# Swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre backstroke

The men's 100 metre backstroke 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 Wednesday to Friday, 12 to 14 August 1936.
Thirty swimmers from 17 nations competed.

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Adolph Kiefer United States | Al Vande Weghe United States | Masaji Kiyokawa Japan |

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1936 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 1:04.8 | Adolph Kiefer | Detroit (USA) | 18 January 1936 |
| Olympic Record | 1:08.2 | George Kojac | Amsterdam (NED) | 9 August 1928 |
Adolph Kiefer set a new Olympic record in the first heat with 1:06.9 minutes. He bettered his record in the first semi-final with 1:06.8 minutes. In the final he improved the Olympic record again when he swam 1:05.9 minutes.

## Results
### Heats

Wednesday 12 August 1936: The fastest three in each heat and the fastest from across the heats advanced to the semi-finals.

#### Heat 1

| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Adolph Kiefer (USA) | 1:06.9 | QQ OR |
| 2 | Masaji Kiyokawa (JPN) | 1:07.2 | QQ |
| 3 | Hans Schwarz (GER) | 1:11.0 | QQ |
| 4 | Elemér Gombos (HUN) | 1:12.4 | |
| 5 | Jack Middleton (GBR) | 1:15.0 | |
| 6 | Benevenuto Nunes (BRA) | 1:16.9 | |

#### Heat 2

| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Taylor Drysdale (USA) | 1:09.0 | QQ |
| 2 | Heinz Schlauch (GER) | 1:10.1 | QQ |
| 3 | Draško Vilfan (YUG) | 1:11.7 | QQ |
| 4 | Stans Scheffer (NED) | 1:13.6 | |
| 5 | Árpád Lengyel (HUN) | 1:15.2 | |
| 6 | Munroe Bourne (CAN) | 1:17.2 | |
| 7 | Antônio Amaral Filho (BRA) | 1:21.0 | |

#### Heat 3

| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Yasuhiko Kojima (JPN) | 1:09.7 | QQ |
| 2 | Al Vande Weghe (USA) | 1:10.6 | QQ |
| 3 | Nils Christiansen (PHI) | 1:11.5 | QQ |
| 4 | Erwin Simon (GER) | 1:11.7 | qq |
| 5 | György Erdélyi (HUN) | 1:14.7 | |
| 6 | Marcel Neumann (LUX) | 1:18.8 | |

#### Heat 4

| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Jack Besford (GBR) | 1:12.0 | QQ |
| 2 | Gordon Kerr (CAN) | 1:12.9 | QQ |
| 3 | Björn Borg (SWE) | 1:15.2 | QQ |
| 4 | Boris Roolaid (EST) | 1:21.1 | |
| 5 | Emmanouil Mallidis (GRE) | 1:21.5 | |

#### Heat 5

| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Kiichi Yoshida (JPN) | 1:10.0 | QQ |
| 2 | Percy Oliver (AUS) | 1:10.2 | QQ |
| 3 | Piet Metman (NED) | 1:13.7 | QQ |
| 4 | Ademar Caballero (BRA) | 1:17.0 | |
| 5 | Børge Bæth (DEN) | 1:17.3 | |
| 6 | Alfonso Casasempere (CHI) | 1:21.0 | |

### Semifinals

Thursday 13 August 1936: The fastest three in each semi-final and the fastest fourth-placed advanced to the final.
Semifinal 1
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Adolph Kiefer (USA) | 1:06.8 | QQ OR |
| 2 | Al Vande Weghe (USA) | 1:08.6 | QQ |
| 3 | Percy Oliver (AUS) | 1:09.4 | QQ |
| 4 | Kiichi Yoshida (JPN) | 1:09.5 | qq |
| 5 | Nils Christiansen (PHI) | 1:11.1 | |
| 6 | Erwin Simon (GER) | 1:11.7 | |
| 7 | Hans Schwarz (GER) | 1:11.8 | |
| 8 | Björn Borg (SWE) | 1:16.3 | |
Semifinal 2
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
| 1 | Taylor Drysdale (USA) | 1:08.6 | QQ |
| 2 | Masaji Kiyokawa (JPN) | 1:09.7 | QQ |
| 3 | Yasuhiko Kojima (JPN) | 1:09.9 | QQ |
| 4 | Heinz Schlauch (GER) | 1:10.8 | |
| 5 | Gordon Kerr (CAN) | 1:11.2 | |
| 6 | Draško Vilfan (YUG) | 1:13.3 | |
| 7 | Jack Besford (GBR) | 1:13.6 | |
| 8 | Piet Metman (NED) | 1:14.1 | |

### Final

Friday 14 August 1936:
| Place | Swimmer | Time |
| 1 | Adolph Kiefer (USA) | 1:05.9 OR |
| 2 | Al Vande Weghe (USA) | 1:07.7 |
| 3 | Masaji Kiyokawa (JPN) | 1:08.4 |
| 4 | Taylor Drysdale (USA) | 1:09.4 |
| 5 | Kiichi Yoshida (JPN) | 1:09.7 |
| 6 | Yasuhiko Kojima (JPN) | 1:10.4 |
| 7 | Percy Oliver (AUS) | 1:10.7 |