Men 100m Backstroke Swimming XXIV Olympic Games 1988 Seoul, South Korea - Saturday, 24th September

Men 100m Backstroke Swimming XXIV Olympic Games 1988 Seoul, South Korea - Saturday, 24th September - Gold Medal: daicih Suzuki, Japan

Final		time	gap	L	Y	50m
1. Daichi Suzuki	Japan	55.05s		3	21	25.97s
2. David Berkoff	United States	55.18s	+0.13s	4	21	25.47s
3. Igor Polyanski	Soviet Union	55.20s	+0.15s	5	21	26.06s
4. Sergey Zabolotnov	Soviet Union	55.37s	+0.32s	6	25	28.38s
5. Mark Tewksbury	Canada	56.09s	+1.04s	1	20	26.66s
6. Frank Baltrusch	East Germany	56.10s	+1.05s	8	24	27.22s
7. Frank Hoffmeister	West Germany	56.19s	+1.14s	2	22	26.71s
8. Sean Murphy	Canada	56.32s	+1.27s	7	24	26.34s

Men 100m Backstroke History

1992 Men 100m Backstroke

1984 Men 100m Backstroke

World Record: David Berkoff, United States 54.91s Austin, United States 13 August 1988

World Record: Victor Davies, Canada 2:13.34 Los Angeles United States 2nd August 1984

Olympic Record: Rick Carey, United States 55.41s Los Angeles, United States 4 August 1984

1:01.30 LCM-time done since Jan 1, 1987

59.20s SCM-time done since Sep 1, 1987

Final B		time		gap	L	Y	50m
9. Dirk Richter	East Germany	56.66s			4	24	27.22s
10.Franck Schott	France	56.98s		+0.32s	5	18	27.16s
11.Jay Mortensen	United States	57.06s		+0.40s	6	21	26.83s
12.Shigemori Maruyama	Japan	57.13s		+0.47s	7	21	26.79s
13.Georgi Mikhalev	Bulgaria	57.17s		+0.51s	3	20	27.37s
14.David Lim	Singapore	57.72s		+1.06s	2	22	27.12s
14.Manuel Guzmán	Puerto Rico	57.95s		+1.29s	1	18	27.38s
16.Eðvarð Þór Eðvarðsson $ISL Iceland ~$58.20s		+1.54s	8	21	8.

Todor 66	index Swimming OG
index Seoul 1988	index Swimming Seoul 1988


Men 50m Freestyle	Women 50m Freestyle
Men 100m Freestyle	Women 100m Freestyle
Men 200m Freestyle	Women 200m Freestyle
Men 400m Freestyle	Women 400m Freestyle
Men 1500m Freestyle	Women 800m Freestyle
Men 100m Backstroke	Women 100m Backstroke
Men 200m Backstroke	Women 200m Backstroke
Men 100m Breaststroke	Women 100m Breaststroke
Men 200m Breaststroke	Women 200m Breaststroke
Men 100m Butterfly	Women 100m Butterfly
Men 200m Butterfly	Women 200m Butterfly
Men 200m Medley	Women 200m Medley
Men 400m Medley	Women 400m Medley
Men 4x100m Freestyle Relay	Women 4x100m Freestyle Relay
Men 4x200m Freestyle Relay
Men 4x100m Medley Relay	Women 4x100m Medley Relay

The world record had been broken five times already in 1988, the first three by Soviet Igor Polyansky, and then twice by American Dave Berkoff at the US Olympic Trials. Polyansky was the 1986 World Champion in both backstroke events, but Berkoff had pioneered a new technique. He swam as far as he could underwater after the push-off, often not emerging on top of the water until the 35-40 metre mark. This usually gave him a big lead at the turn, and it was so advantageous that the other swimmers had to adopt the technique, although Berkoff usually still led through the first 40. Berkoff used it in Seoul to break the world record in the preliminaries, recording 54.51.
But in the Seoul final, Berkoff used the technique but only led Japan's Daichi Suzuki by about a body length at the turn. That was less than expected and it was not enough, as Suzuki came home faster to win the gold medal. Berkoff won silver, barely holding off Polyansky. In fifth place was Canada's Mark Tewksbury, the 1991 Pan Pacific Champion, who never adapted well to the new underwater technique. He would not need it long. As soon as the Seoul Olympics ended, Berkoff's underwater start was banned, with the new rule requiring that backstrokers surface and begin stroking on top of the water by 10 metres. This was later changed to 15 metres.

Heats - Saturday, 24th September Morning

Heat 7		time		gap	L	Y	Rk	50m
1. David Berkoff	United States	54.51s	WR		-	21	1.	25.23s
3. Daichi Suzuki	Japan	55.90s	Q	+1.39s	-	21	2.	26.29s
4. Sergey Zabolotnov	Soviet Union	56.13s	Q	+1.62s	-	25	3.	26.74s
5. Frank Hoffmeister	West Germany	56.19s	Q	+1.68s	-	22	4.	26.80s
19.Paul Kingsman	New Zealand	57.80s		+3.29s	-	21	5.	27.76s
21.Lars Sorensen	Denmark	58.01s		+3.50s	-	20	6.	28.01s
27.Carl Wilson	Australia	58.40s		+3.89s	-	21	7.	27.72s
37.Valerio Giambalvo	Italy	59.48s		+4.97s	-	20	8.	28.26s

Heat 6		time		gap	L	Y	Rk	50m
2. Igor Polyanski	Soviet Union	55.04s	OR	+0.53s	-	21	2.	26.08s
6. Mark Tewksbury	Canada	56.20s	Q	+1.69s	-	20	2.	26.66s
8. Frank Baltrusch	East Germany	56.45s	Q	+1.94s	-	24	3.	27.30s
10.Franck Schott	France	56.76s	q	+2.25s	-	18	4.	27.06s
11.Georgi Mikhalev	Bulgaria	57.06s	q	+2.55s	-	20	5.	27.09s
18.Laijiu Lin	China	57.74s		+3.23s	-	20	6.	27.63s
20.Rogerio Aoki Romero	Brazil	57.91s		+3.40s	-	18	7.	27.91s
-. Paul Yelle	Barbados	DNS			-	24	-.

Heat 5		time		gap	L	Y	Rk	50m
6. Sean Murphy	Canada	56.20s	Q	+1.69s	-	24	1.	26.10s
9. Dirk Richter	East Germany	56.52s	q	+2.01s	-	24	2.	27.11s
12.Jens-Peter Berndt	West Germany	57.08s	WD	+2.57s	-	25	3.	27.63s
13.Jay Mortensen	United States	57.19s	q	+2.68s	-	21	4.	27.02s
15.Shigemori Maruyama	Japan	57.54s	q	+3.03s	-	21	5.	27.31s
17.Eðvarð Þór Eðvarðsson	Iceland	57.70s	q	+3.19s	-	21	6.	27.49s
30.Pavel Vokoun	Czechoslovakia	58.88s		+4.37s	-	18	7.	27.79s
32.Simon Upton	Australia	59.06s		+4.55s	-	19	8.	29.09s

Heat 4		time		gap	L	Y	Rk	50m
16.Manuel Guzmán	Puerto Rico	57.62s	q	+3.11s	-	18	1.	27.46s
22.Neil Harper	Great Britain	58.02s		+3.51s	-	23	2.	27.38s
23.Martin López-Zubero	Spain	58.06s		+3.55s	-	19	3.	28.21s
24.Patrick Ferland	Switzerland	58.17s		+3.66s	-	23	4.	27.86s
28.Tamas Deutsch	Hungary	58.65s		+4.14s	-	18	5.	28.29s
31.Renaud Boucher	France	58.90s		+4.39s	-	24	6.	28.49s
35.Guo-Xiong Huang	China	59.36s		+4.85s	-	17	7.	28.56s
38.Wladimir Ribeiro	Brazil	59.76s		+5.25s	-	21	8.	27.62s

Heat 3		time		gap	L	Y	Rk	50m
14.David Lim	Singapore	57.34s	q	+2.83s	-	22	1.	27.23s
25.Neil Cochran	Great Britain	58.25s		+3.74s	-	23	2.	27.64s
26.Alejandro Alvizuri	Peru	58.37s		+3.86s	-	20	3.	28.59s
29.Stephen Cullen	Ireland	58.82s		+4.31s	-	17	4.	27.81s
33.Ernesto Vila	Mexico	59.19s		+4.68s	-	19	5.	28.56s
34.Ilias Malamas	Greece	59.24s		+4.73s	-	22	6.	28.52s
36.Richard Gheel	Ireland	59.37s		+4.86s	-	19	7.	28.41s
39.Amin Amer	Egypt	1:00.76		+6.25s	-	22	8.	28.47s

Heat 2		time	gap	L	Y	Rk	50m
40.Dong-Pil Park	South Korea	1:01.25	+6.74s	-	20	1.	29.03s
41.Patrick Sagisi	Guam	1:01.86	+7.35s	-	17	2.	29.40s
42.Horst Niehaus	Costa Rica	1:01.91	+7.40s	-	20	3.	29.81s
42.Hor-Man Yip	Hong Kong	1:01.91	+7.40s	-	18	4.	29.49s
44.Brett Halford	Zimbabwe	1:02.95	+8.44s	-	17	5.	29.54s
45.Eric Greenwood	Costa Rica	1:03.11	+8.60s	-	21	6.	29.51s
46.Rodolfo Barahona	Honduras	1:03.90	+9.39s	-	18	7.	30.94s
47.Bruno N'diaye	Senegal	1:05.06	+10.55s	-	19	8.	30.91s

Heat 1		time	gap	L	Y	Rk	50m
48.Filippo Piva	San Marino	1:07.63	+13.12s	-	21	1.	32.04s
49.Mohammed Abdulla	UA Emirates	1:08.91	+14.40s	-	-	2.	32.76s
50.Rami Kantari	Lebanon	1:09.35	+14.84s	-	25	3.	32.75s
51.Mohamed Bin Abid	UA Emirates	1:10.01	+15.50s	-	19	4.	33.49s
52.Yul Mark Du Pont	Eswatini	1:12.50	+17.99s	-	17	5.	34.58s
-. Ranjoy Punja	India	DNS		-	21	-.

Final		time		gap	L	Y	50m
1. Daichi Suzuki	Japan	55.05s			3	21	25.97s
2. David Berkoff	United States	55.18s		+0.13s	4	21	25.47s
3. Igor Polyanski	Soviet Union	55.20s		+0.15s	5	21	26.06s
4. Sergey Zabolotnov	Soviet Union	55.37s		+0.32s	6	25	28.38s
5. Mark Tewksbury	Canada	56.09s		+1.04s	1	20	26.66s
6. Frank Baltrusch	East Germany	56.10s		+1.05s	8	24	27.22s
7. Frank Hoffmeister	West Germany	56.19s		+1.14s	2	22	26.71s
8. Sean Murphy	Canada	56.32s		+1.27s	7	24	26.34s
Final B		time		gap	L	Y	50m
9. Dirk Richter	East Germany	56.66s			4	24	27.22s
10.Franck Schott	France	56.98s		+0.32s	5	18	27.16s
11.Jay Mortensen	United States	57.06s		+0.40s	6	21	26.83s
12.Shigemori Maruyama	Japan	57.13s		+0.47s	7	21	26.79s
13.Georgi Mikhalev	Bulgaria	57.17s		+0.51s	3	20	27.37s
14.David Lim	Singapore	57.72s		+1.06s	2	22	27.12s
14.Manuel Guzmán	Puerto Rico	57.95s		+1.29s	1	18	27.38s
16.Eðvarð Þór Eðvarðsson $ISL Iceland ~$58.20s		+1.54s	8	21	8.
Heats		time		gap	L	Y	50m
1. David Berkoff	United States	54.51s	WR		-	21	25.23s
2. Igor Polyanski	Soviet Union	55.04s	OR	+0.53s	-	21	26.08s
3. Daichi Suzuki	Japan	55.90s	Q	+1.39s	-	21	26.29s
4. Sergey Zabolotnov	Soviet Union	56.13s	Q	+1.62s	-	25	26.74s
5. Frank Hoffmeister	West Germany	56.19s	Q	+1.68s	-	22	26.80s
6. Sean Murphy	Canada	56.20s	Q	+1.69s	-	24	26.10s
6. Mark Tewksbury	Canada	56.20s	Q	+1.69s	-	20	26.66s
8. Frank Baltrusch	East Germany	56.45s	Q	+1.94s	-	24	27.30s
9. Dirk Richter	East Germany	56.52s	q	+2.01s	-	24	27.11s
10.Franck Schott	France	56.76s	q	+2.25s	-	18	27.06s
11.Georgi Mikhalev	Bulgaria	57.06s	q	+2.55s	-	20	27.09s
12.Jens-Peter Berndt	West Germany	57.08s	WD	+2.57s	-	25	27.63s
13.Jay Mortensen	United States	57.19s	q	+2.68s	-	21	27.02s
14.David Lim	Singapore	57.34s	q	+2.83s	-	22	27.23s
15.Shigemori Maruyama	Japan	57.54s	q	+3.03s	-	21	27.31s
16.Manuel Guzmán	Puerto Rico	57.62s	q	+3.11s	-	18	27.46s
17.Eðvarð Þór Eðvarðsson	Iceland	57.70s	q	+3.19s	-	21	27.49s
18.Laijiu Lin	China	57.74s		+3.23s	-	20	27.63s
19.Paul Kingsman	New Zealand	57.80s		+3.29s	-	21	27.76s
20.Rogerio Aoki Romero	Brazil	57.91s		+3.40s	-	18	27.91s
21.Lars Sorensen	Denmark	58.01s		+3.50s	-	20	28.01s
22.Neil Harper	Great Britain	58.02s		+3.51s	-	23	27.38s
23.Martin López-Zubero	Spain	58.06s		+3.55s	-	19	28.21s
24.Patrick Ferland	Switzerland	58.17s		+3.66s	-	23	27.86s
25.Neil Cochran	Great Britain	58.25s		+3.74s	-	23	27.64s
26.Alejandro Alvizuri	Peru	58.37s		+3.86s	-	20	28.59s
27.Carl Wilson	Australia	58.40s		+3.89s	-	21	27.72s
28.Tamas Deutsch	Hungary	58.65s		+4.14s	-	18	28.29s
29.Stephen Cullen	Ireland	58.82s		+4.31s	-	17	27.81s
30.Pavel Vokoun	Czechoslovakia	58.88s		+4.37s	-	18	27.79s
31.Renaud Boucher	France	58.90s		+4.39s	-	24	28.49s
32.Simon Upton	Australia	59.06s		+4.55s	-	19	29.09s
33.Ernesto Vila	Mexico	59.19s		+4.68s	-	19	28.56s
34.Ilias Malamas	Greece	59.24s		+4.73s	-	22	28.52s
35.Guo-Xiong Huang	China	59.36s		+4.85s	-	17	28.56s
36.Richard Gheel	Ireland	59.37s		+4.86s	-	19	28.41s
37.Valerio Giambalvo	Italy	59.48s		+4.97s	-	20	28.26s
38.Wladimir Ribeiro	Brazil	59.76s		+5.25s	-	21	27.62s
39.Amin Amer	Egypt	1:00.76		+6.25s	-	22	28.47s
40.Dong-Pil Park	South Korea	1:01.25		+6.74s	-	20	29.03s
41.Patrick Sagisi	Guam	1:01.86		+7.35s	-	17	29.40s
42.Horst Niehaus	Costa Rica	1:01.91		+7.40s	-	20	29.81s
42.Hor-Man Yip	Hong Kong	1:01.91		+7.40s	-	18	29.49s
44.Brett Halford	Zimbabwe	1:02.95		+8.44s	-	17	29.54s
45.Eric Greenwood	Costa Rica	1:03.11		+8.60s	-	21	29.51s
46.Rodolfo Barahona	Honduras	1:03.90		+9.39s	-	18	30.94s
47.Bruno N'diaye	Senegal	1:05.06		+10.55s	-	19	30.91s
48.Filippo Piva	San Marino	1:07.63		+13.12s	-	21	32.04s
49.Mohammed Abdulla	UA Emirates	1:08.91		+14.40s	-	-	32.76s
50.Rami Kantari	Lebanon	1:09.35		+14.84s	-	25	32.75s
51.Mohamed Bin Abid	UA Emirates	1:10.01		+15.50s	-	19	33.49s
52.Yul Mark Du Pont	Eswatini	1:12.50		+17.99s	-	17	34.58s
-. Paul Yelle	Barbados	DNS			-	24
-. Ranjoy Punja	India	DNS			-	21

Prepared and maintained by Todor Krastev

todor1966@yahoo.com
Last updated: 15 Apr 2023
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