Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre backstroke

The men's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 7–8 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.[1]

Men's 100 metre backstroke
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
VenueOlympic Aquatics Stadium
Dates7 August 2016 (heats &
semifinals)
8 August 2016 (final)
Competitors39 from 32 nations
Winning time51.97 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Ryan Murphy  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Xu Jiayu  China
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) David Plummer  United States
← 2012
2020 →

Summary

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Ryan Murphy continued the streak of American dominance in the sprint backstroke, as he pulled away from the rest of the field to claim his country's sixth straight Olympic title. He fired off a 51.97 to eclipse Matt Grevers' 2012 Olympic record by 0.19 of a second for gold, making him the only second swimmer in the event's history besides Aaron Peirsol to break the 52-second barrier and the fastest of all time in textile.[2][3] Meanwhile, China's Xu Jiayu put up a brisk effort to take silver with a 52.31, and spoil the 1–2 finish for the Americans.[4] Murphy's fellowman David Plummer, aged 30, finished with bronze in 52.40 at his maiden Games.[5][6]

Leading the race early on the initial length, Australia's defending world champion Mitch Larkin missed the podium with a fourth-place time in 52.43.[7] France's Camille Lacourt picked up the fifth spot in 52.70, with Russian swimmer and Youth Olympic champion Evgeny Rylov (52.74) trailing him by a 0.04-second margin. Japan's Ryosuke Irie (53.42), the Olympic bronze medalist from London 2012, and Romania's Robert Glință (53.50) rounded out the field.[6]

The medals for the competition were presented by Albert II, Prince of Monaco, IOC member, and the gifts were presented by Mustapha Larfaoui, FINA honorary life president.

Records

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Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record   Aaron Peirsol (USA) 51.94 Indianapolis, United States 8 July 2009 [8][9]
Olympic record   Matt Grevers (USA) 52.16 London, United Kingdom 30 July 2012 [10]

The following records were established during the competition:

Date Round Name Nation Time Record
8 August Final Ryan Murphy   United States 51.97 OR

Murphy then set a new world record for the 100 m backstroke with a time of 51.85 seconds on August 13 in the lead-off leg as part of the 4 × 100 m medley relay.

Competition format

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The 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. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.[1]

Results

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Heats

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Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 5 5 Camille Lacourt   France 52.96 Q
2 3 5 Xu Jiayu   China 53.01 Q
3 5 4 Mitch Larkin   Australia 53.04 Q
4 3 4 Ryan Murphy   United States 53.06 Q
5 4 4 David Plummer   United States 53.19 Q
6 3 3 Evgeny Rylov   Russia 53.25 Q
7 5 1 Joshua Beaver   Australia 53.47 Q
8 5 3 Ryosuke Irie   Japan 53.49 Q
9 4 2 Robert Glință   Romania 53.51 Q
10 4 5 Chris Walker-Hebborn   Great Britain 53.54 Q
11 4 3 Grigoriy Tarasevich   Russia 53.65 Q
12 4 6 Christopher Reid   South Africa 53.68 Q
13 5 6 Guilherme Guido   Brazil 53.80 Q
14 3 1 Shane Ryan   Ireland 53.85 Q, NR
15 3 2 Jan-Philip Glania   Germany 53.87 Q
16 2 6 Corey Main   New Zealand 53.99 Q
17 4 7 Javier Acevedo   Canada 54.11
18 5 2 Apostolos Christou   Greece 54.12
19 5 7 Junya Hasegawa   Japan 54.17
20 2 1 Hugo González   Spain 54.18
21 2 5 Li Guangyuan   China 54.36
22 4 8 Quah Zheng Wen   Singapore 54.38
23 4 1 Radosław Kawęcki   Poland 54.39
24 2 4 Danas Rapšys   Lithuania 54.40
25 3 8 Gábor Balog   Hungary 54.48
26 2 3 Tomasz Polewka   Poland 54.52
27 3 7 Yakov Toumarkin   Israel 54.66
28 3 6 Simone Sabbioni   Italy 54.91
29 5 8 Mikita Tsmyh   Belarus 54.97
30 2 7 Won Young-jun   South Korea 55.05
31 2 8 Albert Subirats   Venezuela 55.44
32 2 2 Viktar Staselovich   Belarus 55.68
33 1 4 Merdan Ataýew   Turkmenistan 56.34 NR
34 1 5 Timothy Wynter   Jamaica 57.20
35 1 3 David Van der Colff   Botswana 57.77
36 1 6 Driss Lahrichi   Morocco 58.01
37 1 2 Yaaqoub Al-Saadi   United Arab Emirates 59.58
38 1 1 Hamdan Bayusuf   Kenya 1:00.28
39 1 7 Noah Al-Khulaifi   Qatar 1:07.47

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 5 Ryan Murphy   United States 52.49 Q
2 4 Xu Jiayu   China 52.73 Q
3 3 Evgeny Rylov   Russia 52.84 Q
4 6 Irie Ryosuke   Japan 53.21 Q
5 7 Christopher Reid   South Africa 53.70
6 2 Chris Walker-Hebborn   Great Britain 53.75
7 8 Corey Main   New Zealand 54.29
8 1 Shane Ryan   Ireland 54.40

Semifinal 2

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Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 3 David Plummer   United States 52.50 Q
2 5 Mitch Larkin   Australia 52.70 Q
3 4 Camille Lacourt   France 52.72 Q
4 2 Robert Glință   Romania 53.34 Q, NR
5 7 Grigoriy Tarasevich   Russia 53.46
6 8 Jan-Philip Glania   Germany 53.94
7 6 Joshua Beaver   Australia 53.95
8 1 Guilherme Guido   Brazil 54.16

Final

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Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
  4 Ryan Murphy   United States 51.97 OR
  2 Xu Jiayu   China 52.31 NR
  5 David Plummer   United States 52.40
4 3 Mitch Larkin   Australia 52.43
5 6 Camille Lacourt   France 52.70
6 7 Evgeny Rylov   Russia 52.74
7 1 Ryosuke Irie   Japan 53.42
8 8 Robert Glință   Romania 53.50

References

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  1. ^ a b "Men's 100m Backstroke". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  2. ^ Auerbach, Nicole (8 August 2016). "American Ryan Murphy wins gold in men's 100 back". USA Today. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Ryan Murphy extends U.S. gold streak in 100 backstroke to 6". ESPN. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  4. ^ "(Rio Games) Ryan Murphy takes 100m backstroke gold ahead of Xu Jiayu". Hong Kong: The Standard. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  5. ^ Fenno, Nathan (8 August 2016). "Ryan Murphy of the U.S. wins gold in 100 backstroke". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Ryan Murphy Keeps American Streak Alive with 100 Backstroke Olympic Record". Swimming World Magazine. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  7. ^ Barrett, Chris (8 August 2016). "Australian Mitch Larkin misses the medals in 100 metres backstroke in Rio". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Peirsol reclaims 100 back record". ESPN. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Aaron Peirsol's stunning swim steals limelight from Michael Phelps". Guardian.co.uk. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  10. ^ "2012 London Olympics: Matt Grevers Sets Olympic Record in 100 Back Win; Nick Thoman Gives U.S. 1-2 Finish". Swimming World Magazine. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.