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.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1992 Summer Olympics took place on 28 July at the Piscines Bernat Picornell in Barcelona, Spain. There were 75 competitors from 52 nations. Nations had been limited to two swimmers each since the 1984 Games. The event was won by Alexander Popov of the Unified Team. Gustavo Borges's silver was Brazil's first medal in the men's 100 metre freestyle since 1960. Stéphan Caron of France repeated as bronze medalist, the eighth man to win multiple medals in the event. It was the first time since 1968 that the United States had competed and not won the event and the first time since 1956 that the Americans had competed and not taken any medal, as Jon Olsen finished fourth and defending champion Matt Biondi came in fifth.
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.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1980 Summer Olympics was held on 26 and 27 July at the Swimming Pool at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex. There were 39 competitors from 26 nations. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Jörg Woithe of East Germany, the nation's first medal in the men's 100 metre freestyle. Sweden earned its first medals in the event since 1952 with Per Holmertz's silver and Per Johansson's bronze.
Sarah Fredrika Sjöström is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialising in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events. Sjöström is one of the most decorated swimmers in the history of swimming.
The men's 100 metre freestyle competition of the swimming events at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships was held on July 27 with the heats and the semifinals and July 28 with the finale.
The women's 100 metre freestyle competition of the swimming events at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships was held in July 2011; the heats and the semifinals were held on 28 July and the final on 29 July.
The men's 100 metre freestyle competition of the swimming events at the 2012 European Aquatics Championships took place May 24 and 25. The heats and semifinals took place on May 24, the final on May 25.
The women's 50 metre freestyle competition of the swimming events at the 2012 European Aquatics Championships took place May 26 and 27. The heats and semifinals took place on May 26, the final on May 27.
Vladimir Viktorovich Morozov is a retired Russian competitive swimmer and Olympic medalist. He is the former world record holder in the short course 100-metre individual medley, the current, World Cup record and Russian national record holder in the 100-metre individual medley and 100-metre freestyle, and Russian record holder in the 50-metre freestyle. He also holds the European record for the 100-metre individual medley. Formerly he held the Russian national record in the 50-metre backstroke and the 50-metre butterfly, and held the European and Russian records in the 50-metre breaststroke.
Emma Jennifer McKeon, is an Australian competitive swimmer. She is an eight-time world record holder, three current and five former, in relays. Her total career haul of 11 Olympic medals following the 2020 Olympic Games made her Australia's most decorated Olympian and included one gold medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and four gold medals from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. With four gold and three bronze medals she was the most decorated athlete across all sports at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and tied for the most medals won by a woman in a single Olympic Games. She has also won 20 medals, including five gold medals, at the World Aquatics Championships; and a record 20 medals, including 14 gold, at the Commonwealth Games.
The men's 50 metre freestyle competition of the swimming events at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships was held on 7 August with the heats and the semifinals and 8 August with the final.
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.
Ryan Held is an American freestyle swimmer who specializes in the sprint events, and is currently sponsored by Arena. He holds the U.S. Open record in the long course 100 meter freestyle and three world records in short course relay events. At the 2016 Summer Olympics he won a gold medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay, swimming in both the prelims and the final of the event. In 2021, he won silver medals in the 50 meter freestyle and the 100 meter freestyle at the 2021 World Short Course Championships. At his first FINA World Aquatics Championships, the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay.
The Men's 100 metre freestyle competition at the 2017 World Championships was held on 26 and 27 July 2017.
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.
The women's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 28 to 30 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. It was the event's twenty-fifth consecutive appearance, having been held at every edition since 1912.
The Men's 50 metre freestyle competition at the 2019 World Championships was held on 26 and 27 July 2019. Caeleb Dressel finished first in the final, retaining the title he won in the previous Championships.
The Women's 50 metre freestyle competition at the 2019 World Championships was held on 27 and 28 July 2019.
Vladislav Gerasimenko is a Russian competitive swimmer. He is a world junior record holder in the long course 4×100 metre medley relay, swimming a 59.53 for the breaststroke portion of the relay. He is a four-time medalist at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and a five-time medalist at the World Junior Swimming Championships, spanning breaststroke and freestyle disciplines. He competed at the 2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships, placing sixteenth in the preliminaries of the 50 metre breaststroke.
