Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre backstroke

The women's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10-12th August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center. This swimming event used the backstroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of two lengths of the pool.

Seven heats were held, with most containing the maximum number of swimmers (eight). The heat in which a swimmer competed did not formally matter for advancement, as the swimmers with the top sixteen times from the entire field qualified for the semifinals. Two semifinal heats of eight swimmers each were held. The swimmers with the eight fastest times again advanced to the finals; there, they all competed in a single final heat to earn final placements.

The qualifying standards were for the 2008 event were 1:01.70 seconds (A norm) and 1:03.86 seconds (B norm). NOCs with two or more swimmers meeting the A standard could enter any two such swimmers; otherwise, they could enter a single swimmer meeting the B standard.

chedule

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

During the two preliminary heats, Kristy Coventry broke first the existing Olympic Record, then the existing World Record. Thus, prior to the final heat, both records were different than what they had been before the competition started. In the final heat, Natalie Coughlin won the event, but failed to recapture her pre-match records from Coventry . However, she did better her pre-match World Record, and thus her personal best, by .01 second.

Heats

ER: European Record.

References