Olympic Summer Games 2012 / Swimming - 100 m breaststroke (women)

sport	swim
discipline	100 meters chest
gender	Women
place	London Aquatics Center
Attendees	46 athletes from 36 countries
Competition phase	29./30. July 2012

The competition over 100m breaststroke women at the 2012 Olympic Games in London on 29 and 30 July 2012 at the London Aquatics Center held. 46 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. To determine the last starting place, an elimination race had to be inserted between two simultaneous swimmers.

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	Jessica Hardy ( United States )	1: 04.45 min	Federal Way , USA	August 7, 2009
Olympic record	Leisel Jones ( Australia )	1: 05.17 min	Beijing , People's Republic of China	August 10, 2008

Title holder

Olympic champion	Leisel Jones ( Australia )	1: 05.17 min	Beijing 2008
World Champion	Rebecca Soni ( United States )	1: 05.05 min	Shanghai 2011
European champion	Sarah Poewe ( Germany )	1: 07.33 min	Debrecen 2012

leader

Forward 1

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Ivana Ninković	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1: 14.04 min
2	Pilar Shimizu	Guam	1: 15.76 min	NO
3	Matelita Buadromo	Fiji	1: 16.33 min
4th	Oksana Hatamkhanova	Azerbaijan	1: 25.52 min
5	Gantömöriin Ojuungerel	Mongolia	1: 27.17 min
6th	Dede Camara	Guinea	1: 38.54 min

Forward 2

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Tjaša Vozel	Slovenia	1: 09.63 min
2	Anna Sztankovics	Hungary	1: 09.65 min
3	Fanny Babou	France	1: 09.76 min
4th	Jenna Laukkanen	Finland	1: 09.92 min
5	Ana Rodrigues	Portugal	1: 10.62 min
6th	Danielle Beaubrun	St. Lucia	1: 11.12 min
7th	Chen I-chuan	Chinese Taipei	1: 11.28 min
8th	Tatiana Chişca	Moldova	1: 13.30 min

Forward 3

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Alia Atkinson	Jamaica	1: 07.39 min	NO
2	Suzaan van Biljon	South Africa	1: 07.54 min
3	Sara El-Bekri	Morocco	1: 08.21 min	NO
4th	Petra Chocová	Czech Republic	1: 08.59 min
5	Michela Guzzetti	Italy	1: 08.83 min
6th	Dilara Buse Günaydın	Turkey	1: 09.43 min
7th	Kim Hye-jin	South Korea	1: 09.79 min
8th	Marija Liwer	Ukraine	1: 11.23 min

Forward 4

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Rūta Meilutytė	Lithuania	1: 05.56 min	NO
2	Leisel Jones	Australia	1: 06.98 min
2	Leiston Pickett	Australia	1: 07.41 min
4th	Zhao Jin	People's Republic of China	1: 07.68 min
5	Mina Matsushima	Japan	1: 07.69 min
6th	Jillian Tyler	Canada	1: 07.81 min
7th	Marina García Urzainqui	Spain	1: 08.64 min
8th	Sycerika McMahon	Ireland	1: 8.80 min

Forward 5

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Breeja Larson	United States	1: 06.58 min
2	Satomi Suzuki	Japan	1: 07.08 min
3	Rikke Møller Pedersen	Denmark	1: 07.23 min
4th	Tera van Beilen	Canada	1: 07.85 min
5	Liu Xiaoyu	People's Republic of China	1: 07.99 min
6th	Joline Höstman	Sweden	1: 08.28 min
7th	Caroline Ruhnau	Germany	1: 08.43 min
8th	Kate Haywood	United Kingdom	1: 09.22 min

Forward 6

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Rebecca Soni	United States	1: 05.75 min
2	Yulia Efimova	Russia	1: 06.51 min
3	Sarah Poewe	Germany	1: 07.12 min
4th	Jennie Johansson	Sweden	1: 07.14 min
5	Moniek Nijhuis	Netherlands	1: 08.31 min
6th	Siobhan-Marie O'Connor	United Kingdom	1: 08.32 min
7th	Darja Dejewa	Russia	1: 08.44 min
8th	Concepción Badillo Díaz	Spain	1: 12.58 min

Semifinals

Run 1

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Rebecca Soni	United States	1: 05.98 min
2	Breeja Larson	United States	1: 06.70 min
3	Satomi Suzuki	Japan	1: 07.10 min
4th	Alia Atkinson	Jamaica	1: 07.48 min
4th	Tera van Beilen	Canada	1: 07.48 min
6th	Jennie Johansson	Sweden	1: 07.57 min
7th	Suzaan van Biljon	South Africa	1: 07.68 min
8th	Mina Matsushima	Japan	1: 08.26 min

Run 2

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Rūta Meilutytė	Lithuania	1: 05.21 min	ER , NO
2	Yulia Efimova	Russia	1: 06.57 min
3	Leisel Jones	Australia	1: 06.81 min
4th	Rikke Møller Pedersen	Denmark	1: 06.82 min
5	Sarah Poewe	Germany	1: 07.68 min
6th	Leiston Pickett	Australia	1: 07.74 min
7th	Jillian Tyler	Canada	1: 07.87 min
8th	Zhao Jin	People's Republic of China	1: 07.97 min

Elimination race

Atkinson (JAM) and van Beilen (CAN) struck simultaneously in their first semifinals. With their time of 1: 07.48 min, both would qualify for the final. But since there was only one starting place left, the two athletes had to contest an elimination swim. This took place on the same evening after the other competitions.

July 29, 2012

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Alia Atkinson	Jamaica	1: 06.79 min	NO
2	Tera van Beilen	Canada	1: 07.73 min

final

The winner, Rūta Meilutytė , achieved the first medal and Olympic victory for Lithuania in Olympic swimming. At 15, she was the youngest Olympic champion in London and the youngest ever winner in the history of the discipline.
Satomi Suzuki won the first Japanese medal in this discipline.
Meilutytė and the Jamaican Alia Atkinson managed to improve their respective national records twice in this competition.
Leisel Jones (AUS), who also competed in the medley relay and won silver there, took part in the Olympic Games for the fourth time.
Breeja Larson (USA) caused a false start, but was not disqualified because the start mechanism was faulty. The repair caused a delay in the start.

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

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Rūta Meilutytė	Lithuania	1: 05.47 min
2	Rebecca Soni	United States	1: 05.55 min
3	Satomi Suzuki	Japan	1: 06.46 min
4th	Alia Atkinson	Jamaica	1: 06.93 min
5	Leisel Jones	Australia	1: 06.95 min
6th	Breeja Larson	United States	1: 06.96 min
7th	Yulia Efimova	Russia	1: 06.98 min
8th	Rikke Møller Pedersen	Denmark	1: 07.55 min

Picture gallery

• 

  Olympic Champion Rūta Meilutytė (LTU)

• 

  World champion Rebecca Soni (USA) wins silver

• 

  Defending champion Leisel Jones (AUS) reached 5th place in the final

• 

  Rikke Møller Pedersen (DEN) finished eighth in the final

• 

  Caroline Ruhnau (GER) retires after the preliminary run

• 

  Jennie Johansson (SWE) fails in the semi-finals

Web links

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

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Report in The Independent of July 31, 2012 (Eng.)