(*) 100 yards (= 91.44 m) In the first heat Arno Bieberstein set the first Olympic record with 1:25.6 minutes.

The time set in the final was the first official world record for this distance.

With a much larger field than in 1904, the 1908 competition expanded to three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final.

The 1908 Games also restored the wild-card system from 1900, allowing the fastest swimmers who did not win their heat to advance.

There was little regulation of the stroke, other than that the swimmer had to remain on his back and turns had to be made with both hands touching the wall.