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 1912 Summer Olympics

Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics

At the 1912 Summer Olympics, nine swimming events were contested. Swimming events were held in a 100 m course built in Stockholm harbor. For the first time, women's events were part of the Olympic swimming program. The competitions were held from Saturday July 6, 1912 to Friday July 12, 1912...

 programme. It was the second appearance of the event, which had been introduced in 1908. In 1904 a 100 yard event was held. The competition was held from Tuesday July 9, 1912 to Saturday July 13, 1912.

Eighteen swimmers from seven nations competed.

Records

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

World Record	1:15.6	Otto Fahr Otto Fahr Otto Fahr was a German backstroke swimmer, who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.He was born and died in Bad Cannstatt....	Magdeburg Magdeburg Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....  (GER German Empire The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German... )	April 29, 1912
Olympic Record	1:24.6	Arno Bieberstein Arno Bieberstein Arno Bieberstein was a German backstroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.He won a gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke event and did not compete in any other competition....	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...  (GBR Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... )	July 17, 1908

The Olympic record fell during the very first heat. Harry Hebner

Harry Hebner

Harry Joseph Hebner was an American backstroke and freestyle swimmer as well as a water polo player, who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics and in the 1920 Summer Olympics....

's 1:21.0 in the first heat stood until Hebner raced again. In the first semifinal, he bettered his own new record with a 1:20.8. He was unable to match that pace in the final, but still took the win with a finish that was over 1 second faster than the second-place swimmer.

Quarterfinals

The top two in each heat advanced along with the fastest loser overall.

Quarterfinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:21.0	QS OR
2		1:24.0	QS
3		1:33.8
—		DQ

Quarterfinal 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:22.0	QS
2		1:29.4	QS
3		1:46.8
—		DQ

Quarterfinal 3

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:22.0	QS
2		1:26.0	QS
3		1:47.2
—		DQ

Quarterfinal 4

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:27.0	QS
2		1:27.2	QS
3		1:31.2	qs
4		1:34.2

Quarterfinal 5

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:26.6	QS
2		1:31.8	QS

Semifinals

The top two from each heat and the faster of the two third place swimmers advanced.

Semifinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:20.8	QF OR
2		1:21.8	QF
3		1:26.2	qf
4		1:26.4
5
6

Semifinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1		1:26.0	QF
2		1:26.2	QF
3		1:26.8
4		1:32.2
—		1:35.0

Final

Place	Swimmer	Time
1		1:21.2
2		1:22.4
3		1:24.0
4		1:25.2
5		1:25.8