| Date | 20 July 1996 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia |
| Participants | 48 from 44 countries |
In the early to mid-90s China broke through to dominate women’s swimming. This culminated at the 1994 World Championships where Chinese female swimmers won 19 medals including 12 golds. Skeptics noted that Chinese men had not won a single medal at these championships and pointed the similarity of these performances to those of swimmers of the German Democratic Republic during their glory years of the 1970s and 80s. The most outspoken critics also noted that a number of coaches from the now discredited East German regime were now plying their trade in China. These fears appeared to be proved true when eleven athletes tested positive for dihydrotestosterone at the 1994 Asian Games.
Le Jingyi was the only one of this generation of Chinese swimmers who arrived at the Atlanta Olympics as the clear favourite. Although she was not swimming as fast as she had done in 1994 she was still comfortably the best over the distance and was a relatively easy winner of the Olympic title. Sandra Völker of Germany took the silver medal ahead of US team captain Angel Martino.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | B Final | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Jingyi |  CHN | 54.90 (1 h5) | – | 54.50 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Sandra Völker |  GER | 55.55 (1 h4) | – | 54.88 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Angel Martino |  USA | 55.44 (1 h6) | – | 54.93 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Amy Van Dyken | USA | 55.94 (2 h4) | – | 55.11 (4) | |||
| 5 | Franziska van Almsick | GER | 55.80 (2 h6) | – | 55.59 (5) | |||
| 6 | Sarah Ryan |  AUS | 56.07 (3 h5) | – | 55.85 (6) | |||
| 7 | Mette Jacobsen |  DEN | 56.06 (3 h6) | – | 56.01 (7) | |||
| 8 | Karin Brienesse |  NED | 55.81 (2 h5) | – | 56.12 (8) | |||
| 9 | Shan Ying | CHN | 56.10 (4 h6) | 55.74 (1) | – | |||
| 10 | Linda Olofsson |  SWE | 56.56 (7 h6) | 55.83 (2) | – | |||
| 11 | Luminița Dobrescu |  ROU | 56.27 (3 h4) | 55.98 (3) | – | |||
| 12 | Leah Martindale |  BAR | 56.13 (5 h6) | 56.03 (4) | – | |||
| 13 | Nataliya Meshcheryakova |  RUS | 56.33 (4 h5) | 56.17 (5) | – | |||
| 14 | Karen Pickering |  GBR | 56.40 (5 h5) | 56.32 (6) | – | |||
| 15 | Martina Moravcová |  SVK | 56.20 (6 h6) | 56.47 (7) | – | |||
| 16 | Sue Rolph | GBR | 56.62 (4 h4) | 56.58 (8) | – | |||
| 17 | Shannon Shakespeare |  CAN | 56.63 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 18 | Vibeke Lambersøy Johansen |  NOR | 56.88 (8 h6) | – | – | |||
| 19 | Rania El-Wani |  EGY | 56.89 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 20 | Solenne Figuès |  FRA | 56.90 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 21 | Claudia Franco |  ESP | 57.00 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 22 | Minna Salmela |  FIN | 57.15 (1 h3) | – | – | |||
| 23 | Gabrielle Rose |  BRA | 57.16 (2 h3) | – | – | |||
| 24 | Cecilia Vianini |  ITA | 57.17 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 25 | Sumika Minamoto |  JPN | 57.25 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 26 | Siobhan Cropper |  TTO | 57.30 (1 h2) | – | – | |||
| 27 | Judith Draxler |  AUT | 57.34 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 28 | Metka Sparavec |  SLO | 57.66 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 29 | Alison Fitch |  NZL | 57.71 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| 30 | Anna Nyíri |  HUN | 57.82 (1 h1) | – | – | |||
| 31 | Tonia Machaira |  GRE | 57.92 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 32 | Monica Dahl |  NAM | 57.95 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 33 | Heleen Muller |  RSA | 57.98 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 34 | Kristýna Kyněrová |  CZE | 58.03 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 35 | Lee Bo-Eun |  KOR | 58.27 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 36 | Sandrine Paquier |  SUI | 58.38 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 37 | Dita Želvienė |  LTU | 58.57 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 38 | Teresa Moodie |  ZIM | 58.59 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 39 | Sviatlana Zhidko |  BLR | 58.64 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 40 | Tsai Shu-Min |  TPE | 58.65 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 41 | Joscelin Yeo |  SGP | 58.87 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 42 | Yevgeniya Yermakova |  KAZ | 59.12 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 43 | Valeria Álvarez |  ARG | 59.26 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 44 | Viktoriya Polyayeva |  KGZ | 59.40 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 45 | Gabrijela Ujčić |  CRO | 59.92 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 46 | Duška Radan |  SCG | 1:00.34 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 47 | Caroline Pickering |  FIJ | 1:00.51 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 48 | Gail Rizzo |  MLT | 1:02.19 (8 h1) | – | – |
| Date | 20 July 1996 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final. |
| Time | 10:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Anna Nyíri | HUN | 57.82 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Teresa Moodie | ZIM | 58.59 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Valeria Álvarez | ARG | 59.26 | ||
| 4 | 7 | Viktoriya Polyayeva | KGZ | 59.40 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Gabrijela Ujčić | CRO | 59.92 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Duška Radan | SCG | 1:00.34 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Caroline Pickering | FIJ | 1:00.51 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Gail Rizzo | MLT | 1:02.19 |
| Time | 10:06 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Siobhan Cropper | TTO | 57.30 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Judith Draxler | AUT | 57.34 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Tonia Machaira | GRE | 57.92 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Kristýna Kyněrová | CZE | 58.03 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Sandrine Paquier | SUI | 58.38 | ||
| 6 | 8 | Sviatlana Zhidko | BLR | 58.64 | ||
| 7 | 5 | Tsai Shu-Min | TPE | 58.65 | ||
| 8 | 6 | Yevgeniya Yermakova | KAZ | 59.12 |
| Time | 10:12 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Minna Salmela | FIN | 57.15 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Gabrielle Rose | BRA | 57.16 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Cecilia Vianini | ITA | 57.17 | ||
| 4 | 7 | Metka Sparavec | SLO | 57.66 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Monica Dahl | NAM | 57.95 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Heleen Muller | RSA | 57.98 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Lee Bo-Eun | KOR | 58.27 | ||
| 8 | 5 | Joscelin Yeo | SGP | 58.87 |
| Time | 10:18 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Sandra Völker | GER | 55.55 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Amy Van Dyken | USA | 55.94 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Luminița Dobrescu | ROU | 56.27 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Sue Rolph | GBR | 56.62 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Shannon Shakespeare | CAN | 56.63 | ||
| 6 | 8 | Solenne Figuès | FRA | 56.90 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Sumika Minamoto | JPN | 57.25 | ||
| 8 | 1 | Dita Želvienė | LTU | 58.57 |
| Time | 10:24 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Le Jingyi | CHN | 54.90 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Karin Brienesse | NED | 55.81 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Sarah Ryan | AUS | 56.07 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Nataliya Meshcheryakova | RUS | 56.33 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Karen Pickering | GBR | 56.40 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Rania El-Wani | EGY | 56.89 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Claudia Franco | ESP | 57.00 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Alison Fitch | NZL | 57.71 |
| Time | 10:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Angel Martino | USA | 55.44 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Franziska van Almsick | GER | 55.80 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Mette Jacobsen | DEN | 56.06 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Shan Ying | CHN | 56.10 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Leah Martindale | BAR | 56.13 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Martina Moravcová | SVK | 56.20 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Linda Olofsson | SWE | 56.56 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Vibeke Lambersøy Johansen | NOR | 56.88 |
| Date | 20 July 1996 — 19:40 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Shan Ying | CHN | 55.74 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Linda Olofsson | SWE | 55.83 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Luminița Dobrescu | ROU | 55.98 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Leah Martindale | BAR | 56.03 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Nataliya Meshcheryakova | RUS | 56.17 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Karen Pickering | GBR | 56.32 | ||
| 7 | 3 | Martina Moravcová | SVK | 56.47 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Sue Rolph | GBR | 56.58 |
| Date | 20 July 1996 — 19:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Le Jingyi | CHN | 54.50 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Sandra Völker | GER | 54.88 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Angel Martino | USA | 54.93 | ||
| 4 | 7 | Amy Van Dyken | USA | 55.11 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Franziska van Almsick | GER | 55.59 | ||
| 6 | 8 | Sarah Ryan | AUS | 55.85 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Mette Jacobsen | DEN | 56.01 | ||
| 8 | 2 | Karin Brienesse | NED | 56.12 |
