Ryan Murphy Advances to 100 Backstroke Finals -- But Barely
![Ryan Murphy Ryan Murphy](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4064,h_2286,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/cal_sports_report/01j3xg7vfhbxetp06ch3.jpg)
Cal alumni Ryan Murphy kept alive his hopes of winning an Olympic gold-medal in the 100-meter backstroke, but he barely made it and had some anxious moments before he knew he would participate in Monday’s finals.
Murphy finished fourth in the first of two semifinals in the 100 backstroke on Sunday in Paris, and his time of 52.72 seconds did not seem like it would be good enough to advance. TV commentator Rowdy Gaines said after that race that he thought Murphy was “on the outside looking in.”
The second semifinal featured Hunter Armstong, a member of Cal’s postgraduate training group who figured to benefit from Murphy’s disappointing race. But the second semifinal race was relatively slow and Armstrong only finished fifth in his race in a time of 53.11. Armstrong did not qualify for the finals, but Murphy did as his time turned out to be the fifth-fastest of all semifinalists.
The biggest beneficiary of the slow second semifinal was former Cal standout Hugo Gonzalez, who represents Spain in the 100 backstroke. He was fifth in the first semifinal race, but his time of 52.95 was good enough for the eighth and final spot in the finals. His time was just two-one-hundredths of a second better than Evangelos Makrygiannis of Greece, who had the ninth-best time but will be a reserve for the finals.
But the big news was that Murphy had qualified for the finals. The 29-year-old Murphy, who won the 100 and 200 backstroke in the recent U.S. Olympic swimming trials, captured a gold medal in both the 100 and 200 backstroke at the 2016 Olympics. He then won a silver medal in the 200 backstroke and a bronze medal in the 100 backstroke in the 2020 Olympics (which held in 2021).
Murphy is attempting to become the first male swimmer to win medals in three consecutive Olympics in both the 100 and 200 meter backstroke. He will compete in the 200 back later in these Olympics.
— Cal Sports Report (@jakecurtis53) July 28, 2024
Ryan Murphy and Hugo Gonzalez advance to tomorrow's final of the 100 backstroke!
— Cal Men's Swim & Dive (@calmenswim) July 28, 2024
5. Ryan Murphy 52.72
8. Hugo Gonzalez 52.95
11. Hunter Armstrong 53.11
RESULTS: https://t.co/YyS7G6iYFQ#GoBears #OlympiansMadeHere pic.twitter.com/VXbmTKV4jY
Lucas Henveaux, Belgium: Henveaux reached the finals of the 200-meter freestyle, but he finished fourth in his semifinal heat and wound up with the 11th-fastest time overall. As a result, he did not qualify for the finals.. Henveaux was a Cal graduate student in 2023.
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