The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was the third appearance of the event, which had not been featured at the 1900 Games. The competition was held from Saturday July 6, 1912, to Wednesday July 10, 1912.
Thirty-four swimmers from twelve nations competed.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.
In the fourth heat Perry McGillivray set a new Olympic record with 1:04.8 minutes. In the fifth heat Duke Kahanamoku bettered the Olympic record of 1:02.6 minutes. Finally Duke Kahanamoku improved the Olympic record with a time of 1:02.4 minutes in the third semi-final heat.
Competition format
The rules for the swimming events provided that each event would consist of heats, a final, and "a sufficient number of intermediate heats in proportion to the number of competitors."[2] This resulted in confusion when the organizers deemed that there should be 2 such intermediate rounds (for a total of 4 rounds) while the American team thought that there would be only 1 intermediate round before the final and did not appear for the semifinals. Ultimately a four-round competition was held, with a special heat in the third round held for competitors who had missed races due to confusion.
For each round, the top two swimmers in each heat advanced to the next round along with the fastest third-place swimmer. In the case of a tie, all tied swimmers would advance (swim-offs would only be used in the final). Each race consisted of a single length of the 100 metre couse. Any stroke could be used.
Results
Heats
The fastest two in each heat advanced. A tie for second in the seventh heat resulted in both swimmers advancing. In addition, the fastest third-place swimmer from across the heats also qualified for the quarterfinals.
Again, the top two in each heat advanced along with the fastest loser overall. Four of the qualified swimmers did not take part in their quarterfinal heats, and a fifth (Massa) did not appear due to a misunderstanding. Massa was later allowed to take part in the semifinals.
Further confusion struck the semifinals. Under the belief that the second round of the competition had been the semifinals, the American swimmers did not appear for the third round. This led to both semifinals being essentially walkovers, as the first had three swimmers and the second only one. Since the top two swimmers of each and the fastest third-place swimmer would advance, all four competitors had secured a place in the final before entering the water. Longworth swam in the first heat, despite suffering from what the official report referred to as "suppuration in the head".
The jury for the swimming events met and determined that a third heat should be held under special rules. If the winner of the extra heat were to beat the time set by the third-place swimmer of the first heat (1:06.2, a stiff pace but one which all three Americans had beat during the quarterfinals), he and the second-place finisher would advance. If the mark were not bettered, none of the swimmers from the third heat would advance. Massa, who had missed the quarterfinals due to a misunderstanding, was also allowed to start in the extra semifinal.
In the third heat, Kahanamoku not only beat Longworth's time, thus qualifying himself and Huszagh for the final, but bettered his own Olympic record which he had set in the first round. Huszagh out-touched McGillivray by a "hand's breadth" to take second place and the final qualification spot, though both finished well behind Kahanamoku and their own previous times. Massa did not finish the race.
Longworth was unable to continue competing due to illness and did not start in the final.
Kahanamoku was clearly in control by the halfway point, with a tight race between Huszagh, Ramme, and Bretting for the next three spots with Healy close behind them. It was Healy who took the silver medal, though, as he swam by the other three near the finish. Ramme fell back to fifth while Huszagh and Bretting finished separated by "[o]nly a decimetre".
Bergvall, Erik (ed.) (1913). Adams-Ray, Edward (trans.). (ed.). The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
Kurt Bretting
Charles Daniels
Zoltán Halmay
Hungary
Sweden
Greece
Russia
Germany
Great Britain
Australasia
Belgium
United States
Italy
France
Norway
