Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre backstroke
| Women's 100 metre backstroke at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | August 10, 2008 (heats) August 11, 2008(semifinals) August 12, 2008 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 49 from 38 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 58.96 AM | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| 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 women's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10–12 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin set a lifetime best and an American record of 58.96 to defend her title in the event. Zimbabwe's new world record holder Kirsty Coventry added a second silver to her hardware from the 400 m individual medley two days earlier, in a time of 59.19. Coming from fifth place in the turn, Margaret Hoelzer continued her impressive form in the shorter backstroke to pick up a bronze in 59.34, handing the entire medal haul for Team USA in the pool.[2][3]
Great Britain's Gemma Spofforth narrowly missed the podium by four-hundredths of a second (0.04), posting a European record of 59.38 for a fourth-place finish. Russia's Anastasia Zuyeva finished fifth in a close race at 59.40, and was followed in the sixth spot by Japan's Reiko Nakamura in 59.72. France's Laure Manaudou (1:00.10), bronze medalist in Athens four years earlier, and Japanese Hanae Ito (1:00.18) rounded out the finale.[2]
Earlier in the prelims, Zuyeva, Nakamura, and Coventry scratched out Coughlin's existing Olympic record, as they went under a time of 59.68 to lead all seeded heats.[4] The following morning, in the semifinals, Coventry blitzed the field on the final lap to set a new world record of 58.77, breaking Coughlin's mark by two-tenths of a second (0.20).[5][6]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Natalie Coughlin (USA) | 58.97 | Omaha, United States | 1 July 2008 | [7] |
| Olympic record | Natalie Coughlin (USA) | 59.68 | Athens, Greece | 21 August 2004 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10 | Heat 5 | Anastasia Zuyeva |  Russia | 59.61 | OR |
| August 10 | Heat 6 | Reiko Nakamura |  Japan | 59.36 | OR |
| August 10 | Heat 7 | Kirsty Coventry |  Zimbabwe | 59.00 | OR |
| August 11 | Semifinal 2 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 58.77 | WR |
Results
Heats
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Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Natalie Coughlin | United States | 59.43 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Reiko Nakamura | Japan | 59.64 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Gemma Spofforth |  Great Britain | 59.79 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Hanae Ito | Japan | 1:00.13 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | Elizabeth Simmonds | Great Britain | 1:00.39 | |
| 6 | 2 | Julia Wilkinson |  Canada | 1:00.60 | |
| 7 | 1 | Sophie Edington |  Australia | 1:01.05 | |
| 8 | 8 | Kseniya Moskvina | Russia | 1:01.06 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 58.77 | Q, WR |
| 2 | 5 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 59.77 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Margaret Hoelzer | United States | 59.84 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Laure Manaudou |  France | 1:00.19 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 1:00.31 | |
| 6 | 1 | Nina Zhivanevskaya |  Spain | 1:00.50 | |
| 7 | 7 | Antje Buschschulte |  Germany | 1:01.15 | |
| 8 | 8 | Elizabeth Coster |  New Zealand | 1:01.45 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
5 | Natalie Coughlin | United States |
58.96 | AM |
 |
4 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe |
59.19 | |
 |
7 | Margaret Hoelzer | United States |
59.34 | |
| 4 | 2 | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain |
59.38 | EU |
| 5 | 6 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia |
59.40 | |
| 6 | 3 | Reiko Nakamura | Japan |
59.72 | |
| 7 | 8 | Laure Manaudou | France |
1:00.10 | |
| 8 | 1 | Hanae Ito | Japan |
1:00.18 |
References
- ↑ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- 1 2 Lohn, John (11 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Natalie Coughlin Breaks 59, Wins 100 Back Gold in American Record". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ "Natalie Coughlin wins gold, Margaret Hoelzer wins bronze in 100m backstroke". Los Angeles Times. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ Lohn, John (10 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Olympic Record Times Three, Kirsty Coventry Leads Women's 100 Back Prelims". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ Lohn, John (10 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe Grabs 100 Back World Record in Semis". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ "Coventry sets world record in women's 100 backstroke". Los Angeles Times. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ Borzi, Pat (1 July 2008). "Natalie Coughlin again lowers backstroke record". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 May 2013.