| | Event type
100 metres Backstroke, Men
| Date | 7 – 8 August 2016 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Estádio Aquático Olímpico, Parque Olímpico da Barra, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro |
| Participants | 39 from 32 countries |
Australian Mitch Larkin won both backstroke events at the 2015 World Championships and, based on recent times, was a co-favorite along with American Ryan Murphy, who had won relay medals at Kazan, but no individual medals. The other American, David Plummer, was making his Olympic début at 30-years-old, but was considered a medal contender, along with Japan’s Ryosuke Irie and France’s Camille Lacourt.
The US put both their swimmers on the podium with Murphy winning gold in an Olympic record 51.97, ahead of China’s surprising Xu Jiayu, while Plummer won the bronze medal. Larkin placed fourth and Irie seventh. Murphy would come back later in the week to win gold in the 200 backstroke, where Larkin was second, and Murphy also won gold in the 4x100 medley relay.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Murphy |  USA | 53.06 (2 h3) | 52.49 (1 h1) | 51.97 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Xu Jiayu |  CHN | 53.01 (1 h3) | 52.73 (2 h1) | 52.31 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | David Plummer | USA | 53.19 (1 h4) | 52.50 (1 h2) | 52.40 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Mitch Larkin |  AUS | 53.04 (2 h5) | 52.70 (2 h2) | 52.43 (4) | |||
| 5 | Camille Lacourt |  FRA | 52.96 (1 h5) | 52.72 (3 h2) | 52.70 (5) | |||
| 6 | Yevgeny Rylov |  RUS | 53.25 (3 h3) | 52.84 (3 h1) | 52.74 (6) | |||
| 7 | Ryosuke Irie |  JPN | 53.49 (4 h5) | 53.21 (4 h1) | 53.42 (7) | |||
| 8 | Robert Glință |  ROU | 53.51 (2 h4) | 53.34 (4 h2) | 53.50 (8) | |||
| 9 | Grigory Tarasevich | RUS | 53.65 (4 h4) | 53.46 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | Chris Reid |  RSA | 53.68 (5 h4) | 53.70 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 11 | Chris Walker-Hebborn |  GBR | 53.54 (3 h4) | 53.75 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 12 | Jan-Philip Glania |  GER | 53.87 (5 h3) | 53.94 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 13 | Josh Beaver | AUS | 53.47 (3 h5) | 53.95 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 14 | Guilherme Guido |  BRA | 53.80 (5 h5) | 54.16 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 15 | Corey Main |  NZL | 53.99 (1 h2) | 54.29 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 16 | Shane Ryan |  IRL | 53.85 (4 h3) | 54.40 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 17 | Javier Acevedo |  CAN | 54.11 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 18 | Apostolos Christou |  GRE | 54.12 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 19 | Junya Hasegawa | JPN | 54.17 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 20 | Hugo González |  ESP | 54.18 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 21 | Li Guangyuan | CHN | 54.36 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 22 | Quah Zheng Wen |  SGP | 54.38 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 23 | Radosław Kawęcki |  POL | 54.39 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 24 | Danas Rapšys |  LTU | 54.40 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 25 | Gábor Balog |  HUN | 54.48 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 26 | Tomasz Polewka | POL | 54.52 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 27 | Yakov Toumarkin |  ISR | 54.66 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 28 | Simone Sabbioni |  ITA | 54.91 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 29 | Mikita Tsmyh |  BLR | 54.97 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| 30 | Won Yeong-Jun |  KOR | 55.05 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 31 | Albert Subirats |  VEN | 55.44 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 32 | Viktar Stasialovich | BLR | 55.68 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 33 | Merdan Ataýew |  TKM | 56.34 (1 h1) | – | – | |||
| 34 | Tim Wynter |  JAM | 57.20 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 35 | David van der Colff |  BOT | 57.77 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 36 | Driss Lahrichi |  MAR | 58.01 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 37 | Yaaqoub Al-Saadi |  UAE | 59.58 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 38 | Hamdan Bayusuf |  KEN | 1:00.28 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 39 | Noah Al-Khulaifi |  QAT | 1:07.47 (7 h1) | – | – |
Round One (7 August 2016 — 14:16)
Fastest 16 swimmers advanced to semi-finals
Heat One (14:16)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Merdan Ataýew | TKM | 56.34 | 0.67 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Tim Wynter | JAM | 57.20 | 0.82 | |||
| 3 | 3 | David van der Colff | BOT | 57.77 | 0.52 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Driss Lahrichi | MAR | 58.01 | 0.68 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Yaaqoub Al-Saadi | UAE | 59.58 | 0.66 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Hamdan Bayusuf | KEN | 1:00.28 | 0.78 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Noah Al-Khulaifi | QAT | 1:07.47 | 0.70 |
Heat Two (14:19)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Corey Main | NZL | 53.99 | 0.55 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Hugo González | ESP | 54.18 | 0.57 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Li Guangyuan | CHN | 54.36 | 0.64 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Danas Rapšys | LTU | 54.40 | 0.70 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Tomasz Polewka | POL | 54.52 | 0.57 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Won Yeong-Jun | KOR | 55.05 | 0.55 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Albert Subirats | VEN | 55.44 | 0.64 | |||
| 8 | 2 | Viktar Stasialovich | BLR | 55.68 | 0.60 |
Heat Three (14:22)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Xu Jiayu | CHN | 53.01 | 0.60 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Ryan Murphy | USA | 53.06 | 0.57 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Yevgeny Rylov | RUS | 53.25 | 0.54 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Shane Ryan | IRL | 53.85 | 0.68 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Jan-Philip Glania | GER | 53.87 | 0.68 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Gábor Balog | HUN | 54.48 | 0.67 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Yakov Toumarkin | ISR | 54.66 | 0.63 | |||
| 8 | 6 | Simone Sabbioni | ITA | 54.91 | 0.60 |
Heat Four (14:25)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | David Plummer | USA | 53.19 | 0.63 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Robert Glință | ROU | 53.51 | 0.60 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Chris Walker-Hebborn | GBR | 53.54 | 0.54 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Grigory Tarasevich | RUS | 53.65 | 0.57 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Chris Reid | RSA | 53.68 | 0.66 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Javier Acevedo | CAN | 54.11 | 0.57 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Quah Zheng Wen | SGP | 54.38 | 0.75 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Radosław Kawęcki | POL | 54.39 | 0.65 |
Heat Five (14:28)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Camille Lacourt | FRA | 52.96 | 0.91 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Mitch Larkin | AUS | 53.04 | 0.64 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Josh Beaver | AUS | 53.47 | 0.59 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Ryosuke Irie | JPN | 53.49 | 0.56 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Guilherme Guido | BRA | 53.80 | 0.65 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Apostolos Christou | GRE | 54.12 | 0.62 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Junya Hasegawa | JPN | 54.17 | 0.61 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Mikita Tsmyh | BLR | 54.97 | 0.64 |
Semi-Finals (7 August 2016 — 23:12)
Fastest eight swimmers advanced to final
Heat One (23:12)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Ryan Murphy | USA | 52.49 | 0.66 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Xu Jiayu | CHN | 52.73 | 0.55 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Yevgeny Rylov | RUS | 52.84 | 0.56 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Ryosuke Irie | JPN | 53.21 | 0.54 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Chris Reid | RSA | 53.70 | 0.65 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Chris Walker-Hebborn | GBR | 53.75 | 0.58 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Corey Main | NZL | 54.29 | 0.55 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Shane Ryan | IRL | 54.40 | 0.68 |
Heat Two (23:20)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | David Plummer | USA | 52.50 | 0.65 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Mitch Larkin | AUS | 52.70 | 0.71 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Camille Lacourt | FRA | 52.72 | 0.78 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Robert Glință | ROU | 53.34 | 0.60 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Grigory Tarasevich | RUS | 53.46 | 0.60 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Jan-Philip Glania | GER | 53.94 | 0.72 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Josh Beaver | AUS | 53.95 | 0.54 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Guilherme Guido | BRA | 54.16 | 0.66 |
Final (8 August 2016 — 22:38)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ryan Murphy | USA | 51.97 | 0.65 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Xu Jiayu | CHN | 52.31 | 0.55 | |||
| 3 | 5 | David Plummer | USA | 52.40 | 0.73 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Mitch Larkin | AUS | 52.43 | 0.62 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Camille Lacourt | FRA | 52.70 | 0.67 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Yevgeny Rylov | RUS | 52.74 | 0.55 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Ryosuke Irie | JPN | 53.42 | 0.54 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Robert Glință | ROU | 53.50 | 0.68 |