| | Event type

400 metres Individual Medley, Women

Date	28 July 2012
Status	Olympic
Location	London Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park, Stratford, London
Participants	35 from 28 countries

The pre-race favorite was American Elizabeth Beisel, who had won the 2011 World Championship. The defending gold medalist was Australian Steph Rice, but Beisel now had her number. Beisel had the fastest qualifier with 4:31.68 but was followed closely by surprising Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen, who posted 4:31.73. It was surprising because her PR coming into London was only 4:33.55 from October 2011 and she had improved dramatically within the last year.

The final saw the lead exchanged several times with Hungarian Katinka Hosszú leading on the butterfly and backstroke legs, but Beisel took over on the breaststroke, only to see Ye pass her just before the final stroke change. The final freestyle was all Ye, who came home in 58.68, with the final 50 done in a stunning 28.93, for a world record 4:28.43. This was the first individual world record since the skinsuit era, and was over a second better than Rice’s world record set in winning this event in Beijing. Beisel took silver, while Ye’s teammate Li Xuanxu came home for the bronze, Hosszú finishing fourth, with Rice back in a tie for fourth with American Caitlin Leverenz.

Ye’s victory was not without some controversy, as her finish was stunning, but some thought it was “too good”. In his 400 IM gold medal on the same night, Ryan Lochte had finished in only 58.65 for the final 100, and Ye actually outswam him on the final 50, as he posted 29.10. Several American coaches and officials openly said that Ye’s mark had to be performance enhanced, though she passed all her drug tests, and the IOC actually had to come to Ye’s defense in a press release. It was redolent of the 1976 Olympics when Shirley Babashoff made similar comments about the East German female swimmers, allegations which in that case were eventually proven to be true.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	R1	Final
1	Ye Shiwen	CHN	4:31.73 (1 h3)	4:28.43 (1)	Gold
2	Elizabeth Beisel	USA	4:31.68 (1 h5)	4:31.27 (2)	Silver
3	Li Xuanxu	CHN	4:34.28 (2 h5)	4:32.91 (3)	Bronze
4	Katinka Hosszú	HUN	4:33.77 (2 h3)	4:33.49 (4)
5	Hannah Miley	GBR	4:34.98 (1 h4)	4:34.17 (5)
=6	Steph Rice	AUS	4:35.76 (2 h4)	4:35.49 (=6)
=6	Caitlin Leverenz	USA	4:36.09 (3 h4)	4:35.49 (=6)
8	Mireia Belmonte	ESP	4:34.70 (3 h5)	4:35.62 (8)
9	Zsu Jakabos	HUN	4:37.37 (3 h3)	–
10	Anja Klinar	SLO	4:38.20 (4 h5)	–
11	Aimee Willmott	GBR	4:38.87 (5 h5)	–
12	Miyu Otsuka	JPN	4:39.13 (4 h4)	–
13	Blair Evans	AUS	4:40.42 (6 h5)	–
14	Stina Gardell	SWE	4:41.66 (5 h4)	–
15	Barbora Závadová	CZE	4:41.84 (4 h3)	–
16	Kathryn Meaklim	RSA	4:43.46 (6 h4)	–
17	Kim Seo-Yeong	KOR	4:43.99 (1 h2)	–
18	Lara Grangeon	FRA	4:44.28 (7 h5)	–
19	Natalie Wiegersma	NZL	4:44.78 (5 h3)	–
20	Miho Takahashi	JPN	4:45.10 (6 h3)	–
21	Stephanie Horner	CAN	4:45.49 (2 h2)	–
22	Stefania Pirozzi	ITA	4:45.61 (7 h4)	–
23	Jördis Steinegger	AUT	4:45.80 (8 h4)	–
24	Yana Martynova	RUS	4:45.94 (7 h3)	–
25	Claudia Dasca	ESP	4:46.80 (8 h3)	–
26	Hanna Dzerkal	UKR	4:48.19 (3 h2)	–
27	Andreína Pinto	VEN	4:48.64 (4 h2)	–
28	Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên	VIE	4:50.32 (1 h1)	–
29	Susana Escobar	MEX	4:50.57 (2 h1)	–
30	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	4:51.28 (5 h2)	–
31	Karolina Szczepaniak	POL	4:52.50 (6 h2)	–
32	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	4:53.21 (7 h2)	–
33	Noora Laukkanen	FIN	4:53.54 (3 h1)	–
34	Georgina Bardach	ARG	4:57.31 (8 h2)	–
35	Anum Bandey	PAK	5:34.64 (4 h1)	–
DNS	Joanna Maranhão	BRA	– (DNS h5)	–

Round One

Date	28 July 2012 — 11:17
Format	Fastest eight swimmers advanced to final

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Elizabeth Beisel	USA	4:31.68	Q
2	–	Ye Shiwen	CHN	4:31.73	Q
3	–	Katinka Hosszú	HUN	4:33.77	Q
4	–	Li Xuanxu	CHN	4:34.28	Q
5	–	Mireia Belmonte	ESP	4:34.70	Q
6	–	Hannah Miley	GBR	4:34.98	Q
7	–	Steph Rice	AUS	4:35.76	Q
8	–	Caitlin Leverenz	USA	4:36.09	Q
9	–	Zsu Jakabos	HUN	4:37.37
10	–	Anja Klinar	SLO	4:38.20
11	–	Aimee Willmott	GBR	4:38.87
12	–	Miyu Otsuka	JPN	4:39.13
13	–	Blair Evans	AUS	4:40.42
14	–	Stina Gardell	SWE	4:41.66
15	–	Barbora Závadová	CZE	4:41.84
16	–	Kathryn Meaklim	RSA	4:43.46
17	–	Kim Seo-Yeong	KOR	4:43.99
18	–	Lara Grangeon	FRA	4:44.28
19	–	Natalie Wiegersma	NZL	4:44.78
20	–	Miho Takahashi	JPN	4:45.10
21	–	Stephanie Horner	CAN	4:45.49
22	–	Stefania Pirozzi	ITA	4:45.61
23	–	Jördis Steinegger	AUT	4:45.80
24	–	Yana Martynova	RUS	4:45.94
25	–	Claudia Dasca	ESP	4:46.80
26	–	Hanna Dzerkal	UKR	4:48.19
27	–	Andreína Pinto	VEN	4:48.64
28	–	Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên	VIE	4:50.32
29	–	Susana Escobar	MEX	4:50.57
30	–	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	4:51.28
31	–	Karolina Szczepaniak	POL	4:52.50
32	–	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	4:53.21
33	–	Noora Laukkanen	FIN	4:53.54
34	–	Georgina Bardach	ARG	4:57.31
35	–	Anum Bandey	PAK	5:34.64
DNS	–	Joanna Maranhão	BRA	–

Heat #1

Time	11:17

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	200 m	250 m	300 m	350 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)	200-250 m Time (Rank)	250-300 m Time (Rank)	300-350 m Time (Rank)	350-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên	VIE	4:50.32	0.79	30.30 (2)	1:04.96 (2)	1:41.48 (1)	2:16.41 (1)	2:59.43 (1)	3:42.67 (1)	4:17.07 (1)	34.66	36.52	34.93	43.02	43.24	34.40	33.25
2	–	Susana Escobar	MEX	4:50.57	0.69	31.01 (3)	1:05.39 (3)	1:44.14 (2)	2:21.39 (2)	3:03.88 (2)	3:46.54 (3)	4:19.13 (2)	34.38	38.75	37.25	42.49	42.66	32.59	31.44
3	–	Noora Laukkanen	FIN	4:53.54	0.69	29.79 (1)	1:04.71 (1)	1:44.20 (3)	2:24.05 (3)	3:04.43 (3)	3:45.87 (2)	4:20.47 (3)	34.92	39.49	39.85	40.38	41.44	34.60	33.07
4	–	Anum Bandey	PAK	5:34.64	0.89	34.04 (4)	1:14.27 (4)	1:59.01 (4)	2:43.58 (4)	3:31.51 (4)	4:19.77 (4)	4:57.85 (4)	40.23	44.74	44.57	47.93	48.26	38.08	36.79

Heat #2

Time	11:25

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	200 m	250 m	300 m	350 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)	200-250 m Time (Rank)	250-300 m Time (Rank)	300-350 m Time (Rank)	350-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Kim Seo-Yeong	KOR	4:43.99	0.68	29.63 (2)	1:03.13 (2)	1:39.73 (1)	2:15.84 (2)	2:55.82 (1)	3:37.11 (1)	4:11.17 (1)	33.50	36.60	36.11	39.98	41.29	34.06	32.82
2	–	Stephanie Horner	CAN	4:45.49	0.72	29.33 (1)	1:02.77 (1)	1:39.78 (=2)	2:15.30 (1)	2:57.30 (2)	3:38.87 (2)	4:12.72 (2)	33.44	37.01	35.52	42.00	41.57	33.85	32.77
3	–	Hanna Dzerkal	UKR	4:48.19	0.79	30.72 (7)	1:06.04 (7)	1:44.68 (6)	2:22.76 (6)	3:02.71 (6)	3:42.40 (4)	4:16.21 (3)	35.32	38.64	38.08	39.95	39.69	33.81	31.98
4	–	Andreína Pinto	VEN	4:48.64	0.76	29.79 (3)	1:03.40 (3)	1:39.78 (=2)	2:16.22 (3)	2:59.15 (3)	3:43.75 (5)	4:16.49 (4)	33.61	36.38	36.44	42.93	44.60	32.74	32.15
5	–	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	4:51.28	0.81	30.66 (6)	1:06.00 (6)	1:46.32 (7)	2:23.74 (7)	3:02.12 (5)	3:40.86 (3)	4:17.20 (5)	35.34	40.32	37.42	38.38	38.74	36.34	34.08
6	–	Karolina Szczepaniak	POL	4:52.50	0.71	29.81 (4)	1:04.72 (4)	1:42.57 (4)	2:19.48 (4)	3:01.89 (4)	3:45.69 (7)	4:19.97 (6)	34.91	37.85	36.91	42.41	43.80	34.28	32.53
7	–	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	4:53.21	0.75	30.58 (5)	1:05.47 (5)	1:46.43 (8)	2:26.52 (8)	3:05.72 (8)	3:45.44 (6)	4:20.21 (7)	34.89	40.96	40.09	39.20	39.72	34.77	33.00
8	–	Georgina Bardach	ARG	4:57.31	0.75	30.93 (8)	1:06.16 (8)	1:44.42 (5)	2:22.29 (5)	3:03.56 (7)	3:46.16 (8)	4:22.10 (8)	35.23	38.26	37.87	41.27	42.60	35.94	35.21

Heat #3

Time	11:31

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	200 m	250 m	300 m	350 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)	200-250 m Time (Rank)	250-300 m Time (Rank)	300-350 m Time (Rank)	350-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Ye Shiwen	CHN	4:31.73	0.76	29.16 (2)	1:01.99 (1)	1:36.36 (1)	2:09.95 (1)	2:49.64 (1)	3:29.71 (1)	4:01.47 (1)	32.83	34.37	33.59	39.69	40.07	31.76	30.26	Q
2	–	Katinka Hosszú	HUN	4:33.77	0.81	29.19 (3)	1:02.02 (2)	1:37.32 (3)	2:11.50 (2)	2:50.64 (2)	3:30.93 (2)	4:02.65 (2)	32.83	35.30	34.18	39.14	40.29	31.72	31.12	Q
3	–	Zsu Jakabos	HUN	4:37.37	0.79	28.73 (1)	1:02.08 (3)	1:37.14 (2)	2:11.56 (3)	2:51.52 (3)	3:32.02 (3)	4:05.05 (3)	33.35	35.06	34.42	39.96	40.50	33.03	32.32
4	–	Barbora Závadová	CZE	4:41.84	0.77	29.76 (7)	1:03.35 (6)	1:39.05 (4)	2:14.00 (4)	2:55.37 (4)	3:36.98 (5)	4:09.74 (4)	33.59	35.70	34.95	41.37	41.61	32.76	32.10
5	–	Natalie Wiegersma	NZL	4:44.78	0.66	29.56 (4)	1:03.47 (7)	1:39.40 (5)	2:14.38 (5)	2:55.81 (5)	3:38.19 (6)	4:12.03 (6)	33.91	35.93	34.98	41.43	42.38	33.84	32.75
6	–	Miho Takahashi	JPN	4:45.10	0.82	30.77 (8)	1:05.05 (8)	1:41.87 (8)	2:17.76 (8)	2:56.95 (7)	3:36.65 (4)	4:11.40 (5)	34.28	36.82	35.89	39.19	39.70	34.75	33.70
7	–	Yana Martynova	RUS	4:45.94	0.73	29.58 (5)	1:03.23 (5)	1:39.96 (6)	2:15.78 (6)	2:56.73 (6)	3:39.10 (7)	4:13.07 (7)	33.65	36.73	35.82	40.95	42.37	33.97	32.87
8	–	Claudia Dasca	ESP	4:46.80	0.71	29.73 (6)	1:03.14 (4)	1:40.13 (7)	2:16.53 (7)	2:58.22 (8)	3:40.51 (8)	4:14.56 (8)	33.41	36.99	36.40	41.69	42.29	34.05	32.24

Heat #4

Time	11:38

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	200 m	250 m	300 m	350 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)	200-250 m Time (Rank)	250-300 m Time (Rank)	300-350 m Time (Rank)	350-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Hannah Miley	GBR	4:34.98	0.72	29.56 (5)	1:02.80 (3)	1:37.45 (2)	2:12.16 (1)	2:51.24 (1)	3:31.34 (2)	4:03.64 (1)	33.24	34.65	34.71	39.08	40.10	32.30	31.34	Q
2	–	Steph Rice	AUS	4:35.76	0.73	29.21 (3)	1:02.70 (2)	1:38.34 (4)	2:13.23 (4)	2:52.73 (4)	3:32.67 (3)	4:05.13 (3)	33.49	35.64	34.89	39.50	39.94	32.46	30.63	Q
3	–	Caitlin Leverenz	USA	4:36.09	0.73	28.67 (1)	1:01.47 (1)	1:37.27 (1)	2:13.01 (2)	2:51.52 (2)	3:30.60 (1)	4:03.71 (2)	32.80	35.80	35.74	38.51	39.08	33.11	32.38	Q
4	–	Miyu Otsuka	JPN	4:39.13	0.69	28.98 (2)	1:03.00 (4)	1:38.26 (3)	2:13.21 (3)	2:52.65 (3)	3:32.74 (4)	4:07.11 (4)	34.02	35.26	34.95	39.44	40.09	34.37	32.02
5	–	Stina Gardell	SWE	4:41.66	0.73	29.57 (6)	1:03.64 (7)	1:39.47 (6)	2:14.95 (6)	2:55.39 (5)	3:36.69 (5)	4:09.43 (5)	34.07	35.83	35.48	40.44	41.30	32.74	32.23
6	–	Kathryn Meaklim	RSA	4:43.46	0.81	29.50 (4)	1:03.30 (6)	1:40.22 (7)	2:16.47 (7)	2:56.73 (6)	3:37.33 (6)	4:10.98 (6)	33.80	36.92	36.25	40.26	40.60	33.65	32.48
7	–	Stefania Pirozzi	ITA	4:45.61	0.77	29.68 (7)	1:03.13 (5)	1:39.19 (5)	2:14.76 (5)	2:57.20 (7)	3:39.79 (7)	4:13.39 (7)	33.45	36.06	35.57	42.44	42.59	33.60	32.22
8	–	Jördis Steinegger	AUT	4:45.80	0.81	30.17 (8)	1:04.60 (8)	1:40.73 (8)	2:16.55 (8)	2:58.09 (8)	3:40.04 (8)	4:13.63 (8)	34.43	36.13	35.82	41.54	41.95	33.59	32.17

Heat #5

Time	11:44

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	200 m	250 m	300 m	350 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)	200-250 m Time (Rank)	250-300 m Time (Rank)	300-350 m Time (Rank)	350-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Elizabeth Beisel	USA	4:31.68	0.71	29.56 (4)	1:03.22 (4)	1:37.58 (1)	2:11.31 (1)	2:49.78 (1)	3:28.52 (1)	4:00.44 (1)	33.66	34.36	33.73	38.47	38.74	31.92	31.24	Q
2	–	Li Xuanxu	CHN	4:34.28	0.74	29.61 (5)	1:03.07 (3)	1:38.16 (2)	2:12.31 (2)	2:51.38 (2)	3:31.51 (2)	4:04.09 (2)	33.46	35.09	34.15	39.07	40.13	32.58	30.19	Q
3	–	Mireia Belmonte	ESP	4:34.70	0.73	29.26 (1)	1:02.71 (2)	1:38.44 (4)	2:13.43 (4)	2:52.22 (3)	3:32.39 (3)	4:04.45 (3)	33.45	35.73	34.99	38.79	40.17	32.06	30.25	Q
4	–	Anja Klinar	SLO	4:38.20	0.89	29.64 (6)	1:03.33 (6)	1:39.28 (5)	2:15.09 (5)	2:54.50 (5)	3:34.86 (5)	4:06.94 (5)	33.69	35.95	35.81	39.41	40.36	32.08	31.26
5	–	Aimee Willmott	GBR	4:38.87	0.78	29.41 (3)	1:03.28 (5)	1:38.37 (3)	2:12.75 (3)	2:52.74 (4)	3:33.65 (4)	4:06.78 (4)	33.87	35.09	34.38	39.99	40.91	33.13	32.09
6	–	Blair Evans	AUS	4:40.42	0.73	30.07 (7)	1:04.20 (7)	1:40.06 (7)	2:15.26 (6)	2:56.04 (6)	3:37.93 (6)	4:09.64 (6)	34.13	35.86	35.20	40.78	41.89	31.71	30.78
7	–	Lara Grangeon	FRA	4:44.28	0.70	29.27 (2)	1:02.68 (1)	1:39.54 (6)	2:16.50 (7)	2:56.72 (7)	3:37.95 (7)	4:11.89 (7)	33.41	36.86	36.96	40.22	41.23	33.94	32.39
DNS	–	Joanna Maranhão	BRA	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Final Round

Date	28 July 2012 — 20:11

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	200 m	250 m	300 m	350 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)	200-250 m Time (Rank)	250-300 m Time (Rank)	300-350 m Time (Rank)	350-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Ye Shiwen	CHN	4:28.43	0.74	28.85 (4)	1:02.19 (5)	1:37.53 (3)	2:11.73 (3)	2:50.53 (3)	3:29.75 (2)	3:59.50 (1)	33.34	35.34	34.20	38.80	39.22	29.75	28.93	WR
2	–	Elizabeth Beisel	USA	4:31.27	0.70	29.52 (6)	1:03.10 (8)	1:37.62 (4)	2:11.28 (2)	2:49.74 (1)	3:28.94 (1)	4:00.46 (2)	33.58	34.52	33.66	38.46	39.20	31.52	30.81
3	–	Li Xuanxu	CHN	4:32.91	0.75	29.62 (7)	1:02.91 (6)	1:37.77 (5)	2:11.91 (5)	2:51.16 (4)	3:31.33 (6)	4:03.14 (4)	33.29	34.86	34.14	39.25	40.17	31.81	29.77
4	–	Katinka Hosszú	HUN	4:33.49	0.77	28.64 (1)	1:01.34 (1)	1:36.60 (1)	2:11.13 (1)	2:50.43 (2)	3:30.83 (3)	4:02.56 (3)	32.70	35.26	34.53	39.30	40.40	31.73	30.93
5	–	Hannah Miley	GBR	4:34.17	0.68	29.80 (8)	1:03.02 (7)	1:37.94 (6)	2:12.94 (6)	2:51.59 (6)	3:31.20 (5)	4:03.44 (5)	33.22	34.92	35.00	38.65	39.61	32.24	30.73
=6	–	Steph Rice	AUS	4:35.49	0.77	28.74 (3)	1:01.60 (2)	1:36.88 (2)	2:11.81 (4)	2:51.28 (5)	3:31.51 (7)	4:04.16 (7)	32.86	35.28	34.93	39.47	40.23	32.65	31.33
=6	–	Caitlin Leverenz	USA	4:35.49	0.74	28.64 (1)	1:01.87 (4)	1:38.11 (8)	2:14.46 (8)	2:52.11 (7)	3:31.04 (4)	4:03.74 (6)	33.23	36.24	36.35	37.65	38.93	32.70	31.75
8	–	Mireia Belmonte	ESP	4:35.62	0.71	28.95 (5)	1:01.64 (3)	1:37.94 (6)	2:13.43 (7)	2:52.43 (8)	3:32.71 (8)	4:04.54 (8)	32.69	36.30	35.49	39.00	40.28	31.83	31.08