The men's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 25 to 27 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] It was the event's twenty-sixth appearance, having been held at every edition since 1904 except 1964. Moreover, these Games marked the first time when the men's sprint backstroke event was held in Tokyo, as the event was not included in the swimming program in 1964.
| Men's 100 metre backstroke at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Tokyo Aquatics Centre | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 25 July 2021 (heats) 26 July 2021 (semifinals) 27 July 2021 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 41 from 30 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 51.98 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Traditionally, the event has been dominated by Americans, who have won 15 gold medals in 25 Olympic men's 100 metre backstroke competitions, and all gold medals in the event since 1996. This time, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and 2019 World Championship silver medalist Evgeny Rylov edged his compatriot Kliment Kolesnikov and defending Olympic champion and world record holder Ryan Murphy, who did not medal in 2019, to win first gold by a Russian in this event and also the first gold medal in swimming by a Russian since Larisa Ilchenko won the open water competition in 2008. Rylov subsequently repeated the gold medal performance in his signature 200 metres backstroke race.
Leading at the turn by 6 one-hundredths of a second over Rylov, Kolesnikov could not maintain his lead and settled for silver just 0.02 seconds behind in 52.00. Despite a late charge, Murphy could not overtake the Russian duo, settling for bronze in 52.19.
Italy's Thomas Ceccon clocked a national record of 52.30 to fall short of the podium, placing fourth. Meanwhile China's two-time defending World champion Xu Jiayu (52.51) fell to fifth, while Spain's Hugo González (52.78) edged Australia's Mitch Larkin (52.79) by one one-hundredth of a second to take sixth. Romania's Robert Glință (52.95) clocked a sub-53 time to round out the field.
Records
editPrior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Ryan Murphy (USA) |
51.85 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 13 August 2016 | [2][3] |
| Olympic record |  Ryan Murphy (USA) |
51.85 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 13 August 2016 | [2][3] |
No new records were set during the competition.
Qualification
editThe Olympic Qualifying Time for the event was 53.85 seconds. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) could automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time was 55.47 seconds. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time was eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events is reached. NOCs without a male swimmer qualified in any event could also use their universality place.[4]
Competition format
editThe competition consisted of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advanced to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the final.[5]
Schedule
editAll times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)[1]
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| 25 July 2021 | 19:51 | Heats |
| 26 July 2021 | 11:31 | Semifinals |
| 27 July 2021 | 10:59 | Final |
Results
editHeats
editThe swimmers with the top 16 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the semifinals.[6]
Semifinals
editThe swimmers with the best 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.[7]
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 6 | Ryan Murphy | United States |
52.24 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | Kliment Kolesnikov |  ROC |
52.29 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | 5 | Mitch Larkin |  Australia |
52.76 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | 4 | Thomas Ceccon |  Italy |
52.78 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | 6 | Evgeny Rylov | ROC |
52.91 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | 5 | Xu Jiayu |  China |
52.94 | Q |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | Hugo González |  Spain |
53.05 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | 7 | Robert Glință |  Romania |
53.20 | Q |
| 9 | 2 | 3 | Ryosuke Irie |  Japan |
53.21 | |
| 2 | 8 | Hunter Armstrong | United States |
53.21 | ||
| 11 | 1 | 8 | Apostolos Christou |  Greece |
53.41 | |
| 12 | 2 | 1 | Isaac Cooper | Australia |
53.43 | |
| 13 | 1 | 1 | Marek Ulrich |  Germany |
53.54 | |
| 14 | 1 | 2 | Mewen Tomac |  France |
53.62 | |
| 15 | 2 | 7 | Guilherme Guido |  Brazil |
53.80 | |
| — | 1 | 3 | Yohann Ndoye-Brouard | France |
DSQ |
Final
edit| Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
2 | Evgeny Rylov | ROC |
51.98 | ER |
 |
5 | Kliment Kolesnikov | ROC |
52.00 | |
 |
4 | Ryan Murphy | United States |
52.19 | |
| 4 | 6 | Thomas Ceccon | Italy |
52.30 | NR |
| 5 | 7 | Xu Jiayu | China |
52.51 | |
| 6 | 1 | Hugo González | Spain |
52.78 | |
| 7 | 3 | Mitch Larkin | Australia |
52.79 | |
| 8 | 8 | Robert Glință | Romania |
52.95 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Tokyo 2020: Swimming Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ a b Stubbs, Roman (13 August 2016). "Michael Phelps wins gold in 4×100-meter medley relay in final Olympic race; Ryan Murphy breaks 100 back world record". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Ryan Murphy Downs 100 Backstroke World Record to Open 400 Medley Relay". Swimming World Magazine. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- ^ "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "FINA Swimming Rulebook, 2017–21" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "Heats Results Summary" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Omega SA. 25 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ "Semifinals Results Summary" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Omega SA. 26 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.