| | Event type

200 metres Butterfly, Women

Date	12 – 14 August 2008
Status	Olympic
Location	Beijing Guojia Youyong Zhongxin, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing
Participants	34 from 26 countries

The 200 metres butterfly was host to the biggest shock of the swimming programme of the Beijing Olympic Games which, since it was the only home victory in the pool, was also the most popular win of the entire schedule. As in the 100 metres butterfly the favourite was an Australian, in this case the world champion and world record holder Jess Schipper. Her main rivals appeared to be former world champion Otylia Jędrzejczak of Poland and the home favourite, Jiao Liuyang.

The other Chinese swimmer, Liu Zige, was a relative unknown having missed the 2007 World Championship after having made little impression in 2005. However Liu had a secret weapon – the training plan that Schipper had used to make her mark in the event. To the consternation of the Australian swimming authorities Schipper’s coach, Ken Wood, had sold the document to the coaches of the Chinese swimmer. It was a move that led to Schipper dropping Wood as her coach following the Olympics.

Liu broke her personal best time in heat and semi-final and then broke Schipper’s record by posting a time of 2:04.18 to win the gold medal ahead of compatriot Jiao with the Australian, who had led to the 150 metre mark, fading badly but still holding onto third.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	Liu Zige	CHN	2:06.46 (1 h3)	2:06.25 (1 h2)	2:04.18 (1)	Gold
2	Jiao Liuyang	CHN	2:06.89 (2 h5)	2:06.42 (1 h1)	2:04.72 (2)	Silver
3	Jess Schipper	AUS	2:08.11 (4 h4)	2:06.34 (2 h2)	2:06.26 (3)	Bronze
4	Otylia Jędrzejczak	POL	2:06.91 (3 h5)	2:06.78 (3 h2)	2:07.02 (4)
5	Yuko Nakanishi	JPN	2:06.62 (2 h3)	2:06.96 (=4 h2)	2:07.32 (5)
6	Aurore Mongel	FRA	2:06.49 (1 h5)	2:07.21 (2 h1)	2:07.36 (6)
7	Elaine Breeden	USA	2:07.92 (4 h5)	2:07.73 (6 h2)	2:07.57 (7)
8	Kathleen Hersey	USA	2:07.65 (1 h4)	2:06.96 (=4 h2)	2:08.23 (8)
9	Jemma Lowe	GBR	2:08.07 (3 h4)	2:07.87 (3 h1)	–
10	Natsumi Hoshi	JPN	2:07.02 (3 h3)	2:07.93 (4 h1)	–
11	Micha Østergaard	DEN	2:07.77 (2 h4)	2:09.29 (5 h1)	–
12	Samantha Hamill	AUS	2:08.83 (5 h5)	2:09.58 (7 h2)	–
13	Audrey Lacroix	CAN	2:08.54 (5 h4)	2:09.74 (6 h1)	–
14	Petra Granlund	SWE	2:08.97 (6 h4)	2:09.79 (7 h1)	–
15	Ellen Gandy	GBR	2:08.98 (7 h4)	2:10.60 (8 h2)	–
16	Kathryn Meaklim	RSA	2:09.41 (1 h2)	2:11.74 (8 h1)	–
17	Nina Dittrich	AUT	2:09.85 (2 h2)	–	–
18	Beatrix Boulsevicz	HUN	2:10.00 (6 h5)	–	–
19	Sara Oliveira	POR	2:10.14 (3 h2)	–	–
20	Stephanie Horner	CAN	2:10.33 (4 h3)	–	–
21	Paola Cavallino	ITA	2:10.46 (5 h3)	–	–
22	Joanna Maranhão	BRA	2:10.64 (7 h5)	–	–
23	Choi Hye-Ra	KOR	2:11.42 (8 h5)	–	–
24	Tetiana Khala	UKR	2:12.16 (4 h2)	–	–
25	Yana Martynova	RUS	2:12.47 (8 h4)	–	–
26	Tao Li	SGP	2:12.63 (5 h2)	–	–
27	Emese Kovács	HUN	2:12.73 (6 h3)	–	–
28	Magali Rousseau	FRA	2:13.12 (7 h3)	–	–
29	Yang Chin-Kuei	TPE	2:13.26 (6 h2)	–	–
30	Elvira Efstathiou	GRE	2:13.27 (1 h1)	–	–
31	Denisa Smolenová	SVK	2:13.81 (7 h2)	–	–
32	Gülşah Günenç	TUR	2:14.44 (2 h1)	–	–
33	Ingvild Snildal	NOR	2:14.53 (3 h1)	–	–
34	Kristina Lennox-Silva	PUR	2:17.27 (4 h1)	–	–
DNS	Georgina Bardach	ARG	– (DNS h2)	–	–
DNS	Sara Isakovič	SLO	– (DNS h3)	–	–

Round One (12 August 2008)

Fastest 16 swimmers advanced to semi-finals

Heat One (19:01)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	5	Elvira Efstathiou	GRE	30.13 (3) 33.54 (2)	1:03.67 (2) 35.14 (3)	1:38.81 (2) 34.46 (1)	2:13.27	0.75
2	6	Gülşah Günenç	TUR	30.62 (4) 33.84 (3)	1:04.46 (4) 35.06 (2)	1:39.52 (4) 34.92 (2)	2:14.44	0.77
3	4	Ingvild Snildal	NOR	29.07 (1) 33.08 (1)	1:02.15 (1) 34.56 (1)	1:36.71 (1) 37.82 (3)	2:14.53	0.80
4	3	Kristina Lennox-Silva	PUR	29.86 (2) 33.93 (4)	1:03.79 (3) 35.51 (4)	1:39.30 (3) 37.97 (4)	2:17.27	0.74

Heat Two (19:06)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	6	Kathryn Meaklim	RSA	29.20 (2) 33.12 (4)	1:02.32 (2) 33.42 (1)	1:35.74 (2) 33.67 (1)	2:09.41	0.79	Q
2	4	Nina Dittrich	AUT	29.16 (1) 32.93 (2)	1:02.09 (1) 33.59 (2)	1:35.68 (1) 34.17 (3)	2:09.85	0.77
3	5	Sara Oliveira	POR	29.58 (3) 32.90 (1)	1:02.48 (3) 33.76 (3)	1:36.24 (3) 33.90 (2)	2:10.14	0.80
4	8	Tetiana Khala	UKR	29.70 (5) 33.03 (3)	1:02.73 (4) 34.34 (6)	1:37.07 (4) 35.09 (5)	2:12.16	0.88
5	7	Tao Li	SGP	29.67 (4) 33.76 (6)	1:03.43 (6) 34.42 (7)	1:37.85 (6) 34.78 (4)	2:12.63	0.72
6	2	Yang Chin-Kuei	TPE	29.92 (6) 33.26 (5)	1:03.18 (5) 34.06 (5)	1:37.24 (5) 36.02 (7)	2:13.26	0.78
7	1	Denisa Smolenová	SVK	30.04 (7) 33.95 (7)	1:03.99 (7) 34.01 (4)	1:38.00 (7) 35.81 (6)	2:13.81	0.87
DNS	3	Georgina Bardach	ARG	– (–) –	– (–) –	– (–) –	–	–

Heat Three (19:10)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	2	Liu Zige	CHN	27.95 (1) 32.17 (3)	1:00.12 (1) 32.87 (2)	1:32.99 (1) 33.47 (3)	2:06.46	0.78	Q
2	4	Yuko Nakanishi	JPN	28.25 (2) 32.07 (1)	1:00.32 (2) 33.29 (4)	1:33.61 (2) 33.01 (2)	2:06.62	0.71	Q
3	6	Natsumi Hoshi	JPN	28.80 (4) 32.55 (4)	1:01.35 (5) 32.88 (3)	1:34.23 (4) 32.79 (1)	2:07.02	0.73	Q
4	8	Stephanie Horner	CAN	29.10 (5) 32.14 (2)	1:01.24 (4) 32.86 (1)	1:34.10 (3) 36.23 (6)	2:10.33	0.76
5	7	Paola Cavallino	ITA	29.71 (6) 32.60 (5)	1:02.31 (6) 33.69 (5)	1:36.00 (5) 34.46 (4)	2:10.46	0.81
6	5	Emese Kovács	HUN	28.39 (3) 32.80 (6)	1:01.19 (3) 34.82 (7)	1:36.01 (6) 36.72 (7)	2:12.73	0.82
7	1	Magali Rousseau	FRA	30.24 (7) 34.11 (7)	1:04.35 (7) 34.18 (6)	1:38.53 (7) 34.59 (5)	2:13.12	0.89
DNS	3	Sara Isakovič	SLO	– (–) –	– (–) –	– (–) –	–	–

Heat Four (19:14)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	6	Kathleen Hersey	USA	29.20 (7) 31.92 (1)	1:01.12 (3) 32.89 (2)	1:34.01 (2) 33.64 (2)	2:07.65	0.80	Q
2	7	Micha Østergaard	DEN	28.31 (1) 32.08 (=2)	1:00.39 (1) 33.11 (4)	1:33.50 (1) 34.27 (6)	2:07.77	0.73	Q
3	5	Jemma Lowe	GBR	28.78 (3) 32.35 (5)	1:01.13 (4) 33.52 (7)	1:34.65 (6) 33.42 (1)	2:08.07	0.68	Q
4	4	Jess Schipper	AUS	28.56 (2) 32.08 (=2)	1:00.64 (2) 33.41 (6)	1:34.05 (3) 34.06 (3)	2:08.11	0.67	Q
5	3	Audrey Lacroix	CAN	29.04 (5) 32.42 (6)	1:01.46 (6) 32.83 (1)	1:34.29 (4) 34.25 (5)	2:08.54	0.72	Q
6	8	Petra Granlund	SWE	28.98 (4) 32.53 (7)	1:01.51 (7) 33.34 (5)	1:34.85 (7) 34.12 (4)	2:08.97	0.77	Q
7	2	Ellen Gandy	GBR	29.16 (6) 32.24 (4)	1:01.40 (5) 32.91 (3)	1:34.31 (5) 34.67 (7)	2:08.98	0.79	Q
8	1	Yana Martynova	RUS	29.71 (8) 33.06 (8)	1:02.77 (8) 34.59 (8)	1:37.36 (8) 35.11 (8)	2:12.47	0.83

Heat Five (19:19)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	5	Aurore Mongel	FRA	28.46 (2) 32.36 (2)	1:00.82 (3) 33.23 (3)	1:34.05 (3) 32.44 (1)	2:06.49	0.79	Q
2	6	Jiao Liuyang	CHN	27.82 (1) 32.69 (6)	1:00.51 (1) 33.40 (5)	1:33.91 (2) 32.98 (2)	2:06.89	0.77	Q
3	4	Otylia Jędrzejczak	POL	28.73 (=4) 31.89 (1)	1:00.62 (2) 32.89 (1)	1:33.51 (1) 33.40 (3)	2:06.91	0.78	Q
4	3	Elaine Breeden	USA	28.73 (=4) 32.56 (5)	1:01.29 (5) 33.09 (2)	1:34.38 (4) 33.54 (4)	2:07.92	0.69	Q
5	2	Samantha Hamill	AUS	29.07 (6) 32.46 (4)	1:01.53 (6) 33.27 (4)	1:34.80 (5) 34.03 (5)	2:08.83	0.75	Q
6	7	Beatrix Boulsevicz	HUN	28.71 (3) 32.42 (3)	1:01.13 (4) 33.86 (6)	1:34.99 (6) 35.01 (8)	2:10.00	0.66
7	8	Joanna Maranhão	BRA	29.58 (8) 32.88 (7)	1:02.46 (8) 33.94 (7)	1:36.40 (7) 34.24 (6)	2:10.64	0.75
8	1	Choi Hye-Ra	KOR	29.23 (7) 33.17 (8)	1:02.40 (7) 34.06 (8)	1:36.46 (8) 34.96 (7)	2:11.42	0.78

Semi-Finals (13 August 2008)

Fastest eight swimmers advanced to final

Heat One (10:28)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	5	Jiao Liuyang	CHN	28.37 (3) 33.15 (7)	1:01.52 (5) 32.70 (1)	1:34.22 (3) 32.20 (1)	2:06.42	0.79	Q
2	4	Aurore Mongel	FRA	28.75 (4) 32.36 (3)	1:01.11 (2) 33.09 (3)	1:34.20 (2) 33.01 (2)	2:07.21	0.83	Q
3	2	Jemma Lowe	GBR	28.04 (1) 31.93 (1)	59.97 (1) 33.06 (2)	1:33.03 (1) 34.84 (8)	2:07.87	0.70
4	3	Natsumi Hoshi	JPN	28.79 (5) 32.56 (4)	1:01.35 (4) 33.31 (4)	1:34.66 (4) 33.27 (3)	2:07.93	0.72
5	6	Micha Østergaard	DEN	28.20 (2) 32.95 (5)	1:01.15 (3) 33.71 (6)	1:34.86 (5) 34.43 (5)	2:09.29	0.77
6	7	Audrey Lacroix	CAN	29.23 (7) 32.30 (2)	1:01.53 (6) 33.41 (5)	1:34.94 (6) 34.80 (7)	2:09.74	0.80
7	1	Petra Granlund	SWE	29.20 (6) 33.11 (6)	1:02.31 (7) 34.03 (7)	1:36.34 (7) 33.45 (4)	2:09.79	0.80
8	8	Kathryn Meaklim	RSA	29.79 (8) 33.20 (8)	1:02.99 (8) 34.30 (8)	1:37.29 (8) 34.45 (6)	2:11.74	0.86

Heat Two (10:34)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	4	Liu Zige	CHN	27.89 (2) 31.83 (2)	59.72 (2) 32.94 (4)	1:32.66 (2) 33.59 (5)	2:06.25	0.81	Q
2	7	Jess Schipper	AUS	27.83 (1) 31.38 (1)	59.21 (1) 33.10 (6)	1:32.31 (1) 34.03 (7)	2:06.34	0.66	Q
3	3	Otylia Jędrzejczak	POL	28.99 (5) 32.21 (4)	1:01.20 (4) 32.62 (1)	1:33.82 (3) 32.96 (2)	2:06.78	0.79	Q
=4	5	Yuko Nakanishi	JPN	28.64 (3) 32.22 (5)	1:00.86 (3) 33.05 (5)	1:33.91 (4) 33.05 (3)	2:06.96	0.69	Q
=4	6	Kathleen Hersey	USA	29.16 (6) 32.20 (3)	1:01.36 (5) 32.80 (3)	1:34.16 (5) 32.80 (1)	2:06.96	0.82	Q
6	2	Elaine Breeden	USA	28.95 (4) 32.69 (=7)	1:01.64 (6) 32.73 (2)	1:34.37 (6) 33.36 (4)	2:07.73	0.66	Q
7	1	Samantha Hamill	AUS	29.23 (7) 32.69 (=7)	1:01.92 (7) 33.90 (8)	1:35.82 (8) 33.76 (6)	2:09.58	0.75
8	8	Ellen Gandy	GBR	29.36 (8) 32.65 (6)	1:02.01 (8) 33.74 (7)	1:35.75 (7) 34.85 (8)	2:10.60	0.84

Final (14 August 2008 — 10:44)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	4	Liu Zige	CHN	27.80 (2) 31.57 (2)	59.37 (2) 32.22 (1)	1:31.59 (1) 32.59 (2)	2:04.18	0.83	WR
2	3	Jiao Liuyang	CHN	28.19 (3) 32.17 (5)	1:00.36 (4) 32.32 (2)	1:32.68 (3) 32.04 (1)	2:04.72	0.83
3	5	Jess Schipper	AUS	27.75 (1) 31.24 (1)	58.99 (1) 33.07 (6)	1:32.06 (2) 34.20 (8)	2:06.26	0.63
4	6	Otylia Jędrzejczak	POL	28.89 (7) 32.32 (6)	1:01.21 (7) 32.36 (3)	1:33.57 (5) 33.45 (4)	2:07.02	0.76
5	2	Yuko Nakanishi	JPN	28.42 (5) 32.40 (8)	1:00.82 (6) 33.12 (7)	1:33.94 (7) 33.38 (3)	2:07.32	0.70
6	1	Aurore Mongel	FRA	28.20 (4) 31.76 (3)	59.96 (3) 33.45 (8)	1:33.41 (4) 33.95 (7)	2:07.36	0.82
7	8	Elaine Breeden	USA	28.56 (6) 32.09 (4)	1:00.65 (5) 32.99 (5)	1:33.64 (6) 33.93 (6)	2:07.57	0.69
8	7	Kathleen Hersey	USA	29.16 (8) 32.34 (7)	1:01.50 (8) 32.97 (4)	1:34.47 (8) 33.76 (5)	2:08.23	0.80