Competitors 71 from 44 nations Start date 1988 | Winning time 22.14 WR | |
Location Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool, Songpa District, South Korea Venue Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool | ||
The inaugural men's 50 metre freestyle event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 24 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.
Contents
U.S. swimmer Matt Biondi demolished a new world record to become the event's first ever Olympic champion. He threw down a scorching time in 22.14 to add a fourth gold and sixth medal to his Olympic hardware, and to slice 0.04 seconds off the record set by South Africa's Peter Williams. Starting the race with a fastest reaction, Biondi's rival and teammate Tom Jager faded down the stretch to pick up the silver in 22.36. Meanwhile, Soviet Union's Gennadiy Prigoda edged out Swiss swimmer Dano Halsall by 12-hundredths of a second to take home the bronze in 22.71.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
The following records were established during the competition:
Heats
Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A (Q), while the next eight to final B (q).