Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 50 metre freestyle

The women's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 15–17 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]

Women's 50 metre freestyle
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
VenueBeijing National Aquatics Center
DateAugust 15, 2008 (heats)
August 16, 2008(semifinals)
August 17, 2008 (final)
Competitors92 from 83 nations
Winning time24.06 OR
Medalists
Britta Steffen  Germany
Dara Torres  United States
Cate Campbell  Australia

Germany's Britta Steffen blasted a new Olympic record to strike a sprint freestyle double. She posted a time of 24.06, the second-fastest ever in the event, to erase Inge de Bruijn's 2000 record, and to hold off U.S. swimmer Dara Torres in a close race by a hundredth of a second (0.01).[2][3] Returning from an eight-year absence, Torres became the first woman in Olympic history to swim past the age of 40.[4] She established both a personal best and an American record of 24.07 to earn a silver medal and eleventh overall in her fifth Olympics since 1984.[5] Meanwhile, Australian teenager Cate Campbell picked up a bronze in 24.17, edging out her teammate Lisbeth Trickett (24.25) by 0.08 of a second.[6]

Netherlands' Marleen Veldhuis finished fifth with a time of 24.26, and was followed in the sixth spot by American Kara Lynn Joyce in 24.63. Veldhuis' teammate Hinkelien Schreuder (24.65) and Belarus' Aliaksandra Herasimenia (24.77) rounded out the finale.[2]

Notable swimmers missed out the top 8 final, featuring Sweden's Therese Alshammar, four-time Olympian and silver medalist in Sydney eight years earlier, and Finland's Hanna-Maria Seppälä, fourth-place finalist in the 100 m freestyle.[7]

Records

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

World record Lisbeth Trickett (AUS)23.97Sydney, Australia29 March 2008[8]
Olympic record Inge de Bruijn (NED)24.13Sydney, Australia22 September 2000-

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

DateEventNameNationalityTimeRecord
August 17FinalBritta Steffen Germany24.06OR

Results

Heats

RankHeatLaneNameNationalityTimeNotes
1104Cate Campbell Australia24.20Q
2114Marleen Veldhuis Netherlands24.38Q
3105Dara Torres United States24.58Q
4124Lisbeth Trickett Australia24.67Q
5116Jeanette Ottesen Denmark24.83Q
6125Britta Steffen Germany24.90Q
7122Zhu Yingwen China24.91Q
8103Francesca Halsall Great Britain24.93Q
9115Therese Alshammar Sweden24.94Q
10126Malia Metella France24.95Q
11112Arlene Semeco Venezuela24.98Q, NR
12113Hinkelien Schreuder Netherlands25.00Q
118Li Zhesi ChinaQ
14123Kara Lynn Joyce United States25.01Q
15121Hanna-Maria Seppälä Finland25.06Q, NR
16106Aliaksandra Herasimenia Belarus25.07Q
17127Agata Ewa Korc Poland25.14NR
18111Céline Couderc France25.22
1987Anna Gostomelsky Israel25.23NR
20128Sviatlana Khakhlova Belarus25.27
2195Triin Aljand Estonia25.29
22102Anna-Karin Kammerling Sweden25.34
107Flavia Cazziolato Brazil
2482Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace Bahamas25.40
25101Petra Dallmann Germany25.43
26117Lize-Mari Retief South Africa25.44
2794Martina Moravcová Slovakia25.47
2897Anastasia Aksenova Russia25.51
2985Sandra Kazíková Czech Republic25.54
3096Victoria Poon Canada25.58
3198Chang Hee-jin South Korea25.59
3292Oksana Serikova Ukraine25.65
3391Martha Matsa Greece25.68
34108Cristina Chiuso Italy25.74
3593Vanessa García Puerto Rico25.81
3683Ragnheidur Ragnarsdottir Iceland25.82
3781Natasha Moodie Jamaica25.95
3871Carolina Colorado Colombia26.11
3966Rugilė Mileišytė Lithuania26.19
72Sharntelle McLean Trinidad and Tobago
4175Eva Dobar Hungary26.33
4262Anna-Liza Mopio-Jane Papua New Guinea26.47
4373Nina Sovinek Slovenia26.49
4463Yamile Bahamonde Ecuador26.54
76Yu Ning Elaine Chan Hong Kong
4678Marina Mulyayeva Kazakhstan26.57
4765Christel Simms Philippines26.64
4888Leung Chii Lin Malaysia26.75
4974Monika Babok Croatia26.84
5064Veronica Vdovicenco Moldova26.92
5154Sharon Paola Fajardo Sierra Honduras27.19
5267Ngozi Monu Nigeria27.39
5361Ellen Lendra Hight Zambia27.42
5455Chinyere Pigot Suriname27.66
5557Dalia Tórrez Zamora Nicaragua27.81
5653Razan Taha Jordan27.82
5768Marianela Quesada Costa Rica28.11
5844Ximene Gomes Mozambique28.15
52Rovena Marku AlbaniaNR
6056Tojohanitra Andriamanjatoarimanana Madagascar28.54
6148Senele Dlamini Swaziland28.70
6241Virginia Farmer American Samoa28.82
6351Diane Etiennette Mauritius28.83
6443Katerine Moreno Bolivia29.05
6558Ana Crysna da Silva Romero Angola29.06
6635Olivia Aya Nakitanda Uganda29.38
6742Dashtserengiin Saintsetseg Mongolia29.63
6877Mariya Bugakova Uzbekistan29.73
6945Kiran Khan Pakistan29.84
7034Samantha Paxinos Botswana29.91
7138Amber Yobech Palau30.00
7246Aminath Rouya Hussain Maldives30.21
7347Doli Akhter Bangladesh30.23
7415Sameera Al Bitar Bahrain30.32
7536Julianne Kirchner Marshall Islands30.42
7637Debra Daniel Federated States of Micronesia30.61
7732Magdalena Moshi Tanzania31.37
7831Hemthon Vitiny Cambodia31.41
7927Zakiya Nassar Palestine31.97
8033Katerina Izmaylova Tajikistan32.09
8125Karishma Karki Nepal32.35
8224Zahra Pinto Malawi32.53
8326Antoinette Guedia Mouafo Cameroon33.59
8423Vilayphone Vongphachanh Laos34.79
8522Elisabeth Nikiema Burkina Faso34.98
8628Elsie Uwamahoro Burundi36.86
8716Gloria Koussihouede Benin37.09
8813Pamela Girimbabazi Rwanda39.78
8914Djene Barry Guinea39.80
9021Mariama Souley Bana Niger40.83
84Miroslava Najdanovski SerbiaDNS
86Bayan Jumah SyriaDNS

Semifinal 1

RankLaneNameNationalityTimeNotes
13Britta Steffen Germany24.43Q
24Marleen Veldhuis Netherlands24.46Q
35Lisbeth Trickett Australia24.47Q
47Hinkelien Schreuder Netherlands24.52Q
51Kara Lynn Joyce United States24.63Q
68Aliaksandra Herasimenia Belarus24.72Q
76Francesca Halsall Great Britain24.80
82Malia Metella France24.89

Semifinal 2

RankLaneNameNationalityTimeNotes
15Dara Torres United States24.27Q
24Cate Campbell Australia24.42Q
36Zhu Yingwen China24.76
43Jeanette Ottesen Denmark24.86
51Li Zhesi China24.90
62Therese Alshammar Sweden24.96
77Arlene Semeco Venezuela25.05
88Hanna-Maria Seppälä Finland25.19

Final

RankLaneNameNationalityTimeNotes
3Britta Steffen Germany24.06OR
4Dara Torres United States24.07AM
5Cate Campbell Australia24.17
42Lisbeth Trickett Australia24.25
56Marleen Veldhuis Netherlands24.26
61Kara Lynn Joyce United States24.63
77Hinkelien Schreuder Netherlands24.65
88Aliaksandra Herasimenia Belarus24.77

References

  1. "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  2. Lohn, John (16 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Britta Steffen Edges Dara Torres by .01 to Win 50 Free in Olympic Standard". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  3. "Steffen snatches gold in 50m free, Torres takes silver". ESPN. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  4. "Forty-one-year-old Olympian Torres gains pool of 40-ish fans". USA Today. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  5. "Dara Torres settles for silver medal in 50-meter freestyle". New York Daily News. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  6. English, Ben (17 August 2008). "Cate Campbell claims 50m bronze, Libby Trickett misses at Beijing Olympics". The Australian. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  7. Lohn, John (15 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Cate Campbell Bounces Back, Tops 50 Free Prelims". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  8. Cowley, Michael (30 March 2008). "Just the Trickett: Libby breaks the speed barrier". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
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