| | Event type

200 metres Breaststroke, Women

Date	1 – 2 August 2012
Status	Olympic
Location	London Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park, Stratford, London
Participants	34 from 27 countries

Rebecca Soni (USA) was a heavy favorite, having won the 2008 gold medal and the 2011 World Championships. She solidified that role when she bettered the world record in the semi-finals. Her time was 2:20.00 and all that was left for her in the final was to better the 2:20 barrier. She did that to win the gold medal in stunning fashion, posting 2:19.59 for another world mark, with splits of 32.49, 1:08.10, and 1:43.95. Soni revealed that this had been her own private goal, )It’s my goal since I was a little kid to swim under 2:20. When my coach told me you’re going to be the first woman to go under 2:20’, I’ve been chasing it ever since and I’m so happy.) Soni became the first woman to defend the gold medal in the 200 breast.

Behind Soni, Japan’s Satomi Suzuki added a silver to the bronze she had won in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 2:20.72 to equal the Asian record. The bronze went to Russian Yuliya Yefimova, who trained with Soni at the Trojan Swim Club, and finished in an European record 2:20.92.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:21.40 (1 h5)	2:20.00 (1 h2)	2:19.59 (1)	Gold
2	Satomi Suzuki	JPN	2:23.22 (1 h3)	2:22.40 (2 h2)	2:20.72 (2)	Silver
3	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:26.83 (=4 h4)	2:23.02 (2 h1)	2:20.92 (3)	Bronze
4	Rikke Møller Pedersen	DEN	2:22.69 (2 h5)	2:22.23 (1 h1)	2:21.65 (4)
5	Martha McCabe	CAN	2:26.39 (3 h4)	2:24.09 (4 h2)	2:23.16 (5)
6	Micah Lawrence	USA	2:24.50 (3 h5)	2:23.39 (3 h1)	2:23.27 (6)
7	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:25.94 (4 h3)	2:23.21 (3 h2)	2:23.72 (7)
8	Sally Foster	AUS	2:26.04 (5 h3)	2:24.46 (4 h1)	2:26.00 (8)
9	Baek Su-Yeon	KOR	2:25.76 (=2 h3)	2:24.67 (5 h1)	–
10	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:25.44 (1 h4)	2:24.77 (6 h1)	–
11	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	2:26.05 (6 h3)	2:25.86 (5 h2)	–
12	Anastasiya Chaun	RUS	2:25.39 (4 h5)	2:26.08 (6 h2)	–
13	Ji Liping	CHN	2:25.76 (=2 h3)	2:27.26 (7 h2)	–
14	Kanako Watanabe	JPN	2:26.38 (2 h4)	2:27.32 (7 h1)	–
15	Tessa Wallace	AUS	2:26.94 (5 h5)	2:27.38 (8 h1)	–
16	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:26.83 (=4 h4)	2:28.74 (8 h2)	–
17	Hanna Dzerkal	UKR	2:27.09 (1 h2)	–	–
18	Stacey Tadd	GBR	2:27.18 (6 h4)	–	–
19	Fanny Lecluyse	BEL	2:27.30 (6 h5)	–	–
20	Marina García	ESP	2:27.57 (7 h5)	–	–
21	Tera Van Beilen	CAN	2:27.70 (7 h3)	–	–
22	Chiara Boggiatto	ITA	2:27.74 (8 h5)	–	–
23	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	2:27.90 (8 h3)	–	–
24	Sun Ye	CHN	2:27.94 (7 h4)	–	–
25	Nađa Higl	SRB	2:28.38 (8 h4)	–	–
26	Martina Moravčíková	CZE	2:28.54 (2 h2)	–	–
27	Alia Atkinson	JAM	2:28.77 (1 h1)	–	–
28	Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir	ISL	2:29.60 (3 h2)	–	–
29	Anna Sztankovics	HUN	2:29.67 (2 h1)	–	–
30	Buse Günaydın	TUR	2:30.64 (4 h2)	–	–
31	Sarra Lajnef	TUN	2:31.15 (5 h2)	–	–
32	Jenna Laukkanen	FIN	2:31.23 (6 h2)	–	–
33	Tanja Šmid	SLO	2:32.19 (7 h2)	–	–
34	Darya Talanova	KGZ	2:38.01 (3 h1)	–	–

Round One

Date	1 August 2012 — 10:43
Format	Fastest 16 swimmers advanced to semi-finals

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:21.40	Q
2	–	Rikke Møller Pedersen	DEN	2:22.69	Q
3	–	Satomi Suzuki	JPN	2:23.22	Q
4	–	Micah Lawrence	USA	2:24.50	Q
5	–	Anastasiya Chaun	RUS	2:25.39	Q
6	–	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:25.44	Q
=7	–	Ji Liping	CHN	2:25.76	Q
=7	–	Baek Su-Yeon	KOR	2:25.76	Q
9	–	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:25.94	Q
10	–	Sally Foster	AUS	2:26.04	Q
11	–	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	2:26.05	Q
12	–	Kanako Watanabe	JPN	2:26.38	Q
13	–	Martha McCabe	CAN	2:26.39	Q
=14	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:26.83	Q
=14	–	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:26.83	Q
16	–	Tessa Wallace	AUS	2:26.94	Q
17	–	Hanna Dzerkal	UKR	2:27.09
18	–	Stacey Tadd	GBR	2:27.18
19	–	Fanny Lecluyse	BEL	2:27.30
20	–	Marina García	ESP	2:27.57
21	–	Tera Van Beilen	CAN	2:27.70
22	–	Chiara Boggiatto	ITA	2:27.74
23	–	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	2:27.90
24	–	Sun Ye	CHN	2:27.94
25	–	Nađa Higl	SRB	2:28.38
26	–	Martina Moravčíková	CZE	2:28.54
27	–	Alia Atkinson	JAM	2:28.77
28	–	Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir	ISL	2:29.60
29	–	Anna Sztankovics	HUN	2:29.67
30	–	Buse Günaydın	TUR	2:30.64
31	–	Sarra Lajnef	TUN	2:31.15
32	–	Jenna Laukkanen	FIN	2:31.23
33	–	Tanja Šmid	SLO	2:32.19
34	–	Darya Talanova	KGZ	2:38.01

Heat #1

Time	10:43

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Alia Atkinson	JAM	2:28.77	0.74	33.04 (1)	1:11.44 (1)	1:49.88 (1)	38.40	38.44	38.89
2	–	Anna Sztankovics	HUN	2:29.67	0.74	33.94 (2)	1:12.44 (2)	1:50.89 (2)	38.50	38.45	38.78
3	–	Darya Talanova	KGZ	2:38.01	0.80	35.53 (3)	1:15.74 (3)	1:56.80 (3)	40.21	41.06	41.21

Heat #2

Time	10:47

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Hanna Dzerkal	UKR	2:27.09	0.77	34.36 (5)	1:11.66 (2)	1:49.35 (1)	37.30	37.69	37.74
2	–	Martina Moravčíková	CZE	2:28.54	0.80	34.22 (=2)	1:11.87 (3)	1:49.72 (2)	37.65	37.85	38.82
3	–	Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir	ISL	2:29.60	0.76	34.03 (1)	1:11.49 (1)	1:50.11 (3)	37.46	38.62	39.49
4	–	Buse Günaydın	TUR	2:30.64	0.72	34.49 (6)	1:12.38 (=5)	1:50.95 (4)	37.89	38.57	39.69
5	–	Sarra Lajnef	TUN	2:31.15	0.82	34.22 (=2)	1:12.15 (4)	1:51.01 (5)	37.93	38.86	40.14
6	–	Jenna Laukkanen	FIN	2:31.23	0.72	34.29 (4)	1:12.38 (=5)	1:51.29 (6)	38.09	38.91	39.94
7	–	Tanja Šmid	SLO	2:32.19	0.91	35.07 (7)	1:13.61 (7)	1:53.02 (7)	38.54	39.41	39.17

Heat #3

Time	10:52

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Satomi Suzuki	JPN	2:23.22	0.63	32.85 (2)	1:09.19 (1)	1:46.12 (1)	36.34	36.93	37.10	Q
=2	–	Ji Liping	CHN	2:25.76	0.76	33.06 (3)	1:09.80 (3)	1:46.98 (2)	36.74	37.18	38.78	Q
=2	–	Baek Su-Yeon	KOR	2:25.76	0.81	33.41 (6)	1:10.74 (6)	1:47.66 (4)	37.33	36.92	38.10	Q
4	–	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:25.94	0.70	32.75 (1)	1:09.43 (2)	1:47.49 (3)	36.68	38.06	38.45	Q
5	–	Sally Foster	AUS	2:26.04	0.78	33.66 (8)	1:10.57 (4)	1:47.99 (5)	36.91	37.42	38.05	Q
6	–	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	2:26.05	0.71	33.36 (5)	1:10.64 (5)	1:48.18 (6)	37.28	37.54	37.87	Q
7	–	Tera Van Beilen	CAN	2:27.70	0.76	33.61 (7)	1:10.85 (7)	1:48.82 (7)	37.24	37.97	38.88
8	–	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	2:27.90	0.81	33.28 (4)	1:10.95 (8)	1:49.20 (8)	37.67	38.25	38.70

Heat #4

Time	10:56

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:25.44	0.69	33.05 (2)	1:09.87 (1)	1:46.73 (1)	36.82	36.86	38.71	Q
2	–	Kanako Watanabe	JPN	2:26.38	0.74	33.72 (=4)	1:10.83 (2)	1:48.59 (2)	37.11	37.76	37.79	Q
3	–	Martha McCabe	CAN	2:26.39	0.72	33.75 (6)	1:11.04 (5)	1:48.62 (3)	37.29	37.58	37.77	Q
=4	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:26.83	0.75	34.60 (8)	1:12.74 (8)	1:50.14 (8)	38.14	37.40	36.69	Q
=4	–	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:26.83	0.82	33.72 (=4)	1:10.84 (3)	1:48.87 (5)	37.12	38.03	37.96	Q
6	–	Stacey Tadd	GBR	2:27.18	0.79	32.97 (1)	1:10.93 (4)	1:48.86 (4)	37.96	37.93	38.32
7	–	Sun Ye	CHN	2:27.94	0.72	33.69 (3)	1:11.32 (6)	1:49.82 (6)	37.63	38.50	38.12
8	–	Nađa Higl	SRB	2:28.38	0.76	34.26 (7)	1:11.85 (7)	1:49.93 (7)	37.59	38.08	38.45

Heat #5

Time	11:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:21.40	0.72	32.87 (1)	1:08.58 (1)	1:44.67 (1)	36.09	36.73	–	Q
2	–	Rikke Møller Pedersen	DEN	2:22.69	0.72	33.29 (3)	1:10.11 (3)	1:46.50 (2)	36.82	36.39	36.19	Q
3	–	Micah Lawrence	USA	2:24.50	0.72	33.24 (2)	1:10.04 (2)	1:47.11 (3)	36.80	37.07	37.39	Q
4	–	Anastasiya Chaun	RUS	2:25.39	0.80	34.26 (8)	1:11.72 (7)	1:48.71 (4)	37.46	36.99	36.68	Q
5	–	Tessa Wallace	AUS	2:26.94	0.70	33.36 (4)	1:10.75 (4)	1:48.77 (6)	37.39	38.02	38.17	Q
6	–	Fanny Lecluyse	BEL	2:27.30	0.72	34.12 (7)	1:11.85 (8)	1:49.17 (8)	37.73	37.32	38.13
7	–	Marina García	ESP	2:27.57	0.71	33.42 (5)	1:10.98 (5)	1:48.75 (5)	37.56	37.77	38.82
8	–	Chiara Boggiatto	ITA	2:27.74	0.70	33.62 (6)	1:11.15 (6)	1:48.87 (7)	37.53	37.72	38.87

Semi-Finals

Date	1 August 2012 — 20:29
Format	Fastest eight swimmers advanced to final

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:20.00	Q
2	–	Rikke Møller Pedersen	DEN	2:22.23	Q
3	–	Satomi Suzuki	JPN	2:22.40	Q
4	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:23.02	Q
5	–	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:23.21	Q
6	–	Micah Lawrence	USA	2:23.39	Q
7	–	Martha McCabe	CAN	2:24.09	Q
8	–	Sally Foster	AUS	2:24.46	Q
9	–	Baek Su-Yeon	KOR	2:24.67
10	–	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:24.77
11	–	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	2:25.86
12	–	Anastasiya Chaun	RUS	2:26.08
13	–	Ji Liping	CHN	2:27.26
14	–	Kanako Watanabe	JPN	2:27.32
15	–	Tessa Wallace	AUS	2:27.38
16	–	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:28.74

Heat #1

Time	20:29

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Rikke Møller Pedersen	DEN	2:22.23	0.74	32.86 (2)	1:09.15 (2)	1:45.87 (2)	36.29	36.72	36.36	Q
2	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:23.02	0.73	33.76 (=6)	1:10.63 (6)	1:46.84 (3)	36.87	36.21	36.18	Q
3	–	Micah Lawrence	USA	2:23.39	0.74	32.50 (1)	1:08.61 (1)	1:45.74 (1)	36.11	37.13	37.65	Q
4	–	Sally Foster	AUS	2:24.46	0.76	33.45 (4)	1:10.46 (5)	1:47.26 (6)	37.01	36.80	37.20	Q
5	–	Baek Su-Yeon	KOR	2:24.67	0.86	33.50 (5)	1:10.13 (4)	1:47.08 (5)	36.63	36.95	37.59
6	–	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:24.77	0.71	32.99 (3)	1:09.81 (3)	1:46.92 (4)	36.82	37.11	37.85
7	–	Kanako Watanabe	JPN	2:27.32	0.73	34.10 (8)	1:11.53 (8)	1:49.10 (8)	37.43	37.57	38.22
8	–	Tessa Wallace	AUS	2:27.38	0.70	33.76 (=6)	1:10.64 (7)	1:48.55 (7)	36.88	37.91	38.83

Heat #2

Time	20:35

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:20.00	0.72	32.39 (1)	1:07.82 (1)	1:43.83 (1)	35.43	36.01	36.17	Q
2	–	Satomi Suzuki	JPN	2:22.40	0.63	32.88 (3)	1:09.58 (3)	1:45.65 (2)	36.70	36.07	36.75	Q
3	–	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:23.21	0.71	32.67 (2)	1:09.12 (2)	1:45.74 (3)	36.45	36.62	37.47	Q
4	–	Martha McCabe	CAN	2:24.09	0.69	32.93 (5)	1:09.76 (6)	1:46.83 (4)	36.83	37.07	37.26	Q
5	–	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	2:25.86	0.74	32.92 (4)	1:09.61 (4)	1:47.44 (5)	36.69	37.83	38.42
6	–	Anastasiya Chaun	RUS	2:26.08	0.83	33.86 (8)	1:10.98 (8)	1:48.58 (7)	37.12	37.60	37.50
7	–	Ji Liping	CHN	2:27.26	0.73	32.98 (6)	1:09.71 (5)	1:47.71 (6)	36.73	38.00	39.55
8	–	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:28.74	0.84	33.54 (7)	1:10.59 (7)	1:48.82 (8)	37.05	38.23	39.92

Final Round

Date	2 August 2012 — 19:40

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:19.59	0.73	32.49 (2)	1:08.10 (1)	1:43.95 (1)	35.61	35.85	35.64
2	–	Satomi Suzuki	JPN	2:20.72	0.63	32.53 (3)	1:08.64 (3)	1:44.67 (2)	36.11	36.03	36.05
3	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:20.92	0.71	33.43 (7)	1:09.61 (7)	1:45.43 (5)	36.18	35.82	35.49
4	–	Rikke Møller Pedersen	DEN	2:21.65	0.7	32.91 (5)	1:09.26 (5)	1:45.19 (3)	36.35	35.93	36.46
5	–	Martha McCabe	CAN	2:23.16	0.72	33.01 (6)	1:09.55 (6)	1:46.21 (7)	36.54	36.66	36.95
6	–	Micah Lawrence	USA	2:23.27	0.75	32.65 (4)	1:09.04 (4)	1:46.08 (6)	36.39	37.04	37.19
7	–	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:23.72	0.73	32.22 (1)	1:08.51 (2)	1:45.36 (4)	36.29	36.85	38.36
8	–	Sally Foster	AUS	2:26.00	0.79	33.7 (8)	1:10.42 (8)	1:47.90 (8)	36.72	37.48	38.10