Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre individual medley
| Women's 400 metre individual medley at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
 Stephanie Rice | ||||||||||
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | August 9, 2008 (heats) August 10, 2008 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 38 from 28 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 4:29.45 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 400 metre individual medley event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 9–10 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
Australia's Stephanie Rice pulled away to a strong finish on the freestyle leg, as she claimed an Olympic gold medal in the event. She established a sterling time of 4:29.45 to slash 1.67 seconds off the world record, set by Katie Hoff from the U.S. Olympic Trials.[2][3] Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry also went under a world record, but earned her first silver at these Games, in an African record of 4:29.89. Meanwhile, Hoff did not match her stellar performance from the trials, as she settled only for the bronze in 4:31.71.[4][5]
Rising American teenager Elizabeth Beisel finished outside the medals in fourth place at 4:34.24, holding off Italy's Alessia Filippi (4:34.34) to fifth by exactly a tenth of a second (0.10). Great Britain's Hannah Miley (4:39.44), Russia's Yana Martynova (4:40.04), and China's Li Xuanxu (4:42.13) rounded out the finale.[4]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Katie Hoff (USA) | 4:31.12 | Omaha, USA | 29 June 2008 | [6] |
| Olympic record |  Yana Klochkova (UKR) | 4:33.59 | Sydney, Australia | 16 September 2000 | - |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10 | Final | Stephanie Rice |  Australia | 4:29.45 | WR |
Results
Heats
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 6 | Stephanie Rice | Australia | 4:29.45 | WR |
 | 1 | Kirsty Coventry |  Zimbabwe | 4:29.89 | AF |
 | 5 | Katie Hoff | United States | 4:31.71 | |
| 4 | 4 | Elizabeth Beisel | United States | 4:34.24 | |
| 5 | 3 | Alessia Filippi |  Italy | 4:34.34 | NR |
| 6 | 8 | Hannah Miley |  Great Britain | 4:39.44 | |
| 7 | 2 | Yana Martynova |  Russia | 4:40.04 | |
| 8 | 7 | Li Xuanxu |  China | 4:42.13 | |
References
- ↑ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ "Rice claims first Aussie gold". ABC News. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ "Stephanie Rice wins Australia's first medal of the Beijing Games in 400m individual medley". The Daily Telegraph (Australia). 10 August 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- 1 2 Lohn, John (10 August 2008). "Return to Sender…Stephanie Rice Blasts Women's 400 IM World Record". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ↑ "Hoff loses world record, finishes 3rd in 400 IM". NBC News. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ↑ Crouse, Karen (30 June 2008). "Rival’s fast finish propels Phelps to another record". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2008.