Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle

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 fourth 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. The event was won by Duke Kahanamoku of the United States, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event (tying Hungary for most all-time). Cecil Healy took silver, the only medal in the event for Australasia, the short-lived joint team of Australia and New Zealand. Another American, Ken Huszagh, took bronze.

Men's 100 metre freestyle
at the Games of the V Olympiad
100 metre freestyle at the 1912 Games
VenueDjurgårdsbrunnsviken
DatesJuly 6–10
Competitors34 from 12 nations
Winning time1:03.4
Medalists
Duke Kahanamoku
 United States
Cecil Healy
 Australasia
Ken Huszagh
 United States

Background

This was the fourth appearance of the men's 100 metre freestyle (including the 100 yard event in 1904 but excluding the Intercalated Games in 1906). The event has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1900 (when the shortest freestyle was the 200 metres), though the 1904 version was measured in yards rather than metres.[2]

One of the four finalists from 1908 returned: bronze medalist Harald Julin of Sweden. Charles Daniels, the defending gold medalist who had also won at the 1906 Intercalated Games and taken silver at the 1904 Olympics, had retired. The favorite was Kurt Bretting of Germany, who had broken Daniels' world record earlier in 1912. An intriguing entrant was the Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, rumored to have posted phenomenal times which were unverified because of the distance from the American mainland.[2]

Germany, Norway, and Russia each made their debut in the event. Hungary and the United States each made their fourth appearance, having competed at each edition of the event to date.

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."[3] 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.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

World Record 1:02.4 Kurt Bretting Brussels (BEL) April 6, 1912
Olympic Record 1:05.6 Charles Daniels London (GBR) July 20, 1908
1:02.8(*) Zoltán Halmay St. Louis (USA) September 5, 1904

(*) 100 yards (= 91.44 m)

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 semifinal heat.

Schedule

Date Time Round
Saturday, 6 July 191219:00Heats
Sunday, 7 July 191213:30
20:00
Quarterfinals
Semifinals 1 and 2
Tuesday, 9 July 1912Semifinal 3
Wednesday, 10 July 1912Final

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.

Heat 1

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1László Beleznai Hungary1:08.0Q
2Robert Andersson Sweden1:09.4Q
3Andreas Asimakopoulos Greece1:15.4
4Herbert von Kuhlberg RussiaUnknown

Heat 2

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Kurt Bretting Germany1:07.0Q
2Paul Radmilovic Great Britain1:10.4Q
3Theodore Tartakover Australasia1:12.2
4Jules Wuyts Belgium1:13.6

Heat 3

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Leslie Boardman Australasia1:06.0Q
2Nicholas Nerich United States1:07.6Q
3John Derbyshire Great Britain1:09.2
4–6Davide Baiardo ItalyUnknown
Walther Binner GermanyUnknown
Alajos Kenyery HungaryUnknown

Heat 4

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Perry McGillivray United States1:04.8Q, OR
2Cecil Healy Australasia1:05.2Q
3Ken Huszagh United States1:06.2q
4Erik Andersson Sweden1:13.0
5Georg Kunisch GermanyUnknown

Heat 5

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Duke Kahanamoku United States1:02.6Q, OR
2William Longworth Australasia1:05.2Q
3Harry Hebner United States1:10.4
4Gérard Meister France1:16.6

Heat 6

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Harold Hardwick Australasia1:05.8Q
2Max Ritter Germany1:08.0Q
3Herman Meyboom Belgium1:15.4
4James Reilly United StatesUnknown

Heat 7

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Walter Ramme Germany1:10.2Q
2Harald Julin Sweden1:11.8Q
Mario Massa Italy1:11.8Q
4John Johnsen Norway1:19.2

Heat 8

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Erik Bergqvist Sweden1:13.4Q
2Georges Rigal France1:17.8Q
3László Szentgróthy HungaryUnknown

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.

Quarterfinal 1

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Kurt Bretting Germany1:04.2Q
2William Longworth Australasia1:05.2Q
3Harold Hardwick Australasia1:06.0
4Robert Andersson Sweden1:10.0
László Beleznai HungaryDNS
Georges Rigal FranceDNS

Quarterfinal 2

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Duke Kahanamoku United States1:03.8Q
2Walter Ramme Germany1:07.8Q
3Nicholas Nerich United States1:08.8
Max Ritter Germany1:08.8
Erik Bergqvist SwedenDNS
Harald Julin SwedenDNS

Quarterfinal 3

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Ken Huszagh United States1:04.2Q
2Perry McGillivray United States1:04.4Q
3Cecil Healy Australasia1:04.8q
4Leslie Boardman Australasia1:05.4
5Paul Radmilovic Great Britain1:19.0
Mario Massa ItalyDNSq*

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.

Semifinal 1

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Cecil Healy Australasia1:05.6Q
2Walter Ramme Germany1:05.8Q
3William Longworth Australasia1:06.2q

Semifinal 2

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Kurt Bretting Germany1:04.6Q

Semifinal 3

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
1Duke Kahanamoku United States1:02.4Q, =WR
2Ken Huszagh United States1:06.2Q
3Perry McGillivray United States1:06.2
Mario Massa ItalyDNF

Final

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".

RankSwimmerNationTimeNotes
Duke Kahanamoku United States1:03.4
Cecil Healy Australasia1:04.6
Ken Huszagh United States1:05.6
4Kurt Bretting Germany1:05.8
5Walter Ramme Germany1:06.4
6William Longworth AustralasiaDNS

Results summary

RankSwimmerNationHeatsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalNotes
Duke Kahanamoku United States1:02.61:03.81:02.41:03.4
Cecil Healy Australasia1:05.21:04.81:05.61:04.6
Ken Huszagh United States1:06.21:04.21:06.21:05.6
4Kurt Bretting Germany1:07.01:04.21:04.61:05.8
5Walter Ramme Germany1:10.21:07.81:05.81:06.4
6William Longworth Australasia1:05.21:05.21:06.2DNS
7Perry McGillivray United States1:04.81:04.41:06.2Did not advance
8Mario Massa Italy1:11.8DNSDNFDid not advanceTo semifinals by dispensation
9Leslie Boardman Australasia1:06.01:05.4Did not advance
10Harold Hardwick Australasia1:05.81:06.0Did not advance
11Nicholas Nerich United States1:07.61:08.8Did not advance
Max Ritter Germany1:08.01:08.8Did not advance
13Robert Andersson Sweden1:09.41:10.0Did not advance
14Paul Radmilovic Great Britain1:10.41:19.0Did not advance
15László Beleznai Hungary1:08.0DNSDid not advance
Erik Bergqvist Sweden1:13.4DNSDid not advance
Harald Julin Sweden1:11.8DNSDid not advance
Georges Rigal France1:17.8DNSDid not advance
19John Derbyshire Great Britain1:09.2Did not advance
20Harry Hebner United States1:10.4Did not advance
21Theodore Tartakover Australasia1:12.2Did not advance
22Erik Andersson Sweden1:13.0Did not advance
23Jules Wuyts Belgium1:13.6Did not advance
24Andreas Asimakopoulos Greece1:15.4Did not advance
Herman Meyboom Belgium1:15.4Did not advance
26Gérard Meister France1:16.6Did not advance
27John Johnsen Norway1:19.2Did not advance
28László Szentgróthy HungaryUnknownDid not advance3rd in heat
29James Reilly United StatesUnknownDid not advance4th in heat
Herbert von Kuhlberg RussiaUnknownDid not advance4th in heat
31Davide Baiardo ItalyUnknownDid not advance4th to 6th in heat
Walther Binner GermanyUnknownDid not advance4th to 6th in heat
Alajos Kenyery HungaryUnknownDid not advance4th to 6th in heat
34Georg Kunisch GermanyUnknownDid not advance5th in heat

References

  1. "Swimming at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  2. "100 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  3. Official Report, p. 1069.

Notes

  • Bergvall, Erik (ed.) (1913). Adams-Ray, Edward (trans.). (ed.). The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 28 January 2007.
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