100 metre freestyle
# 100 metre freestyle

The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics.

The first swimmer to break the one-minute barrier (long course) was Johnny Weissmuller, in 1922. The current world records holders are David Popovici (August 13, 2022) and Sarah Sjöström (since 2017).

Australian Dawn Fraser won the event a record three times at the Olympics, and she is the only woman to win it more than once. Four men, American Duke Kahanamoku, Weissmuller, Russian Alexander Popov, and Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband won the event at the Olympics twice. Popov was also world champion (held since 1973) three times.

## Men's champions

### Olympic Games

| Edition | Winner | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Athens 1896 | Alfréd Hajós (HUN) | 1:22.2 | |
| Paris 1900 | not held | not held | not held |
| St. Louis 1904 | the race was 100 yards, not 100 meters | the race was 100 yards, not 100 meters | the race was 100 yards, not 100 meters |
| London 1908 | Charles Daniels (USA) | 1:05.6 | |
| Stockholm 1912 | Duke Kahanamoku (USA) | 1:03.4 | |
| Antwerp 1920 | Duke Kahanamoku (USA) | 1:01.4 | |
| Paris 1924 | Johnny Weissmuller (USA) | 59.0 | |
| Amsterdam 1928 | Johnny Weissmuller (USA) | 58.6 | |
| Los Angeles 1932 | Yasuji Miyazaki (JPN) | 58.2 | |
| Berlin 1936 | Ferenc Csik (HUN) | 57.6 | |
| London 1948 | Wally Ris (USA) | 57.3 | |
| Helsinki 1952 | Clarke Scholes (USA) | 57.4 | |
| Melbourne 1956 | Jon Henricks (AUS) | 55.4 | |
| Rome 1960 | John Devitt (AUS) | 55.2 | |
| Tokyo 1964 | Don Schollander (USA) | 53.4 | |
| Mexico City 1968 | Mike Wenden (AUS) | 52.2 | |
| Munich 1972 | Mark Spitz (USA) | 51.22 | |
| Montreal 1976 | Jim Montgomery (USA) | 49.99 | |
| Moscow 1980 | Jörg Woithe (GDR) | 50.40 | |
| Los Angeles 1984 | Rowdy Gaines (USA) | 49.80 | |
| Seoul 1988 | Matt Biondi (USA) | 48.63 | |
| Barcelona 1992 | Alexander Popov (EUN) | 49.02 | |
| Atlanta 1996 | Alexander Popov (RUS) | 48.74 | |
| Sydney 2000 | Pieter van den Hoogenband (NED) | 48.30 | |
| Athens 2004 | Pieter van den Hoogenband (NED) | 48.17 | |
| Beijing 2008 | Alain Bernard (FRA) | 47.21 | |
| London 2012 | Nathan Adrian (USA) | 47.52 | |
| Rio de Janeiro 2016 | Kyle Chalmers (AUS) | 47.58 | |
| Tokyo 2020 | Caeleb Dressel (USA) | 47.02 | |

### World Championships

| Edition | Winner | Time |
| - | - | - |
| Belgrade 1973 | Jim Montgomery (USA) | 51.70 |
| Cali 1975 | Andy Coan (USA) | 51.25 |
| Berlin 1978 | David McCagg (USA) | 50.24 |
| Guayaquil 1982 | Jörg Woithe (GDR) | 50.18 |
| Madrid 1986 | Matt Biondi (USA) | 48.94 |
| Perth 1991 | Matt Biondi (USA) | 49.18 |
| Roma 1994 | Alexander Popov (RUS) | 49.12 |
| Perth 1998 | Alexander Popov (RUS) | 48.93 |
| Fukuoka 2001 | Anthony Ervin (USA) | 48.33 |
| Barcelona 2003 | Alexander Popov (RUS) | 48.42 |
| Montreal 2005 | Filippo Magnini (ITA) | 48.12 |
| Melbourne 2007 | Filippo Magnini (ITA) Brent Hayden (CAN) | 48.43 |
| Rome 2009 | César Cielo (BRA) | 46.91 |
| Shanghai 2011 | James Magnussen (AUS) | 47.63 |
| Barcelona 2013 | James Magnussen (AUS) | 47.71 |
| Kazan 2015 | Ning Zetao (CHN) | 47.84 |
| Budapest 2017 | Caeleb Dressel (USA) | 47.17 |
| Gwanju 2019 | Caeleb Dressel (USA) | 46.96 |
| Budapest 2022 | David Popovici (ROU) | 47.58 |

## Women's champions

### Olympic Games

| Edition | Winner | Time |
| - | - | - |
| Stockholm 1912 | Fanny Durack (AUS) | 1:22.2 |
| Antwerp 1920 | Ethelda Bleibtrey (USA) | 1:13.6 |
| Paris 1924 | Ethel Lackie (USA) | 1:12.4 |
| Amsterdam 1928 | Albina Osipowich (USA) | 1:11.0 |
| Los Angeles 1932 | Helene Madison (USA) | 1:06.8 |
| Berlin 1936 | Rie Mastenbroek (NED) | 1:05.9 |
| London 1948 | Greta Andersen (DEN) | 1:06.3 |
| Helsinki 1952 | Katalin Szöke (HUN) | 1:06.8 |
| Melbourne 1956 | Dawn Fraser (AUS) | 1:02.0 |
| Rome 1960 | Dawn Fraser (AUS) | 1:01.2 |
| Tokyo 1964 | Dawn Fraser (AUS) | 59.5 |
| Mexico City 1968 | Jan Henne (USA) | 1:00.0 |
| Munich 1972 | Sandra Neilson (USA) | 58.59 |
| Montreal 1976 | Kornelia Ender (GDR) | 55.65 |
| Moscow 1980 | Barbara Krause (GDR) | 54.79 |
| Los Angeles 1984 | Nancy Hogshead (USA) Carrie Steinseifer (USA) | 55.92 |
| Seoul 1988 | Kristin Otto (GDR) | 54.93 |
| Barcelona 1992 | Zhuang Yong (CHN) | 54.65 |
| Atlanta 1996 | Le Jingyi (CHN) | 54.50 |
| Sydney 2000 | Inge de Bruijn (NED) | 53.83 |
| Athens 2004 | Jodie Henry (AUS) | 53.84 |
| Beijing 2008 | Britta Steffen (GER) | 53.12 |
| London 2012 | Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) | 53.00 |
| Rio de Janeiro 2016 | Simone Manuel (USA) Penny Oleksiak (CAN) | 52.70 |
| Tokyo 2020 | Emma McKeon (AUS) | 51.96 |

### World Championships

| Edition | Winner | Time |
| - | - | - |
| Belgrade 1973 | Kornelia Ender (GDR) | 57.54 |
| Cali 1975 | Kornelia Ender (GDR) | 56.50 |
| Berlin 1978 | Barbara Krause (GDR) | 55.68 |
| Guayaquil 1982 | Birgit Meineke (GDR) | 55.79 |
| Madrid 1986 | Kristin Otto (GDR) | 55.05 |
| Perth 1991 | Nicole Haislett (USA) | 55.17 |
| Roma 1994 | Le Jingyi (CHN) | 54.01 |
| Perth 1998 | Jenny Thompson (USA) | 54.95 |
| Fukuoka 2001 | Inge de Bruijn (NED) | 54.18 |
| Barcelona 2003 | Hanna-Maria Seppälä (FIN) | 54.37 |
| Montreal 2005 | Jodie Henry (AUS) | 54.18 |
| Melbourne 2007 | Libby Lenton (AUS) | 53.40 |
| Rome 2009 | Britta Steffen (GER) | 52.07 |
| Shanghai 2011 | Aliaksandra Herasimenia (BLR) | 53.45 |
| Shanghai 2011 | Jeanette Ottesen (DEN) | 53.45 |
| Barcelona 2013 | Cate Campbell (AUS) | 52.34 |
| Kazan 2015 | Bronte Campbell (AUS) | 52.52 |
| Budapest 2017 | Simone Manuel (USA) | 52.27 |
| Gwanju 2019 | Simone Manuel (USA) | 52.04 |
| Budapest 2022 | Mollie O'Callaghan (AUS) | 52.67 |
