| | Event type

200 metres Freestyle, Women

Date	16 – 17 August 2004
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympiako Kentro Ugrou Stivou, Olympiako Athletiko Kentro Athinon Spiros Loues, Athina (Main Pool)
Participants	41 from 36 countries

The 200 metres freestyle was a difficult event to predict. The turnover between the 2003 World Championships final and the 2004 Olympic final was such that only two swimmers competed in both and all three of the 2003 medallists were eliminated at the semi-final stage in Athens. Italian Federica Pellegrini, at only 16-years-old, burst into contention for the title when she easily won the first semi-final with Solenne Figuès of France winning the second semi in a much slower time. As the early leaders dropped away in the final Pellegrini and Figuès battled away for the lead in the middle lanes and what seemed to be an Olympic title for one of them. What nobody could anticipate was the finishing kick of European champion Camelia Potec of Romania from out in the wastelands of lane one. Potec had crept into the final as the second slowest qualifier but, in a race that never threatened to produce a genuinely fast time; she took the lead in the last ten metres to record a victory that seemed impossible when the race started.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	Camelia Potec	ROU	2:00.50 (3 h4)	1:59.25 (5 h2)	1:58.03 (1)	Gold
2	Federica Pellegrini	ITA	1:59.80 (2 h5)	1:58.02 (1 h1)	1:58.22 (2)	Silver
3	Solenne Figuès	FRA	1:59.90 (2 h6)	1:58.65 (1 h2)	1:58.45 (3)	Bronze
4	Paulina Barzycka	POL	1:59.52 (1 h5)	1:59.10 (3 h2)	1:58.62 (4)
5	Franziska van Almsick	GER	2:00.23 (5 h6)	1:59.13 (4 h2)	1:58.88 (5)
6	Dana Vollmer	USA	1:59.49 (1 h4)	1:59.04 (2 h2)	1:58.98 (6)
7	Pang Jiaying	CHN	2:00.80 (5 h5)	1:58.68 (2 h1)	1:59.16 (7)
8	Josefin Lillhage	SWE	2:00.04 (3 h6)	1:59.31 (3 h1)	1:59.20 (8)
9	Elka Graham	AUS	2:00.13 (2 h4)	1:59.44 (6 h2)	–
10	Claudia Poll	CRC	1:59.50 (1 h6)	1:59.79 (4 h1)	–
11	Alena Popchanka	BLR	2:00.67 (4 h5)	1:59.87 (5 h1)	–
12	Martina Moravcová	SVK	2:01.00 (5 h4)	1:59.96 (7 h2)	–
13	Tomoko Nagai	JPN	2:00.73 (4 h4)	2:00.09 (8 h2)	–
14	Lindsay Benko	USA	2:00.21 (4 h6)	2:00.22 (6 h1)	–
15	Yang Yu	CHN	2:01.33 (6 h4)	2:00.52 (7 h1)	–
16	Melanie Marshall	GBR	2:00.46 (3 h5)	2:01.06 (8 h1)	–
17	Brittany Reimer	CAN	2:01.39 (6 h6)	–	–
18	Sara Isakovič	SLO	2:01.71 (7 h4)	–	–
19	Linda MacKenzie	AUS	2:02.04 (7 h6)	–	–
20	Sara Harstick	GER	2:02.25 (6 h5)	–	–
21	Nataliya Shalagina	RUS	2:02.37 (7 h5)	–	–
22	Olena Lapunova	UKR	2:02.71 (1 h3)	–	–
23	Mariana Brochado	BRA	2:02.91 (8 h5)	–	–
24	Hanna Miluska	SUI	2:03.28 (2 h3)	–	–
25	Florencia Szigeti	ARG	2:03.29 (3 h3)	–	–
26	Kim Hyeon-Ju	KOR	2:03.33 (8 h4)	–	–
27	Zoi Dimoschaki	GRE	2:03.38 (8 h6)	–	–
28	Elina Partõka	EST	2:03.54 (4 h3)	–	–
29	Alison Fitch	NZL	2:03.58 (5 h3)	–	–
30	Janelle Atkinson	JAM	2:04.06 (6 h3)	–	–
31	Katinka Hosszú	HUN	2:04.22 (7 h3)	–	–
32	Petra Banović	CRO	2:04.24 (8 h3)	–	–
33	Jana Myšková	CZE	2:04.62 (1 h2)	–	–
34	Vesna Stojanovska	MKD	2:04.64 (2 h2)	–	–
35	Pilin Tachakittiranan	THA	2:05.29 (1 h1)	–	–
36	Yang Chin-Kuei	TPE	2:05.65 (2 h1)	–	–
37	Louise Jansen	DEN	2:06.06 (3 h2)	–	–
38	Larisa Lăcusță	ROU	2:06.62 (4 h2)	–	–
39	Rosanna Sze	HKG	2:07.55 (5 h2)	–	–
40	Khadija Ciss	SEN	2:09.04 (6 h2)	–	–
41	Yuliya Risik	KAZ	2:09.93 (3 h1)	–	–

Round One (16 August 2004)

Fastest 16 advanced to the semi-finals.

Heat One (10:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	3	Pilin Tachakittiranan	THA	30.01 (2) 32.13 (3)	1:02.14 (3) 31.56 (1)	1:33.70 (1) 31.59 (1)	2:05.29	0.93
2	4	Yang Chin-Kuei	TPE	29.30 (1) 31.58 (1)	1:00.88 (1) 32.96 (2)	1:33.84 (2) 31.81 (2)	2:05.65	0.90
3	5	Yuliya Risik	KAZ	30.06 (3) 32.07 (2)	1:02.13 (2) 33.31 (3)	1:35.44 (3) 34.49 (3)	2:09.93	0.92

Heat Two (10:04)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	2	Jana Myšková	CZE	28.82 (1) 32.08 (3)	1:00.90 (3) 31.67 (1)	1:32.57 (2) 32.05 (1)	2:04.62	0.91
2	4	Vesna Stojanovska	MKD	29.06 (2) 30.69 (1)	59.75 (1) 32.34 (2)	1:32.09 (1) 32.55 (4)	2:04.64	0.79
3	3	Louise Jansen	DEN	29.31 (3) 31.46 (2)	1:00.77 (2) 32.47 (3)	1:33.24 (3) 32.82 (5)	2:06.06	0.78
4	5	Larisa Lăcusță	ROU	29.67 (4) 32.31 (6)	1:01.98 (4) 32.52 (4)	1:34.50 (4) 32.12 (2)	2:06.62	0.88
5	6	Rosanna Sze	HKG	29.85 (5) 32.18 (4)	1:02.03 (5) 33.21 (5)	1:35.24 (5) 32.31 (3)	2:07.55	0.81
6	7	Khadija Ciss	SEN	30.07 (6) 32.21 (5)	1:02.28 (6) 33.34 (6)	1:35.62 (6) 33.42 (6)	2:09.04	0.90

Heat Three (10:08)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	5	Olena Lapunova	UKR	28.57 (=3) 30.67 (3)	59.24 (4) 31.77 (2)	1:31.01 (2) 31.70 (1)	2:02.71	0.89
2	3	Hanna Miluska	SUI	28.39 (1) 30.81 (5)	59.20 (2) 32.07 (7)	1:31.27 (4) 32.01 (3)	2:03.28	0.88
3	1	Florencia Szigeti	ARG	28.91 (6) 30.34 (1)	59.25 (5) 31.84 (4)	1:31.09 (3) 32.20 (6)	2:03.29	0.75
4	4	Elina Partõka	EST	28.68 (5) 30.91 (7)	59.59 (6) 31.89 (5)	1:31.48 (5) 32.06 (4)	2:03.54	0.84
5	2	Alison Fitch	NZL	28.57 (=3) 30.44 (2)	59.01 (1) 31.56 (1)	1:30.57 (1) 33.01 (8)	2:03.58	0.93
6	8	Janelle Atkinson	JAM	29.15 (7) 31.10 (8)	1:00.25 (7) 31.98 (6)	1:32.23 (8) 31.83 (2)	2:04.06	0.67
7	7	Katinka Hosszú	HUN	28.52 (2) 30.69 (4)	59.21 (3) 32.43 (8)	1:31.64 (6) 32.58 (7)	2:04.22	0.95
8	6	Petra Banović	CRO	29.43 (8) 30.89 (6)	1:00.32 (8) 31.80 (3)	1:32.12 (7) 32.12 (5)	2:04.24	0.81

Heat Four (10:12)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	2	Dana Vollmer	USA	28.23 (2) 30.11 (1)	58.34 (1) 30.61 (1)	1:28.95 (1) 30.54 (3)	1:59.49	0.72	Q
2	6	Elka Graham	AUS	28.76 (6) 30.41 (=2)	59.17 (6) 30.82 (3)	1:29.99 (4) 30.14 (1)	2:00.13	0.86	Q
3	5	Camelia Potec	ROU	29.02 (8) 30.44 (=4)	59.46 (7) 30.78 (2)	1:30.24 (6) 30.26 (2)	2:00.50	0.92	Q
4	1	Tomoko Nagai	JPN	28.09 (1) 30.50 (6)	58.59 (2) 30.85 (4)	1:29.44 (2) 31.29 (7)	2:00.73	0.75	Q
5	3	Martina Moravcová	SVK	28.36 (4) 30.44 (=4)	58.80 (3) 31.04 (5)	1:29.84 (3) 31.16 (5)	2:01.00	0.83	Q
6	4	Yang Yu	CHN	28.41 (5) 30.41 (=2)	58.82 (4) 31.27 (6)	1:30.09 (5) 31.24 (6)	2:01.33	0.75	Q
7	7	Sara Isakovič	SLO	28.91 (7) 30.60 (7)	59.51 (8) 31.34 (7)	1:30.85 (7) 30.86 (4)	2:01.71	0.89
8	8	Kim Hyeon-Ju	KOR	28.34 (3) 30.63 (8)	58.97 (5) 31.98 (8)	1:30.95 (8) 32.38 (8)	2:03.33	0.77

Heat Five (10:16)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	7	Paulina Barzycka	POL	28.43 (4) 30.25 (=5)	58.68 (3) 30.59 (2)	1:29.27 (1) 30.25 (1)	1:59.52	0.88	Q
2	6	Federica Pellegrini	ITA	29.01 (7) 30.01 (1)	59.02 (6) 30.37 (1)	1:29.39 (2) 30.41 (2)	1:59.80	0.85	Q
3	4	Melanie Marshall	GBR	28.28 (1) 30.24 (4)	58.52 (1) 31.17 (4)	1:29.69 (3) 30.77 (4)	2:00.46	0.71	Q
4	3	Alena Popchanka	BLR	28.57 (5) 30.22 (3)	58.79 (4) 31.36 (5)	1:30.15 (5) 30.52 (3)	2:00.67	0.75	Q
5	5	Pang Jiaying	CHN	28.39 (=2) 30.25 (=5)	58.64 (2) 31.12 (3)	1:29.76 (4) 31.04 (5)	2:00.80	0.82	Q
6	2	Sara Harstick	GER	28.77 (6) 30.46 (7)	59.23 (7) 31.51 (6)	1:30.74 (6) 31.51 (7)	2:02.25	0.87
7	1	Nataliya Shalagina	RUS	29.30 (8) 30.19 (2)	59.49 (8) 31.52 (7)	1:31.01 (8) 31.36 (6)	2:02.37	0.86
8	8	Mariana Brochado	BRA	28.39 (=2) 30.55 (8)	58.94 (5) 31.91 (8)	1:30.85 (7) 32.06 (8)	2:02.91	0.79

Heat Six (10:20)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	2	Claudia Poll	CRC	28.69 (5) 30.25 (4)	58.94 (5) 30.45 (1)	1:29.39 (2) 30.11 (1)	1:59.50	0.87	Q
2	4	Solenne Figuès	FRA	28.61 (3) 29.76 (1)	58.37 (2) 30.81 (3)	1:29.18 (1) 30.72 (5)	1:59.90	0.85	Q
3	7	Josefin Lillhage	SWE	28.66 (4) 30.20 (3)	58.86 (3) 30.72 (2)	1:29.58 (4) 30.46 (3)	2:00.04	0.81	Q
4	4	Lindsay Benko	USA	28.37 (1) 29.97 (2)	58.34 (1) 31.06 (5)	1:29.40 (3) 30.81 (6)	2:00.21	0.79	Q
5	5	Franziska van Almsick	GER	28.38 (2) 30.49 (5)	58.87 (4) 30.87 (4)	1:29.74 (5) 30.49 (4)	2:00.23	0.89	Q
6	8	Brittany Reimer	CAN	29.20 (7) 30.51 (6)	59.71 (7) 31.30 (6)	1:31.01 (7) 30.38 (2)	2:01.39	0.91
7	6	Linda MacKenzie	AUS	28.80 (6) 30.70 (8)	59.50 (6) 31.45 (=7)	1:30.95 (6) 31.09 (7)	2:02.04	0.78
8	1	Zoi Dimoschaki	GRE	29.59 (8) 30.68 (7)	1:00.27 (8) 31.45 (=7)	1:31.72 (8) 31.66 (8)	2:03.38	0.86

Semi-Finals (16 August 2004)

Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Heat One (19:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	5	Federica Pellegrini	ITA	28.39 (=5) 29.95 (1)	58.34 (4) 29.89 (1)	1:28.23 (1) 29.79 (2)	1:58.02	0.82	Q
2	1	Pang Jiaying	CHN	28.15 (3) 30.10 (3)	58.25 (2) 30.73 (5)	1:28.98 (=4) 29.70 (1)	1:58.68	0.77	Q
3	3	Josefin Lillhage	SWE	28.45 (7) 30.19 (4)	58.64 (6) 30.34 (2)	1:28.98 (=4) 30.33 (4)	1:59.31	0.85	Q
4	4	Claudia Poll	CRC	28.47 (8) 30.41 (7)	58.88 (8) 30.61 (3)	1:29.49 (7) 30.30 (3)	1:59.79	0.89
5	7	Alena Popchanka	BLR	28.08 (2) 30.43 (8)	58.51 (5) 30.89 (6)	1:29.40 (6) 30.47 (5)	1:59.87	0.73
6	6	Lindsay Benko	USA	28.18 (4) 30.09 (2)	58.27 (3) 30.65 (4)	1:28.92 (2) 31.30 (7)	2:00.22	0.81
7	8	Yang Yu	CHN	28.39 (=5) 30.39 (6)	58.78 (7) 30.96 (7)	1:29.74 (8) 30.78 (6)	2:00.52	0.74
8	2	Melanie Marshall	GBR	27.46 (1) 30.20 (5)	57.66 (1) 31.30 (8)	1:28.96 (3) 32.10 (8)	2:01.06	0.71

Heat Two (19:38)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	3	Solenne Figuès	FRA	28.23 (4) 29.72 (1)	57.95 (1) 30.59 (3)	1:28.54 (1) 30.11 (4)	1:58.65	0.81	Q
2	4	Dana Vollmer	USA	28.27 (5) 29.92 (2)	58.19 (3) 30.64 (4)	1:28.83 (3) 30.21 (5)	1:59.04	0.74	Q
3	5	Paulina Barzycka	POL	28.35 (6) 30.32 (3)	58.67 (5) 30.65 (5)	1:29.32 (4) 29.78 (1)	1:59.10	0.87	Q
4	2	Franziska van Almsick	GER	27.66 (1) 30.40 (4)	58.06 (2) 30.73 (6)	1:28.79 (2) 30.34 (7)	1:59.13	0.86	Q
5	7	Camelia Potec	ROU	28.54 (7) 30.54 (7)	59.08 (8) 30.36 (1)	1:29.44 (5) 29.81 (2)	1:59.25	0.89	Q
6	6	Elka Graham	AUS	28.59 (8) 30.46 (6)	59.05 (7) 30.56 (2)	1:29.61 (7) 29.83 (3)	1:59.44	0.86
7	8	Martina Moravcová	SVK	28.19 (2) 30.67 (8)	58.86 (6) 30.86 (7)	1:29.72 (8) 30.24 (6)	1:59.96	0.73
8	1	Tomoko Nagai	JPN	28.21 (3) 30.41 (5)	58.62 (4) 30.87 (8)	1:29.49 (6) 30.60 (8)	2:00.09	0.73

Final (17 August 2004 — 19:43)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	1	Camelia Potec	ROU	28.24 (4) 30.14 (7)	58.38 (6) 29.97 (1)	1:28.35 (3) 29.68 (2)	1:58.03	0.90
2	4	Federica Pellegrini	ITA	28.27 (6) 29.81 (2)	58.08 (4) 30.12 (2)	1:28.20 (1) 30.02 (3)	1:58.22	0.86
3	5	Solenne Figuès	FRA	28.26 (5) 29.65 (1)	57.91 (3) 30.42 (5)	1:28.33 (2) 30.12 (4)	1:58.45	0.82
4	2	Paulina Barzycka	POL	28.28 (7) 30.35 (8)	58.63 (8) 30.38 (4)	1:29.01 (8) 29.61 (1)	1:58.62	0.90
5	7	Franziska van Almsick	GER	27.66 (2) 29.98 (=3)	57.64 (1) 30.96 (8)	1:28.60 (5) 30.28 (6)	1:58.88	0.85
6	6	Dana Vollmer	USA	27.65 (1) 30.08 (5)	57.73 (2) 30.63 (6)	1:28.36 (4) 30.62 (8)	1:58.98	0.75
7	3	Pang Jiaying	CHN	28.45 (8) 30.11 (6)	58.56 (7) 30.34 (3)	1:28.90 (7) 30.26 (5)	1:59.16	0.78
8	8	Josefin Lillhage	SWE	28.12 (3) 29.98 (=3)	58.10 (5) 30.73 (7)	1:28.83 (6) 30.37 (7)	1:59.20	0.86