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Swimming at the 1976 Montréal Summer Games:
Men's 100 metres Freestyle
Swimming at the 1976 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games
Host City: Montréal, Canada
Venue(s): Olympic Pool, Montréal, Québec
Date Started: July 24, 1976
Date Finished: July 25, 1976
| Gold: |  Jim Montgomery |
| Silver: | Jack Babashoff |
| Bronze: |  Peter Nocke |
Summary
American Jim Montgomery had broken the world record in this event in August 1975 in Kansas City, finishing in 50.59. But he bettered that in the semi-finals in Montréal with 50.39 and entered the final as a clear favorite. He went out fast in the finishing, hitting the wall in 24.14, 6/10ths ahead of teammate Jack Babashoff. But he did not slow, winning the gold medal in 49.99 for another world record and becoming the first man to swim 100 metres in under 50 seconds. Babashoff trailed behind in 50.81 for the silver with West German Peter Nicke getting bronze. One man who might have challenged Montgomery in Montréal was not there. That was Jonty Skinner of South Africa, who could not compete because his nation was banned by the IOC because of their apartheid policies. A few weeks after Montréal, Skinner lowered Montgomery’s world record to 49.44.
Final Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Montgomery | 21 | United States | USA | Gold | WR |
| 2 | Jack Babashoff | 21 | United States | USA | Silver | |
| 3 | Peter Nocke | 20 | West Germany | FRG | Bronze | |
| 4 | Klaus Steinbach | 22 | West Germany | FRG | ||
| 5 | Marcello Guarducci | 20 | Italy | ITA | ||
| 6 | Joe Bottom | 21 | United States | USA | ||
| 7 | Vladimir Bure | 25 | Soviet Union | URS | ||
| 8 | Andrey Krylov | 20 | Soviet Union | URS | ||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | Roberto Pangaro | 26 | Italy | ITA | ||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | Michel Rousseau | 27 | France | FRA | ||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | Steve Pickell | 18 | Canada | CAN | ||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | Gary MacDonald | 22 | Canada | CAN | ||
| 7 h1 r2/3 | René Écuyer | 19 | France | FRA | ||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | Martin Smith | 18 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 8 h1 r2/3 | Andrey Bogdanov | 18 | Soviet Union | URS | ||
| 8 h2 r2/3 | Svante Rasmuson | 20 | Sweden | SWE | ||
| 2 h1 r1/3 | Stefan Georgiev | 20 | Bulgaria | BUL | ||
| 2 h7 r1/3 | Kevin Burns | 20 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | Roger Pyttel | 19 | East Germany | GDR | ||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | Jorge Delgado, Jr. | 22 | Ecuador | ECU | ||
| 3 h5 r1/3 | Bruce Robertson | 23 | Canada | CAN | ||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Dirk Braunleder | 19 | West Germany | FRG | ||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Neil Rogers | 23 | Australia | AUS | ||
| 4 h5 r1/3 | Peter Coughlan | 29 | Australia | AUS | ||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | Jorge Comas | 22 | Spain | ESP | ||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | Ramón Volcan | 20 | Venezuela | VEN | ||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | Paul Jovanneau | 17 | Brazil | BRA | ||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | Glenn Patching | 18 | Australia | AUS | ||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | Dan Larsson | 17 | Sweden | SWE | ||
| 5 h6 r1/3 | Fritz Warncke | 20 | Norway | NOR | ||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | Mark Crocker | 20 | Hong Kong | HKG | ||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | Helmut Levy | 17 | Colombia | COL | ||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | Campari Knoepffler | 16 | Nicaragua | NCA | ||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | Gerardo Rosario | 23 | Philippines | PHI | ||
| 6 h5 r1/3 | Gianni Versari | 18 | Panama | PAN | ||
| 6 h6 r1/3 | Fernando Cañales | 16 | Puerto Rico | PUR | ||
| 7 h1 r1/3 | Kozo Higuchi | 20 | Japan | JPN | ||
| 7 h2 r1/3 | Kris Sumono | 17 | Indonesia | INA | ||
| 7 h5 r1/3 | Steven Newkirk | 18 | United States Virgin Islands | ISV | ||
| 7 h6 r1/3 | José Pereira | 21 | Portugal | POR | ||
| 8 h6 r1/3 | Sigurður Ólafsson | 21 | Iceland | ISL |
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