	–	Tsutomu Nakano	JPN	51.63	24.97 (6)	26.66 (5)
DNS	–	Peter Williams	RSA	–	– (–)	–

Heat #8

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Jon Olsen	USA	49.63	23.92 (1)	25.71 (2)	Q
2	–	Tom Werner	SWE	50.08	24.55 (5)	25.53 (1)	Q	3
3	–	Chris Fydler	AUS	50.26	24.28 (3)	25.98 (4)	q
4	–	Giorgio Lamberti	ITA	50.65	24.73 (8)	25.92 (3)	q
=5	–	Håkan Karlsson	SWE	50.73	24.10 (2)	26.63 (=7)
=5	–	Stephen Clarke	CAN	50.73	24.46 (4)	26.27 (6)
7	–	Béla Szabados	HUN	50.78	24.64 (6)	26.14 (5)
8	–	Uğur Taner	TUR	51.34	24.71 (7)	26.63 (=7)

Heat #9

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Stéphan Caron	FRA	49.82	23.94 (3)	25.88 (2)	Q
2	–	Christian Tröger	GER	50.05	24.14 (5)	25.91 (3)	Q
3	–	Raimundas Mažuolis	LTU	50.17	24.46 (7)	25.71 (1)	q
4	–	Nils Rudolph	GER	50.29	23.53 (1)	26.76 (=6)	q
5	–	Christophe Kalfayan	FRA	50.30	23.91 (2)	26.39 (4)	q
6	–	Mike Fibbens	GBR	50.93	24.17 (6)	26.76 (=6)
7	–	Emanuel Fortes	BRA	51.17	24.64 (8)	26.53 (5)
8	–	Franz Mortensen	DEN	51.29	24.06 (4)	27.23 (8)

Heat #10

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Aleksandr Popov	EUN	49.29	23.89 (4)	25.40 (1)	Q
2	–	Gustavo Borges	BRA	49.49	23.88 (3)	25.61 (2)	Q
3	–	Matt Biondi	USA	49.75	23.70 (2)	26.05 (=4)	Q
4	–	Gennady Prigoda	EUN	50.00	23.27 (1)	26.73 (8)	Q
=5	–	John Steel	NZL	50.59	24.65 (7)	25.94 (3)	q
=5	–	Andrew Baildon	AUS	50.59	24.28 (5)	26.31 (6)	q
7	–	Roberto Gleria	ITA	50.66	24.61 (6)	26.05 (=4)
8	–	Paul Howe	GBR	51.12	24.77 (8)	26.35 (7)

B Final

Date	28 July 1992 — 18:30

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Ricardo Busquets	PUR	49.92	24.68 (5)	25.24 (1)
2	–	Raimundas Mažuolis	LTU	50.13	24.21 (3)	25.92 (4)
3	–	Christophe Kalfayan	FRA	50.49	24.71 (6)	25.78 (2)
4	–	Nils Rudolph	GER	50.62	24.15 (2)	26.47 (7)
5	–	John Steel	NZL	50.69	24.84 (8)	25.85 (3)
6	–	Chris Fydler	AUS	50.78	24.76 (7)	26.02 (5)
7	–	Roberto Gleria	ITA	50.81	24.60 (4)	26.21 (6)
8	–	Andrew Baildon	AUS	50.93	24.10 (1)	26.83 (8)

Final Round

Date	28 July 1992 — 18:30

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Aleksandr Popov	EUN	49.02	24.03 (6)	24.99 (1)
2	–	Gustavo Borges	BRA	49.43	23.81 (3)	25.62 (5)
3	–	Stéphan Caron	FRA	49.50	24.15 (7)	25.35 (3)
4	–	Jon Olsen	USA	49.51	24.00 (4)	25.51 (4)
5	–	Matt Biondi	USA	49.53	23.30 (1)	26.23 (7)
6	–	Tom Werner	SWE	49.63	24.30 (8)	25.33 (2)
7	–	Christian Tröger	GER	49.84	24.02 (5)	25.82 (6)
8	–	Gennady Prigoda	EUN	50.25	23.63 (2)	26.62 (8)