| | Event type
100 metres Backstroke, Men
| Date | 25 – 27 July 2021 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympic Aquatics Centre, 2-1, 2chome, Tatsumi, Koto-ku, Tatsumi-no-Mori Seaside Park, Tokyo, Japan |
| Participants | 41 from 30 countries |
The 2016 gold medallist Ryan Murphy (USA) was back and his world record from Rio still held. He was the 2015 and 2017 World Champion but, in 2019, China’s Xu Jiayu had won gold at Worlds, while Yevgeny Rylov (ROC) took silver and Australia’s Mitch Larkin won bronze. All four made the final in Tokyo along with Rylov’s teammate Kliment Kolesnikov, who had led the preliminary round in 52.15. Murphy was fastest in the semi-finals, swimming 52.24 in the first heat as Kolesnikov was second on 52.29.
Murphy was in lane four in the final, with Kolesnikov next to him in lane five, taking the lead and reaching the turn in 24.90, narrowly leading over Rylov, with Murphy in third. Murphy had the fastest second half but it was not enough to get gold, which went to Rylov, who narrowly defeated Kolesnikov – 51.98 to 52.00. Three days later, Rylov would double up by winning the 200 backstroke, with Murphy taking silver in that event.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yevgeny Rylov |  ROC | 53.22 (=2 h6) | 52.91 (2 h2) | 51.98 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Kliment Kolesnikov | ROC | 52.15 (1 h5) | 52.29 (1 h2) | 52.00 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Ryan Murphy |  USA | 53.22 (=2 h6) | 52.24 (1 h1) | 52.19 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Thomas Ceccon |  ITA | 52.49 (2 h5) | 52.78 (3 h1) | 52.30 (4) | |||
| 5 | Xu Jiayu |  CHN | 52.70 (1 h4) | 52.94 (3 h2) | 52.51 (5) | |||
| 6 | Hugo González |  ESP | 53.45 (5 h5) | 53.05 (4 h2) | 52.78 (6) | |||
| 7 | Mitch Larkin |  AUS | 52.97 (3 h5) | 52.76 (2 h1) | 52.79 (7) | |||
| 8 | Robert Glință |  ROU | 53.67 (4 h6) | 53.20 (4 h1) | 52.95 (8) | |||
| =9 | Hunter Armstrong | USA | 53.77 (5 h4) | 53.21 (=5 h2) | – | |||
| =9 | Ryosuke Irie |  JPN | 52.99 (4 h5) | 53.21 (=5 h2) | – | |||
| 11 | Apostolos Christou |  GRE | 53.77 (5 h6) | 53.41 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 12 | Isaac Cooper | AUS | 53.73 (4 h4) | 53.43 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 13 | Marek Ulrich |  GER | 53.74 (1 h3) | 53.54 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 14 | Mewen Tomac |  FRA | 53.49 (2 h4) | 53.62 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 15 | Guilherme Guido |  BRA | 53.65 (3 h4) | 53.80 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 16 | Yohann N'Doye Brouard | FRA | 53.13 (1 h6) | – (DQ h1) | – | |||
| =17 | Luke Greenbank |  GBR | 53.79 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| =17 | Simone Sabbioni | ITA | 53.79 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 19 | Markus Thormeyer |  CAN | 53.80 (6 h6) | – | – | |||
| 20 | Guilherme Basseto | BRA | 53.84 (2 h3) | – | – | |||
| 21 | Lee Ju-Ho |  KOR | 53.84 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 22 | Quah Zheng Wen |  SGP | 53.94 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 23 | Kacper Stokowski |  POL | 53.99 (1 h2) | – | – | |||
| 24 | Pieter Coetze |  RSA | 54.05 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| 25 | Ole Braunschweig | GER | 54.14 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 26 | Cole Pratt | CAN | 54.27 (7 h6) | – | – | |||
| 27 | Srihari Nataraj |  IND | 54.31 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 28 | Francisco Santos |  POR | 54.35 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 29 | Ádám Telegdy |  HUN | 54.42 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 30 | Jan Čejka |  CZE | 54.69 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 31 | Yakov Toumarkin |  ISR | 54.81 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 32 | Dylan Carter |  TTO | 54.82 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 33 | Mikita Tsmyh |  BLR | 54.88 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 34 | Merdan Ataýew |  TKM | 55.24 (1 h1) | – | – | |||
| 35 | Bernhard Reitshammer |  AUT | 55.26 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 36 | Michael Laitarovsky | ISR | 55.34 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 37 | Kaloyan Levterov |  BUL | 55.60 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 38 | Daniel Martin | ROU | 56.91 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 39 | Gabriel Castillo |  BOL | 58.24 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 40 | Heriniavo Rasolonjatovo |  MAD | 59.81 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| Richárd Bohus | HUN | – (DQ h6) | – | – |
Round One (25 July 2021 — 19:51)
Heat One (19:51)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Merdan Ataýew | TKM | 55.24 | 0.64 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Gabriel Castillo | BOL | 58.24 | 0.56 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Heriniavo Rasolonjatovo | MAD | 59.81 | 0.59 |
Heat Two (19:54)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Kacper Stokowski | POL | 53.99 | 0.57 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Francisco Santos | POR | 54.35 | 0.60 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Jan Čejka | CZE | 54.69 | 0.55 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Dylan Carter | TTO | 54.82 | 0.65 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Michael Laitarovsky | ISR | 55.34 | 0.51 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Kaloyan Levterov | BUL | 55.60 | 0.52 |
Heat Three (19:57)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Marek Ulrich | GER | 53.74 | 0.63 | |||
| 2 | 8 | Guilherme Basseto | BRA | 53.84 | 0.54 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Quah Zheng Wen | SGP | 53.94 | 0.49 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Ole Braunschweig | GER | 54.14 | 0.60 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Srihari Nataraj | IND | 54.31 | 0.57 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Yakov Toumarkin | ISR | 54.81 | 0.62 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Mikita Tsmyh | BLR | 54.88 | 0.59 | |||
| 8 | 3 | Bernhard Reitshammer | AUT | 55.26 | 0.58 |
Heat Four (20:00)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Xu Jiayu | CHN | 52.70 | 0.54 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Mewen Tomac | FRA | 53.49 | 0.60 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Guilherme Guido | BRA | 53.65 | 0.58 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Isaac Cooper | AUS | 53.73 | 0.62 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Hunter Armstrong | USA | 53.77 | 0.72 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Luke Greenbank | GBR | 53.79 | 0.58 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Ádám Telegdy | HUN | 54.42 | 0.64 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Daniel Martin | ROU | 56.91 | 0.55 |
Heat Five (20:03)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kliment Kolesnikov | ROC | 52.15 | 0.65 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Thomas Ceccon | ITA | 52.49 | 0.63 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Mitch Larkin | AUS | 52.97 | 0.60 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Ryosuke Irie | JPN | 52.99 | 0.52 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Hugo González | ESP | 53.45 | 0.59 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Simone Sabbioni | ITA | 53.79 | 0.61 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Lee Ju-Ho | KOR | 53.84 | 0.53 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Pieter Coetze | RSA | 54.05 | 0.61 |
Heat Six (20:06)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Yohann N'Doye Brouard | FRA | 53.13 | 0.55 | |||
| =2 | 5 | Ryan Murphy | USA | 53.22 | 0.53 | |||
| =2 | 4 | Yevgeny Rylov | ROC | 53.22 | 0.54 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Robert Glință | ROU | 53.67 | 0.60 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Apostolos Christou | GRE | 53.77 | 0.60 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Markus Thormeyer | CAN | 53.80 | 0.65 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Cole Pratt | CAN | 54.27 | 0.61 | |||
| 8 | Richárd Bohus | HUN | – | – |
Semi-Finals (26 July 2021 — 11:31)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Ryan Murphy | USA | 52.24 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Kliment Kolesnikov | ROC | 52.29 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Mitch Larkin | AUS | 52.76 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Thomas Ceccon | ITA | 52.78 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Yevgeny Rylov | ROC | 52.91 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Xu Jiayu | CHN | 52.94 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Hugo González | ESP | 53.05 | ||
| 8 | 7 | Robert Glință | ROU | 53.20 | ||
| =9 | 8 | Hunter Armstrong | USA | 53.21 | ||
| =9 | 3 | Ryosuke Irie | JPN | 53.21 | ||
| 11 | 8 | Apostolos Christou | GRE | 53.41 | ||
| 12 | 1 | Isaac Cooper | AUS | 53.43 | ||
| 13 | 1 | Marek Ulrich | GER | 53.54 | ||
| 14 | 2 | Mewen Tomac | FRA | 53.62 | ||
| 15 | 7 | Guilherme Guido | BRA | 53.80 | ||
| 3 | Yohann N'Doye Brouard | FRA | – |
Heat One (11:31)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Ryan Murphy | USA | 52.24 | 0.51 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Mitch Larkin | AUS | 52.76 | 0.57 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Thomas Ceccon | ITA | 52.78 | 0.63 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Robert Glință | ROU | 53.20 | 0.58 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Apostolos Christou | GRE | 53.41 | 0.61 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Marek Ulrich | GER | 53.54 | 0.59 | |||
| 7 | 2 | Mewen Tomac | FRA | 53.62 | 0.62 | |||
| 3 | Yohann N'Doye Brouard | FRA | – | – |
Heat Two (11:37)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kliment Kolesnikov | ROC | 52.29 | 0.63 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Yevgeny Rylov | ROC | 52.91 | 0.55 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Xu Jiayu | CHN | 52.94 | 0.50 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Hugo González | ESP | 53.05 | 0.62 | |||
| =5 | 8 | Hunter Armstrong | USA | 53.21 | 0.80 | |||
| =5 | 3 | Ryosuke Irie | JPN | 53.21 | 0.52 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Isaac Cooper | AUS | 53.43 | 0.59 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Guilherme Guido | BRA | 53.80 | 0.59 |
Final (27 July 2021 — 10:59)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | Reaction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Yevgeny Rylov | ROC | 51.98 | 0.55 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Kliment Kolesnikov | ROC | 52.00 | 0.62 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Ryan Murphy | USA | 52.19 | 0.52 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Thomas Ceccon | ITA | 52.30 | 0.61 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Xu Jiayu | CHN | 52.51 | 0.52 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Hugo González | ESP | 52.78 | 0.60 | |||
| 7 | 3 | Mitch Larkin | AUS | 52.79 | 0.59 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Robert Glință | ROU | 52.95 | 0.57 |