Competitors 39 from 32 nations Start date 2016 | Winning time 51.97 OR Venue Olympic Aquatics Stadium | |
Dates 7 August 2016 (heats &
semifinals)
8 August 2016 (final) Location Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ||
The men's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 7–8 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
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 the 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. Meanwhile, China's Xu Jiayu put up a brisk effort to take the silver with a 52.31, and spoil the 1–2 finish for the American men. Murphy's fellowman David Plummer, aged 30, finished with a bronze in 52.40 at his maiden Games.
Leading the race early on the initial length, Australia's overwhelming favorite and defending World champion Mitch Larkin missed the podium with a fourth-place time in 52.43. 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.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
The following records were established during the competition:
Murphy then set a new world record of 51.85 seconds on August 13 as part of the 4 × 100 m medley relay.