The men's 100 metre freestyle was one of six swimming events on the swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. It was the shortest of the three individual freestyle events, as the 50 yard freestyle had been dropped after its one appearance on the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. The 100 metre event was contested for the third time after it had been held at the 1896 and 1906 Olympics. The 1904 Olympics saw a 100-yard event. The competition was held on Friday 17 July 1908 and Monday 20 July 1908. Thirty-four swimmers from twelve nations competed. Each nation was limited to 12 swimmers.
Mireia Belmonte García is a Spanish Olympic, world, and European champion swimmer. She is the world record holder in the short course 200 metre butterfly and 400 metre individual medley. Formerly, she held the world record in the short course 400 metre freestyle, 800 metre freestyle, and 1500 metre freestyle. She was the first Spanish woman to win a gold medal in swimming at an Olympic Games and is widely considered to be the greatest Spanish swimmer of all time.
Sarah Fredrika Sjöström is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialising in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events. In the history of swimming, Sarah is one of the most decorated swimmers in the world of all time.
The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event. A total of 31 swimmers from 15 nations competed in the event, which was held from August 22 to August 29, 1920. Nations were limited to four swimmers each. The United States swept the medals, and Duke Kahanamoku broke his own Olympic record in the semifinals and bettered his time again in the final to successfully defend his championship from 1912. Kahanamoku was the first man to successfully defend an Olympic 100 metres freestyle title and third man to win multiple medals of any color in the event.
The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which had not been featured at the 1900 Games. The competition was held on Saturday July 19, 1924 and on Sunday July 20, 1924. There were 30 competitors from 15 nations. Nations were limited to three swimmers each, down from four in 1920. The United States swept the medals for the second consecutive Games, winning its fourth consecutive gold medal. Johnny Weissmuller beat two-time defending champion Duke Kahanamoku in the final. Kahanamoku was the first man to win three medals in the event. His brother Samuel Kahanamoku earned the bronze medal.
The men's 1500 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held on Sunday July 13, 1924, on Monday July 14, 1924, and on Tuesday July 15, 1924.
The men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which had been established in 1908. The competition was held from Friday to Sunday, 18 to 20 July 1924.
The women's 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the first appearance of the event, in 1920 a 300 metre race was contested. The competition was held from Sunday July 13, 1924, to Tuesday July 15, 1924.
The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. It was the seventh appearance of the event, which had not been featured only at the 1900 Games. The competition was held on Friday and Saturday, 10 and 11 August 1928. Thirty swimmers from 17 nations competed. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. Johnny Weissmuller of the United States repeated as gold medalist in the event, the second man to do so. It was the fifth consecutive victory for an American swimmer in the men's 100 metre freestyle. István Bárány earned Hungary's first medal in the event since 1908 with his silver. Katsuo Takaishi's bronze was Japan's first men's 100 metre freestyle medal. Bárány and Takaishi prevented the Americans from sweeping the medals a third consecutive time, as the United States swimmers finished first, fourth, and fifth.
The men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held on Saturday 11 August 1928.
The men's 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Monday August 8, 1932 to Wednesday August 10, 1932.
The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the ninth appearance of the event, which had not been featured only at the 1900 Games. The competition was held on Saturday and Sunday, 8 and 9 August 1936. Forty-five swimmers from 23 nations competed. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Ferenc Csik of Hungary, the nation's first victory in the event since 1904 and third overall. For the second consecutive Games, Japan took two medals in the 100 metre freestyle, this time silver and bronze. The United States' seven-Games medal streak in the event ended as the nation's best result was sixth place by Peter Fick.
The women's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which was established in 1912. The competition was held from Saturday to Monday, 8 to 10 August 1936.
The women's 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which was established in 1924 after 1920 a 300 metre event was held. The competition was held from Thursday to Saturday, 13 to 15 August 1936.
The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which was established in 1912. The competition was held on Wednesday and Friday, 12 and 14 August 1936.
The men's 400 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the seventh appearance of the event, which was established in 1908. The competition was held from Monday to Wednesday, 10 to 12 August 1936.
Florent Manaudou is a French competitive swimmer, an Olympic champion of the 50-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics, and the younger brother of Laure Manaudou, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist in swimming. He competes for the Energy Standard Swim Club in the International Swimming League.
Evgeny Mikhailovich Rylov is a Russian competitive swimmer and Olympic champion specializing in backstroke events. He won three gold medals at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, and a bronze medal at his senior international debut at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. He also won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, both were in the 200 metre backstroke event. In 2018, at the 2018 World Short Course Championships, he won gold medals in the 200 metre backstroke and 50 metre backstroke. At the 2019 World Championships, he won a gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke, silver medal in the 100 metre backstroke, and silver medal in the 50 metre backstroke. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke and 200 metre backstroke at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Kristóf Milák is a Hungarian swimmer. He is the current holder of the world record in the long course 200 metre butterfly and the European record in the long course 100 metre butterfly. He also currently holds the Hungarian record in the short course 50 metre backstroke. At his first Olympic Games, the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the 200 metre butterfly and a silver medal in the 100 metre butterfly. He has also won three gold medals and one silver at the World Aquatic Championships, as well as three gold medals at the European Aquatics Championships. He was the gold medalist in the 400 metre freestyle, 200 metre freestyle, and 200 metre butterfly events at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.
David Popovici is a Romanian competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle events. He is a former world record holder in the long course 100-metre freestyle and the current junior world record holder in the long course 200-metre freestyle. He also holds the junior world record in the short course 100-metre freestyle. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, Popovici won gold medals in his two signature events, becoming the first swimmer to do so at the same edition of the World Championships, since Jim Montgomery in 1973. Following his performances during the 2022 long course season, in which he won eleven gold medals and two silver medals, Popovici was voted Male Swimmer of the Year by both SwimSwam and Swimming World Magazine. During that summer, he established an unprecedented level of dominance, especially in the long course 100-metre freestyle, recording 13 of the 19-fastest swims in the world in 2022, while also becoming only the third swimmer in history to set an under 1:43 time in the long course 200-metre freestyle.
