Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre breaststroke

The women's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 13–15 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]

Women's 200 metre breaststroke
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
VenueBeijing National Aquatics Center
DateAugust 13, 2008 (heats)
August 14, 2008 (semifinals)
August 15, 2008 (final)
Competitors41 from 34 nations
Winning time2:20.22 WR
Medalists
Rebecca Soni  United States
Leisel Jones  Australia
Sara Nordenstam  Norway

U.S. swimmer Rebecca Soni pulled away over the final lap to capture gold and set a new world record of 2:20.22.[2][3] Australia's world record holder and top favorite Leisel Jones enjoyed a strong lead in the first 100 metres, but ended up only with a silver in 2:22.05, almost two seconds behind Soni.[4] Meanwhile, Sara Nordenstam earned Norway's second Olympic medal in swimming, as she powered home with a bronze in a European record of 2:23.02.[5]

Austria's Mirna Jukić finished outside the medals in fourth place at 2:23.24, while Russia's Yuliya Yefimova set a national record of 2:23.76 to hold off Canada's Annamay Pierse (2:23.77) for a fifth spot by a hundredth of a second (0.01).[6] Japanese duo Rie Kaneto (2:25.14) and Megumi Taneda (2:25.23) closed out the field.[5]

Notable swimmers failed to reach the top 8 final, featuring Germany's Anne Poleska, bronze medalist in Athens four years earlier. Competing at her fourth Olympics, defending champion Amanda Beard placed eighteenth in 2:27.70, but missed the semifinals by 0.42 seconds.[7][8]

Earlier in the prelims, Soni posted a top-seeded time of 2:22.17 to lead the heats, cutting off Beard's Olympic record by exactly two-tenths of a second (0.20).[7]

Records

Leisel Jones, the world record holder and favourite for the 200 m breaststroke.

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record Leisel Jones (AUS)2:20.54Melbourne, Australia1 February 2006[9]
Olympic record Amanda Beard (USA)2:23.37Athens, Greece19 August 2004-

The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.

DateEventNameNationalityTimeRecord
August 13Heat 5Rebecca Soni United States2:22.17OR
August 15FinalRebecca Soni United States2:20.22WR, OR

Results

Heats

RankHeatLaneNameNationalityTimeNotes
154Rebecca Soni United States2:22.17Q, OR
264Leisel Jones Australia2:23.81Q
365Mirna Jukić Austria2:24.39Q
461Sara Nordenstam Norway2:24.47Q
546Rie Kaneto Japan2:24.62Q
655Megumi Taneda Japan2:24.75Q
745Annamay Pierse Canada2:25.01Q
844Yuliya Yefimova Russia2:25.07Q
957Suzaan van Biljon South Africa2:25.51Q
1053Sally Foster Australia2:25.54Q
1163Jung Seul-ki South Korea2:25.95Q
1266Joline Höstman Sweden2:26.00Q
1362Qi Hui China2:26.16Q
1452Anne Poleska Germany2:26.74Q
1548Elise Matthysen Belgium2:27.04Q
1641Jeong Da-rae South Korea2:27.28Q
1737Inna Kapishina Belarus2:27.34NR
1843Amanda Beard United States2:27.70
1922Siow Yi Ting Malaysia2:27.80
2042Olga Detenyuk Russia2:27.87
51Kirsty Balfour Great Britain
2234Adriana Marmolejo Mexico2:28.10NR
2368Yuliya Pidlisna Ukraine2:28.84
2447Mireia Belmonte García Spain2:29.46
2524Alia Atkinson Jamaica2:29.53
2667Luo Nan China2:29.67
2731Katalin Bor Hungary2:29.95
2832Sara El Bekri Morocco2:30.04
2933Diana Gomes Portugal2:30.18
3058Sophie de Ronchi France2:30.93
3127Marina Kuč Montenegro2:31.24
3223Dilara Buse Günaydin Turkey2:31.86
3336Nađa Higl Serbia2:32.78
3426Smiljana Marinović Croatia2:32.80
3515Raminta Dvariškytė Lithuania2:33.32
3625Nicolette Teo Singapore2:34.60
3738Agustina de Giovanni Argentina2:34.94
3835Angeliki Exarchou Greece2:36.83
3913Noora Laukkanen Finland2:38.97
4014Tatiane Sakemi Brazil2:39.13
56Sarah Poewe GermanyDNS

Semifinal 1

RankLaneNameNationalityTimeNotes
1 4 Leisel Jones  Australia 2:23.04 Q
2 5 Sara Nordenstam  Norway 2:23.79 Q, EU
3 6 Yuliya Yefimova  Russia 2:24.00 Q
4 3 Megumi Taneda  Japan 2:25.42 Q
5 2 Sally Foster  Australia 2:26.33
6 1 Anne Poleska  Germany 2:26.71
7 7 Joline Höstman  Sweden 2:27.14
8 8 Jeong Da-rae  South Korea 2:28.28

Semifinal 2

RankLaneNameNationalityTimeNotes
1 4 Rebecca Soni  United States 2:22.64 Q
2 5 Mirna Jukić  Austria 2:23.76 Q, EU
3 6 Annamay Pierse  Canada 2:23.94 Q
4 3 Rie Kaneto  Japan 2:25.65 Q
5 7 Jung Seul-ki  South Korea 2:26.83
6 1 Qi Hui  China 2:27.63
7 2 Suzaan van Biljon  South Africa 2:28.45
8 8 Elise Matthysen  Belgium 2:29.64

Final

RankLaneNameNationalityTimeNotes
4 Rebecca Soni United States 2:20.22 WR
5 Leisel Jones Australia 2:22.05
6 Sara Nordenstam Norway 2:23.02 EU
4 3 Mirna Jukić Austria 2:23.24 NR
5 7 Yuliya Yefimova Russia 2:23.76 NR
6 2 Annamay Pierse Canada 2:23.77 NR
7 1 Rie Kaneto Japan 2:25.14
8 8 Megumi Taneda Japan 2:25.23

References

  1. "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  2. Majendie, Paul (15 August 2008). "Soni goes from heart surgery to gold medal". Reuters. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  3. "Rebecca Soni breaks 200m breaststroke record". France 24. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  4. Breen, Neil (15 August 2008). "Leisel Jones collapses after silver in 200m breaststroke final at Beijing Olympics". Herald Sun. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  5. Lohn, John (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Rebecca Soni Upsets Leisel Jones With 200 Breast World Record". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  6. "Swimmer Phelps wins a sixth gold medal at Beijing". CTV News. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  7. Lohn, John (13 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Rebecca Soni Sets Olympic, American Record to Lead 200 Breast Qualifying". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  8. Pierce, Tony (13 August 2008). "Was Amanda Beard sick, distracted, or just too old to compete in Beijing?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  9. Cowley, Michael (2 February 2006). "Lethal again: Jones beats own record". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
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