Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre individual medley
The women's 400 metre individual medley event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 9–10 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
Women's 400 metre individual medley at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | ||||||||||||
Date | August 9, 2008 (heats) August 10, 2008 (final) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 38 from 28 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 4:29.45 WR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
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Qualification | ||
Freestyle | ||
50 m | men | women |
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
800 m | women | |
1500 m | men | |
Backstroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Breaststroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Butterfly | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Individual medley | ||
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
Freestyle relay | ||
4×100 m | men | women |
4×200 m | men | women |
Medley relay | ||
4×100 m | men | women |
Marathon | ||
10 km | men | women |
Australia's Stephanie Rice pulled away to a strong finish on the freestyle leg, as she claimed an Olympic gold medal in the event. She established a sterling time of 4:29.45 to slash 1.67 seconds off the world record, set by Katie Hoff from the U.S. Olympic Trials.[2][3] Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry also went under a world record, but earned her first silver at these Games, in an African record of 4:29.89. Meanwhile, Hoff did not match her stellar performance from the trials, as she settled only for the bronze in 4:31.71.[4][5]
Rising American teenager Elizabeth Beisel finished outside the medals in fourth place at 4:34.24, holding off Italy's Alessia Filippi (4:34.34) to fifth by exactly a tenth of a second (0.10). Great Britain's Hannah Miley (4:39.44), Russia's Yana Martynova (4:40.04), and China's Li Xuanxu (4:42.13) rounded out the finale.[4]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | Katie Hoff (USA) | 4:31.12 | Omaha, United States | 29 June 2008 | [6] |
Olympic record | Yana Klochkova (UKR) | 4:33.59 | Sydney, Australia | 16 September 2000 | - |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 10 | Final | Stephanie Rice | Australia | 4:29.45 | WR, OR |
Results
Heats
Final
Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | Stephanie Rice | Australia | 4:29.45 | WR | |
1 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 4:29.89 | AF | |
5 | Katie Hoff | United States | 4:31.71 | ||
4 | 4 | Elizabeth Beisel | United States | 4:34.24 | |
5 | 3 | Alessia Filippi | Italy | 4:34.34 | NR |
6 | 8 | Hannah Miley | Great Britain | 4:39.44 | |
7 | 2 | Yana Martynova | Russia | 4:40.04 | |
8 | 7 | Li Xuanxu | China | 4:42.13 | |
References
- "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- "Rice claims first Aussie gold". ABC News. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- "Stephanie Rice wins Australia's first medal of the Beijing Games in 400m individual medley". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). 10 August 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- Lohn, John (10 August 2008). "Return to Sender…Stephanie Rice Blasts Women's 400 IM World Record". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- "Hoff loses world record, finishes 3rd in 400 IM". NBC News. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- Crouse, Karen (30 June 2008). "Rival's fast finish propels Phelps to another record". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2008.