| | Event type

100 metres Backstroke, Men

Date	7 – 9 August 1928
Status	Olympic
Location	Zwemstadion, Amsterdam
Participants	19 from 12 countries

George Kojac emerged as a phenomenon in backstroke and, on a lesser scale, in freestyle during the second half of 1926 and set the first of his world records whilst still in high school. In Amsterdam he reached the final of the 100m freestyle and was a member of the winning US relay team but his finest performance was reserved for this event. He led American swimmers to a 1-2-3, finishing clear of Walter Laufer and 1924 medallist, Paul Wyatt. Still amongst the best in the world in 1932, he was unable to defend his title because he was working himself through Columbia Medical School.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	George Kojac	USA	1:09.2 (1 h1)	1:10.0 (1 h1)	1:08.2 (1)	Gold
2	Walter Laufer	USA	1:12.8 (1 h2)	1:12.6 (1 h2)	1:10.0 (2)	Silver
3	Paul Wyatt	USA	1:14.0 (1 h5)	1:14.2 (=2 h2)	1:12.0 (3)	Bronze
4	Toshio Irie	JPN	1:13.4 (2 h1)	1:14.0 (2 h1)	1:13.6 (4)
5	Ernst Küppers	GER	1:14.0 (1 h4)	1:14.2 (=2 h2)	1:13.8 (5)
6	Jack Besford	GBR	1:15.0 (2 h2)	1:14.8 (3 h1)	1:15.4 (6)
4 h1 r2/3	Munroe Bourne	CAN	1:14.4 (=2 h5)	– (4 h1)	–
4 h2 r2/3	Tom Boast	AUS	1:17.0 (1 h3)	– (4 h2)	–
5 h1 r2/3	Eskil Lundahl	SWE	1:14.4 (=2 h5)	– (5 h1)	–
6 h1 r2/3	Willie Francis	GBR	1:16.4 (2 h4)	– (6 h1)	–
2 h3 r1/3	Gérard Blitz	BEL	1:18.8 (2 h3)	– (DNS h2)	–
3 h1 r1/3	Albert Schumburg	GER	1:16.6 (3 h1)	–	–
3 h2 r1/3	Aladár Bitskey	HUN	1:15.6 (3 h2)	–	–
3 h3 r1/3	Len Moorhouse	NZL	1:20.4 (3 h3)	–	–
3 h4 r1/3	Emil Zeibig	FRA	1:20.0 (3 h4)	–	–
4 h1 r1/3	Roland Johansson	SWE	1:17.4 (4 h1)	–	–
4 h2 r1/3	Johann Schulz	GER	1:17.2 (4 h2)	–	–
4 h4 r1/3	Eugène Kuborn	LUX	– (4 h4)	–	–
4 h5 r1/3	Shourai Kimura	JPN	– (4 h5)	–	–
DNS	Sante Omero	ITA	– (DNS h3)	–	–
DNS	Emiel Thienpont	BEL	– (DNS h1)	–	–
DNS	Carlos Castro	ARG	– (DNS h1)	–	–
DNS	Fred Rödiger	AUT	– (DNS h2)	–	–
DNS	Krzysztof Trytko	POL	– (DNS h3)	–	–
DNS	Teófilo Yldefonso	PHI	– (DNS h3)	–	–
DNS	Alberto Zorrilla	ARG	– (DNS h4)	–	–
DNS	Hubert Nassau	AUT	– (DNS h5)	–	–

Round One (7 August 1928)

Top two in each heat and the fastest third-place advanced to the semi-finals.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	Time
1	2	George Kojac	USA	– (–) –	1:09.2	QOR
2	6	Toshio Irie	JPN	– (–) –	1:13.4	Q
3	1	Albert Schumburg	GER	– (–) –	1:16.6
4	5	Roland Johansson	SWE	– (–) –	1:17.4
DNS	3	Emiel Thienpont	BEL	– (–) –	–
DNS	4	Carlos Castro	ARG	– (–) –	–

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	Time
1	2	Walter Laufer	USA	– (–) –	1:12.8	Q
2	3	Jack Besford	GBR	– (–) –	1:15.0	Q
3	5	Aladár Bitskey	HUN	– (–) –	1:15.6
4	1	Johann Schulz	GER	– (–) –	1:17.2
DNS	1	Fred Rödiger	AUT	– (–) –	–

Heat Three

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	Time
1	1	Tom Boast	AUS	– (–) –	1:17.0	Q
2	1	Gérard Blitz	BEL	– (–) –	1:18.8	Q
3	1	Len Moorhouse	NZL	– (–) –	1:20.4
DNS	1	Krzysztof Trytko	POL	– (–) –	–
DNS	2	Sante Omero	ITA	– (–) –	–
DNS	3	Teófilo Yldefonso	PHI	– (–) –	–

Heat Four

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	Time
1	–	Ernst Küppers	GER	– (–) –	1:14.0	Q
2	–	Willie Francis	GBR	– (–) –	1:16.4	Q
3	1	Emil Zeibig	FRA	– (–) –	1:20.0
4	–	Eugène Kuborn	LUX	– (–) –	–
DNS	–	Alberto Zorrilla	ARG	– (–) –	–

Heat Five

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	Time
1	2	Paul Wyatt	USA	– (–) –	1:14.0	Q
=2	1	Eskil Lundahl	SWE	– (–) –	1:14.4	Q
=2	3	Munroe Bourne	CAN	– (–) –	1:14.4	Q
4	4	Shourai Kimura	JPN	– (–) –	–
DNS	5	Hubert Nassau	AUT	– (–) –	–

Semi-Finals (8 August 1928 — 10:00)

Top three in each heat advanced to the final.

Heat One (10:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	Time
1	3	George Kojac	USA	– (–) –	1:10.0	Q
2	1	Toshio Irie	JPN	– (–) –	1:14.0	Q
3	4	Jack Besford	GBR	– (–) –	1:14.8	Q
4	5	Munroe Bourne	CAN	– (–) –	–
5	2	Eskil Lundahl	SWE	– (–) –	–
6	6	Willie Francis	GBR	– (–) –	–

Heat Two (10:15)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	Time
1	1	Walter Laufer	USA	– (–) –	1:12.6	Q
=2	5	Paul Wyatt	USA	– (–) –	1:14.2	Q
=2	4	Ernst Küppers	GER	– (–) –	1:14.2	Q
4	2	Tom Boast	AUS	– (–) –	–
DNS	3	Gérard Blitz	BEL	– (–) –	–

Final (9 August 1928 — 15:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	Time
1	2	George Kojac	USA	– (–) –	1:08.2	WR
2	1	Walter Laufer	USA	– (–) –	1:10.0
3	4	Paul Wyatt	USA	– (–) –	1:12.0
4	5	Toshio Irie	JPN	– (–) –	1:13.6
5	6	Ernst Küppers	GER	– (–) –	1:13.8
6	3	Jack Besford	GBR	– (–) –	1:15.4