{"id":441779,"date":"2020-07-28T07:16:01","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T14:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=441779"},"modified":"2024-10-28T11:21:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T18:21:58","slug":"league-of-olympic-swim-legends-roland-matthes-tops-the-100m-backstroke-podium-with-peirsol-kealoha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/league-of-olympic-swim-legends-roland-matthes-tops-the-100m-backstroke-podium-with-peirsol-kealoha\/","title":{"rendered":"League Of Olympic Swim Legends: Roland Matthes Tops The 100m Backstroke Podium With Peirsol & Kealoha"},"content":{"rendered":"

What would have unfolded had Tokyo 2020 gone ahead as planned this week \u2013 and where would it all have fit in the thread of Olympic swim legends like Roland Matthes, Aaron Peirsol, Warren Kealoha<\/strong><\/span>?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>To mark the eight days over which the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games would have unfolded had the coronavirus pandemic not forced postponement, the team at\u00a0Swimming World<\/em> is filling the void with a Virtual Vision Form Guide and League of Olympic Swimming Legends<\/strong>. <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Day 2, event 3 – the Rolls Royce of backstroke…<\/p>\n

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Roland Matthes – Photo Courtesy: International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF)<\/p><\/div>\n

Men’s 100m Backstroke<\/h2>\n
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The Podium<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Roland Matthes (GDR)<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Aaron Peirsol <\/span>(USA)<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Warren Kealoha (USA)<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Other Finalists (Listed Alphabetically):<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    • Adolph Kiefer (USA) <\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
    • Lenny Krayzelburg (USA)<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
    • John Naber (USA)<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
    • Jeff Rouse (USA)<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
    • David<\/span> Theile (AUS)<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Our<\/em>\u00a0Lane 9*<\/em>\u00a0goes to the 1928 Champion, one of just two who won the crown in World record time but did not make the top 8 straight off – and becoming Olympic champion when you learned to swim in the East River has got to be worth a line and a lane…<\/li>\n
    • George Kojac (USA)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      * \u2013 in our series, we will use Lane 9 to add an athlete whose story reflects extraordinary situations of different kinds, including being deprived by doping or political decisions or, indeed the program, as\u00a0well as simple facts such as “he\/she was the only other title winner who claimed gold in a WR but didn’t make out top 8 on points”<\/i><\/p>\n

      All-Time Battle Of Olympic Swim Legends Goes To Roland Matthes<\/h3>\n
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      Aaron Peirsol – Photo Courtesy: Peter H.Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

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      Warren Keoloha – Photo Courtesy – ISHOF<\/p><\/div>\n

      Some showdowns rate off the scale, a Perfect 10 not a sufficient reward. This scenario was the case in the men\u2019s 100 backstroke, where East Germany\u2019s Roland Matthes<\/strong> and the United States\u2019 Aaron Peirsol<\/strong> squared off for all-time bragging rights. In the end, it was Matthes, dubbed the Rolls Royce of backstroke swimming, who claimed gold, as he narrowly fought off his younger foe.<\/p>\n

      The excellence produced by Matthes and Peirsol was sensational, as each man was a two-time Olympic champion. Matthes mined gold in 1968 and 1972 and proved his longevity with a bronze medal in 1976, while Peirsol doubled in 2004 and 2008. The difference in Matthes claiming Legends gold was his extra medal, along with his seven-to-six advantage in world records.<\/p>\n

      Always calm and cool, Peirsol easily could have pursued a fourth Olympiad, his Games debut in 2000 having produced silver over 200m when he was just 17, but with nothing left to prove, he chose to walk away officially in early 2011 after winning gold in the 100 backstroke at the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships.<\/p>\n

      As much as the battle for the top spot was epic, jockeying for the bronze medal was equally entertaining, with American Warren Kealoha<\/strong> landing on the podium. The 1920 and 1924 Olympic champion bested Australian double champion David Theile<\/strong> (1956\/1960) for the final medal, with the United States\u2019 John Naber<\/strong> pushing for a medal, too.<\/p>\n

      Kealoha set four world records during his day and his inclusion on the podium is an example of the Swimming World scoring system being designed to not ignore athletes from the early 1900s.<\/p>\n

      Roland Matthes – The First Games – Dominance Begins:<\/h2>\n