| | Event type

200 metres Backstroke, Women

Date	25 July 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	33 from 28 countries

Even though swimming is a sport where teenagers often prosper, it is still rare that a champion can retire before their 21st birthday having won five Olympic titles. Such a champion was Hungary’s Krisztina Egerszegi. In this event, the last individual race of her career, she had the opportunity to take that fifth gold medal and tie the record for the most individual swimming golds. Two years earlier, she had announced plans to retire after the 1994 World Championships, but a defeat at the hands of He Cihong reinvigorated her and she decided to continue until the Atlanta Games. There was no chance of revenge over He in Atlanta, as the Chinese swimmer failed to make the Olympic team in the event.

Egerszegi’s Olympic finale was arguably her most impressive race, as she won by the massive margin of 4.15 seconds – the biggest in the history of the event. Whitney Hedgepeth of the USA won the silver, to add to the same medal she won in the shorter backstroke event.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	Krisztina Egerszegi	HUN	2:09.18 (1 h5)	–	2:07.83 (1)	Gold
2	Whitney Hedgepeth	USA	2:11.63 (1 h4)	–	2:11.98 (2)	Silver
3	Cathleen Rund	GER	2:13.58 (2 h5)	–	2:12.06 (3)	Bronze
4	Anke Scholz	GER	2:12.73 (2 h4)	–	2:12.90 (4)
5	Miki Nakao	JPN	2:12.92 (3 h4)	–	2:13.57 (5)
6	Anna Simcic	NZL	2:13.74 (3 h5)	–	2:14.04 (6)
7	Lorenza Vigarani	ITA	2:13.58 (2 h3)	–	2:14.56 (7)
8	Nina Zhivanevskaya	RUS	2:13.32 (1 h3)	–	2:14.59 (8)
9	Mai Nakamura	JPN	2:15.05 (5 h5)	2:13.40 (1)	–
10	Beth Botsford	USA	2:14.16 (3 h3)	2:13.48 (2)	–
11	Chen Yan	CHN	2:14.74 (4 h5)	2:14.37 (3)	–
12	Joanne Deakins	GBR	2:15.12 (6 h5)	2:14.50 (4)	–
13	Lee Chang-Ha	KOR	2:14.18 (=4 h3)	2:14.55 (5)	–
14	Cătălina Căşaru	ROU	2:15.92 (4 h4)	2:15.15 (6)	–
15	Hélène Ricardo	FRA	2:14.18 (=4 h3)	2:16.29 (7)	–
16	Marianne Kriel	RSA	2:15.99 (5 h4)	2:18.41 (8)	–
17	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	2:16.68 (6 h4)	–	–
18	Nicole Stevenson	AUS	2:16.71 (7 h4)	–	–
19	Izabela Burczyk	POL	2:16.91 (6 h3)	–	–
20	Julie Howard	CAN	2:17.25 (1 h2)	–	–
21	Kateřina Pivoňková	CZE	2:18.20 (7 h5)	–	–
22	Yseult Gervy	BEL	2:18.69 (8 h4)	–	–
23	Ivette María	ESP	2:18.72 (7 h3)	–	–
24	Lydia Lipscombe	NZL	2:19.54 (8 h5)	–	–
25	Anu Koivisto	FIN	2:19.58 (2 h2)	–	–
26	Petra Chaves	POR	2:20.49 (3 h2)	–	–
27	Maja Grozdanić	SCG	2:20.65 (1 h1)	–	–
28	Wu Yanyan	CHN	2:20.89 (8 h3)	–	–
29	Akiko Thomson	PHI	2:21.36 (4 h2)	–	–
30	Praphalsai Minpraphal	THA	2:21.82 (2 h1)	–	–
31	Aikaterini Klepkou	GRE	2:22.83 (5 h2)	–	–
32	Dijana Kvesić	BIH	2:23.78 (3 h1)	–	–
33	Lin Chi-Chan	TPE	2:24.50 (6 h2)	–	–

Round One

Date	25 July 1996
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	Krisztina Egerszegi	HUN	2:09.18	Q
2	Whitney Hedgepeth	USA	2:11.63	Q
3	Anke Scholz	GER	2:12.73	Q
4	Miki Nakao	JPN	2:12.92	Q
5	Nina Zhivanevskaya	RUS	2:13.32	Q
=6	Lorenza Vigarani	ITA	2:13.58	Q
=6	Cathleen Rund	GER	2:13.58	Q
8	Anna Simcic	NZL	2:13.74	Q
9	Beth Botsford	USA	2:14.16	q
=10	Hélène Ricardo	FRA	2:14.18	q
=10	Lee Chang-Ha	KOR	2:14.18	q
12	Chen Yan	CHN	2:14.74	q
13	Mai Nakamura	JPN	2:15.05	q
14	Joanne Deakins	GBR	2:15.12	q
15	Cătălina Căşaru	ROU	2:15.92	q
16	Marianne Kriel	RSA	2:15.99	q
17	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	2:16.68
18	Nicole Stevenson	AUS	2:16.71
19	Izabela Burczyk	POL	2:16.91
20	Julie Howard	CAN	2:17.25
21	Kateřina Pivoňková	CZE	2:18.20
22	Yseult Gervy	BEL	2:18.69
23	Ivette María	ESP	2:18.72
24	Lydia Lipscombe	NZL	2:19.54
25	Anu Koivisto	FIN	2:19.58
26	Petra Chaves	POR	2:20.49
27	Maja Grozdanić	SCG	2:20.65
28	Wu Yanyan	CHN	2:20.89
29	Akiko Thomson	PHI	2:21.36
30	Praphalsai Minpraphal	THA	2:21.82
31	Aikaterini Klepkou	GRE	2:22.83
32	Dijana Kvesić	BIH	2:23.78
33	Lin Chi-Chan	TPE	2:24.50

Heat #1

Time	10:30

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m	100-150 m	150-200 m
1	Maja Grozdanić	SCG	2:20.65	32.85 (1)	1:07.83 (1)	1:44.09 (1)	34.98 (1)	36.26 (1)	36.56 (2)
2	Praphalsai Minpraphal	THA	2:21.82	33.43 (3)	1:09.21 (2)	1:45.51 (2)	35.78 (2)	36.30 (2)	36.31 (1)
3	Dijana Kvesić	BIH	2:23.78	33.39 (2)	1:09.22 (3)	1:46.38 (3)	35.83 (3)	37.16 (3)	37.40 (3)

Heat #2

Time	10:38

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m	100-150 m	150-200 m
1	Julie Howard	CAN	2:17.25	32.09 (1)	1:06.51 (1)	1:41.87 (1)	34.42 (1)	35.36 (1)	35.38 (1)
2	Anu Koivisto	FIN	2:19.58	32.25 (2)	1:08.16 (2)	1:43.82 (2)	35.91 (5)	35.66 (2)	35.76 (2)
3	Petra Chaves	POR	2:20.49	32.90 (4)	1:08.51 (4)	1:44.52 (3)	35.61 (2)	36.01 (3)	35.97 (3)
4	Akiko Thomson	PHI	2:21.36	32.96 (5)	1:08.58 (5)	1:44.95 (4)	35.62 (3)	36.37 (4)	36.41 (4)
5	Aikaterini Klepkou	GRE	2:22.83	32.53 (3)	1:08.36 (3)	1:45.24 (5)	35.83 (4)	36.88 (5)	37.59 (6)
6	Lin Chi-Chan	TPE	2:24.50	34.34 (6)	1:10.27 (6)	1:47.31 (6)	35.93 (6)	37.04 (6)	37.19 (5)

Heat #3

Time	10:46

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m	100-150 m	150-200 m
1	Nina Zhivanevskaya	RUS	2:13.32	31.52 (2)	1:05.74 (2)	1:39.78 (3)	34.22 (5)	34.04 (2)	33.54 (2)	Q
2	Lorenza Vigarani	ITA	2:13.58	32.19 (5)	1:06.00 (5)	1:40.06 (4)	33.81 (4)	34.06 (3)	33.52 (1)	Q
3	Beth Botsford	USA	2:14.16	31.24 (1)	1:05.04 (1)	1:39.51 (1)	33.80 (3)	34.47 (5)	34.65 (6)	q
=4	Hélène Ricardo	FRA	2:14.18	32.12 (3)	1:05.79 (3)	1:39.63 (2)	33.67 (=1)	33.84 (1)	34.55 (5)	q
=4	Lee Chang-Ha	KOR	2:14.18	32.17 (4)	1:05.84 (4)	1:40.25 (5)	33.67 (=1)	34.41 (4)	33.93 (3)	q
6	Izabela Burczyk	POL	2:16.91	33.03 (8)	1:07.27 (7)	1:42.39 (6)	34.24 (6)	35.12 (6)	34.52 (4)
7	Ivette María	ESP	2:18.72	32.46 (6)	1:06.90 (6)	1:42.57 (7)	34.44 (7)	35.67 (7)	36.15 (8)
8	Wu Yanyan	CHN	2:20.89	32.68 (7)	1:08.40 (8)	1:45.06 (8)	35.72 (8)	36.66 (8)	35.83 (7)

Heat #4

Time	10:54

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m	100-150 m	150-200 m
1	Whitney Hedgepeth	USA	2:11.63	31.36 (2)	1:04.24 (1)	1:37.81 (1)	32.88 (1)	33.57 (1)	33.82 (2)	Q
2	Anke Scholz	GER	2:12.73	31.82 (5)	1:05.30 (4)	1:39.19 (3)	33.48 (5)	33.89 (2)	33.54 (1)	Q
3	Miki Nakao	JPN	2:12.92	31.30 (1)	1:04.45 (2)	1:38.57 (2)	33.15 (2)	34.12 (3)	34.35 (3)	Q
4	Cătălina Căşaru	ROU	2:15.92	32.40 (7)	1:05.72 (6)	1:40.19 (5)	33.32 (3)	34.47 (4)	35.73 (6)	q
5	Marianne Kriel	RSA	2:15.99	31.74 (3)	1:05.20 (3)	1:39.89 (4)	33.46 (4)	34.69 (5)	36.10 (8)	q
6	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	2:16.68	31.77 (4)	1:05.47 (5)	1:40.86 (6)	33.70 (6)	35.39 (6)	35.82 (7)
7	Nicole Stevenson	AUS	2:16.71	31.94 (6)	1:06.05 (7)	1:41.50 (7)	34.11 (8)	35.45 (7)	35.21 (4)
8	Yseult Gervy	BEL	2:18.69	33.38 (8)	1:07.46 (8)	1:43.07 (8)	34.08 (7)	35.61 (8)	35.62 (5)

Heat #5

Time	11:02

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m	100-150 m	150-200 m
1	Krisztina Egerszegi	HUN	2:09.18	30.86 (1)	1:03.41 (1)	1:36.47 (1)	32.55 (1)	33.06 (1)	32.71 (1)	Q
2	Cathleen Rund	GER	2:13.58	32.02 (5)	1:05.67 (4)	1:39.53 (2)	33.65 (5)	33.86 (2)	34.05 (3)	Q
3	Anna Simcic	NZL	2:13.74	32.33 (7)	1:05.88 (6)	1:40.01 (4)	33.55 (=2)	34.13 (3)	33.73 (2)	Q
4	Chen Yan	CHN	2:14.74	31.51 (2)	1:05.53 (3)	1:39.93 (3)	34.02 (6)	34.40 (4)	34.81 (4)	q
5	Mai Nakamura	JPN	2:15.05	31.54 (3)	1:05.18 (2)	1:40.03 (5)	33.64 (4)	34.85 (6)	35.02 (6)	q
6	Joanne Deakins	GBR	2:15.12	32.21 (6)	1:05.76 (5)	1:40.26 (6)	33.55 (=2)	34.50 (5)	34.86 (5)	q
7	Kateřina Pivoňková	CZE	2:18.20	33.32 (8)	1:07.48 (8)	1:43.07 (8)	34.16 (7)	35.59 (7)	35.13 (7)
8	Lydia Lipscombe	NZL	2:19.54	31.92 (4)	1:06.45 (7)	1:42.54 (7)	34.53 (8)	36.09 (8)	37.00 (8)

B Final

Date	25 July 1996 — 20:10

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m	100-150 m	150-200 m
1	Mai Nakamura	JPN	2:13.40	31.53 (2)	1:05.10 (2)	1:39.35 (2)	33.57 (3)	34.25 (1)	34.05 (4)
2	Beth Botsford	USA	2:13.48	31.00 (1)	1:04.32 (1)	1:39.03 (1)	33.32 (1)	34.71 (5)	34.45 (5)
3	Chen Yan	CHN	2:14.37	31.55 (3)	1:05.49 (3)	1:40.53 (5)	33.94 (6)	35.04 (7)	33.84 (2)
4	Joanne Deakins	GBR	2:14.50	32.33 (6)	1:05.98 (5)	1:40.46 (4)	33.65 (4)	34.48 (3)	34.04 (3)
5	Lee Chang-Ha	KOR	2:14.55	32.17 (4)	1:06.38 (6)	1:40.83 (6)	34.21 (7)	34.45 (2)	33.72 (1)
6	Cătălina Căşaru	ROU	2:15.15	32.21 (5)	1:05.71 (4)	1:40.25 (3)	33.50 (2)	34.54 (4)	34.90 (7)
7	Hélène Ricardo	FRA	2:16.29	32.95 (8)	1:06.81 (8)	1:41.57 (7)	33.86 (5)	34.76 (6)	34.72 (6)
8	Marianne Kriel	RSA	2:18.41	32.38 (7)	1:06.74 (7)	1:42.15 (8)	34.36 (8)	35.41 (8)	36.26 (8)

Final Round

Date	25 July 1996 — 20:00

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m	100-150 m	150-200 m
1	Krisztina Egerszegi	HUN	2:07.83	30.30 (1)	1:02.09 (1)	1:34.91 (1)	31.79 (1)	32.82 (1)	32.92 (1)
2	Whitney Hedgepeth	USA	2:11.98	31.21 (3)	1:04.35 (3)	1:38.23 (2)	33.14 (2)	33.88 (3)	33.75 (4)
3	Cathleen Rund	GER	2:12.06	32.05 (7)	1:05.51 (5)	1:38.86 (4)	33.46 (6)	33.35 (2)	33.20 (3)
4	Anke Scholz	GER	2:12.90	31.87 (5)	1:05.59 (6)	1:39.79 (6)	33.72 (7)	34.20 (6)	33.11 (2)
5	Miki Nakao	JPN	2:13.57	31.43 (4)	1:04.64 (4)	1:38.82 (3)	33.21 (3)	34.18 (5)	34.75 (7)
6	Anna Simcic	NZL	2:14.04	32.29 (8)	1:05.74 (7)	1:39.88 (7)	33.45 (5)	34.14 (4)	34.16 (5)
7	Lorenza Vigarani	ITA	2:14.56	31.96 (6)	1:05.76 (8)	1:40.10 (8)	33.80 (8)	34.34 (7)	34.46 (6)
8	Nina Zhivanevskaya	RUS	2:14.59	31.05 (2)	1:04.28 (2)	1:39.07 (5)	33.23 (4)	34.79 (8)	35.52 (8)