Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Swimming
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad

Pictogram for swimming at the 2008 Games

VenueBeijing National Aquatics Centre (pool)
Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park (open water)
Dates9–17 August 2008 (pool)
20–21 August 2008 (open water)
Competitors1,026 from 162 nations
Swimming events at the
2008 Summer Olympics
Freestyle
50 m   men   women
100 m men women
200 m men women
400 m men women
800 m women
1500 m men
Backstroke
100 m men women
200 m men women
Breaststroke
100 m men women
200 m men women
Butterfly
100 m men women
200 m men women
Individual medley
200 m men women
400 m men women
Freestyle relay
4×100 m men women
4×200 m men women
Medley relay
4×100 m men women
Marathon
10 km men women

The swimming competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 9 to 17 August 2008 at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. The newly introduced open water marathon events (10 km) were held on 20 and 21 August 2008 at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.[1]

Swimming featured 34 events (17 male, 17 female), including two 10 km open-water marathons. The remaining 32 were contested in a 50 m long course pool within the Olympic Park.

United States claimed a total of 31 medals (12 golds, 9 silver, and 10 bronze) in the leaderboard to maintain its standings as the most successful nation in swimming.[2] A stellar performance in the pool also made an Olympic history for Michael Phelps, who captured eight gold medals to break Mark Spitz's 1972 record, a total of seven, at a single Games.[3][4] Despite the male swimmers failing to attain a single gold in swimming, Australia managed to repeat a second-place effort on its third consecutive Olympics with 20 medals (six golds, six silver, and eight bronze).[2] Meanwhile, Great Britain finished third with a total of six medals by the benefit of a sterling long-distance freestyle double from Rebecca Adlington.[4]

A total of 25 world records and 65 Olympic records were set during the competition.

Venue

All the swimming, synchronized swimming, and diving events of the 2008 Olympics were held at the Beijing National Aquatics Center (better known as the "Water Cube"), which was claimed to be built to increase the speed of the swimmers.[5] The main pool is about 10 feet (3.0 m) deep, 3 feet (0.91 m) deeper than any other Olympic pool.[5] The lane lines, nicknamed "wave eaters", buffer the waves produced by swimmers while they stroke.[5] The technological advances of the pool were enhanced by several advantages inherent to an indoor swimming venue, namely: temperature, humidity and lighting control. Even the wide decks were built to help give the swimmers a sense of space.[5]

Events

The swimming program for 2008 was expanded from 2004, with the addition of the 10 km marathon open water swimming events, bringing the total number of events to 34 (17 each for men and women). The following events were contested (all pool events were long course, and distances are in metres unless stated):[6]

Schedule

Unlike the previous Olympics, swimming program schedule occurred in two segments. For the pool events, prelims were held in the evening, with semifinals and final in the following morning session, with a day between semifinals and finals in those events with semifinals. The shift of the normal morning prelims and evening finals (to evening prelims and morning finals) occurred for these Games because of the prior request made by US broadcaster NBC, so that the finals from the event could be shown "live" in the US. (Live ended up being 11:00 pm on the East Coast; with a tape delay to the same time for the West Coast.)[7]

HHeats ½Semifinals FFinal
Men[7]
Date → Sat 9 Sun 10 Mon 11 Tue 12 Wed 13 Thu 14 Fri 15 Sat 16 Sun 17 Thu 21
Event ↓ M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E
50 m freestyle H ½ F
100 m freestyle H ½ F
200 m freestyle H ½ F
400 m freestyle HF
1500 m freestyle H F
100 m backstroke H ½ F
200 m backstroke H ½ F
100 m breaststroke H ½ F
200 m breaststroke H ½ F
100 m butterfly H ½ F
200 m butterfly H ½ F
200 m individual medley H ½ F
400 m individual medley HF
4×100 m freestyle relay HF
4×200 m freestyle relay HF
4×100 m medley relay H F
10 km open water F
Women[7]
Date → Sat 9 Sun 10 Mon 11 Tue 12 Wed 13 Thu 14 Fri 15 Sat 16 Sun 17 Wed 20
Event ↓ M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E
50 m freestyle H ½ F
100 m freestyle H ½ F
200 m freestyle H ½ F
400 m freestyle HF
800 m freestyle H F
100 m backstroke H ½ F
200 m backstroke H ½ F
100 m breaststroke H ½ F
200 m breaststroke H ½ F
100 m butterfly H ½ F
200 m butterfly H ½ F
200 m individual medley H ½ F
400 m individual medley HF
4×100 m freestyle relay HF
4×200 m freestyle relay HF
4×100 m medley relay H F
10 km open water F
M = Morning session, E = Evening session

Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) may enter up to 2 qualified athletes in each individual event if both meet the A standard, or 1 athlete per event if they meet the B standard. An NOC may also enter a maximum of 1 qualified relay team per event. NOCs may enter swimmers regardless of time (1 swimmer per sex) if they have no swimmers meeting qualifying B standard.[8]

Participating nations

A total of 1,026 swimmers (571 men and 455 women) from 162 nations would compete in swimming events at these Olympic Games. American Samoa, Botswana, Comoros, Congo Democratic Republic, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, and Tanzania made their official debut in swimming. Meanwhile, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Netherlands Antilles, and Tajikistan returned to the sport after an eight-year absence. Nations with swimmers at the Games are (team size in parentheses):

Medal summary

Medal table

Michael Phelps holding his gold medal from the 4x100 relay

Retrieved from 2008 NBC Olympics website.[9]

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 12 9 10 31
2  Australia (AUS) 6 6 8 20
3  Great Britain (GBR) 2 2 2 6
4  Japan (JPN) 2 0 3 5
5  Germany (GER) 2 0 1 3
6  Netherlands (NED) 2 0 0 2
7  China (CHN) 1 3 2 6
8  Zimbabwe (ZIM) 1 3 0 4
9  France (FRA) 1 2 3 6
10  Russia (RUS) 1 1 2 4
11  Italy (ITA) 1 1 0 2
 South Korea (KOR) 1 1 0 2
13  Brazil (BRA) 1 0 1 2
14  Tunisia (TUN) 1 0 0 1
15  Hungary (HUN) 0 3 0 3
16  Norway (NOR) 0 1 1 2
17  Slovenia (SLO) 0 1 0 1
 Serbia (SRB) 0 1 0 1
19  Austria (AUT) 0 0 1 1
 Canada (CAN) 0 0 1 1
 Denmark (DEN) 0 0 1 1
Total 34 34 36 104

Men's events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
50 m freestyle
 César Cielo
Brazil (BRA)
21.30 OR  Amaury Leveaux
France (FRA)
21.45  Alain Bernard
France (FRA)
21.49
100 m freestyle
 Alain Bernard
France (FRA)
47.21  Eamon Sullivan
Australia (AUS)
47.32  Jason Lezak
United States (USA)
 César Cielo
Brazil (BRA)
47.67
200 m freestyle
 Michael Phelps
United States (USA)
1:42.96 WR  Park Tae-hwan
South Korea (KOR)
1:44.85 AS  Peter Vanderkaay
United States (USA)
1:45.14
400 m freestyle
 Park Tae-hwan
South Korea (KOR)
3:41.86 AS  Zhang Lin
China (CHN)
3:42.44  Larsen Jensen
United States (USA)
3:42.78 AM
1500 m freestyle
 Oussama Mellouli
Tunisia (TUN)
14:40.84 AF  Grant Hackett
Australia (AUS)
14:41.53  Ryan Cochrane
Canada (CAN)
14.42.69
100 m backstroke
 Aaron Peirsol
United States (USA)
52.54 WR  Matt Grevers
United States (USA)
53.11  Arkady Vyatchanin
Russia (RUS)
 Hayden Stoeckel
Australia (AUS)
53.18
200 m backstroke
 Ryan Lochte
United States (USA)
1:53.94 WR  Aaron Peirsol
United States (USA)
1:54.33  Arkady Vyatchanin
Russia (RUS)
1:54.93 EU
100 m breaststroke
 Kosuke Kitajima
Japan (JPN)
58.91 WR  Alexander Dale Oen
Norway (NOR)
59.20  Hugues Duboscq
France (FRA)
59.37
200 m breaststroke
 Kosuke Kitajima
Japan (JPN)
2:07.64 OR  Brenton Rickard
Australia (AUS)
2:08.88 OC  Hugues Duboscq
France (FRA)
2:08.94
100 m butterfly
 Michael Phelps
United States (USA)
50.58 OR  Milorad Čavić
Serbia (SRB)
50.59  Andrew Lauterstein
Australia (AUS)
51.12
200 m butterfly
 Michael Phelps
United States (USA)
1:52.03 WR  László Cseh
Hungary (HUN)
1:52.70 EU  Takeshi Matsuda
Japan (JPN)
1:52.97 AS
200 m individual medley
 Michael Phelps
United States (USA)
1:54.23 WR  László Cseh
Hungary (HUN)
1:56.52 EU  Ryan Lochte
United States (USA)
1:56.53
400 m individual medley
 Michael Phelps
United States (USA)
4:03.84 WR  László Cseh
Hungary (HUN)
4:06.16 EU  Ryan Lochte
United States (USA)
4:08.09
4 × 100 m freestyle relay
United States
Michael Phelps
Garrett Weber-Gale
Cullen Jones
Jason Lezak
Nathan Adrian*
Ben Wildman-Tobriner*
Matt Grevers*
3:08.24 WR France
Amaury Leveaux
Fabien Gilot
Frédérick Bousquet
Alain Bernard
Grégory Mallet*
Boris Steimetz*
3:08.32 EU Australia
Eamon Sullivan
Andrew Lauterstein
Ashley Callus
Matt Targett
Leith Brodie*
Patrick Murphy*
3:09.91 OC
4 × 200 m freestyle relay
United States
Michael Phelps
Ryan Lochte
Ricky Berens
Peter Vanderkaay
Klete Keller*
Erik Vendt*
David Walters*
6:58.56 WR Russia
Nikita Lobintsev
Yevgeny Lagunov
Danila Izotov
Alexander Sukhorukov
Mikhail Polishchuk*
7:03.70 EU Australia
Patrick Murphy
Grant Hackett
Grant Brits
Nic Ffrost
Leith Brodie*
Kirk Palmer*
7:04.98
4 × 100 m medley relay
United States
Aaron Peirsol
Brendan Hansen
Michael Phelps
Jason Lezak
Matt Grevers*
Mark Gangloff*
Ian Crocker*
Garrett Weber-Gale*
3:29.34 WR Australia
Hayden Stoeckel
Brenton Rickard
Andrew Lauterstein
Eamon Sullivan
Ashley Delaney*
Christian Sprenger*
Adam Pine*
Matt Targett*
3:30.04 OC Japan
Junichi Miyashita
Kosuke Kitajima
Takuro Fujii
Hisayoshi Sato
3:31.18 AS
10 km open water
 Maarten van der Weijden
Netherlands (NED)
1:51:51.6  David Davies
Great Britain (GBR)
1:51:53.1  Thomas Lurz
Germany (GER)
1:51:53.6

* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Women's events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
50 m freestyle
 Britta Steffen
Germany (GER)
24.06 OR, EU  Dara Torres
United States (USA)
24.07 AM  Cate Campbell
Australia (AUS)
24.17
100 m freestyle
 Britta Steffen
Germany (GER)
53.12 OR  Lisbeth Trickett
Australia (AUS)
53.16  Natalie Coughlin
United States (USA)
53.39 AM
200 m freestyle
 Federica Pellegrini
Italy (ITA)
1:54.82 WR  Sara Isaković
Slovenia (SLO)
1:54.97  Pang Jiaying
China (CHN)
1:55.05 AS
400 m freestyle
 Rebecca Adlington
Great Britain (GBR)
4:03.22  Katie Hoff
United States (USA)
4:03.29  Joanne Jackson
Great Britain (GBR)
4:03.52
800 m freestyle
 Rebecca Adlington
Great Britain (GBR)
8:14.10 WR  Alessia Filippi
Italy (ITA)
8:20.23  Lotte Friis
Denmark (DEN)
8:23.03
100 m backstroke
 Natalie Coughlin
United States (USA)
58.96  Kirsty Coventry
Zimbabwe (ZIM)
59.19  Margaret Hoelzer
United States (USA)
59.34
200 m backstroke
 Kirsty Coventry
Zimbabwe (ZIM)
2:05.24 WR  Margaret Hoelzer
United States (USA)
2:06.23  Reiko Nakamura
Japan (JPN)
2:07.13 AS
100 m breaststroke
 Leisel Jones
Australia (AUS)
1:05.17 OR  Rebecca Soni
United States (USA)
1:06.73  Mirna Jukić
Austria (AUT)
1:07.34
200 m breaststroke
 Rebecca Soni
United States (USA)
2:20.22 WR  Leisel Jones
Australia (AUS)
2:22.05  Sara Nordenstam
Norway (NOR)
2:23.02 EU
100 m butterfly
 Lisbeth Trickett
Australia (AUS)
56.73 OC  Christine Magnuson
United States (USA)
57.10  Jessicah Schipper
Australia (AUS)
57.25
200 m butterfly
 Liu Zige
China (CHN)
2:04.18 WR  Jiao Liuyang
China (CHN)
2:04.72  Jessicah Schipper
Australia (AUS)
2:06.26
200 m individual medley
 Stephanie Rice
Australia (AUS)
2:08.45 WR  Kirsty Coventry
Zimbabwe (ZIM)
2:08.59 AF  Natalie Coughlin
United States (USA)
2:10.34
400 m individual medley
 Stephanie Rice
Australia (AUS)
4:29.45 WR  Kirsty Coventry
Zimbabwe (ZIM)
4:29.89 AF  Katie Hoff
United States (USA)
4:31.71
4 × 100 m freestyle relay
Netherlands
Inge Dekker
Ranomi Kromowidjojo
Femke Heemskerk
Marleen Veldhuis
Hinkelien Schreuder*
Manon van Rooijen*
3:33.76 OR United States
Natalie Coughlin
Lacey Nymeyer
Kara Lynn Joyce
Dara Torres
Emily Silver*
Julia Smit*
3:34.33 AM Australia
Cate Campbell
Alice Mills
Melanie Schlanger
Lisbeth Trickett
Shayne Reese*
3:35.05 OC
4 × 200 m freestyle relay
Australia
Stephanie Rice
Bronte Barratt
Kylie Palmer
Linda Mackenzie
Lara Davenport*
Felicity Galvez*
Angie Bainbridge*
Melanie Schlanger*
7:44.31 WR China
Yang Yu
Zhu Qianwei
Tan Miao
Pang Jiaying
Tang Jingzhi*
7:45.93 AS United States
Allison Schmitt
Natalie Coughlin
Caroline Burckle
Katie Hoff
Christine Marshall*
Kim Vandenberg*
Julia Smit*
7:46.33 AM
4 × 100 m medley relay
Australia
Emily Seebohm
Leisel Jones
Jessicah Schipper
Lisbeth Trickett
Tarnee White*
Felicity Galvez*
Shayne Reese*
3:52.69 WR United States
Natalie Coughlin
Rebecca Soni
Christine Magnuson
Dara Torres
Margaret Hoelzer*
Megan Jendrick*
Elaine Breeden*
Kara Lynn Joyce*
3:53.30 AM China
Zhao Jing
Sun Ye
Zhou Yafei
Pang Jiaying
Xu Tianlongzi*
3:56.11 AS
10 km open water
 Larisa Ilchenko
Russia (RUS)
1:59:27.7  Keri-Anne Payne
Great Britain (GBR)
1:59:29.2  Cassandra Patten
Great Britain (GBR)
1:59:31.0

* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Olympic and world records broken

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, new world records were set 25 times (affecting 21 distinct world records) and new Olympic records were set 65 times and one other was equalled (affecting 30 distinct Olympic records).[10] Only Ian Thorpe's 3:40.59 in the 400 metres freestyle and Inge de Bruijn's 56.61 in the 100 metres butterfly, both set in Sydney, remained Olympic records. Michael Phelps of the United States also broke the record for the most gold medals ever won by an Olympian with a total of 14; 8 of which were won during the 2008 Summer Olympics - this was also a world record.

Men

Event Date Round Name Nationality Time Record Day
Men's 100 m breaststroke August 9 Heat 7 Alexander Dale Oen Norway 59.41 OR 1
Men's 400 m individual medley August 9 Heat 4 Michael Phelps United States 4:07.82 OR 1
Men's 100 m backstroke August 10 Heat 4 Matt Grevers United States 53.41 OR 2
Men's 100 m breaststroke August 10 Semifinal 2 Alexander Dale Oen Norway 59.16 OR 2
Men's 400 m individual medley August 10 Final Michael Phelps United States 4:03.84 WR 2
Men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay August 10 Heat 1 Nathan Adrian (48.82)
Cullen Jones (47.61)
Ben Wildman-Tobriner (48.03)
Matt Grevers (47.77)
United States 3:12.23 WR 2
Men's 100 m freestyle August 10 Heat 1 leadoff* Amaury Leveaux France 47.76 OR 2
Men's 100 m backstroke August 11 Semifinal 1 Arkady Vyatchanin Russia 53.06 OR 3
Men's 100 m backstroke August 11 Semifinal 2 Hayden Stoeckel Australia 52.97 OR 3
Men's 100 m breaststroke August 11 Final Kosuke Kitajima Japan 58.91 WR 3
Men's 200 m butterfly August 11 Heat 6 Michael Phelps United States 1:53.70 OR 3
Men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay August 11 Final Michael Phelps (47.51)
Garrett Weber-Gale (47.02)
Cullen Jones (47.65)
Jason Lezak (46.06)
United States 3:08.24 WR 3
Men's 100 m freestyle August 11 Final leadoff* Eamon Sullivan Australia 47.24 WR 3
Men's 200 m freestyle August 12 Final Michael Phelps United States 1:42.96 WR 4
Men's 100 m backstroke August 12 Final Aaron Peirsol United States 52.54 WR 4
Men's 200 m breaststroke August 12 Heat 5 Paolo Bossini Italy 2:08.98 OR 4
Men's 200 m breaststroke August 12 Heat 7 Dániel Gyurta Hungary 2:08.68 OR 4
Men's 200 m butterfly August 12 Semifinal 2 Michael Phelps United States 1:53.70 OR 4
Men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay August 12 Heat 2 David Walters (1:46.57)
Ricky Berens (1:45.47)
Erik Vendt (1:47.11)
Klete Keller (1:45.51)
United States 7:04.66 OR 4
Men's 100 m freestyle August 13 Semifinal 1 Alain Bernard France 47.20 WR 5
Men's 100 m freestyle August 13 Semifinal 2 Eamon Sullivan Australia 47.05 WR 5
Men's 200 m breaststroke August 13 Semifinal 1 Kosuke Kitajima Japan 2:08.61 OR 5
Men's 200 m butterfly August 13 Final Michael Phelps United States 1:52.03 WR 5
Men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay August 13 Final Michael Phelps (1:43.31)
Ryan Lochte (1:44.28)
Ricky Berens (1:46.29)
Peter Vanderkaay (1:44.68)
United States 6:58.56 WR 5
Men's 50 m freestyle August 14 Heat 11 César Cielo Brazil 21.47 OR 6
Men's 50 m freestyle August 14 Heat 12 Amaury Leveaux France 21.46 OR 6
Men's 100 m butterfly August 14 Heat 7 Jason Dunford Kenya 51.14 OR 6
Men's 100 m butterfly August 14 Heat 9 Milorad Čavić Serbia 50.76 OR 6
Men's 50 m freestyle August 15 Semifinal 1 César Cielo Brazil 21.34 OR 7
Men's 1500 m freestyle August 15 Heat 3 Ryan Cochrane Canada 14:40.84 OR 7
Men's 1500 m freestyle August 15 Heat 5 Grant Hackett Australia 14:38.92 OR 7
Men's 200 m backstroke August 15 Final Ryan Lochte United States 1:53.94 WR 7
Men's 200 m individual medley August 15 Final Michael Phelps United States 1:54.23 WR 7
Men's 50 m freestyle August 16 Final César Cielo Brazil 21.30 OR 8
Men's 100 m butterfly August 16 Final Michael Phelps United States 50.58 OR 8
Men's 4 × 100 m medley relay August 17 Final Aaron Peirsol (53.16)
Brendan Hansen (59.27)
Michael Phelps (50.15)
Jason Lezak (46.76)
United States 3:29.34 WR 9

* World record split from the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay

Note: At the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay final, anchor Jason Lezak swam the fastest 100 m split (46.06); however, this is not considered an official FINA record, as he did not swim the first leg.

Women

Event Date Round Name Nationality Time Record Day
Women's 400 m freestyle August 10 Heat 5 Katie Hoff United States 4:03.71 OR 2
Women's 400 m freestyle August 10 Heat 6 Federica Pellegrini Italy 4:02.19 OR 2
Women's 100 m backstroke August 10 Heat 5 Anastasia Zuyeva Russia 59.61 OR 2
Women's 100 m backstroke August 10 Heat 6 Reiko Nakamura Japan 59.36 OR 2
Women's 100 m backstroke August 10 Heat 7 Kirsty Coventry Zimbabwe 59.00 OR 2
Women's 100 m breaststroke August 10 Heat 7 Leisel Jones Australia 1:05.64 OR 2
Women's 400 m individual medley August 10 Final Stephanie Rice Australia 4:29.45 WR 2
Women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay August 10 Final Inge Dekker (54.37)
Ranomi Kromowidjojo (53.39)
Femke Heemskerk (53.42)
Marleen Veldhuis (52.58)
Netherlands 3:33.76 OR 2
Women's 100 m freestyle August 10 Final leadoff* Britta Steffen Germany 53.38 OR 2
Women's 200 m freestyle August 11 Heat 4 Pang Jiaying China 1:57.37 OR 3
Women's 200 m freestyle August 11 Heat 5 Sara Isaković Slovenia 1:55.86 OR 3
Women's 200 m freestyle August 11 Heat 6 Federica Pellegrini Italy 1:55.45 WR 3
Women's 100 m backstroke August 11 Semifinal 2 Kirsty Coventry Zimbabwe 58.77 WR 3
Women's 100 m breaststroke August 12 Final Leisel Jones Australia 1:05.17 OR 4
Women's 200 m individual medley August 12 Semifinal 1 Kirsty Coventry Zimbabwe 2:09.53 OR 4
Women's 200 m freestyle August 13 Final Federica Pellegrini Italy 1:54.82 WR 5
Women's 200 m breaststroke August 13 Heat 5 Rebecca Soni United States 2:22.17 OR 5
Women's 200 m individual medley August 13 Final Stephanie Rice Australia 2:08.45 OR 5
Women's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay August 13 Heat 1 Alena Popchanka (1:58.27)
Céline Couderc (1:58.92)
Camille Muffat (1:57.32)
Coralie Balmy (1:55.86)
France 7:50.37 OR 5
Women's 800 m freestyle August 14 Heat 4 Rebecca Adlington Great Britain 8:18.06 OR 6
Women's 200 m backstroke August 14 Heat 4 Kirsty Coventry Zimbabwe 2:06.76 OR 6
Women's 200 m butterfly August 14 Final Liu Zige China 2:04.18 WR 6
Women's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay August 14 Final Stephanie Rice (1:56.60)
Bronte Barratt (1:56.58)
Kylie Palmer (1:55.22)
Linda Mackenzie (1:55.91)
Australia 7:44.31 WR 6
Women's 100 m freestyle August 15 Final Britta Steffen Germany 53.12 OR 7
Women's 200 m breaststroke August 15 Final Rebecca Soni United States 2:20.22 WR 7
Women's 800 m freestyle August 16 Final Rebecca Adlington Great Britain 8:14.10 OR 8
Women's 200 m backstroke August 16 Final Kirsty Coventry Zimbabwe 2:05.24 WR 8
Women's 50 m freestyle August 17 Final Britta Steffen Germany 24.06 OR 9
Women's 4 × 100 m medley relay August 17 Final Emily Seebohm (59.33)
Leisel Jones (1:04.58)
Jessicah Schipper (56.25)
Lisbeth Trickett (52.53)
Australia 3:52.69 WR 9

LZR Racer suits

Main article: LZR Racer

Another big change to swimming occurred when Speedo launched the LZR Racer swim suits on February 13, 2008. The suits, developed by NASA and the Australian Institute of Sport,[11] were designed to repel water, allow oxygen to flow to the muscles, and hold the body in a more hydrodynamic position.[12] The suits had been proven to give the swimmer a lower time by 1.9 to 2.2%.[13] Due to the advantage provided by the suits, some swimmers complained about the fairness in its use, because some people used multiple swimsuits to improve buoyancy and compressing of body;[14] even the official blog for the National Collegiate Athletic Association pondered whether they were "technology doping" and what was the difference between gaining advantage from a swimsuit and gaining advantage from performance-enhancing drugs.[13] In response to these complaints, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) scheduled a meeting with Speedo to discuss the suits.[14] After the meeting, FINA dismissed the claims of cheating, and endorsed the suits for future swimming meets.[14] By August 14, 2008, 62 world records had been broken by swimmers wearing the LZR Racer.[15]

See also

References

  1. "BBC 2008 Olympic Coverage: Swimming". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  2. 1 2 Staff (18 August 2008). "Recap: Phelps eight golds more than any other country". Beijing 2008 (NBC Olympics). Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  3. "Phelps claims Olympic-record eighth gold medal with relay win". Sports Illustrated (CNN). 17 August 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  4. 1 2 "Phelps wins historic eighth gold". BBC Sport. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "China's Olympic Swimming Pool: Redefining Fast". National Public Radio. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  6. "Olympic Swimming Schedule". FINA. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 "Swimming: Results and Schedule". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  8. "FINA – Swimming" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  9. "Swimming: 200 Medal Standings by Nation". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  10. "Swimming records broken by record type". Beijing 2008 Official Site. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  11. "Engineering the world's fastest swimsuit". Physorg. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  12. "Japanese search for new swimsuits". BBC News. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  13. 1 2 "Celebrity Rules as the Olympics strays far from its ideal". The Japan Times. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  14. 1 2 3 "Speedo LZR Racer Swimsuit Spawns Copycats and Controversy". Gizmodo. 14 April 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  15. Thurow, Roger (14 August 2008). "Fast Times". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2008.

External links

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