Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre individual medley
| Women's 400 metre individual medley at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | ||||||||||
| Venue | London Aquatics Centre | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | July 28, 2012 (heats & final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 36 from 29 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 4:28.43 WR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2012 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 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 28 July at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.[1]
At only 16 years of age, China's Ye Shiwen blasted a new world record to capture the Olympic title in the event. She trailed behind American teenager Elizabeth Beisel more than halfway through the race, before pulling away with a superb freestyle leg to bring home the Olympic gold medal and the world record in a sterling time of 4:28.43. Her spectacular swim also demolished the previous standard from Australia's Stephanie Rice in Beijing four years earlier by more than a second.[2][3] Meanwhile, Beisel enjoyed the race with a powerful lead on the breaststroke leg, but felt satisfied to claim the silver in 4:31.27.[4][5] Ye's teammate Li Xuanxu stormed home on the final stretch to grab a bronze in 4:32.91, edging out Hungary's early leader Katinka Hosszú (4:33.49) by more than half a second (0.50).[6]
Great Britain's home favorite Hannah Miley finished fifth in 4:34.17, while Rice, the defending Olympic champion, matched United States' Caitlin Leverenz with an unexpected sixth-place time in 4:35.49.[7][8] Spain's Mireia Belmonte García rounded out the final roster in 4:35.62.[6]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Stephanie Rice (AUS) | 4:29.45 | Beijing, China | 10 August 2008 | [9][10] |
| Olympic record | Stephanie Rice (AUS) | 4:29.45 | Beijing, China | 10 August 2008 | – |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 28 | Final | Ye Shiwen |  China | 4:28.43 | WR |
Results
Heats
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 5 | Ye Shiwen | China | 4:28.43 | WR |
 | 4 | Elizabeth Beisel |  United States | 4:31.27 | |
 | 6 | Li Xuanxu | China | 4:32.91 | |
| 4 | 3 | Katinka Hosszú |  Hungary | 4:33.49 | |
| 5 | 7 | Hannah Miley |  Great Britain | 4:34.17 | |
| 6 | 1 | Stephanie Rice | Australia | 4:35.49 | |
| 6 | 8 | Caitlin Leverenz | United States | 4:35.49 | |
| 8 | 2 | Mireia Belmonte García |  Spain | 4:35.62 |
References
- ↑ "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Ye Shiwen wins gold in record time". ESPN. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Newberry, Paul (28 July 2012). "Lochte wins 400m IM in blowout; Phelps finishes 4th". London 2012 (NBC Olympics). Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Powers, John (28 July 2012). "For R.I.’s Beisel, silver nearly as good as gold". Boston Globe. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Ye wins women's 400 IM; Beisel takes silver". Fox News. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- 1 2 "2012 London Olympics: China's Ye Shiwen Crushes World Record in 400 IM". Swimming World Magazine. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Jones, Sam (28 July 2012). "Ye Shiwen sets world medley record at Olympics aged 16". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Olympics swimming: Hannah Miley fifth as Ye Shiwen breaks medley world record". BBC Sport. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ Lohn, John (10 August 2008). "Return to Sender…Stephanie Rice Blasts Women's 400 IM World Record". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ↑ Johanson, Simon (10 August 2008). "Rice steams to gold and world record". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 11 August 2008.
- ↑ "Women's 400m Individual Medley – Heats". London 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.