200 metres Backstroke, Women

This was the final individual event of the 1984 Olympic swimming program. It was won by the Netherlands’ Jolanda de Rover, who had been a silver medalist at the 1981 European Championships, with a personal best of 2:15.22. But she did not improve on that mark in 1982-83, finishing eighth at the 1982 Worlds, and seventh at the 1983 Europeans. At the 1984 Dutch Olympic Trials, she set a new national record with 2:13.90, and improved that in Los Angeles in the prelims, qualifying first in 2:13.50. By the time of this race, she had already won bronze in LA in the 100 back. In the final she set a blistering pace, going out in 30.85 and 1:04.48 to lead Romania’s Aneta Pătrăşcoiu by ½-a-second at mid-race. De Rover slowed in the next 50, but still led as American Amy White challenged the leaders, and she hung on to win gold in 2:12.38, with White taking silver and Pătrăşcoiu the bronze. White had been 1983 Pan American champion in this event when she was only 14-years-old. De Rover’s time made her the eighth fastest performer of all-time. Pătrăşcoiu won the first-ever Olympic swimming medal for Romania.