Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre butterfly

{{Cleanup section|reason=This section is editorialised. It uses peacock terms which are not in-keeping with a neutral, encyclopedic tone.|date=April 2025}}

U.S. megastar Caeleb Dressel fended off a late charge by Kristóf Milák to win his second individual Olympic title in a world record of 49.45. Dressel used his signature explosive start and breakout to establish an early lead, turning first at the 50 m mark 0.65 seconds clear of the field. Though Milák closed strongly, Dressel held on for the victory and lower his world record by 5-hundredths of a second. Meanwhile Milák, the 200 m butterfly champion from earlier in the week, could not overtake Dressel but touched in a European record of 49.68 to win silver and pass Michael Phelps and Milorad Čavić to become the second fastest performer in history.

Switzerland's Noè Ponti (50.74) eclipsed his national record from the semi-finals by 0.02 seconds to claim the final spot on the podium. Tied second at the turn alongside Milák, ROC's Andrey Minakov (50.88) fell off the podium to take fourth. Matching his Polish record from the heats, Poland's Jakub Majerski (50.92) tied for fifth with Australia's Matthew Temple who could not replicate his stunning 50.45 trials performance. Guatemala's Luis Martínez touched in a national record of 51.09 to take seventh, while Bulgaria's Josif Miladinov (51.49) was a shade off his times in the earlier rounds to finish in eighth.

Singapore's Joseph Schooling, the gold medalist from Rio de Janeiro five years ago, did not qualify in the semifinal stage, with a time of 53.12.

The medals for the competition were presented by Singapore's IOC Vice-President Ng Ser Miang, and the gifts were presented by the U.S.' FINA Treasurer Dale Neuburger.

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

{{World Olympic Record

| world_athlete = {{flagathlete|Caeleb Dressel|USA}}

| world_mark = 49.50

| world_place = Gwangju, South Korea

| world_date = 26 July 2019

| world_ref = {{cite news|first=Reid|last=Carlson|title=Caeleb Dressel Breaks Phelps' Elusive 100 Butterfly World Record in 49.50|url=https://swimswam.com/caeleb-dressel-breaks-phelps-elusive-100-butterfly-world-record-in-49-50/|publisher=SwimSwam|date=26 July 2019|access-date=1 February 2020}}

| olympic_athlete = {{flagIOCathlete|Joseph Schooling|SIN|2016 Summer}}

| olympic_mark = 50.39

| olympic_place = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

| olympic_date = 12 August 2016

| olympic_ref = {{cite news|first=Luke|last=Pentony|title=Rio 2016: Joseph Schooling gives Singapore its first ever Olympic gold medal|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-13/rio-20163-joseph-schooling-gives-singapore-first-gold-medal/7732024|publisher=ABC News Australia|date=12 August 2016|access-date=4 September 2016}}{{cite news|first=Brenda|last=Goh|title=Stunning Phelps, Schooling wins Singapore's first gold|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-swimming-m-100mbutterfly-idUSKCN10O03Q|publisher=Reuters|date=12 August 2016|access-date=4 September 2016}}

}}

The following records were established during the competition:

{{main|Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification}}

The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event is 51.96 seconds. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) can automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time is 53.52 seconds. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time is eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events is reached. NOCs without a male swimmer qualified in any event can also use their universality place.{{cite news|title=Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System|url= https://www.fina.org/sites/default/files/general/final_-_2018-03-19_-_tokyo_2020_-_qualification_system_-_swimming_-_eng.pdf|work=Tokyo 2020|publisher=FINA|access-date=29 January 2020}}

The competition consists of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advance to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advance to the final. Swim-offs are used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.{{cite web|title=FINA Swimming Rulebook, 2017–21|url=https://www.fina.org/sites/default/files/2017_2021_swimming_12092017_ok_0.pdf|website=FINA|access-date=29 January 2020}}

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

The swimmers with the top 16 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the semifinals.{{Cite web |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/SWM/OG2020-_SWM_C74A_SWMM100MBF------------HEAT--------.pdf |title=Heats results |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729111350/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/SWM/OG2020-_SWM_C74A_SWMM100MBF------------HEAT--------.pdf |url-status=dead }}

The swimmers with the best 8 times, regardless of semis, advanced to the final.{{Cite web |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/SWM/OG2020-_SWM_C74A_SWMM100MBF------------SFNL--------.pdf |title=Semifinals results |access-date=30 July 2021 |archive-date=30 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730014455/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/SWM/OG2020-_SWM_C74A_SWMM100MBF------------SFNL--------.pdf |url-status=dead }}

{{Cite web |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/SWM/OG2020-_SWM_C73A1_SWMM100MBF------------FNL-000100--.pdf |title=Final results |access-date=31 July 2021 |archive-date=31 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731034904/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/SWM/OG2020-_SWM_C73A1_SWMM100MBF------------FNL-000100--.pdf |url-status=dead }}

{{Reflist}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 100 m Butterfly Men}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metre butterfly}}

Men's 00100 metre butterfly

Olympics

Category:Men's events at the 2020 Summer Olympics