Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre freestyle
Women's 100 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | August 13, 2008 (heats) August 14, 2008(semifinals) August 15, 2008 (final) | |||||||||
Competitors | 49 from 41 nations | |||||||||
Winning time | 53.12 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 freestyle event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 13–15 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
Germany's Britta Steffen blasted a new Olympic record to claim a gold medal in the event. Coming from eighth place in the turn, she posted a time of 53.12 to edge out Australia's world record holder and top favorite Lisbeth Trickett by 0.04 of a second. Swimming in lane eight, Trickett earned a silver with an outside record time of 53.16.[2][3][4] She narrowly reached the final as the eighth seed, when China's Pang Jiaying was disqualified for a false start in the semifinals.[5] Meanwhile, U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin powered home with a bronze in a matching American record of 53.39 for the second consecutive Olympics. It was Coughlin's fifth medal of these Games, matching her total from Athens four years earlier.[6]
Competing at her third straight Olympics with Steffen, Finland's Hanna-Maria Seppälä finished outside the medals in fourth place at 53.97. Earlier, she posted a top-seeded time of 53.60 from the sixth heat to lead the prelims.[7] She was followed in fifth place by Denmark's Jeanette Ottesen (54.06), and host nation China's Zhu Yingwen, who shared a sixth-place tie with the Netherlands' Marleen Veldhuis in 54.21. Great Britain's Francesca Halsall (54.29) closed out the field.[2]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | ![]() | 52.88 | Sydney, Australia | 27 March 2008 |
Olympic record | ![]() | 53.38 | Beijing, China | 10 August 2008 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 15 | Final | Britta Steffen | ![]() | 53.12 | OR |
Results
Heats
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Natalie Coughlin | ![]() | 53.70 | Q |
2 | 6 | Zhu Yingwen | ![]() | 53.84 | Q, AS |
3 | 4 | Britta Steffen | ![]() | 53.96 | Q |
4 | 3 | Lisbeth Trickett | ![]() | 54.10 | Q |
5 | 2 | Josefin Lillhage | ![]() | 54.59 | |
6 | 1 | Lacey Nymeyer | ![]() | 54.74 | |
7 | 8 | Petra Dallmann | ![]() | 55.05 | |
8 | 7 | Aliaksandra Herasimenia | ![]() | 55.31 |
Semifinal 2
Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Marleen Veldhuis | ![]() | 53.81 | Q |
2 | 4 | Hanna-Maria Seppälä | ![]() | 53.84 | Q |
3 | 3 | Francesca Halsall | ![]() | 53.94 | Q |
4 | 2 | Jeanette Ottesen | ![]() | 54.05 | Q |
5 | 7 | Malia Metella | ![]() | 54.20 | |
6 | 1 | Cate Campbell | ![]() | 54.54 | |
7 | 8 | Erica Morningstar | ![]() | 55.36 | |
8 | 6 | Pang Jiaying | ![]() | DSQ |
Note: Lisbeth Trickett advanced to the final only when Chinese swimmer Pang Jiaying, who had finished first in the semifinals, was disqualified for a false start.
Final
Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 7 | Britta Steffen | ![]() | 53.12 | OR |
![]() | 8 | Lisbeth Trickett | ![]() | 53.16 | |
![]() | 4 | Natalie Coughlin | ![]() | 53.39 | =AM |
4 | 6 | Hanna-Maria Seppälä | ![]() | 53.97 | |
5 | 1 | Jeanette Ottesen | ![]() | 54.06 | |
6 | 3 | Zhu Yingwen | ![]() | 54.21 | |
5 | Marleen Veldhuis | ![]() | |||
8 | 2 | Francesca Halsall | ![]() | 54.29 |
References
- ↑ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- 1 2 Lohn, John (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Worst to First, Britta Steffen Wins 100 Free in Olympic Record". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ↑ "Steffen wins first swimming gold for Germany". NBC Olympics. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ↑ "Steffen edges Trickett for gold". BBC Sport. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ↑ Lohn, John (13 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Natalie Coughlin Tops 100 Free Semis". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ↑ "Coughlin claims bronze in 100 free". NBC News. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ↑ Lohn, John (13 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Finland's Hanna-Maria Seppala Leads Qualifying in Women's 100 Free". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 18 May 2013.