that the method of the stroke is not regulated (unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events). Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of two lengths of the pool. Records Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows. Jim Montgomery broke the world record in the first semifinal, posting a 50.39 second time. In the final, he was the first swimmer to break the 50-second barrier, winning in 49.99 seconds for the new world record. Schedule All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4) Results Heats Swim-off Semifinals Final References Men's freestyle 100 metre Men's events at the 1976 Summer Olympics