| Date | 22 – 29 August 1920 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Zwemstadion van Antwerpen, Antwerpen |
| Participants | 31 from 15 countries |
The race was expected to be between Norman Ross, who had won the event at the 1919 Inter-Allied Games, and Duke Kahanamoku, the defending Olympic champion, but The Duke was far the better sprinter. The Olympic record was 1:02.4, set by Kahanamoku in the 1912 semi-finals. He also held the world record, having recorded 1:01.4 in 1918. In the finals, Kahanamoku won easily, with Ross fourth. Billy Herald of Australia filed a protest, claiming that Ross had fouled him. Ross was disqualified and the final re-swum. The finish was exactly the same, except for the absence of Ross. Kahanamoku broke his world record in the first final and equaled the existing mark in the re-swim.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | First Final | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke Kahanamoku |  USA | 1:01.8 (1 h1) | 1:01.4 (1 h1) | 1:00.4 (1) | 1:01.4 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Pua Kele Kealoha | USA | 1:02.0 (1 h3) | 1:02.4 (1 h2) | 1:02.2 (2) | 1:02.6 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Bill Harris | USA | 1:04.4 (1 h6) | 1:04.2 (2 h1) | 1:03.2 (3) | 1:03.0 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Billy Herald |  AUS | 1:08.8 (2 h5) | 1:05.8 (3 h2) | – (4) | 1:03.8 (4) | |||
| AC r3/3 | Norman Ross | USA | 1:04.4 (1 h5) | 1:04.8 (2 h2) | [1:03.8] ( | – | DQ | ||
| 3 h1 r3/4 | George Vernot |  CAN | 1:05.2 (1 h4) | 1:05.8 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r3/4 | Agostino Frassinetti |  ITA | 1:11.8 (1 h2) | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r3/4 | Ivan Stedman | AUS | 1:04.2 (2 h3) | – (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r3/4 | Václav Bucháček |  TCH | 1:19.2 (2 h2) | – (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r3/4 | Orvar Trolle |  SWE | 1:07.8 (3 h4) | – (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r3/4 | Harry Hay | AUS | 1:06.8 (2 h4) | – (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r3/4 | Keith Kirkland | AUS | 1:08.0 (2 h1) | – (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 7 h2 r3/4 | Ko Korsten |  NED | 1:05.6 (2 h6) | – (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/4 | Jean van Silfhout | NED | 1:09.0 (3 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/4 | Ângelo Gammaro |  BRA | 1:22.0 (3 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/4 | Henri Padou, Sr. |  FRA | 1:08.4 (3 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h5 r1/4 | Mario Massa | ITA | 1:10.4 (3 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h6 r1/4 | Jack Dickin |  GBR | 1:10.0 (3 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/4 | Georges Pouilley | FRA | – (4 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/4 | Harold Annison | GBR | – (4 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/4 | Martial Van Schelle |  BEL | – (4 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/4 | Léon Pesch |  LUX | – (4 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/4 | Rémi Weil | FRA | – (4 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h6 r1/4 | Alfred Steen |  NOR | – (4 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/4 | Albert Dickin | GBR | – (5 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/4 | Jean Jenni |  SUI | – (5 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/4 | Leslie Savage | GBR | – (5 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/4 | Masayoshi Uchida |  JPN | – (5 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/4 | Kenkichi Saito | JPN | – (6 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/4 | Orlando Amêndola | BRA | – (6 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 7 h4 r1/4 | Gérard Blitz | BEL | – (7 h4) | – | – | – |
| Date | 22 August 1920 — 18:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 2 in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke Kahanamoku | USA | 1:01.8 | ||
| 2 | Keith Kirkland | AUS | 1:08.0 | ||
| 3 | Jean van Silfhout | NED | 1:09.0 | ||
| 4 | Georges Pouilley | FRA | – | ||
| 5 | Albert Dickin | GBR | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agostino Frassinetti | ITA | 1:11.8 | ||
| 2 | Václav Bucháček | TCH | 1:19.2 | ||
| 3 | Ângelo Gammaro | BRA | 1:22.0 | ||
| 4 | Harold Annison | GBR | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pua Kele Kealoha | USA | 1:02.0 | ||
| 2 | Ivan Stedman | AUS | 1:04.2 | ||
| 3 | Henri Padou, Sr. | FRA | 1:08.4 | ||
| 4 | Martial Van Schelle | BEL | – | ||
| 5 | Jean Jenni | SUI | – | ||
| 6 | Kenkichi Saito | JPN | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Vernot | CAN | 1:05.2 | ||
| 2 | Harry Hay | AUS | 1:06.8 | ||
| 3 | Orvar Trolle | SWE | 1:07.8 | ||
| 4 | Léon Pesch | LUX | – | ||
| 5 | Leslie Savage | GBR | – | ||
| 6 | Orlando Amêndola | BRA | – | ||
| 7 | Gérard Blitz | BEL | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norman Ross | USA | 1:04.4 | ||
| 2 | Billy Herald | AUS | 1:08.8 | ||
| 3 | Mario Massa | ITA | 1:10.4 | ||
| 4 | Rémi Weil | FRA | – | ||
| 5 | Masayoshi Uchida | JPN | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Harris | USA | 1:04.4 | ||
| 2 | Ko Korsten | NED | 1:05.6 | ||
| 3 | Jack Dickin | GBR | 1:10.0 | ||
| 4 | Alfred Steen | NOR | – |
| Date | 23 August 1920 — 15:15 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 2 in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke Kahanamoku | USA | 1:01.4 | ||
| 2 | Bill Harris | USA | 1:04.2 | ||
| 3 | George Vernot | CAN | 1:05.8 | ||
| 4 | Agostino Frassinetti | ITA | – | ||
| 5 | Václav Bucháček | TCH | – | ||
| 6 | Harry Hay | AUS | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pua Kele Kealoha | USA | 1:02.4 | ||
| 2 | Norman Ross | USA | 1:04.8 | ||
| 3 | Billy Herald | AUS | 1:05.8 | ||
| 4 | Ivan Stedman | AUS | – | ||
| 5 | Orvar Trolle | SWE | – | ||
| 6 | Keith Kirkland | AUS | – | ||
| 7 | Ko Korsten | NED | – |
| Date | 24 August 1920 — 17:10 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke Kahanamoku | USA | 1:00.4 | ||
| 2 | Pua Kele Kealoha | USA | 1:02.2 | ||
| 3 | Bill Harris | USA | 1:03.2 | ||
| 4 | Billy Herald | AUS | – | ||
| Norman Ross | USA | [1:03.8] | 1 |
| Date | 29 August 1920 — 16:45 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke Kahanamoku | USA | 1:01.4 | ||
| 2 | Pua Kele Kealoha | USA | 1:02.6 | ||
| 3 | Bill Harris | USA | 1:03.0 | ||
| 4 | Billy Herald | AUS | 1:03.8 |
