| | Event type

100 metres Backstroke, Women

Date	10 – 12 August 2008
Status	Olympic
Location	Beijing Guojia Youyong Zhongxin, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing
Participants	48 from 37 countries

American Natalie Coughlin had been the outstanding 100 metre backstroker since 2001 and arrived in Beijing as Olympic champion, world champion, world record holder and a firm favourite to retain her Olympic title. It was a minor surprise when Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe qualified fastest from the heats and when she followed this by lowering Coughlin’s world record in the semi-final it looked like an upset may be in the making. Coughlin gambled everything in the final by blasting through the first 50 metres and was just able off the fast finishing Zimbabwean to retain her grip on the Olympic title. Margaret Hoelzer of the USA, who finished 5th in 2004, took the bronze medal.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	Natalie Coughlin	USA	59.69 (2 h7)	59.43 (1 h1)	58.96 (1)	Gold
2	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	59.00 (1 h7)	58.77 (1 h2)	59.19 (2)	Silver
3	Margaret Hoelzer	USA	1:00.13 (3 h6)	59.84 (3 h2)	59.34 (3)	Bronze
4	Gemma Spofforth	GBR	1:00.11 (3 h7)	59.79 (3 h1)	59.38 (4)
5	Anastasiya Zuyeva	RUS	59.61 (1 h5)	59.77 (2 h2)	59.40 (5)
6	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	59.36 (1 h6)	59.64 (2 h1)	59.72 (6)
7	Laure Manaudou	FRA	1:00.09 (2 h6)	1:00.19 (4 h2)	1:00.10 (7)
8	Hanae Ito	JPN	1:00.16 (4 h6)	1:00.13 (4 h1)	1:00.18 (8)
9	Emily Seebohm	AUS	1:00.27 (2 h5)	1:00.31 (5 h2)	–
10	Lizzie Simmonds	GBR	1:00.53 (4 h5)	1:00.39 (5 h1)	–
11	Nina Zhivanevskaya	ESP	1:00.54 (5 h5)	1:00.50 (6 h2)	–
12	Julia Wilkinson	CAN	1:00.38 (1 h4)	1:00.60 (6 h1)	–
13	Sophie Edington	AUS	1:00.65 (6 h5)	1:01.05 (7 h1)	–
14	Kseniya Moskvina	RUS	1:00.70 (5 h6)	1:01.06 (8 h1)	–
15	Antje Buschschulte	GER	1:00.48 (3 h5)	1:01.15 (7 h2)	–
16	Elizabeth Coster	NZL	1:00.66 (4 h7)	1:01.45 (8 h2)	–
17	Xu Tianlongzi	CHN	1:00.82 (7 h5)	–	–
18	Fabíola Molina	BRA	1:01.00 (5 h7)	–	–
19	Carolina Colorado	COL	1:01.19 (1 h3)	–	–
20	Melissa Ingram	NZL	1:01.24 (2 h4)	–	–
21	Kateryna Zubkova	UKR	1:01.25 (8 h5)	–	–
22	Sanja Jovanović	CRO	1:01.30 (6 h6)	–	–
23	Alexianne Castel	FRA	1:01.44 (6 h7)	–	–
24	Nikolett Szepesi	HUN	1:01.77 (7 h7)	–	–
25	Anya Gostomelsky	ISR	1:01.87 (2 h3)	–	–
=26	Romina Armellini	ITA	1:02.21 (=3 h4)	–	–
=26	Anja Čarman	SLO	1:02.21 (=3 h4)	–	–
28	Merche Peris	ESP	1:02.30 (5 h4)	–	–
29	Sarah Sjöström	SWE	1:02.38 (3 h3)	–	–
30	Hanna-Maria Seppälä	FIN	1:02.39 (6 h4)	–	–
31	Aisling Cooney	IRL	1:02.50 (7 h4)	–	–
32	Alana Dillette	BAH	1:02.56 (4 h3)	–	–
33	Kiera Aitken	BER	1:02.62 (1 h1)	–	–
34	Sherry Tsai	HKG	1:02.68 (5 h3)	–	–
35	Fernanda González	MEX	1:02.76 (6 h3)	–	–
36	Zuzanna Mazurek	POL	1:02.77 (1 h2)	–	–
37	Iryna Amshennikova	UKR	1:02.85 (7 h6)	–	–
38	Gisela Morales	GUA	1:02.92 (2 h2)	–	–
39	Petra Klosová	CZE	1:03.36 (7 h3)	–	–
40	Marica Stražmešter	SRB	1:03.56 (3 h2)	–	–
41	Sarah Bateman	ISL	1:03.82 (8 h3)	–	–
42	Christin Zenner	GER	1:03.87 (8 h6)	–	–
43	Erin Volcán	VEN	1:03.90 (4 h2)	–	–
44	Kim Yu-Yeon	KOR	1:04.63 (5 h2)	–	–
45	Yekaterina Rudenko	KAZ	1:04.85 (6 h2)	–	–
46	María Báez	PAR	1:05.39 (2 h1)	–	–
47	Christie Bodden	PAN	1:07.18 (3 h1)	–	–
DQ	Zhao Jing	CHN	– (DQ h7)	–	–
DNS	Sviatlana Khokhlava	BLR	– (DNS h4)	–	–

Round One (10 August 2008)

Fastest 16 swimmers advanced to semi-finals

Heat One (18:33)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	4	Kiera Aitken	BER	30.07 (1) 32.55 (1)	1:02.62	0.73
2	5	María Báez	PAR	31.97 (2) 33.42 (2)	1:05.39	0.63
3	3	Christie Bodden	PAN	32.06 (3) 35.12 (3)	1:07.18	0.60

Heat Two (18:36)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	4	Zuzanna Mazurek	POL	30.65 (1) 32.12 (2)	1:02.77	0.69
2	5	Gisela Morales	GUA	30.82 (3) 32.10 (1)	1:02.92	0.73
3	3	Marica Stražmešter	SRB	30.78 (2) 32.78 (4)	1:03.56	0.67
4	7	Erin Volcán	VEN	31.27 (5) 32.63 (3)	1:03.90	0.66
5	6	Kim Yu-Yeon	KOR	31.32 (6) 33.31 (5)	1:04.63	0.69
6	2	Yekaterina Rudenko	KAZ	31.10 (4) 33.75 (6)	1:04.85	0.75

Heat Three (18:39)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	3	Carolina Colorado	COL	30.39 (5) 30.80 (1)	1:01.19	0.60
2	2	Anya Gostomelsky	ISR	30.25 (2) 31.62 (2)	1:01.87	0.60
3	1	Sarah Sjöström	SWE	30.26 (3) 32.12 (4)	1:02.38	0.75
4	7	Alana Dillette	BAH	30.48 (7) 32.08 (3)	1:02.56	0.50
5	4	Sherry Tsai	HKG	29.99 (1) 32.69 (7)	1:02.68	0.57
6	5	Fernanda González	MEX	30.43 (6) 32.33 (5)	1:02.76	0.67
7	6	Petra Klosová	CZE	30.86 (8) 32.50 (6)	1:03.36	0.73
8	8	Sarah Bateman	ISL	30.36 (4) 33.46 (8)	1:03.82	0.62

Heat Four (18:41)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	3	Julia Wilkinson	CAN	29.84 (1) 30.54 (1)	1:00.38	0.74	Q
2	4	Melissa Ingram	NZL	30.26 (4) 30.98 (2)	1:01.24	0.66
=3	6	Romina Armellini	ITA	30.59 (6) 31.62 (4)	1:02.21	0.62
=3	8	Anja Čarman	SLO	30.60 (7) 31.61 (3)	1:02.21	0.72
5	5	Merche Peris	ESP	30.40 (5) 31.90 (5)	1:02.30	0.66
6	2	Hanna-Maria Seppälä	FIN	30.21 (3) 32.18 (6)	1:02.39	0.64
7	1	Aisling Cooney	IRL	30.00 (2) 32.50 (7)	1:02.50	0.68
DNS	7	Sviatlana Khokhlava	BLR	– (–) –	–	–

Heat Five (18:44)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	4	Anastasiya Zuyeva	RUS	29.32 (2) 30.29 (1)	59.61	0.70	QOR
2	5	Emily Seebohm	AUS	29.36 (3) 30.91 (3)	1:00.27	0.58	Q
3	8	Antje Buschschulte	GER	29.44 (4) 31.04 (5)	1:00.48	0.61	Q
4	2	Lizzie Simmonds	GBR	29.71 (7) 30.82 (2)	1:00.53	0.69	Q
5	6	Nina Zhivanevskaya	ESP	29.51 (5) 31.03 (4)	1:00.54	0.58	Q
6	3	Sophie Edington	AUS	29.16 (1) 31.49 (8)	1:00.65	0.64	Q
7	1	Xu Tianlongzi	CHN	29.52 (6) 31.30 (7)	1:00.82	0.53
8	7	Kateryna Zubkova	UKR	30.03 (8) 31.22 (6)	1:01.25	0.65

Heat Six (18:48)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	6	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	28.92 (1) 30.44 (1)	59.36	0.62	QOR
2	5	Laure Manaudou	FRA	29.35 (2) 30.74 (4)	1:00.09	0.77	Q
3	4	Margaret Hoelzer	USA	29.47 (5) 30.66 (3)	1:00.13	0.62	Q
4	3	Hanae Ito	JPN	29.55 (6) 30.61 (2)	1:00.16	0.62	Q
5	1	Kseniya Moskvina	RUS	29.46 (4) 31.24 (5)	1:00.70	0.74	Q
6	2	Sanja Jovanović	CRO	29.41 (3) 31.89 (6)	1:01.30	0.65
7	7	Iryna Amshennikova	UKR	29.92 (7) 32.93 (7)	1:02.85	0.59
8	8	Christin Zenner	GER	30.72 (8) 33.15 (8)	1:03.87	0.69

Heat Seven (18:50)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	5	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	28.99 (2) 30.01 (1)	59.00	0.68	QOR
2	4	Natalie Coughlin	USA	28.97 (1) 30.72 (3)	59.69	0.60	Q
3	6	Gemma Spofforth	GBR	29.40 (3) 30.71 (2)	1:00.11	0.59	Q
4	1	Elizabeth Coster	NZL	29.78 (6) 30.88 (4)	1:00.66	0.58	Q
5	7	Fabíola Molina	BRA	29.52 (4) 31.48 (5)	1:01.00	0.60
6	2	Alexianne Castel	FRA	29.77 (5) 31.67 (6)	1:01.44	0.73
7	8	Nikolett Szepesi	HUN	29.97 (7) 31.80 (7)	1:01.77	0.65
DQ	3	Zhao Jing	CHN	– (–) –	–	–		1

Semi-Finals (11 August 2008)

Fastest eight swimmers advanced to final

Heat One (10:05)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	5	Natalie Coughlin	USA	28.87 (1) 30.56 (1)	59.43	0.58	Q
2	4	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	29.06 (3) 30.58 (2)	59.64	0.63	Q
3	3	Gemma Spofforth	GBR	28.92 (2) 30.87 (6)	59.79	0.56	Q
4	6	Hanae Ito	JPN	29.51 (5) 30.62 (=3)	1:00.13	0.58	Q
5	7	Lizzie Simmonds	GBR	29.77 (7) 30.62 (=3)	1:00.39	0.63
6	2	Julia Wilkinson	CAN	29.80 (8) 30.80 (5)	1:00.60	0.70
7	1	Sophie Edington	AUS	29.43 (4) 31.62 (8)	1:01.05	0.67
8	8	Kseniya Moskvina	RUS	29.74 (6) 31.32 (7)	1:01.06	0.73

Heat Two (10:08)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	4	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	28.86 (1) 29.91 (1)	58.77	0.63	QWR
2	5	Anastasiya Zuyeva	RUS	29.42 (5) 30.35 (2)	59.77	0.70	Q
3	6	Margaret Hoelzer	USA	29.40 (4) 30.44 (3)	59.84	0.72	Q
4	3	Laure Manaudou	FRA	28.96 (2) 31.23 (5)	1:00.19	0.68	Q
5	2	Emily Seebohm	AUS	29.06 (3) 31.25 (6)	1:00.31	0.27
6	1	Nina Zhivanevskaya	ESP	29.51 (6) 30.99 (4)	1:00.50	0.63
7	7	Antje Buschschulte	GER	29.88 (7) 31.27 (7)	1:01.15	0.59
8	8	Elizabeth Coster	NZL	29.94 (8) 31.51 (8)	1:01.45	0.59

Final (12 August 2008 — 10:23)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	Time	Reaction
1	5	Natalie Coughlin	USA	28.52 (1) 30.44 (5)	58.96	0.61
2	4	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	28.92 (2) 30.27 (2)	59.19	0.68
3	7	Margaret Hoelzer	USA	29.02 (5) 30.32 (3)	59.34	0.69
4	2	Gemma Spofforth	GBR	29.15 (7) 30.23 (1)	59.38	0.58
5	6	Anastasiya Zuyeva	RUS	29.01 (4) 30.39 (4)	59.40	0.77
6	3	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	28.97 (3) 30.75 (6)	59.72	0.64
7	8	Laure Manaudou	FRA	29.10 (6) 31.00 (8)	1:00.10	0.74
8	1	Hanae Ito	JPN	29.22 (8) 30.96 (7)	1:00.18	0.53