The men's 100 metre backstroke

Backstroke

The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...

was a swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics

At the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women. The competitions were held from Saturday August 4, 1928 to Saturday August 11, 1928.There were 182 participants from 28 countries competing...

 programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Tuesday August 7, 1928 to Thursday August 9, 1928.

Nineteen swimmers from twelve nations competed.

Medalists

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.

World Record	1:09.0	George Kojac George Kojac George Harold Kojac was an American swimmer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.In the 1928 Olympics he won a gold medals in the 100 m backstroke event and in the 4x200 m freestyle relay event. He was also fourth in the 100 m freestyle event.He was born in New York City and died in...	Detroit Detroit, Michigan Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...  (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )	June 23, 1928
Olympic Record	1:13.2	Warren Kealoha Warren Kealoha Warren Daniels Kealoha was an American swimmer who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and 1924 Summer Olympics.In the 1920 Olympics he won a gold medal in 100 m backstroke event....	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...  (FRA France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... )	July 18, 1924

In the first heat George Kojac

George Kojac

George Harold Kojac was an American swimmer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.In the 1928 Olympics he won a gold medals in the 100 m backstroke event and in the 4x200 m freestyle relay event. He was also fourth in the 100 m freestyle event.He was born in New York City and died in...

set a new Olympic record with 1:09.2 minutes. In the final he set a new world record with 1:08.2 minutes.

Heats

Tuesday August 7, 1928: The fastest two in each heat and the fastest third-placed from across the heats advanced. As there was a tie for second place in the fifth heat both swimmers advanced instead of a third placed.

Heat 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:09.2	QQ OR
2		1:13.4	QQ
3		1:16.6
4		1:17.4

Heat 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:12.8	QQ
2		1:15.0	QQ
3		1:25.6
4		1:17.2

Heat 3

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:17.0	QQ
2		1:18.8	QQ
3		1:20.4

Heat 4

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:14.0	QQ
2		1:16.4	QQ
3		1:20.0
4

Heat 5

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:14.0	QQ
2		1:14.4	QQ
		1:14.4
4

Semifinals

Wednesday August 8, 1928: The fastest three in each semi-final advanced.

Semifinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:10.0	QF
2		1:14.0	QF
3		1:14.8	QF
4
5
6

Semifinal 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:12.6	QF
2		1:14.2	QF
		1:14.2	QF
4
—		DNS

Final

Thursday August 9, 1928:

Place	Swimmer	Time
1		1:08.2 WR
2		1:10.0
3		1:12.0
4		1:13.6
5		1:13.8
6		1:15.4