| | Event type

800 metres Freestyle, Women

Date	14 – 16 August 2008
Status	Olympic
Location	Beijing Guojia Youyong Zhongxin, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing
Participants	35 from 29 countries

American Kate Ziegler had won the world titles at both the 800 freestyle and non-Olympic 1500 freestyle at the two world championships held between the Athens and Beijing Olympics. At Beijing however she was eliminated in the heats after recording only the tenth fastest time.

Becky Adlington of Great Britain had set the world’s leading time and had won the World Short Course Championship earlier in the year but there still doubts about her ability to perform at the highest championship level following her disappointing results at the 2007 World Championships. These doubts were dispelled when she won the Olympic 400 freestyle title a few days earlier and she was installed as overwhelming favourite to win the 800 as well. Adlington did not disappoint and the race gradually turned into one between the Briton and Janet Evans’ world record which had stood since 1989. The clock stopped at 8:14.10 which was two seconds under the 20 year old record. Adlington was not yet born when Evans had set the record.

Behind her Alessia Filippi was a distant second with Denmark’s Lotte Friis winning a close battle for bronze. Friis turned the tables on Adlington to become world champion in 2009 but the Briton regained supremacy in 2011.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	R1	Final
1	Becky Adlington	GBR	8:18.06 (1 h4)	8:14.10 (1)	Gold
2	Alessia Filippi	ITA	8:21.95 (1 h5)	8:20.23 (2)	Silver
3	Lotte Friis	DEN	8:21.74 (2 h4)	8:23.03 (3)	Bronze
4	Camelia Potec	ROU	8:19.70 (1 h3)	8:23.11 (4)
5	Li Xuanxu	CHN	8:24.37 (2 h3)	8:26.34 (5)
6	Kylie Palmer	AUS	8:22.81 (3 h4)	8:26.39 (6)
7	Yelena Sokolova	RUS	8:23.07 (2 h5)	8:29.79 (7)
8	Cassie Patten	GBR	8:25.91 (3 h5)	8:32.35 (8)
9	Wendy Trott	RSA	8:26.21 (4 h4)	–
10	Kate Ziegler	USA	8:26.98 (4 h5)	–
11	Katie Hoff	USA	8:27.78 (3 h3)	–
12	Coralie Balmy	FRA	8:28.34 (5 h5)	–
13	Flavia Rigamonti	SUI	8:28.67 (4 h3)	–
14	Andreína Pinto	VEN	8:30.30 (5 h3)	–
15	You Meihong	CHN	8:31.11 (5 h4)	–
16	Erika Villaécija	ESP	8:32.27 (6 h5)	–
17	Melissa Gorman	AUS	8:32.34 (7 h5)	–
18	Susana Escobar	MEX	8:33.51 (1 h2)	–
19	Sophie Huber	FRA	8:33.76 (8 h5)	–
20	Kristel Köbrich	CHI	8:34.25 (2 h2)	–
21	Maiko Fujino	JPN	8:35.60 (6 h3)	–
22	Jördis Steinegger	AUT	8:36.40 (3 h2)	–
23	Tanya Hunks	CAN	8:38.05 (7 h3)	–
24	Gabriella Fagundez	SWE	8:39.06 (4 h2)	–
25	Jaana Ehmcke	GER	8:39.51 (6 h4)	–
26	Réka Nagy	HUN	8:40.38 (5 h2)	–
27	Ai Shibata	JPN	8:41.63 (7 h4)	–
28	Elvira Efstathiou	GRE	8:41.65 (8 h4)	–
29	Stephanie Au	HKG	8:41.66 (1 h1)	–
30	Lynette Lim	SGP	8:45.56 (6 h2)	–
31	Cecilia Biagioli	ARG	8:50.18 (7 h2)	–
32	Golda Marcus	ESA	8:51.21 (2 h1)	–
33	Eva Lehtonen	FIN	8:53.50 (3 h1)	–
34	Khoo Cai Lin	MAS	9:04.86 (8 h2)	–
35	Karolina Szczepaniak	POL	9:08.87 (4 h1)	–
DNS	Federica Pellegrini	ITA	– (DNS h3)	–

Round One

Date	14 August 2008
Format	Fastest eight swimmers advanced to final

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Becky Adlington	GBR	8:18.06	QOR
2	5	Camelia Potec	ROU	8:19.70	Q
3	2	Lotte Friis	DEN	8:21.74	Q
4	5	Alessia Filippi	ITA	8:21.95	Q
5	3	Kylie Palmer	AUS	8:22.81	Q
6	1	Yelena Sokolova	RUS	8:23.07	Q
7	6	Li Xuanxu	CHN	8:24.37	Q
8	7	Cassie Patten	GBR	8:25.91	Q
9	1	Wendy Trott	RSA	8:26.21
10	4	Kate Ziegler	USA	8:26.98
11	4	Katie Hoff	USA	8:27.78
12	6	Coralie Balmy	FRA	8:28.34
13	3	Flavia Rigamonti	SUI	8:28.67
14	8	Andreína Pinto	VEN	8:30.30
15	7	You Meihong	CHN	8:31.11
16	3	Erika Villaécija	ESP	8:32.27
17	8	Melissa Gorman	AUS	8:32.34
18	4	Susana Escobar	MEX	8:33.51
19	2	Sophie Huber	FRA	8:33.76
20	5	Kristel Köbrich	CHI	8:34.25
21	1	Maiko Fujino	JPN	8:35.60
22	1	Jördis Steinegger	AUT	8:36.40
23	7	Tanya Hunks	CAN	8:38.05
24	3	Gabriella Fagundez	SWE	8:39.06
25	6	Jaana Ehmcke	GER	8:39.51
26	6	Réka Nagy	HUN	8:40.38
27	5	Ai Shibata	JPN	8:41.63
28	8	Elvira Efstathiou	GRE	8:41.65
29	4	Stephanie Au	HKG	8:41.66
30	8	Lynette Lim	SGP	8:45.56
31	2	Cecilia Biagioli	ARG	8:50.18
32	5	Golda Marcus	ESA	8:51.21
33	3	Eva Lehtonen	FIN	8:53.50
34	7	Khoo Cai Lin	MAS	9:04.86
35	6	Karolina Szczepaniak	POL	9:08.87
DNS	2	Federica Pellegrini	ITA	–

Heat #1

Time	19:02

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m	400-500 m	500-600 m	600-700 m	700-800 m
1	4	Stephanie Au	HKG	8:41.66	0.78	1:02.45 (2)	2:07.84 (1)	3:13.04 (1)	4:19.20 (1)	5:25.85 (1)	6:32.70 (1)	7:38.63 (1)	1:05.39 (1)	1:05.20 (1)	1:06.16 (1)	1:06.65 (1)	1:06.85 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
2	5	Golda Marcus	ESA	8:51.21	0.75	1:03.72 (4)	2:09.88 (4)	3:16.34 (3)	4:23.30 (3)	5:30.60 (3)	6:38.19 (3)	7:45.69 (2)	1:06.16 (3)	1:06.46 (2)	1:06.96 (2)	1:07.30 (2)	1:07.59 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
3	3	Eva Lehtonen	FIN	8:53.50	0.68	1:03.02 (3)	2:09.01 (2)	3:15.92 (2)	4:23.08 (2)	5:30.39 (2)	6:38.04 (2)	7:46.58 (3)	1:05.99 (2)	1:06.91 (3)	1:07.16 (3)	1:07.31 (3)	1:07.65 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
4	6	Karolina Szczepaniak	POL	9:08.87	0.71	1:01.88 (1)	2:09.84 (3)	3:19.00 (4)	4:29.21 (4)	5:39.28 (4)	6:49.58 (4)	8:00.28 (4)	1:07.96 (4)	1:09.16 (4)	1:10.21 (4)	1:10.07 (4)	1:10.30 (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	19:13

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m	400-500 m	500-600 m	600-700 m	700-800 m
1	4	Susana Escobar	MEX	8:33.51	0.78	1:02.68 (2)	2:07.27 (3)	3:11.89 (3)	4:16.72 (=1)	5:21.48 (1)	6:26.35 (1)	7:30.43 (1)	1:04.59 (3)	1:04.62 (1)	1:04.83 (1)	1:04.76 (1)	1:04.87 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
2	5	Kristel Köbrich	CHI	8:34.25	0.87	1:02.69 (3)	2:07.00 (2)	3:11.70 (2)	4:16.72 (=1)	5:21.64 (2)	6:26.52 (2)	7:30.93 (2)	1:04.31 (1)	1:04.70 (2)	1:05.02 (2)	1:04.92 (2)	1:04.88 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
3	1	Jördis Steinegger	AUT	8:36.40	0.90	1:02.05 (1)	2:06.39 (1)	3:11.37 (1)	4:17.12 (3)	5:22.14 (3)	6:27.37 (3)	7:32.57 (3)	1:04.34 (2)	1:04.98 (4)	1:05.75 (4)	1:05.02 (3)	1:05.23 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
4	3	Gabriella Fagundez	SWE	8:39.06	0.94	1:03.01 (4)	2:08.60 (5)	3:14.24 (5)	4:20.38 (5)	5:25.46 (5)	6:31.12 (5)	7:36.69 (5)	1:05.59 (5)	1:05.64 (5)	1:06.14 (6)	1:05.08 (=4)	1:05.66 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
5	6	Réka Nagy	HUN	8:40.38	0.91	1:03.58 (5)	2:08.43 (4)	3:13.32 (4)	4:18.57 (4)	5:23.65 (4)	6:29.15 (4)	7:35.32 (4)	1:04.85 (4)	1:04.89 (3)	1:05.25 (3)	1:05.08 (=4)	1:05.50 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
6	8	Lynette Lim	SGP	8:45.56	0.63	1:04.24 (7)	2:10.05 (7)	3:16.07 (7)	4:22.01 (6)	5:27.17 (6)	6:33.37 (6)	7:40.08 (6)	1:05.81 (7)	1:06.02 (6)	1:05.94 (5)	1:05.16 (6)	1:06.20 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
7	2	Cecilia Biagioli	ARG	8:50.18	0.86	1:03.83 (6)	2:09.59 (6)	3:15.93 (6)	4:22.43 (7)	5:29.05 (7)	6:36.24 (7)	7:43.47 (7)	1:05.76 (6)	1:06.34 (7)	1:06.50 (7)	1:06.62 (7)	1:07.19 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
8	7	Khoo Cai Lin	MAS	9:04.86	0.71	1:04.73 (8)	2:12.13 (8)	3:20.64 (8)	4:28.81 (8)	5:37.71 (8)	6:46.83 (8)	7:56.67 (8)	1:07.40 (8)	1:08.51 (8)	1:08.17 (8)	1:08.90 (8)	1:09.12 (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #3

Time	19:24

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m	400-500 m	500-600 m	600-700 m	700-800 m
1	5	Camelia Potec	ROU	8:19.70	0.90	59.50 (1)	2:01.63 (1)	3:04.23 (1)	4:06.95 (1)	5:09.86 (1)	6:13.12 (1)	7:16.72 (1)	1:02.13 (1)	1:02.60 (1)	1:02.72 (1)	1:02.91 (1)	1:03.26 (–)	– (–)	– (–)	Q
2	6	Li Xuanxu	CHN	8:24.37	0.82	1:00.51 (3)	2:03.36 (3)	3:06.30 (3)	4:09.75 (3)	5:13.52 (3)	6:17.33 (3)	7:21.58 (3)	1:02.85 (2)	1:02.94 (3)	1:03.45 (3)	1:03.77 (3)	1:03.81 (–)	– (–)	– (–)	Q
3	4	Katie Hoff	USA	8:27.78	0.79	59.73 (2)	2:02.67 (2)	3:05.31 (2)	4:08.40 (2)	5:12.07 (2)	6:15.79 (2)	7:21.02 (2)	1:02.94 (3)	1:02.64 (2)	1:03.09 (2)	1:03.67 (2)	1:03.72 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
4	3	Flavia Rigamonti	SUI	8:28.67	0.88	1:01.20 (5)	2:04.76 (5)	3:08.49 (5)	4:12.40 (4)	5:16.38 (4)	6:20.71 (4)	7:25.35 (4)	1:03.56 (5)	1:03.73 (4)	1:03.91 (4)	1:03.98 (4)	1:04.33 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
5	8	Andreína Pinto	VEN	8:30.30	0.75	1:00.60 (4)	2:03.82 (4)	3:08.20 (4)	4:12.58 (5)	5:17.51 (5)	6:22.59 (5)	7:27.47 (5)	1:03.22 (4)	1:04.38 (5)	1:04.38 (5)	1:04.93 (6)	1:05.08 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
6	1	Maiko Fujino	JPN	8:35.60	0.83	1:02.73 (7)	2:07.57 (7)	3:12.52 (7)	4:17.37 (7)	5:22.19 (7)	6:27.38 (6)	7:31.99 (6)	1:04.84 (7)	1:04.95 (=6)	1:04.85 (6)	1:04.82 (5)	1:05.19 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
7	7	Tanya Hunks	CAN	8:38.05	0.82	1:02.19 (6)	2:06.70 (6)	3:11.65 (6)	4:16.83 (6)	5:22.11 (6)	6:27.53 (7)	7:33.37 (7)	1:04.51 (6)	1:04.95 (=6)	1:05.18 (7)	1:05.28 (7)	1:05.42 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
DNS	2	Federica Pellegrini	ITA	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #4

Time	19:35

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m	400-500 m	500-600 m	600-700 m	700-800 m
1	4	Becky Adlington	GBR	8:18.06	0.83	1:00.08 (2)	2:02.37 (1)	3:04.84 (1)	4:07.64 (1)	5:10.14 (1)	6:12.96 (1)	7:16.01 (1)	1:02.29 (1)	1:02.47 (1)	1:02.80 (1)	1:02.50 (1)	1:02.82 (–)	– (–)	– (–)	QOR
2	2	Lotte Friis	DEN	8:21.74	0.81	1:00.66 (4)	2:03.56 (4)	3:06.63 (2)	4:09.96 (2)	5:13.15 (3)	6:16.49 (3)	7:20.02 (3)	1:02.90 (2)	1:03.07 (2)	1:03.33 (2)	1:03.19 (3)	1:03.34 (–)	– (–)	– (–)	Q
3	3	Kylie Palmer	AUS	8:22.81	0.80	1:00.31 (3)	2:03.43 (3)	3:06.65 (3)	4:10.13 (3)	5:13.05 (2)	6:16.11 (2)	7:19.50 (2)	1:03.12 (3)	1:03.22 (3)	1:03.48 (3)	1:02.92 (2)	1:03.06 (–)	– (–)	– (–)	Q
4	1	Wendy Trott	RSA	8:26.21	0.82	59.85 (1)	2:03.31 (2)	3:07.10 (4)	4:10.73 (4)	5:14.21 (4)	6:18.11 (4)	7:22.61 (4)	1:03.46 (4)	1:03.79 (4)	1:03.63 (4)	1:03.48 (4)	1:03.90 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
5	7	You Meihong	CHN	8:31.11	0.85	1:01.52 (6)	2:05.34 (5)	3:09.49 (5)	4:13.68 (5)	5:18.33 (5)	6:22.81 (5)	7:27.75 (5)	1:03.82 (5)	1:04.15 (5)	1:04.19 (5)	1:04.65 (5)	1:04.48 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
6	6	Jaana Ehmcke	GER	8:39.51	0.88	1:01.73 (7)	2:06.20 (7)	3:10.78 (6)	4:16.29 (6)	5:22.21 (6)	6:28.24 (6)	7:34.66 (6)	1:04.47 (7)	1:04.58 (6)	1:05.51 (6)	1:05.92 (6)	1:06.03 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
7	5	Ai Shibata	JPN	8:41.63	0.90	1:01.26 (5)	2:06.55 (8)	3:12.59 (8)	4:18.98 (8)	5:25.35 (8)	6:31.33 (8)	7:37.57 (8)	1:05.29 (8)	1:06.04 (8)	1:06.39 (8)	1:06.37 (7)	1:05.98 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
8	8	Elvira Efstathiou	GRE	8:41.65	0.77	1:01.96 (8)	2:06.07 (6)	3:11.47 (7)	4:17.63 (7)	5:24.27 (7)	6:30.67 (7)	7:37.02 (7)	1:04.11 (6)	1:05.40 (7)	1:06.16 (7)	1:06.64 (8)	1:06.40 (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #5

Time	19:46

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m	400-500 m	500-600 m	600-700 m	700-800 m
1	5	Alessia Filippi	ITA	8:21.95	0.90	1:00.46 (3)	2:04.01 (3)	3:07.62 (3)	4:11.08 (3)	5:14.07 (2)	6:16.80 (1)	7:19.43 (1)	1:03.55 (3)	1:03.61 (4)	1:03.46 (1)	1:02.99 (1)	1:02.73 (–)	– (–)	– (–)	Q
2	1	Yelena Sokolova	RUS	8:23.07	0.84	59.35 (2)	2:02.03 (2)	3:05.29 (1)	4:09.36 (1)	5:13.34 (1)	6:16.97 (2)	7:20.81 (2)	1:02.68 (=1)	1:03.26 (1)	1:04.07 (3)	1:03.98 (3)	1:03.63 (–)	– (–)	– (–)	Q
3	7	Cassie Patten	GBR	8:25.91	0.83	1:01.24 (7)	2:04.81 (6)	3:08.39 (5)	4:12.16 (5)	5:15.71 (4)	6:19.71 (4)	7:23.77 (3)	1:03.57 (4)	1:03.58 (3)	1:03.77 (2)	1:03.55 (2)	1:04.00 (–)	– (–)	– (–)	Q
4	4	Kate Ziegler	USA	8:26.98	0.75	59.16 (1)	2:01.84 (1)	3:05.40 (2)	4:09.73 (2)	5:14.46 (3)	6:19.17 (3)	7:24.77 (4)	1:02.68 (=1)	1:03.56 (2)	1:04.33 (5)	1:04.73 (5)	1:04.71 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
5	6	Coralie Balmy	FRA	8:28.34	0.85	1:00.54 (4)	2:04.18 (4)	3:07.95 (4)	4:12.14 (4)	5:16.77 (5)	6:21.29 (5)	7:25.68 (5)	1:03.64 (5)	1:03.77 (5)	1:04.19 (4)	1:04.63 (4)	1:04.52 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
6	3	Erika Villaécija	ESP	8:32.27	0.84	1:00.77 (5)	2:04.66 (5)	3:09.09 (6)	4:13.83 (6)	5:18.67 (6)	6:23.90 (6)	7:29.05 (6)	1:03.89 (6)	1:04.43 (7)	1:04.74 (7)	1:04.84 (7)	1:05.23 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
7	8	Melissa Gorman	AUS	8:32.34	0.82	1:01.53 (8)	2:05.65 (8)	3:09.91 (8)	4:14.44 (8)	5:19.19 (7)	6:24.25 (7)	7:29.35 (7)	1:04.12 (8)	1:04.26 (6)	1:04.53 (6)	1:04.75 (6)	1:05.06 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
8	2	Sophie Huber	FRA	8:33.76	0.92	1:00.85 (6)	2:04.88 (7)	3:09.44 (7)	4:14.24 (7)	5:19.24 (8)	6:24.45 (8)	7:29.84 (8)	1:04.03 (7)	1:04.56 (8)	1:04.80 (8)	1:05.00 (8)	1:05.21 (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	16 August 2008 — 10:16

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m	400-500 m	500-600 m	600-700 m	700-800 m
1	4	Becky Adlington	GBR	8:14.10	0.84	59.37 (=1)	2:01.32 (1)	3:03.58 (1)	4:05.72 (1)	5:07.62 (1)	6:10.30 (1)	7:13.24 (1)	1:01.95 (1)	1:02.26 (1)	1:02.14 (1)	1:01.90 (1)	1:02.68 (–)	– (–)	– (–)	WR
2	6	Alessia Filippi	ITA	8:20.23	0.88	1:01.07 (7)	2:04.31 (7)	3:07.78 (7)	4:11.33 (4)	5:14.16 (3)	6:16.69 (3)	7:18.52 (2)	1:03.24 (5)	1:03.47 (4)	1:03.55 (3)	1:02.83 (2)	1:02.53 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
3	3	Lotte Friis	DEN	8:23.03	0.82	1:00.39 (6)	2:03.69 (6)	3:07.06 (4)	4:10.98 (3)	5:14.97 (4)	6:18.98 (4)	7:22.55 (4)	1:03.30 (7)	1:03.37 (3)	1:03.92 (4)	1:03.99 (4)	1:04.01 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
4	5	Camelia Potec	ROU	8:23.11	0.91	59.37 (=1)	2:01.58 (2)	3:04.51 (2)	4:07.93 (2)	5:11.15 (2)	6:15.24 (2)	7:19.79 (3)	1:02.21 (2)	1:02.93 (2)	1:03.42 (2)	1:03.22 (3)	1:04.09 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
5	1	Li Xuanxu	CHN	8:26.34	0.84	1:00.38 (5)	2:03.35 (3)	3:06.99 (3)	4:11.61 (6)	5:15.98 (6)	6:20.48 (6)	7:24.55 (6)	1:02.97 (3)	1:03.64 (5)	1:04.62 (8)	1:04.37 (6)	1:04.50 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
6	2	Kylie Palmer	AUS	8:26.39	0.73	1:00.25 (4)	2:03.45 (5)	3:07.18 (5)	4:11.37 (5)	5:15.76 (5)	6:19.93 (5)	7:24.01 (5)	1:03.20 (4)	1:03.73 (6)	1:04.19 (5)	1:04.39 (7)	1:04.17 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
7	7	Yelena Sokolova	RUS	8:29.79	0.83	1:00.12 (3)	2:03.39 (4)	3:07.43 (6)	4:11.86 (7)	5:16.27 (7)	6:21.41 (7)	7:26.42 (7)	1:03.27 (6)	1:04.04 (8)	1:04.43 (6)	1:04.41 (8)	1:05.14 (–)	– (–)	– (–)
8	8	Cassie Patten	GBR	8:32.35	0.84	1:01.78 (8)	2:05.27 (8)	3:09.17 (8)	4:13.76 (8)	5:17.99 (8)	6:22.75 (8)	7:27.82 (8)	1:03.49 (8)	1:03.90 (7)	1:04.59 (7)	1:04.23 (5)	1:04.76 (–)	– (–)	– (–)