At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, 15 swimming events were contested, eight for men and seven for women. There was a total of 380 participants from 45 countries competing. For the first time, the 4×100 metres medley relay was contested. The United States topped the medal standings with a total of 15 medals, while Australia finished close second with 13 medals. 16-years-old phenom Chris von Saltza won four medals, three of them gold.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place between July 24 and 25. This was the first time in history that the 100m freestyle was swum under 50 seconds. There were 41 competitors from 27 nations. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Jim Montgomery of the United States, the nation's second consecutive and tenth overall victory in the men's 100 metre freestyle. His countryman Jack Babashoff took silver. Peter Nocke's bronze was the first medal for West Germany in the event, though the United Team of Germany had won a bronze in 1964.
John Malcolm Henricks is an Australian Olympic swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Henricks set world records in two freestyle events.
David Gavin Dickson is an Australian freestyle swimmer who won three bronze medals in freestyle and medley relay events at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Rome and Tokyo respectively.
John Thomas Devitt, AM is an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won in controversial circumstances, being awarded the gold medal despite the timekeepers recording a slower time than the American silver medallist Lance Larson. He also claimed a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay.
Kevin O'Halloran was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s who won a gold medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
Gary Arthur Chapman was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s who won a bronze medal in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Although he had set a world record in the 220-yard freestyle, he was surprisingly omitted from the 4×200-metre freestyle relay team which won the gold medal.
Sarah Fredrika Sjöström is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialising in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events. She is the current world record holder in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle, the 50-meter butterfly, the 100-meter butterfly, and the 4×50-meter medley relay. She is a former world record holder in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, and 200-meter freestyle. She is the first Swedish woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming. She won the Overall Swimming World Cup in 2017 and 2018. In 2022, she became the first swimmer representing a country from Europe to win 10 individual World Championships gold medals. She currently represents Energy Standard in the International Swimming League.
Lance Melvin Larson is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place between 29 and 30 November. There were 34 competitors from 19 nations. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Jon Henricks of Australia, the nation's first medal in the event. Australia would win a second 0.4 seconds later and a third 0.9 seconds after that, sweeping the podium—the first sweep in the men's 100 metre freestyle since the United States did it in 1920 and 1924, and the first sweep of any event by Australian competitors. This year, the Americans finished fourth through sixth. It was the first time since 1924 that Japan had competed but not medaled.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1964 Olympic Games took place between October 11 and 12. There were 66 competitors from 33 nations. Nations were again able to bring up to three swimmers each after a one-Games limit of two in 1960. The event was won by Don Schollander of the United States, the nation's first victory in the event since 1952 and eighth overall. Great Britain and the United Team of Germany both earned their first medal in the men's 100 metre freestyle.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1968 Olympic Games took place between 18 and 19 October. There were 64 competitors from 34 nations. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Michael Wenden of Australia, the nation's third victory in four Games. Americans Ken Walsh and Mark Spitz took silver and bronze, respectively.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place between September 2 and 3. There were 48 competitors from 29 nations. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Mark Spitz of the United States, his then-record sixth gold medal in a single Games. It was the ninth victory in the event for an American, most of any nation. Jerry Heidenreich, also of the United States, took silver. Soviet swimmer Vladimir Bure earned bronze, the nation's first medal in the men's 100 metre freestyle.
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 currently holds the world record in the 50-meter backstroke. 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.
Kyle Chalmers, is an Australian competitive swimmer who specialises in freestyle and butterfly events. He is the world record holder in the short course 100 metre freestyle. He is also the Oceanian record and the Australian record holder in the short course 50 metre butterfly and 50 metre freestyle events.
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. He is the current holder of the world record in the long course 100-metre freestyle and the junior world record in the long course 200-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.
Daniil Dmitrievich Markov is a Russian competitive swimmer. He is a former world junior record holder in the 4×100 metre medley relay. At the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics he won three gold medals and three silver medals. He he also won a gold medal and a silver medal at different European Short Course Swimming Championships. At the 2018 European Junior Swimming Championships he won two gold medals and one bronze medal. He won one gold medal, one silver medal, and one bronze medal in freestyle relay events at the 2021 World Short Course Championships.
Jere Hribar is a Croatian competitive swimmer. He is the 2022 World Junior Championships silver medalist in the 100-metre freestyle and bronze medalist in the 50-metre freestyle. At the 2022 European Junior Championships, he won the silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle.
