After winning a bronze in Athens four years earlier, Michael Phelps blasted a new world record of 1:42.96 to claim his third straight gold, ninth career, and eleventh overall medal at the Olympics.

[3][4] South Korea's Park Tae-Hwan added a silver to his collection, following an unprecedented triumph in the 400 m freestyle two days earlier.

He established a new Asian record of 1:44.85 to clear a 1:45 barrier, and used a final-lap split of 26.17 to edge out Phelps' teammate Peter Vanderkaay, who took home a bronze medal in a personal best of 1:45.14.

Switzerland's Dominik Meichtry, who raced to a top seed in the prelims, earned a sixth spot in 1:46.95, while Japan's Yoshihiro Okumura (1:47.14) and Great Britain's Robbie Renwick (1:47.47) rounded out the finale.

Canada's Brent Hayden and France's Amaury Leveaux later scratched the event to focus on their duty in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.

[2] Two of the 8 finalists from the 2004 Games returned: bronze medalist Michael Phelps of the United States and eighth-place finisher Emiliano Brembilla of Italy.

The 2007 Worlds bronze medalist, Park Tae-hwan of South Korea (who had just won the 400 metre freestyle gold in Beijing), was a podium contender, as was Phelps's teammate Peter Vanderkaay.

Costa Rica, Estonia, Papua New Guinea, Serbia, and South Africa each made their debut in the event.