| | Event type
100 metres Backstroke, Men
| Date | 23 July 1996 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia |
| Participants | 50 from 43 countries |
Since the Seoul Olympics America’s Jeff Rouse had been the world’s outstanding sprint backstroker. His career had however been blighted by defeats in the two most high profile races, the 1992 Olympic final and the 1994 World Championship final and his critics saw this as proof that he was a choker. In Atlanta he got rid of that unwanted title once and for all.
Rouse was the fastest in the heats then imposed himself on the final by blasting ahead straight from the gun and was untroubled in winning the gold medal. The big surprises of the event were a duo from Cuba, Rodolfo Falcón and Neisser Bent. Both men took large chunks of time off their previous best times to finish on the podium. Cuba had never before, and as of 2012, has never again, won an Olympic swimming medal.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | B Final | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Rouse |  USA | 54.20 (1 h7) | – | 54.10 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Rodolfo Falcón |  CUB | 55.29 (1 h6) | – | 54.98 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Neisser Bent | CUB | 54.83 (1 h5) | – | 55.02 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Martín López-Zubero |  ESP | 55.36 (2 h5) | – | 55.22 (4) | |||
| 5 | Tripp Schwenk | USA | 55.71 (2 h6) | – | 55.30 (5) | |||
| 6 | Emanuele Merisi |  ITA | 55.82 (3 h7) | – | 55.53 (6) | |||
| 7 | Ralf Braun |  GER | 55.73 (2 h7) | – | 55.56 (7) | |||
| 8 | Franck Schott |  FRA | 55.77 (3 h5) | – | 55.76 (8) | |||
| 9 | Keitaro Konnai |  JPN | 56.35 (5 h7) | 55.74 (1) | – | |||
| 10 | Neil Willey |  GBR | 56.27 (5 h5) | 56.07 (2) | – | |||
| 11 | Hajime Itoi | JPN | 56.22 (4 h6) | 56.23 (3) | – | |||
| 12 | Mariusz Siembida |  POL | 56.16 (4 h7) | 56.31 (4) | – | |||
| 13 | Darius Grigalionis |  LTU | 56.20 (1 h4) | 56.33 (5) | – | |||
| 14 | Stev Theloke | GER | 56.26 (5 h6) | 56.63 (6) | – | |||
| 15 | Steven Dewick |  AUS | 56.35 (6 h6) | 56.82 (7) | – | |||
| 16 | Rob Braknis |  CAN | 56.14 (3 h6) | 57.00 (8) | – | |||
| 17 | Vladimir Selkov |  RUS | 55.87 (4 h5) | – | – | 1 | ||
| 18 | Chris Renaud | CAN | 56.52 (7 h6) | – | – | |||
| =19 | Derya Büyükuncu |  TUR | 56.71 (=2 h4) | – | – | |||
| =19 | Volodymyr Nikolaichuk |  UKR | 56.71 (=2 h4) | – | – | |||
| 21 | Nicolae Butacu |  ROU | 56.73 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 22 | Eithan Urbach |  ISR | 56.74 (1 h3) | – | – | |||
| 23 | Jonathan Winter |  NZL | 56.92 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 24 | Rogério Romero |  BRA | 56.94 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 25 | Tamás Deutsch |  HUN | 56.96 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| =26 | Zhao Yi |  CHN | 57.17 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| =26 | Martin Harris | GBR | 57.17 (6 h7) | – | – | |||
| 28 | Mindaugas Špokas | LTU | 57.20 (7 h7) | – | – | |||
| 29 | Carlos Arena |  MEX | 57.40 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 30 | Nuno Laurentino |  POR | 57.59 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 31 | Raymond Papa |  PHI | 57.67 (2 h3) | – | – | |||
| 32 | Alex Lim |  MAS | 57.68 (1 h1) | – | – | |||
| 33 | Miroslav Machovič |  SVK | 57.78 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 34 | Tomislav Karlo |  CRO | 57.89 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 35 | Nicky Neckles |  BAR | 57.91 (1 h2) | – | – | |||
| 36 | Panagiotis Adamidis |  GRE | 58.12 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 37 | Rastislav Bizub |  CZE | 58.29 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 38 | Dulyarit Phuangthong |  THA | 58.32 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 39 | Kim Min-Seok |  KOR | 58.43 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 40 | Logi Jes Kristjánsson |  ISL | 58.53 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 41 | Adrian O'Connor |  IRL | 58.56 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 42 | Sergey Ushkalov |  KAZ | 58.61 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 43 | Artur Elezarov |  MDA | 59.24 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 44 | Nicolás Rajcevich |  CHI | 59.90 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 45 | Konstantin Pryakhin |  KGZ | 1:00.26 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 46 | Gerald Koh |  SGP | 1:00.29 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 47 | Mike Fung-a-Wing |  SUR | 1:01.24 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 48 | Leandro Jorge |  MOZ | 1:03.86 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 49 | Fahad Al-Otaibi |  KUW | 1:04.27 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 50 | Sitaram Shahi |  NEP | 1:14.58 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| Jani Sievinen |  FIN | – (DNS h6) | – | – | ||||
| Aleksandr Popov | RUS | – (DNS h7) | – | – |
Round One (23 July 1996)
Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Alex Lim | MAS | 57.68 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Konstantin Pryakhin | KGZ | 1:00.26 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Leandro Jorge | MOZ | 1:03.86 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Sitaram Shahi | NEP | 1:14.58 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Nicky Neckles | BAR | 57.91 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Dulyarit Phuangthong | THA | 58.32 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Kim Min-Seok | KOR | 58.43 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Sergey Ushkalov | KAZ | 58.61 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Nicolás Rajcevich | CHI | 59.90 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Gerald Koh | SGP | 1:00.29 | |||
| 7 | 4 | Mike Fung-a-Wing | SUR | 1:01.24 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Fahad Al-Otaibi | KUW | 1:04.27 |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Eithan Urbach | ISR | 56.74 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Raymond Papa | PHI | 57.67 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Miroslav Machovič | SVK | 57.78 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Tomislav Karlo | CRO | 57.89 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Rastislav Bizub | CZE | 58.29 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Logi Jes Kristjánsson | ISL | 58.53 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Adrian O'Connor | IRL | 58.56 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Artur Elezarov | MDA | 59.24 |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Darius Grigalionis | LTU | 56.20 | |||
| =2 | 6 | Volodymyr Nikolaichuk | UKR | 56.71 | |||
| =2 | 8 | Derya Büyükuncu | TUR | 56.71 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Rogério Romero | BRA | 56.94 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Zhao Yi | CHN | 57.17 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Carlos Arena | MEX | 57.40 | |||
| 7 | 5 | Nuno Laurentino | POR | 57.59 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Panagiotis Adamidis | GRE | 58.12 |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Neisser Bent | CUB | 54.83 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Martín López-Zubero | ESP | 55.36 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Franck Schott | FRA | 55.77 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Vladimir Selkov | RUS | 55.87 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Neil Willey | GBR | 56.27 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Nicolae Butacu | ROU | 56.73 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Jonathan Winter | NZL | 56.92 | |||
| 8 | 3 | Tamás Deutsch | HUN | 56.96 |
Heat Six
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Rodolfo Falcón | CUB | 55.29 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Tripp Schwenk | USA | 55.71 | |||
| 3 | 8 | Rob Braknis | CAN | 56.14 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Hajime Itoi | JPN | 56.22 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Stev Theloke | GER | 56.26 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Steven Dewick | AUS | 56.35 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Chris Renaud | CAN | 56.52 | |||
| 6 | Jani Sievinen | FIN | – |
Heat Seven
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Jeff Rouse | USA | 54.20 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Ralf Braun | GER | 55.73 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Emanuele Merisi | ITA | 55.82 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Mariusz Siembida | POL | 56.16 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Keitaro Konnai | JPN | 56.35 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Martin Harris | GBR | 57.17 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Mindaugas Špokas | LTU | 57.20 | |||
| 7 | Aleksandr Popov | RUS | – |
B Final (23 July 1996)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Keitaro Konnai | JPN | 55.74 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Neil Willey | GBR | 56.07 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Hajime Itoi | JPN | 56.23 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Mariusz Siembida | POL | 56.31 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Darius Grigalionis | LTU | 56.33 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Stev Theloke | GER | 56.63 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Steven Dewick | AUS | 56.82 | |||
| 8 | 4 | Rob Braknis | CAN | 57.00 |
Final (23 July 1996)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Jeff Rouse | USA | 54.10 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Rodolfo Falcón | CUB | 54.98 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Neisser Bent | CUB | 55.02 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Martín López-Zubero | ESP | 55.22 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Tripp Schwenk | USA | 55.30 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Emanuele Merisi | ITA | 55.53 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Ralf Braun | GER | 55.56 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Franck Schott | FRA | 55.76 |