Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle
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The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 22 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.[1] There were 77 competitors from 51 nations.[2] Nations had been limited to two swimmers each since the 1984 Games.
Men's 100 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool | ||||||||||||
Date | 22 September 1988 (heats & finals) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 77 from 51 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 48.63 OR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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American Matt Biondi set a new Olympic record to claim his first ever individual gold and fourth medal in swimming at these Games (fifth in his career, with a relay gold in 1984). Maintaining a lead from start to finish, he pulled away from a star-studded field to hit the wall first in 48.63.[3][4] Biondi also enjoyed his teammate Chris Jacobs taking home the silver in 49.08, as the Americans climbed on the top two steps of the podium for the sixth time in the event's Olympic history. Earlier in the prelims, Jacobs sliced off Rowdy Gaines' 1984 record by six-tenths of a second to establish a new Olympic standard of 49.20 in the eighth heat, until Biondi eventually lowered it to 49.04 in the final of ten heats.[5] Meanwhile, France's Stéphan Caron held off an intense sprint battle against Soviet duo Gennadiy Prigoda and Iurie Başcatov to take home the bronze in 49.62.[3]