| | Event type

100 metres Backstroke, Women

Date	22 – 23 July 1980
Status	Olympic
Location	Plavatelny basseyn, Sportivny kompleks Olimpiysky, Moskva
Participants	26 from 18 countries

East German Rica Reinisch equalled or broke the world record in this event three times in Moscow. She started with 1:01.51 to open the medley relay team, which equalled the world record of Ulrike Richter, set in Berlin in 1976. Then Reinisch swam 1:01.50 in the prelims to qualify first for the final. She then won the final in 1:00.86 to set a world record that lasted until 1984. Reinisch would also win the 200 backstroke in Moscow, adding a third gold medal in the medley relay. It was her only year at the top of international swimming, as her health was badly damaged by the steroids given to her by the East German authorities. She was later compensated by German authorities after this was revealed, and expressed regret at what might have been, “The worst thing is they took away from me the opportunity to ever know if I could have won the gold medals without the steroids. That’s the greatest betrayal of all.”

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	Final
1	78	Rica Reinisch	GDR	1:01.50 (1 h4)	1:00.86 (1)	Gold
2	69	Ina Kleber	GDR	1:02.15 (1 h2)	1:02.07 (2)	Silver
3	79	Petra Riedel	GDR	1:03.25 (1 h3)	1:02.64 (3)	Bronze
4	128	Carmen Bunaciu	ROU	1:03.25 (1 h1)	1:03.81 (4)
5	17	Carine Verbauwen	BEL	1:04.37 (2 h4)	1:03.82 (5)
6	–	Larisa Gorchakova	URS	1:03.82 (2 h3)	1:03.87 (6)
7	89	Monique Bosga	NED	1:04.36 (3 h3)	1:04.47 (7)
8	104	Manuela Carosi	ITA	1:04.42 (2 h2)	1:05.10 (8)
9	119	Teresa Rivera	MEX	1:04.54 (3 h4)	–
10	–	Lisa Forrest	AUS	1:04.55 (3 h2)	–
11	162	Yelena Kruglova	URS	1:04.63 (2 h1)	–
12	91	Jolanda de Rover	NED	1:04.79 (4 h2)	–
13	106	Laura Foralosso	ITA	1:04.86 (4 h4)	–
14	–	Georgina Parkes	AUS	1:05.06 (3 h1)	–
15	16	Yolande Van Der Straeten	BEL	1:05.10 (4 h3)	–
16	96	Ágnes Fodor	HUN	1:05.47 (5 h4)	–
17	52	Helen Jameson	GBR	1:05.56 (6 h4)	–
18	43	Michèle Ricaud	FRA	1:05.81 (4 h1)	–
19	146	Annika Uvehall	SWE	1:06.33 (5 h1)	–
20	45	Joy Beasley	GBR	1:06.84 (5 h2)	–
21	11	Marianne Humpelstetter	AUT	1:07.68 (5 h3)	–
22	26	María París	CRC	1:09.02 (6 h2)	–
23	28	Anabel Drousiotou	CYP	1:15.85 (7 h2)	–
24	111	Soad Fezzani	LBA	1:16.83 (6 h1)	–
25	174	Nguyễn Thị Hồng Bích	VIE	1:20.34 (7 h4)	–
26	179	Michele Pessoa	ANG	1:26.59 (6 h3)	–
DNS	98	Andrea Kalman	HUN	– (DNS h3)	–

Round One

Date	22 July 1980 — 10:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Rica Reinisch	GDR	1:01.50	QWR
2	–	Ina Kleber	GDR	1:02.15	Q
=3	–	Carmen Bunaciu	ROU	1:03.25	Q
=3	–	Petra Riedel	GDR	1:03.25	Q
5	–	Larisa Gorchakova	URS	1:03.82	Q
6	–	Monique Bosga	NED	1:04.36	Q
7	–	Carine Verbauwen	BEL	1:04.37	Q
8	–	Manuela Carosi	ITA	1:04.42	Q
9	–	Teresa Rivera	MEX	1:04.54
10	–	Lisa Forrest	AUS	1:04.55
11	–	Yelena Kruglova	URS	1:04.63
12	–	Jolanda de Rover	NED	1:04.79
13	–	Laura Foralosso	ITA	1:04.86
14	–	Georgina Parkes	AUS	1:05.06
15	–	Yolande Van Der Straeten	BEL	1:05.10
16	–	Ágnes Fodor	HUN	1:05.47
17	–	Helen Jameson	GBR	1:05.56
18	–	Michèle Ricaud	FRA	1:05.81
19	–	Annika Uvehall	SWE	1:06.33
20	–	Joy Beasley	GBR	1:06.84
21	–	Marianne Humpelstetter	AUT	1:07.68
22	–	María París	CRC	1:09.02
23	–	Anabel Drousiotou	CYP	1:15.85
24	–	Soad Fezzani	LBA	1:16.83
25	–	Nguyễn Thị Hồng Bích	VIE	1:20.34
26	–	Michele Pessoa	ANG	1:26.59
DNS	–	Andrea Kalman	HUN	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Carmen Bunaciu	ROU	1:03.25	30.16 (1)	33.09 (1)	Q
2	–	Yelena Kruglova	URS	1:04.63	31.12 (2)	33.51 (2)
3	–	Georgina Parkes	AUS	1:05.06	31.24 (3)	33.82 (3)
4	–	Michèle Ricaud	FRA	1:05.81	31.58 (4)	34.23 (4)
5	–	Annika Uvehall	SWE	1:06.33	32.09 (5)	34.24 (5)
6	–	Soad Fezzani	LBA	1:16.83	36.17 (6)	40.66 (6)

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Ina Kleber	GDR	1:02.15	30.15 (1)	32.00 (1)	Q
2	–	Manuela Carosi	ITA	1:04.42	31.11 (=2)	33.31 (2)	Q
3	–	Lisa Forrest	AUS	1:04.55	31.16 (4)	33.39 (3)
4	–	Jolanda de Rover	NED	1:04.79	31.11 (=2)	33.68 (4)
5	–	Joy Beasley	GBR	1:06.84	31.81 (5)	35.03 (5)
6	–	María París	CRC	1:09.02	33.13 (6)	35.89 (6)
7	–	Anabel Drousiotou	CYP	1:15.85	35.11 (7)	40.74 (7)

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Petra Riedel	GDR	1:03.25	30.28 (1)	32.97 (1)	Q
2	–	Larisa Gorchakova	URS	1:03.82	30.80 (3)	33.02 (2)	Q
3	–	Monique Bosga	NED	1:04.36	30.69 (2)	33.67 (4)	Q
4	–	Yolande Van Der Straeten	BEL	1:05.10	31.78 (4)	33.32 (3)
5	–	Marianne Humpelstetter	AUT	1:07.68	32.27 (5)	35.41 (5)
6	–	Michele Pessoa	ANG	1:26.59	40.71 (6)	45.88 (6)
DNS	–	Andrea Kalman	HUN	–	– (–)	–

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Rica Reinisch	GDR	1:01.50	29.58 (1)	31.92 (1)	QWR
2	–	Carine Verbauwen	BEL	1:04.37	30.74 (2)	33.63 (2)	Q
3	–	Teresa Rivera	MEX	1:04.54	30.81 (4)	33.73 (3)
4	–	Laura Foralosso	ITA	1:04.86	30.77 (3)	34.09 (4)
5	–	Ágnes Fodor	HUN	1:05.47	31.30 (6)	34.17 (5)
6	–	Helen Jameson	GBR	1:05.56	31.00 (5)	34.56 (6)
7	–	Nguyễn Thị Hồng Bích	VIE	1:20.34	38.58 (7)	41.76 (7)

Final Round

Date	23 July 1980 — 18:30

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Rica Reinisch	GDR	1:00.86	29.69 (1)	31.17 (1)	WR
2	–	Ina Kleber	GDR	1:02.07	30.31 (3)	31.76 (2)
3	–	Petra Riedel	GDR	1:02.64	30.18 (2)	32.46 (3)
4	–	Carmen Bunaciu	ROU	1:03.81	30.40 (4)	33.41 (6)
5	–	Carine Verbauwen	BEL	1:03.82	30.59 (5)	33.23 (5)
6	–	Larisa Gorchakova	URS	1:03.87	30.81 (7)	33.06 (4)
7	–	Monique Bosga	NED	1:04.47	30.80 (6)	33.67 (7)
8	–	Manuela Carosi	ITA	1:05.10	31.27 (8)	33.83 (8)