Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre breaststroke
| Women's 100 metre breaststroke at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
 Leisel Jones | ||||||||||
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | August 10, 2008 (heats) August 11, 2008 (semifinals) August 12, 2008 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 49 from 39 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 1:05.17 OR | |||||||||
| 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 breaststroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10–12 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
After winning a silver medal in Sydney and a bronze in Athens, Australia's Leisel Jones stormed home on the final lap to claim an elusive gold in the event. She established an Olympic record of 1:05.17, just eight-hundredths of a second (0.08) off her global standard.[2][3] Coming from fifth place in the turn, U.S. swimmer Rebecca Soni earned a silver medal in 1:06.73.[4] Finishing fourth from the Olympic trials, she inherited a place in the event after Jessica Hardy's sudden withdrawal from the Games because of a doping irregularity.[5] Meanwhile, Mirna Jukić posted a time of 1:07.34 to settle for the bronze, holding off Russia's Yuliya Yefimova (1:07.43) to fourth place by almost a tenth of a second (0.10).[2]
Megan Jendrick, former Olympic champion from Sydney in 2000, finished fifth with a time of 1:07.62, edging out Aussie Tarnee White (1:07.63) in a close race by a hundredth of a second (0.01).[6] China's Sun Ye (1:08.08) and Japan's Asami Kitagawa (1:08.43) rounded out the finale.[2]
Earlier in the prelims, Jones opened up her meet by breaking a new Olympic record of 1:05.64, exactly a full second faster than a winning time set by Luo Xuejuan in Athens four years earlier.[7]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Leisel Jones (AUS) | 1:05.09 | Melbourne, Australia | 20 March 2006 | [8] |
| Olympic record |  Luo Xuejuan (CHN) | 1:06.64 | Athens, Greece | 16 August 2004 | - |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10 | Heat 7 | Leisel Jones | Australia | 1:05.64 | OR |
| August 12 | Final | Leisel Jones | Australia | 1:05.17 | OR |
Results
Heats
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Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Rebecca Soni |  United States | 1:07.07 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Yuliya Yefimova |  Russia | 1:07.50 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Sun Ye | China | 1:07.72 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Joline Höstman |  Sweden | 1:08.26 | |
| 5 | 7 | Chen Huijia | China | 1:08.60 | |
| 6 | 2 | Jillian Tyler |  Canada | 1:09.00 | |
| 7 | 8 | Elise Matthysen | .svg.png){kind=small} Belgium | 1:09.00 | |
| 8 | 1 | Kirsty Balfour |  Great Britain | 1:09.23 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Leisel Jones | Australia | 1:05.80 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Mirna Jukić |  Austria | 1:07.27 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Tarnee White | Australia | 1:07.48 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Megan Jendrick | United States | 1:08.07 | Q |
| 5 | 8 | Asami Kitagawa |  Japan | 1:08.23 | Q |
| 6 | 1 | Annamay Pierse | Canada | 1:08.27 | |
| 7 | 7 | Kate Haywood | Great Britain | 1:08.36 | |
| 8 | 3 | Suzaan van Biljon |  South Africa | 1:09.56 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 4 | Leisel Jones | Australia | 1:05.17 | OR |
 | 5 | Rebecca Soni | United States | 1:06.73 | |
 | 3 | Mirna Jukić | Austria | 1:07.34 | |
| 4 | 2 | Yuliya Yefimova | Russia | 1:07.43 | |
| 5 | 1 | Megan Jendrick | United States | 1:07.62 | |
| 6 | 6 | Tarnee White | Australia | 1:07.63 | |
| 7 | 7 | Sun Ye | China | 1:08.08 | |
| 8 | 8 | Asami Kitagawa | Japan | 1:08.43 |
References
- ↑ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- 1 2 3 Lohn, John (12 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Leisel Jones Scares World Record, Gets Olympic Standard in Women's 100 Breast Victory". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ "Leisel's Olympic redemption with elusive gold". ABC News. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ "Soni wins silver in women’s 100 breast". NBC News. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ Crouse, Karen (2 August 2008). "Swimmer Pulls Out, Upsetting Her Rivals". NBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ Staff (12 August 2008). "A red-white-and-blue day for U.S. swimmers". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ Lohn, John (12 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Lethal Leisel Jones Crushes Olympic Record in Women's 100 Breast". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ Wilson, Caroline (21 March 2006). "Lethal Leisel". The Age. Retrieved 6 August 2008.