Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre backstroke
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The men's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10–12 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
August 11, 2008 (semifinals)
August 12, 2008 (final)
| Men's 100 metre backstroke at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | ||||||||||||||||
| Date | August 10, 2008 (heats) August 11, 2008 (semifinals) August 12, 2008 (final) | ||||||||||||||||
| Competitors | 45 from 35 nations | ||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 52.54 WR | ||||||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||||||
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Aaron Peirsol established a new world record of 52.54 to defend his Olympic title in the event. His teammate Matt Grevers earned a silver in 53.11, giving the United States a one-two finish.[2][3] Meanwhile, Australia's Hayden Stoeckel and Russia's Arkady Vyatchanin, who both finished behind Grevers by 0.07 of a second, tied for the bronze medal in a matching time of 53.18.[4]
Stoeckel's teammate Ashley Delaney finished fifth in 53.31, while Great Britain's Liam Tancock, who led a field in the first 50 metres, faded only to sixth place in 53.39.[5] Spain's Aschwin Wildeboer (53.51) and Japan's Junichi Miyashita (53.99) rounded out the finale. For the first time in Olympic history, all eight swimmers went faster than a winning time of 54.09, previously set by Peirsol in Athens four years earlier.[2]
Earlier, Grevers erased Peirsol's 2004 Olympic record of 53.45 to pick up a top seed in the prelims, until Stoeckel broke a 53-second barrier, and eventually lowered the record to 52.97 in the semifinals.[6]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Aaron Peirsol (USA) | 52.89 | Omaha, United States | 1 July 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic record | Aaron Peirsol (USA) | 53.45 | Athens, Greece | 21 August 2004 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10 | Heat 4 | Matt Grevers | United States | 53.41 | OR |
| August 11 | Semifinal 1 | Arkady Vyatchanin |  Russia | 53.06 | OR |
| August 11 | Semifinal 2 | Hayden Stoeckel |  Australia | 52.97 | OR |
| August 12 | Final | Aaron Peirsol | United States | 52.54 | WR |
Results
Heats
Semifinals
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 6 | Hayden Stoeckel | Australia | 52.97 | Q, OR, OC |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | Matt Grevers | United States | 52.99 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | 4 | Arkady Vyatchanin | Russia | 53.06 | Q, ER |
| 4 | 1 | 5 | Aschwin Wildeboer |  Spain | 53.51 | Q, NR |
| 5 | 2 | 5 | Aaron Peirsol | United States | 53.56 | Q |
| 6 | 1 | 3 | Liam Tancock |  Great Britain | 53.61 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | 2 | Junichi Miyashita |  Japan | 53.69 | Q |
| 8 | 2 | 2 | Ashley Delaney | Australia | 53.76 | Q |
| 9 | 2 | 1 | Markus Rogan |  Austria | 53.80 | |
| 10 | 1 | 7 | Tomomi Morita | Japan | 53.95 | |
| 11 | 2 | 3 | Gerhard Zandberg |  South Africa | 53.98 | |
| 12 | 1 | 8 | Gregor Tait | Great Britain | 54.37 | |
| 13 | 1 | 6 | Ľuboš Križko |  Slovakia | 54.38 | |
| 14 | 2 | 7 | Stanislav Donets | Russia | 54.57 | |
| 15 | 1 | 1 | Mirco Di Tora |  Italy | 54.92 | |
| 16 | 2 | 8 | Guy Barnea |  Israel | 54.93 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
2 | Aaron Peirsol | United States |
52.54 | WR |
 |
5 | Matt Grevers | United States |
53.11 | |
 |
3 | Arkady Vyatchanin | Russia |
53.18 | |
| 4 | Hayden Stoeckel | Australia |
|||
| 5 | 8 | Ashley Delaney | Australia |
53.31 | |
| 6 | 7 | Liam Tancock | Great Britain |
53.39 | NR |
| 7 | 6 | Aschwin Wildeboer | Spain |
53.51 | |
| 8 | 1 | Junichi Miyashita | Japan |
53.99 |