Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre backstroke
| Women's 200 metre backstroke at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | August 14, 2008 (heats) August 15, 2008 (semifinals) August 16, 2008 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 35 from 24 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 2:05.24 WR | |||||||||
| 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 200 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 14–16 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
After claiming three silver medals at these Games, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry stormed home on the final lap to defend her Olympic title in the event. She posted a time of 2:05.24 to crush a world record set by U.S. swimmer Margaret Hoelzer from the Olympic trials one month earlier.[2] Meanwhile, Hoelzer added a silver to her hardware from the 100 m backstroke, when she touched the wall in 2:06.23, the second-fastest effort of her career.[3][4] Japan's Reiko Nakamura managed to repeat a bronze from Athens four years earlier, in an Asian record of 2:07.13.[5]
Russia's top favorite Anastasia Zuyeva finished fourth with a time of 2:07.88, and was followed in the fifth spot by American teenager Elizabeth Beisel, aged 16, in 2:08.23. Elizabeth Simmonds set a new British record of 2:08.51 to earn a sixth spot, while Aussies Meagan Nay (2:08.84) and Belinda Hocking (2:10.12) closed out the field.[5][6] Notable swimmers missed out the top 8 final, featuring Russia's Stanislava Komarova, silver medalist in Athens, and British top favorite Gemma Spofforth.[5]
Before her breakthrough final, Coventry broke one of the oldest Olympic records earlier in the prelims. She posted a top-seeded time of 2:06.76 to lead 34 other swimmers in the race, slashing four-tenths of a second (0.40) off the record set by Hungary's three-time Olympic champion Krisztina Egerszegi from Barcelona in 1992.[7][8]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Margaret Hoelzer (USA) | 2:06.09 | Omaha, United States | 5 July 2008 | [9] |
| Olympic record |  Krisztina Egerszegi (HUN) | 2:07.06 | Barcelona, Spain | 31 July 1992 | - |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 14 | Heat 4 | Kirsty Coventry |  Zimbabwe | 2:06.76 | OR |
| August 16 | Final | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 2:05.24 | WR |
Results
Heats
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Elizabeth Beisel | United States |
2:07.90 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Reiko Nakamura |  Japan |
2:08.21 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Elizabeth Simmonds |  Great Britain |
2:08.96 | Q |
| 4 | 8 | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain |
2:09.19 | |
| 5 | 5 | Zhao Jing |  China |
2:09.59 | |
| 6 | 6 | Melissa Ingram |  New Zealand |
2:09.70 | |
| 7 | 1 | Hanae Ito | Japan |
2:09.86 | |
| 8 | 2 | Laure Manaudou |  France |
2:12.04 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe |
2:07.76 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Meagen Nay |  Australia |
2:08.09 | Q, OC |
| 3 | 6 | Margaret Hoelzer | United States |
2:08.25 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Belinda Hocking | Australia |
2:08.80 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Anastasia Zuyeva |  Russia |
2:09.07 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | Alexianne Castel | France |
2:10.04 | |
| 7 | 1 | Stanislava Komarova | Russia |
2:10.50 | |
| 8 | 8 | Anja Čarman |  Slovenia |
2:12.46 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe |
2:05.24 | WR |
 |
2 | Margaret Hoelzer | United States |
2:06.23 | |
 |
6 | Reiko Nakamura | Japan |
2:07.13 | AS |
| 4 | 8 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia |
2:07.88 | |
| 5 | 5 | Elizabeth Beisel | United States |
2:08.23 | |
| 6 | 1 | Elizabeth Simmonds | Great Britain |
2:08.51 | NR |
| 7 | 3 | Meagen Nay | Australia |
2:08.84 | |
| 8 | 7 | Belinda Hocking | Australia |
2:10.12 |
References
- ↑ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ Evans, Simon (15 August 2008). "Coventry's silver mine seeded with gold". Reuters. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ "Margaret Hoelzer gets Olympic silver in 200 backstroke". Team USA. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ Kelley, Steve (16 August 2008). "Margaret Hoelzer wins silver in backstroke". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- 1 2 3 Lohn, John (15 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Kirsty Coventry Wins 200 Back in World Record Fashion". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ Paxinos, Stathi (16 August 2008). "Coventry wins backstroke gold". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ Lohn, John (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Kirsty Coventry Dominates 200 Back Prelims, Sets Olympic Record". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ Harris, Beth (16 August 2008). "Americans Hoff, Ziegler fail in 800 free heats". USA Today. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ Borzi, Pat (6 July 2008). "As records change by the minute, the women’s 800 stays standing". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2008.