| | Event type

100 metres Freestyle, Men

Date	22 July 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	60 from 54 countries

Aleksandr Popov had won every major championship at both 50 and 100 metres title since winning the Olympic title four years earlier in Barcelona so it was obvious that he would start as a hot favourite.

The only real threat to Popov was Gary Hall, Jr., an American with whom Popov had a spikey relationship. As expected the two men led the qualifying times and were placed next to each other for the final. At 50 metres Hall enjoyed a small lead over Popov but this was lost when the Russian made the better turn. Hall responded and pulled level but a finishing burst from Popov was decisive and he became the first man to retain the Olympic 100 metres freestyle title since Johnny Weissmuller in 1924. Gustavo Borges of Brazil added a bronze medal to the silver medal he won in the same event in 1992.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	Aleksandr Popov	RUS	48.74 (1 h8)	–	48.74 (1)	Gold
2	Gary Hall, Jr.	USA	48.90 (1 h6)	–	48.81 (2)	Silver
3	Gustavo Borges	BRA	49.17 (2 h8)	–	49.02 (3)	Bronze
4	Pieter van den Hoogenband	NED	49.73 (4 h6)	–	49.13 (4)
5	Xuxa Scherer	BRA	49.79 (3 h8)	–	49.57 (5)
6	Pavlo Khnykin	UKR	49.69 (3 h6)	–	49.65 (6)
7	Ricardo Busquets	PUR	49.61 (1 h5)	–	49.68 (7)
8	Francisco Sánchez	VEN	49.59 (2 h6)	–	49.84 (8)
9	Jon Olsen	USA	50.17 (2 h7)	49.80 (1)	–
10	Christian Tröger	GER	50.06 (5 h6)	49.90 (2)	–
11	Björn Zikarsky	GER	50.38 (4 h7)	49.91 (3)	–
12	Sion Brinn	JAM	50.38 (1 h4)	50.09 (4)	–
13	Chris Fydler	AUS	50.27 (3 h7)	50.31 (5)	–
14	Rostyslav Svanidze	UKR	50.31 (5 h8)	50.43 (6)	–
15	Stephen Clarke	CAN	50.14 (1 h7)	50.45 (7)	–
16	Bartosz Kizierowski	POL	50.18 (2 h5)	50.51 (8)	–
17	Lars Frölander	SWE	49.91 (4 h8)	–	–		1
18	Raimundas Mažuolis	LTU	50.27 (1 h2)	–	–		2
19	Aleh Rukhlevich	BLR	50.42 (3 h5)	–	–
20	Attila Zubor	HUN	50.43 (6 h6)	–	–
21	Aleksey Yegorov	KAZ	50.49 (4 h5)	–	–
22	Yoav Bruck	ISR	50.61 (5 h7)	–	–
23	Nicolas Gruson	FRA	50.71 (5 h5)	–	–
24	Vladimir Predkin	RUS	50.75 (6 h8)	–	–
25	Salim Iles	ALG	50.87 (7 h8)	–	–
26	Brendon Dedekind	RSA	50.95 (6 h5)	–	–
27	Earl McCarthy	IRL	50.99 (7 h5)	–	–
28	Nick Shackell	GBR	51.03 (8 h8)	–	–
29	Sergey Ashikhmin	KGZ	51.07 (1 h3)	–	–
30	Nicolae Ivan	ROU	51.14 (6 h7)	–	–
31	Trent Bray	NZL	51.18 (7 h6)	–	–
32	Indrek Sei	EST	51.19 (2 h4)	–	–
33	Juan Benavides	ESP	51.20 (3 h4)	–	–
34	Richard Bera	INA	51.25 (8 h6)	–	–
35	Béla Szabados	HUN	51.26 (7 h7)	–	–
36	Janko Gojković	BIH	51.28 (2 h2)	–	–
37	Shunsuke Ito	JPN	51.29 (8 h5)	–	–
38	Felipe Delgado	ECU	51.38 (4 h4)	–	–
39	Zhao Lifeng	CHN	51.70 (5 h4)	–	–
40	Marijan Kanjer	CRO	51.76 (6 h4)	–	–
41	Giovanni Linscheer	SUR	51.82 (2 h3)	–	–
42	Arthur Li	HKG	51.84 (3 h3)	–	–
43	José Isaza	PAN	51.86 (4 h3)	–	–
44	Kalle Varonen	FIN	52.00 (7 h4)	–	–
45	José Meolans	ARG	52.02 (8 h7)	–	–
46	Georgios Giziotis	GRE	52.04 (3 h2)	–	–
47	Tamer Zinhom	EGY	52.16 (8 h4)	–	–
48	Oleg Tsvetkovsky	UZB	52.39 (5 h3)	–	–
49	Go Un-Ho	KOR	52.56 (4 h2)	–	–
50	Stavros Michailidis	CYP	52.65 (6 h3)	–	–
51	Darrick Bollinger	GUM	52.68 (1 h1)	–	–
52	Kenny Roberts	SEY	52.89 (2 h1)	–	–
53	Nikola Kalabić	SCG	52.98 (5 h2)	–	–
54	Diego Perdomo	COL	53.01 (6 h2)	–	–
55	Maxim Cazmirciuc	MDA	53.18 (7 h3)	–	–
56	Huang Chih-Yung	TPE	53.47 (8 h3)	–	–
57	Sng Ju Wei	SGP	53.50 (7 h2)	–	–
58	Juan Luis Bocanegra	GUA	54.05 (8 h2)	–	–
59	Diego Mularoni	SMR	57.11 (3 h1)	–	–
60	Khuwaiter Al-Dhaheri	UAE	57.70 (4 h1)	–	–
DNS	Ali Al-Gazali	YEM	– (DNS h1)	–	–

Round One

Date	22 July 1996
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Aleksandr Popov	RUS	48.74	Q
2	–	Gary Hall, Jr.	USA	48.90	Q
3	–	Gustavo Borges	BRA	49.17	Q
4	–	Francisco Sánchez	VEN	49.59	Q
5	–	Ricardo Busquets	PUR	49.61	Q
6	–	Pavlo Khnykin	UKR	49.69	Q
7	–	Pieter van den Hoogenband	NED	49.73	Q
8	–	Xuxa Scherer	BRA	49.79	Q
9	–	Lars Frölander	SWE	49.91	q
10	–	Christian Tröger	GER	50.06	q
11	–	Stephen Clarke	CAN	50.14	q
12	–	Jon Olsen	USA	50.17	q
13	–	Bartosz Kizierowski	POL	50.18	q
=14	–	Raimundas Mažuolis	LTU	50.27	q
=14	–	Chris Fydler	AUS	50.27	q
16	–	Rostyslav Svanidze	UKR	50.31	q
=17	–	Sion Brinn	JAM	50.38
=17	–	Björn Zikarsky	GER	50.38
19	–	Aleh Rukhlevich	BLR	50.42
20	–	Attila Zubor	HUN	50.43
21	–	Aleksey Yegorov	KAZ	50.49
22	–	Yoav Bruck	ISR	50.61
23	–	Nicolas Gruson	FRA	50.71
24	–	Vladimir Predkin	RUS	50.75
25	–	Salim Iles	ALG	50.87
26	–	Brendon Dedekind	RSA	50.95
27	–	Earl McCarthy	IRL	50.99
28	–	Nick Shackell	GBR	51.03
29	–	Sergey Ashikhmin	KGZ	51.07
30	–	Nicolae Ivan	ROU	51.14
31	–	Trent Bray	NZL	51.18
32	–	Indrek Sei	EST	51.19
33	–	Juan Benavides	ESP	51.20
34	–	Richard Bera	INA	51.25
35	–	Béla Szabados	HUN	51.26
36	–	Janko Gojković	BIH	51.28
37	–	Shunsuke Ito	JPN	51.29
38	–	Felipe Delgado	ECU	51.38
39	–	Zhao Lifeng	CHN	51.70
40	–	Marijan Kanjer	CRO	51.76
41	–	Giovanni Linscheer	SUR	51.82
42	–	Arthur Li	HKG	51.84
43	–	José Isaza	PAN	51.86
44	–	Kalle Varonen	FIN	52.00
45	–	José Meolans	ARG	52.02
46	–	Georgios Giziotis	GRE	52.04
47	–	Tamer Zinhom	EGY	52.16
48	–	Oleg Tsvetkovsky	UZB	52.39
49	–	Go Un-Ho	KOR	52.56
50	–	Stavros Michailidis	CYP	52.65
51	–	Darrick Bollinger	GUM	52.68
52	–	Kenny Roberts	SEY	52.89
53	–	Nikola Kalabić	SCG	52.98
54	–	Diego Perdomo	COL	53.01
55	–	Maxim Cazmirciuc	MDA	53.18
56	–	Huang Chih-Yung	TPE	53.47
57	–	Sng Ju Wei	SGP	53.50
58	–	Juan Luis Bocanegra	GUA	54.05
59	–	Diego Mularoni	SMR	57.11
60	–	Khuwaiter Al-Dhaheri	UAE	57.70
DNS	–	Ali Al-Gazali	YEM	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Darrick Bollinger	GUM	52.68	0.79	25.23 (2)	27.45 (1)
2	–	Kenny Roberts	SEY	52.89	0.72	25.04 (1)	27.85 (2)
3	–	Diego Mularoni	SMR	57.11	0.83	27.58 (4)	29.53 (3)
4	–	Khuwaiter Al-Dhaheri	UAE	57.70	0.74	26.64 (3)	31.06 (4)
DNS	–	Ali Al-Gazali	YEM	–	–	– (–)	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Raimundas Mažuolis	LTU	50.27	0.72	24.02 (1)	26.25 (1)	q
2	–	Janko Gojković	BIH	51.28	0.79	24.78 (2)	26.50 (2)
3	–	Georgios Giziotis	GRE	52.04	0.75	24.96 (3)	27.08 (4)
4	–	Go Un-Ho	KOR	52.56	0.73	25.63 (5)	26.93 (3)
5	–	Nikola Kalabić	SCG	52.98	0.80	25.52 (4)	27.46 (7)
6	–	Diego Perdomo	COL	53.01	0.78	25.75 (6)	27.26 (6)
7	–	Sng Ju Wei	SGP	53.50	0.84	26.29 (8)	27.21 (5)
8	–	Juan Luis Bocanegra	GUA	54.05	0.85	25.86 (7)	28.19 (8)

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Sergey Ashikhmin	KGZ	51.07	0.85	24.54 (1)	26.53 (1)
2	–	Giovanni Linscheer	SUR	51.82	0.85	25.08 (5)	26.74 (4)
3	–	Arthur Li	HKG	51.84	0.75	24.70 (2)	27.14 (5)
4	–	José Isaza	PAN	51.86	0.77	25.17 (6)	26.69 (2)
5	–	Oleg Tsvetkovsky	UZB	52.39	0.77	25.69 (7)	26.70 (3)
6	–	Stavros Michailidis	CYP	52.65	0.70	24.96 (3)	27.69 (6)
7	–	Maxim Cazmirciuc	MDA	53.18	0.78	24.98 (4)	28.20 (8)
8	–	Huang Chih-Yung	TPE	53.47	0.72	25.75 (8)	27.72 (7)

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Sion Brinn	JAM	50.38	0.76	24.16 (1)	26.22 (1)
2	–	Indrek Sei	EST	51.19	0.82	24.71 (4)	26.48 (2)
3	–	Juan Benavides	ESP	51.20	0.79	24.62 (3)	26.58 (3)
4	–	Felipe Delgado	ECU	51.38	0.72	24.38 (2)	27.00 (7)
5	–	Zhao Lifeng	CHN	51.70	0.79	24.83 (6)	26.87 (4)
6	–	Marijan Kanjer	CRO	51.76	0.78	24.81 (5)	26.95 (6)
7	–	Kalle Varonen	FIN	52.00	0.77	24.96 (7)	27.04 (8)
8	–	Tamer Zinhom	EGY	52.16	0.83	25.23 (8)	26.93 (5)

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Ricardo Busquets	PUR	49.61	0.65	24.02 (3)	25.59 (1)	Q
2	–	Bartosz Kizierowski	POL	50.18	0.75	23.98 (2)	26.20 (3)	q
3	–	Aleh Rukhlevich	BLR	50.42	0.79	23.60 (1)	26.82 (8)
4	–	Aleksey Yegorov	KAZ	50.49	0.84	24.51 (7)	25.98 (2)
5	–	Nicolas Gruson	FRA	50.71	0.73	24.21 (5)	26.50 (5)
6	–	Brendon Dedekind	RSA	50.95	0.72	24.18 (4)	26.77 (7)
7	–	Earl McCarthy	IRL	50.99	0.80	24.31 (6)	26.68 (6)
8	–	Shunsuke Ito	JPN	51.29	0.79	24.80 (8)	26.49 (4)

Heat #6

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Gary Hall, Jr.	USA	48.90	0.81	23.30 (1)	25.60 (1)	Q
2	–	Francisco Sánchez	VEN	49.59	0.77	23.74 (2)	25.85 (2)	Q
3	–	Pavlo Khnykin	UKR	49.69	0.75	23.77 (3)	25.92 (3)	Q
4	–	Pieter van den Hoogenband	NED	49.73	0.90	23.79 (4)	25.94 (4)	Q
5	–	Christian Tröger	GER	50.06	0.82	24.07 (5)	25.99 (5)	q
6	–	Attila Zubor	HUN	50.43	0.77	24.37 (8)	26.06 (6)
7	–	Trent Bray	NZL	51.18	0.87	24.35 (7)	26.83 (7)
8	–	Richard Bera	INA	51.25	0.68	24.24 (6)	27.01 (8)

Heat #7

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Stephen Clarke	CAN	50.14	0.80	24.38 (6)	25.76 (1)	q
2	–	Jon Olsen	USA	50.17	0.75	23.76 (1)	26.41 (4)	q
3	–	Chris Fydler	AUS	50.27	0.81	24.20 (4)	26.07 (2)	q
4	–	Björn Zikarsky	GER	50.38	0.87	23.82 (2)	26.56 (5)
5	–	Yoav Bruck	ISR	50.61	0.77	24.34 (5)	26.27 (3)
6	–	Nicolae Ivan	ROU	51.14	0.93	24.43 (7)	26.71 (6)
7	–	Béla Szabados	HUN	51.26	0.73	24.51 (8)	26.75 (7)
8	–	José Meolans	ARG	52.02	0.79	24.04 (3)	27.98 (8)

Heat #8

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Aleksandr Popov	RUS	48.74	0.87	23.58 (2)	25.16 (1)	Q
2	–	Gustavo Borges	BRA	49.17	0.85	23.79 (3)	25.38 (2)	Q
3	–	Xuxa Scherer	BRA	49.79	0.81	23.54 (1)	26.25 (6)	Q
4	–	Lars Frölander	SWE	49.91	0.72	24.01 (4)	25.90 (3)	q
5	–	Rostyslav Svanidze	UKR	50.31	0.86	24.40 (5)	25.91 (4)	q
6	–	Vladimir Predkin	RUS	50.75	0.83	24.55 (8)	26.20 (5)
7	–	Salim Iles	ALG	50.87	0.79	24.53 (7)	26.34 (7)
8	–	Nick Shackell	GBR	51.03	0.73	24.44 (6)	26.59 (8)

B Final

Date	22 July 1996

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Jon Olsen	USA	49.80	0.72	23.54 (1)	26.26 (7)
2	–	Christian Tröger	GER	49.90	0.78	24.02 (2)	25.88 (2)
3	–	Björn Zikarsky	GER	49.91	0.87	24.12 (=4)	25.79 (1)
4	–	Sion Brinn	JAM	50.09	0.74	24.03 (3)	26.06 (4)
5	–	Chris Fydler	AUS	50.31	0.81	24.12 (=4)	26.19 (6)
6	–	Rostyslav Svanidze	UKR	50.43	0.83	24.45 (8)	25.98 (3)
7	–	Stephen Clarke	CAN	50.45	0.78	24.14 (6)	26.31 (8)
8	–	Bartosz Kizierowski	POL	50.51	0.77	24.41 (7)	26.10 (5)

Final Round

Date	22 July 1996

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Aleksandr Popov	RUS	48.74	0.88	23.52 (=2)	25.22 (1)
2	–	Gary Hall, Jr.	USA	48.81	0.74	23.43 (1)	25.38 (2)
3	–	Gustavo Borges	BRA	49.02	0.82	23.63 (4)	25.39 (3)
4	–	Pieter van den Hoogenband	NED	49.13	0.81	23.52 (=2)	25.61 (=4)
5	–	Xuxa Scherer	BRA	49.57	0.79	23.96 (8)	25.61 (=4)
6	–	Pavlo Khnykin	UKR	49.65	0.76	23.83 (7)	25.82 (6)
7	–	Ricardo Busquets	PUR	49.68	0.62	23.72 (5)	25.96 (7)
8	–	Francisco Sánchez	VEN	49.84	0.78	23.81 (6)	26.03 (8)