Dates July 17
July 20 Start date 1908 Venue White City Stadium | Competitors 34 from 12 nations Location White City Stadium | |
The men's 100 metre freestyle was one of six swimming events on the swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. It was the shortest of the three individual freestyle events, as the 50 yard freestyle had been dropped after its one appearance on the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. The 100 metre event was contested for the third time after it had been held at the 1896 and 1906 Olympics. The 1904 Olympics saw a 100-yard event. The competition was held on Friday July 17, 1908 and Monday July 20, 1908.
Contents
Thirty-four swimmers from twelve nations competed.
These were the first Olympic Games in which a 100-metre pool had been especially constructed (inside the main stadium's track and field oval). Previous Olympic events were swum in open water (1896: The Mediterranean Sea, 1900: The Seine River, 1904: an artificial lake).
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.
(*) Intercalated Games
(**) 100 yards (91.44 m)
In the first heat Zoltán Halmay set a new Olympic record with 1:08.2. In the fifth heat Charles Daniels and in the seventh heat Wilfred Edwards equalized the standing world record of 1:05.8. Finally Charles Daniels set a new world record with 1:05.6 in the final.
First round
The fastest swimmer in each heat and the two fastest losers advanced, qualifying 11 swimmers for the semifinals.
Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Heat 4
Heat 5
Heat 6
Heat 7
Heat 8
Dockrell had no competition in the eighth heat.
Heat 9
Semifinals
The fastest two swimmers from each semifinal advanced to the final.
Semifinal 1
Semifinal 2