| | Event type

100 metres Breaststroke, Women

Date	21 July 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	46 from 38 countries

It had been 44 years since South Africa had won an Olympic gold medal but in Penny Heyns they had the woman who had set the world record four months earlier. Lined up against her were world champion Sam Riley of Australia and the precocious 14-year-old Amanda Beard of the USA. Riley nearly failed to make it to Atlanta when she failed a drug test in February 1996. Her coach had given her a painkiller to treat a headache without realizing it contained the banned substance dextropropoxyphen. She was subsequently issued only a warning but her coach received a one-year ban.

Heyns’ Olympic campaign started with a bang as she broke her own her world record to qualify for the final but faltered when she made a basic error in the final where she badly mistimed her turn. Beard threatened to take the lead over the home stretch but Heyns fought back and reached the wall with a third of a second to spare over her American rival to the acclaim of her home nation. Riley finished a distant third.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	Penny Heyns	RSA	1:07.02 (1 h6)	–	1:07.73 (1)	Gold
2	Amanda Beard	USA	1:09.04 (1 h5)	–	1:08.09 (2)	Silver
3	Sam Riley	AUS	1:09.37 (2 h5)	–	1:09.18 (3)	Bronze
4	Svitlana Bondarenko	UKR	1:09.79 (3 h4)	–	1:09.21 (4)
5	Vera Lischka	AUT	1:09.68 (2 h4)	–	1:09.24 (5)
6	Guylaine Cloutier	CAN	1:09.72 (3 h5)	–	1:09.40 (6)
7	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	1:09.05 (1 h4)	–	1:09.55 (7)
8	Brigitte Becue	BEL	1:09.83 (2 h6)	–	1:09.79 (8)
9	Han Xue	CHN	1:10.40 (4 h4)	1:09.90 (1)	–
10	Lisa Flood	CAN	1:10.26 (5 h5)	1:10.21 (2)	–
11	Helen Denman	AUS	1:10.64 (5 h4)	1:10.26 (3)	–
12	Elin Austevoll	NOR	1:09.96 (3 h6)	1:10.27 (4)	–
13	Masami Tanaka	JPN	1:09.89 (4 h5)	1:10.43 (5)	–
14	Alicja Pęczak	POL	1:10.70 (1 h3)	1:10.44 (6)	–
15	Manuela Dalla Valle	ITA	1:10.25 (4 h6)	1:11.19 (7)	–
16	Hanna Jaltner	SWE	1:10.69 (6 h4)	1:11.41 (8)	–
17	Jaime King	GBR	1:10.83 (6 h5)	–	–
18	Julia Russell	RSA	1:10.87 (7 h5)	–	–
19	Kristine Quance	USA	1:10.92 (5 h6)	–	–
20	Terrie Miller	NOR	1:11.09 (6 h6)	–	–
21	Madelon Baans	NED	1:11.17 (7 h6)	–	–
22	Kyoko Iwasaki	JPN	1:11.33 (7 h4)	–	–
23	Maria Östling	SWE	1:11.58 (8 h4)	–	–
24	Yuan Yuan	CHN	1:11.65 (8 h6)	–	–
25	Karine Brémond	FRA	1:11.80 (8 h5)	–	–
26	Kathrin Dumitru	GER	1:11.92 (2 h3)	–	–
27	Olga Landik	RUS	1:12.55 (3 h3)	–	–
28	María Olay	ESP	1:12.58 (4 h3)	–	–
29	Lenka Maňhalová	CZE	1:12.72 (1 h2)	–	–
30	Byeon Hye-Yeong	KOR	1:12.85 (1 h1)	–	–
31	Anna Wilson	NZL	1:12.93 (5 h3)	–	–
32	Mia Hagman	FIN	1:13.01 (2 h2)	–	–
33	Alena Rudkouskaya	BLR	1:13.71 (6 h3)	–	–
34	Joana Soutinho	POR	1:13.73 (3 h2)	–	–
35	Larisa Lăcusță	ROU	1:13.91 (7 h3)	–	–
36	Tay Li Leng	MAS	1:14.17 (2 h1)	–	–
37	Natália Kodajová	SVK	1:14.24 (4 h2)	–	–
38	Isabel Ceballos	COL	1:14.75 (3 h1)	–	–
39	Mou Ying-Hsin	TPE	1:14.82 (5 h2)	–	–
40	Joscelin Yeo	SGP	1:14.90 (8 h3)	–	–
41	Snowie Pang	HKG	1:16.02 (4 h1)	–	–
42	María Carolina Santa Cruz	ARG	1:16.19 (6 h2)	–	–
43	Nádia Cruz	ANG	1:16.62 (7 h2)	–	–
44	Cerian Gibbes	TTO	1:16.99 (8 h2)	–	–
45	Anush Manukyan	ARM	1:20.70 (5 h1)	–	–
46	Hem Raksmey	CAM	1:44.68 (6 h1)	–	–

Round One

Date	21 July 1996
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Penny Heyns	RSA	1:07.02	QWR
2	–	Amanda Beard	USA	1:09.04	Q
3	–	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	1:09.05	Q
4	–	Sam Riley	AUS	1:09.37	Q
5	–	Vera Lischka	AUT	1:09.68	Q
6	–	Guylaine Cloutier	CAN	1:09.72	Q
7	–	Svitlana Bondarenko	UKR	1:09.79	Q
8	–	Brigitte Becue	BEL	1:09.83	Q
9	–	Masami Tanaka	JPN	1:09.89	q
10	–	Elin Austevoll	NOR	1:09.96	q
11	–	Manuela Dalla Valle	ITA	1:10.25	q
12	–	Lisa Flood	CAN	1:10.26	q
13	–	Han Xue	CHN	1:10.40	q
14	–	Helen Denman	AUS	1:10.64	q
15	–	Hanna Jaltner	SWE	1:10.69	q
16	–	Alicja Pęczak	POL	1:10.70	q
17	–	Jaime King	GBR	1:10.83
18	–	Julia Russell	RSA	1:10.87
19	–	Kristine Quance	USA	1:10.92
20	–	Terrie Miller	NOR	1:11.09
21	–	Madelon Baans	NED	1:11.17
22	–	Kyoko Iwasaki	JPN	1:11.33
23	–	Maria Östling	SWE	1:11.58
24	–	Yuan Yuan	CHN	1:11.65
25	–	Karine Brémond	FRA	1:11.80
26	–	Kathrin Dumitru	GER	1:11.92
27	–	Olga Landik	RUS	1:12.55
28	–	María Olay	ESP	1:12.58
29	–	Lenka Maňhalová	CZE	1:12.72
30	–	Byeon Hye-Yeong	KOR	1:12.85
31	–	Anna Wilson	NZL	1:12.93
32	–	Mia Hagman	FIN	1:13.01
33	–	Alena Rudkouskaya	BLR	1:13.71
34	–	Joana Soutinho	POR	1:13.73
35	–	Larisa Lăcusță	ROU	1:13.91
36	–	Tay Li Leng	MAS	1:14.17
37	–	Natália Kodajová	SVK	1:14.24
38	–	Isabel Ceballos	COL	1:14.75
39	–	Mou Ying-Hsin	TPE	1:14.82
40	–	Joscelin Yeo	SGP	1:14.90
41	–	Snowie Pang	HKG	1:16.02
42	–	María Carolina Santa Cruz	ARG	1:16.19
43	–	Nádia Cruz	ANG	1:16.62
44	–	Cerian Gibbes	TTO	1:16.99
45	–	Anush Manukyan	ARM	1:20.70
46	–	Hem Raksmey	CAM	1:44.68

Heat #1

Time	11:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Byeon Hye-Yeong	KOR	1:12.85	0.80	35.67 (4)	37.18 (1)
2	–	Tay Li Leng	MAS	1:14.17	0.81	35.37 (2)	38.80 (2)
3	–	Isabel Ceballos	COL	1:14.75	0.85	35.19 (1)	39.56 (3)
4	–	Snowie Pang	HKG	1:16.02	0.78	35.58 (3)	40.44 (4)
5	–	Anush Manukyan	ARM	1:20.70	0.82	36.93 (5)	43.77 (5)
6	–	Hem Raksmey	CAM	1:44.68	1.12	48.57 (6)	56.11 (6)

Heat #2

Time	11:08

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Lenka Maňhalová	CZE	1:12.72	0.81	34.23 (1)	38.49 (2)
2	–	Mia Hagman	FIN	1:13.01	0.91	34.91 (3)	38.10 (1)
3	–	Joana Soutinho	POR	1:13.73	0.81	34.65 (2)	39.08 (3)
4	–	Natália Kodajová	SVK	1:14.24	0.90	34.99 (4)	39.25 (5)
5	–	Mou Ying-Hsin	TPE	1:14.82	0.88	35.62 (6)	39.20 (4)
6	–	María Carolina Santa Cruz	ARG	1:16.19	0.82	36.71 (8)	39.48 (6)
7	–	Nádia Cruz	ANG	1:16.62	0.79	35.35 (5)	41.27 (8)
8	–	Cerian Gibbes	TTO	1:16.99	0.83	36.22 (7)	40.77 (7)

Heat #3

Time	11:16

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Alicja Pęczak	POL	1:10.70	0.82	33.51 (1)	37.19 (1)	q
2	–	Kathrin Dumitru	GER	1:11.92	0.83	34.33 (4)	37.59 (2)
3	–	Olga Landik	RUS	1:12.55	0.87	34.24 (3)	38.31 (4)
4	–	María Olay	ESP	1:12.58	0.82	34.41 (5)	38.17 (3)
5	–	Anna Wilson	NZL	1:12.93	0.89	33.73 (2)	39.20 (7)
6	–	Alena Rudkouskaya	BLR	1:13.71	0.84	34.70 (7)	39.01 (6)
7	–	Larisa Lăcusță	ROU	1:13.91	0.91	34.59 (6)	39.32 (8)
8	–	Joscelin Yeo	SGP	1:14.90	0.79	36.26 (8)	38.64 (5)

Heat #4

Time	11:24

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	1:09.05	0.80	32.60 (2)	36.45 (1)	Q
2	–	Vera Lischka	AUT	1:09.68	0.84	32.22 (1)	37.46 (5)	Q
3	–	Svitlana Bondarenko	UKR	1:09.79	0.84	32.95 (4)	36.84 (2)	Q
4	–	Han Xue	CHN	1:10.40	0.79	33.07 (5)	37.33 (4)	q
5	–	Helen Denman	AUS	1:10.64	0.83	32.86 (3)	37.78 (7)	q
6	–	Hanna Jaltner	SWE	1:10.69	0.83	33.22 (6)	37.47 (6)	q
7	–	Kyoko Iwasaki	JPN	1:11.33	0.72	34.30 (8)	37.03 (3)
8	–	Maria Östling	SWE	1:11.58	0.78	33.38 (7)	38.20 (8)

Heat #5

Time	11:32

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Amanda Beard	USA	1:09.04	0.77	33.13 (=2)	35.91 (1)	Q
2	–	Sam Riley	AUS	1:09.37	0.81	33.01 (1)	36.36 (2)	Q
3	–	Guylaine Cloutier	CAN	1:09.72	0.78	33.13 (=2)	36.59 (3)	Q
4	–	Masami Tanaka	JPN	1:09.89	0.77	33.24 (5)	36.65 (4)	q
5	–	Lisa Flood	CAN	1:10.26	0.92	33.40 (7)	36.86 (5)	q
6	–	Jaime King	GBR	1:10.83	0.97	33.16 (4)	37.67 (8)
7	–	Julia Russell	RSA	1:10.87	0.79	33.38 (6)	37.49 (7)
8	–	Karine Brémond	FRA	1:11.80	1.00	34.58 (8)	37.22 (6)

Heat #6

Time	11:40

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Penny Heyns	RSA	1:07.02	0.83	31.65 (1)	35.37 (1)	QWR
2	–	Brigitte Becue	BEL	1:09.83	0.73	33.08 (3)	36.75 (2)	Q
3	–	Elin Austevoll	NOR	1:09.96	0.87	33.12 (4)	36.84 (3)	q
4	–	Manuela Dalla Valle	ITA	1:10.25	0.78	32.98 (2)	37.27 (5)	q
5	–	Kristine Quance	USA	1:10.92	0.85	33.37 (6)	37.55 (6)
6	–	Terrie Miller	NOR	1:11.09	0.81	33.46 (7)	37.63 (7)
7	–	Madelon Baans	NED	1:11.17	0.89	33.33 (5)	37.84 (8)
8	–	Yuan Yuan	CHN	1:11.65	0.77	34.46 (8)	37.19 (4)

B Final

Date	21 July 1996 — 20:26

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Han Xue	CHN	1:09.90	0.80	32.41 (1)	37.49 (6)
2	–	Lisa Flood	CAN	1:10.21	0.84	33.35 (6)	36.86 (1)
3	–	Helen Denman	AUS	1:10.26	0.84	32.90 (2)	37.36 (5)
4	–	Elin Austevoll	NOR	1:10.27	0.77	33.17 (4)	37.10 (2)
5	–	Masami Tanaka	JPN	1:10.43	0.74	33.20 (5)	37.23 (3)
6	–	Alicja Pęczak	POL	1:10.44	0.81	33.11 (3)	37.33 (4)
7	–	Manuela Dalla Valle	ITA	1:11.19	0.72	33.56 (7)	37.63 (7)
8	–	Hanna Jaltner	SWE	1:11.41	0.86	33.70 (8)	37.71 (8)

Final Round

Date	21 July 1996 — 20:20

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Penny Heyns	RSA	1:07.73	0.81	31.65 (1)	36.08 (2)
2	–	Amanda Beard	USA	1:08.09	0.78	32.71 (7)	35.38 (1)
3	–	Sam Riley	AUS	1:09.18	0.73	32.09 (3)	37.09 (7)
4	–	Svitlana Bondarenko	UKR	1:09.21	0.86	32.61 (5)	36.60 (3)
5	–	Vera Lischka	AUT	1:09.24	0.80	31.93 (2)	37.31 (8)
6	–	Guylaine Cloutier	CAN	1:09.40	0.73	32.58 (4)	36.82 (5)
7	–	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	1:09.55	0.82	32.68 (6)	36.87 (6)
8	–	Brigitte Becue	BEL	1:09.79	0.71	33.02 (8)	36.77 (4)