2012 Summer Olympics / Swimming - 100m backstroke (women)

sport	swim
discipline	100 meters back
gender	Women
place	London Aquatics Center
Attendees	45 athletes from 38 countries
Competition phase	29./30. July 2012

The competition over 100m backstroke women at the 2012 Olympic Games in London on 29 and 30 July 2012 at the London Aquatics Center held. 45 athletes took part.

There were six preliminary runs. The 16 fastest swimmers of all heats qualified for the two semi-finals, which were held on the same day. The eight fastest starters of both races qualified here for the final on the next day.

Abbreviations:
WR = world record, OR = Olympic record, NR = national record
ER = European record , NAR = North American record , SAR = South American record, ASR = Asian record, AFR = African record, OZR = Oceania record
PB = personal best, JWB = annual world record

Existing records

World record	Gemma Spofforth ( United Kingdom )	58.12 s	Rome , Italy	July 28, 2009
Olympic record	Kirsty Coventry ( Zimbabwe )	58.77 s	Beijing , People's Republic of China	August 11, 2008

Title holder

Olympic champion	Natalie Coughlin ( United States )	58.96 s	Beijing 2008
World Champion	Zhao Jing ( People's Republic of China )	59.05 s	Shanghai 2011
European champion	Jenny Mensing ( Germany )	1: 00.08 min	Debrecen 2012

leader

Forward 1

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Karen Vilorio	Honduras	1: 06.38 min
2	Mónica Ramírez	Andorra	1: 07.72 min
3	Inés Remersaro	Uruguay	1: 08.03 min
4th	Anahit Barseghjan	Armenia	1: 08.19 min
5	Angélique Trinquier	Monaco	1: 10.79 min

Forward 2

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Tao Li	Singapore	1: 1.60 min	NO
2	Eygló Ósk Gústafsdóttir	Iceland	1: 02.40 min	NO
3	Melanie Nocher	Ireland	1: 02.44 min
4th	Anja Čarman	Slovenia	1: 02.68 min
5	Sanja Jovanović	Croatia	1: 03.38 min
6th	Eszter Povázsay	Hungary	1: 03.55 min
7th	Ekaterina Rudenko	Kazakhstan	1: 03.64 min
8th	Hazal Sarıkaya	Turkey	1: 04.80 min

Forward 3

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Fernanda González	Mexico	1: 01.28 min
2	Alicja Tchórz	Poland	1: 01.44 min
3	Carolina Colorado Henao	Colombia	1: 01.81 min
4th	Kimberley Buys	Belgium	1: 01.92 min	NO
5	Melissa Ingram	New Zealand	1: 01.94 min
6th	Ekaterina Avramova	Bulgaria	1: 02.20 min
7th	Therese Svendsen	Sweden	1: 03.11 min
8th	Stephanie Au	Hong Kong	1: 04.31 min

Forward 4

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Emily Seebohm	Australia	58.23 s	OR , OZR
2	Georgia Davies	United Kingdom	59.92 s
2	Zhao Jing	People's Republic of China	59.97 s
4th	Kirsty Coventry	Zimbabwe	1: 00.24 min
5	Arianna Barbieri	Italy	1: 00.25 min	NO
6th	Mie Østergaard Nielsen	Denmark	1: 00.38 min
7th	Duane Da Rocha	Spain	1: 00.57 min
8th	Sharon van Rouwendaal	Netherlands	1: 00.61 min

Forward 5

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Anastassija Sujewa	Russia	59.88 s
2	Julia Wilkinson	Canada	59.94 s
3	Rachel Bootsma	United States	1: 00.03 min
4th	Gemma Spofforth	United Kingdom	1: 00.05 min
5	Sinead Russell	Canada	1: 00.10 min
6th	Daryna Sewina	Ukraine	1: 00.57 min
7th	Fabíola Molina	Brazil	1: 1.40 min
8th	Elena Gemo	Italy	1: 01.77 min

Forward 6

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Missy Franklin	United States	59.37 s
2	Belinda Hocking	Australia	59.61 s
3	Aya Terakawa	Japan	59.82 s
4th	Fu Yuanhui	People's Republic of China	59.96 s
5	Simona Baumrtová	Czech Republic	59.99 s	NO
6th	Alexianne Castel	France	1: 00.16 min
7th	Jenny Mensing	Germany	1: 00.72 min
8th	Laure Manaudou	France	1: 01.03 min

Semifinals

Emily Seebohm , who had improved the Olympic record in her preliminary run, also stayed below the old record in her semi-finals.

Run 1

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Missy Franklin	United States	59.12 s
2	Aya Terakawa	Japan	59.34 s
3	Gemma Spofforth	United Kingdom	59.70 s
4th	Fu Yuanhui	People's Republic of China	59.82 s
5	Simona Baumrtová	Czech Republic	1: 00.02 min
6th	Alexianne Castel	France	1: 00.24 min
7th	Arianna Barbieri	Italy	1: 00.27 min
8th	Georgia Davies	United Kingdom	1: 00.56 min

Run 2

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Emily Seebohm	Australia	58.39 s
2	Zaho Jing	People's Republic of China	59.55 s
3	Anastassija Sujewa	Russia	59.68 s
4th	Belinda Hocking	Australia	59.79 s
5	Julia Wilkinson	Canada	59.91 s
6th	Rachel Bootsma	United States	1: 00.04 min
7th	Kirsty Coventry	Zimbabwe	1: 00.39 min
8th	Sinead Russell	Canada	1: 00.57 min

final

Winner Franklin (USA) and runner-up Seebohm both stayed below the old Beijing Olympic record. Seebohm was faster than the old record in all three races.
Franklin swam the final just 12 minutes after her 200 meter freestyle semi-final, in which she reached the final. Her time is fourth best over this distance.
For the first time, seven out of eight finalists finished under a minute.
Franklin's win was the third consecutive US win in the discipline.

July 30, 2012, 7:51 p.m. CET

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Missy Franklin	United States	58.33 s	NAR
2	Emily Seebohm	Australia	58.68 s
3	Aya Terakawa	Japan	58.83 s	ASR
4th	Anastassija Sujewa	Russia	59.00 s
5	Gemma Spofforth	United Kingdom	59.20 s
6th	Zhao Jing	People's Republic of China	59.23 s
7th	Belinda Hocking	Australia	59.29 s
8th	Fu Yuanhui	People's Republic of China	1: 00.50 min

Picture gallery

• 

  Olympic Champion Missy Franklin (USA)

• 

  Emily Seebohm (AUS), who swam an Olympic record in the run-up, wins silver in the final

• 

  Anastassija Sujewa (RUS) finished fourth in the final

• 

  Tao Li (SIN) fails despite the national record in the preliminary run

• 

  Stephanie Au (HKG), here at the East Asian Games 2009, fails in the run-up

• 

  Laure Manaudou (FRA) retired after the heat

Web links

• Olympic Summer Games 2012 / Swimming - 100 m back in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ swam in the semifinals