| | Event type
100 metres Backstroke, Men
| Date | 10 – 12 August 2008 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Beijing Guojia Youyong Zhongxin, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing |
| Participants | 45 from 36 countries |
Aaron Peirsol, the 2004 Olympic champion had only suffered a handful of defeats in backstroke races since the Sydney Olympics and arrived in Athens having broken the world record at the US trials. Piersol’s progress to the final was less flamboyant than some of his rivals which meant he started the final only as the fifth fastest qualifier. At the fifty-metre mark he appeared out of the title reckoning as he trailed the leaders by half a second but a late race surge took him past his tiring rivals and through to the gold medal with a big margin of 0.57 seconds. The clock stopped at a new world record mark of 52.54 seconds. Behind him finished fellow American Matt Grevers and, in a tie for third, Hayden Stoeckel of Australia and Arkady Vyachanin of Russia.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Peirsol |  USA | 53.65 (1 h6) | 53.56 (3 h2) | 52.54 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Matt Grevers | USA | 53.41 (1 h4) | 52.99 (2 h2) | 53.11 (2) | Silver | ||
| =3 | Arkady Vyatchanin |  RUS | 53.64 (2 h4) | 53.06 (1 h1) | 53.18 (=3) | Bronze | ||
| =3 | Hayden Stoeckel |  AUS | 53.93 (1 h5) | 52.97 (1 h2) | 53.18 (=3) | Bronze | ||
| 5 | Ash Delaney | AUS | 54.08 (2 h5) | 53.76 (4 h2) | 53.31 (5) | |||
| 6 | Liam Tancock |  GBR | 53.85 (3 h6) | 53.61 (3 h1) | 53.39 (6) | |||
| 7 | Aschwin Wildeboer |  ESP | 53.67 (2 h6) | 53.51 (2 h1) | 53.51 (7) | |||
| 8 | Junichi Miyashita |  JPN | 54.12 (3 h5) | 53.69 (4 h1) | 53.99 (8) | |||
| 9 | Markus Rogan |  AUT | 54.22 (4 h6) | 53.80 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | Tomomi Morita | JPN | 54.21 (4 h4) | 53.95 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 11 | Gerhard Zandberg |  RSA | 53.75 (1 h3) | 53.98 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 12 | Gregor Tait | GBR | 54.62 (5 h5) | 54.37 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 13 | Ľuboš Križko |  SVK | 54.07 (2 h3) | 54.38 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 14 | Stanislav Donets | RUS | 54.18 (3 h4) | 54.57 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 15 | Mirco Di Tora |  ITA | 54.39 (5 h6) | 54.92 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 16 | Guy Barnea |  ISR | 54.50 (4 h5) | 54.93 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 17 | Aristidis Grigoriadis |  GRE | 54.71 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 18 | Damiano Lestingi | ITA | 54.78 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 19 | Helge Meeuw |  GER | 54.88 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| =20 | Guilherme Guido |  BRA | 54.89 (=6 h6) | – | – | |||
| =20 | Răzvan Florea |  ROU | 54.89 (=6 h6) | – | – | |||
| 22 | George du Rand | RSA | 54.90 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 23 | Seong Min |  KOR | 54.99 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 24 | Gordan Kožulj |  CRO | 55.05 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 25 | Benjamin Stasiulis |  FRA | 55.08 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 26 | Omar Pinzón |  COL | 55.11 (1 h2) | – | – | |||
| 27 | Jonathan Massacand |  SUI | 55.21 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 28 | Nick Driebergen |  NED | 55.31 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 29 | Paval Sankovich |  BLR | 55.39 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 30 | Derya Büyükuncu |  TUR | 55.43 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 31 | Jake Tapp |  CAN | 55.54 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 32 | Vytautas Janušaitis |  LTU | 55.65 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 33 | Thomas Rupprath | GER | 55.77 (8 h6) | – | – | |||
| 34 | Marko Strahija | CRO | 55.89 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| 35 | Örn Arnarson |  ISL | 56.15 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 36 | Roland Rudolf |  HUN | 56.25 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 37 | Sun Xiaolei |  CHN | 56.44 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 38 | Oleksandr Isakov |  UKR | 56.55 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 39 | Danil Bugakov |  UZB | 56.59 (1 h1) | – | – | |||
| 40 | Eduardo Otero |  ARG | 56.74 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 41 | Tomáš Fučík |  CZE | 57.29 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 42 | Stanislav Osinsky |  KAZ | 57.42 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 43 | Jared Heine |  MHL | 58.86 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 44 | Souhaib Kalala |  SYR | 1:00.24 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 45 | Mohammed Rana |  BAN | 1:04.82 (5 h1) | – | – |
Round One (10 August 2008)
Fastest 16 swimmers advanced to semi-finals
Heat One (19:48)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Danil Bugakov | UZB | 56.59 | 0.67 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Stanislav Osinsky | KAZ | 57.42 | 0.69 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Jared Heine | MHL | 58.86 | 0.62 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Souhaib Kalala | SYR | 1:00.24 | 0.60 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Mohammed Rana | BAN | 1:04.82 | 0.67 |
Heat Two (19:50)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Omar Pinzón | COL | 55.11 | 0.54 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Paval Sankovich | BLR | 55.39 | 0.61 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Örn Arnarson | ISL | 56.15 | 0.49 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Roland Rudolf | HUN | 56.25 | 0.66 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Sun Xiaolei | CHN | 56.44 | 0.67 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Oleksandr Isakov | UKR | 56.55 | 0.71 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Eduardo Otero | ARG | 56.74 | 0.71 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Tomáš Fučík | CZE | 57.29 | 0.60 |
Heat Three (19:53)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Gerhard Zandberg | RSA | 53.75 | 0.68 | |||
| 2 | 8 | Ľuboš Križko | SVK | 54.07 | 0.65 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Damiano Lestingi | ITA | 54.78 | 0.64 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Seong Min | KOR | 54.99 | 0.56 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Benjamin Stasiulis | FRA | 55.08 | 0.60 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Jonathan Massacand | SUI | 55.21 | 0.71 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Derya Büyükuncu | TUR | 55.43 | 0.56 | |||
| 8 | 2 | Vytautas Janušaitis | LTU | 55.65 | 0.62 |
Heat Four (19:56)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Matt Grevers | USA | 53.41 | 0.67 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Arkady Vyatchanin | RUS | 53.64 | 0.75 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Stanislav Donets | RUS | 54.18 | 0.72 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Tomomi Morita | JPN | 54.21 | 0.51 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Aristidis Grigoriadis | GRE | 54.71 | 0.64 | |||
| 6 | 8 | George du Rand | RSA | 54.90 | 0.73 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Gordan Kožulj | CRO | 55.05 | 0.58 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Nick Driebergen | NED | 55.31 | 0.65 |
Heat Five (19:58)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Hayden Stoeckel | AUS | 53.93 | 0.64 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Ash Delaney | AUS | 54.08 | 0.55 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Junichi Miyashita | JPN | 54.12 | 0.61 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Guy Barnea | ISR | 54.50 | 0.62 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Gregor Tait | GBR | 54.62 | 0.71 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Helge Meeuw | GER | 54.88 | 0.69 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Jake Tapp | CAN | 55.54 | 0.56 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Marko Strahija | CRO | 55.89 | 0.60 |
Heat Six (20:01)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Aaron Peirsol | USA | 53.65 | 0.67 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Aschwin Wildeboer | ESP | 53.67 | 0.64 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Liam Tancock | GBR | 53.85 | 0.58 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Markus Rogan | AUT | 54.22 | 0.72 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Mirco Di Tora | ITA | 54.39 | 0.58 | |||
| =6 | 2 | Guilherme Guido | BRA | 54.89 | 0.52 | |||
| =6 | 8 | Răzvan Florea | ROU | 54.89 | 0.67 | |||
| 8 | 6 | Thomas Rupprath | GER | 55.77 | 0.70 |
Semi-Finals (11 August 2008)
Fastest eight swimmers advanced to final
Heat One (10:57)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Arkady Vyatchanin | RUS | 53.06 | 0.78 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Aschwin Wildeboer | ESP | 53.51 | 0.60 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Liam Tancock | GBR | 53.61 | 0.56 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Junichi Miyashita | JPN | 53.69 | 0.58 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Tomomi Morita | JPN | 53.95 | 0.54 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Gregor Tait | GBR | 54.37 | 0.64 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Ľuboš Križko | SVK | 54.38 | 0.64 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Mirco Di Tora | ITA | 54.92 | 0.57 |
Heat Two (11:01)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Hayden Stoeckel | AUS | 52.97 | 0.59 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Matt Grevers | USA | 52.99 | 0.66 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Aaron Peirsol | USA | 53.56 | 0.72 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Ash Delaney | AUS | 53.76 | 0.50 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Markus Rogan | AUT | 53.80 | 0.70 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Gerhard Zandberg | RSA | 53.98 | 0.63 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Stanislav Donets | RUS | 54.57 | 0.72 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Guy Barnea | ISR | 54.93 | 0.64 |
Final (12 August 2008 — 10:31)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Aaron Peirsol | USA | 52.54 | 0.63 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Matt Grevers | USA | 53.11 | 0.67 | |||
| =3 | 3 | Arkady Vyatchanin | RUS | 53.18 | 0.77 | |||
| =3 | 4 | Hayden Stoeckel | AUS | 53.18 | 0.58 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Ash Delaney | AUS | 53.31 | 0.53 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Liam Tancock | GBR | 53.39 | 0.55 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Aschwin Wildeboer | ESP | 53.51 | 0.61 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Junichi Miyashita | JPN | 53.99 | 0.62 |