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
VenueBeijing National Aquatics Center
DateAugust 9, 2008 (heats)
August 10, 2008 (final)
Competitors38 from 28 nations
Winning time4:29.45 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Stephanie Rice  Australia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Kirsty Coventry  Zimbabwe
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Katie Hoff  United States
← 2004
2012 →

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

edit

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

Results

edit

Heats

edit
Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 3 4 Elizabeth Beisel   United States 4:34.55 Q
2 5 4 Katie Hoff   United States 4:34.63 Q
3 3 5 Alessia Filippi   Italy 4:35.11 Q
4 4 Stephanie Rice   Australia Q
5 3 3 Yana Martynova   Russia 4:36.25 Q, NR
6 4 3 Li Xuanxu   China 4:36.35 Q
7 4 5 Kirsty Coventry   Zimbabwe 4:36.43 Q
8 5 5 Hannah Miley   Great Britain 4:36.56 Q
9 4 7 Katarzyna Baranowska   Poland 4:36.95 NR
10 4 1 Kathryn Meaklim   South Africa 4:37.11 NR
11 3 7 Maiko Fujino   Japan 4:37.35
12 5 3 Katinka Hosszú   Hungary 4:37.55
13 5 2 Zsuzsanna Jakabos   Hungary 4:37.86
14 5 7 Mireia Belmonte García   Spain 4:37.91
15 3 6 Keri-Anne Payne   Great Britain 4:38.69
16 5 8 Anja Klinar   Slovenia 4:38.90
17 2 3 Joanna Melo   Brazil 4:40.18
18 2 7 Sara Nordenstam   Norway 4:40.28 NR
19 4 6 Camille Muffat   France 4:40.29
20 3 8 Tanya Hunks   Canada 4:40.63
21 5 1 Jessica Pengelly   South Africa 4:41.04
22 3 1 Samantha Hamill   Australia 4:41.89
23 5 6 Joanne Andraca   France 4:43.88
24 3 2 Helen Norfolk   New Zealand 4:44.22
25 2 5 Liu Jing   China 4:44.96
26 2 1 Jördis Steinegger   Austria 4:45.15
27 4 2 Saori Haruguchi   Japan 4:45.22
28 1 3 Nam Yoo-sun   South Korea 4:46.74
29 4 8 Alexa Komarnycky   Canada 4:46.98
30 2 8 Susana Escobar   Mexico 4:47.32 NR
31 2 6 Svetlana Karpeeva   Russia 4:50.22
32 1 6 Quah Ting Wen   Singapore 4:51.25 NR
33 2 2 Katharina Schiller   Germany 4:51.52
34 1 4 Lew Yih Wey   Malaysia 4:55.83
35 1 5 Anna-Liisa Põld   Estonia 4:58.21
36 2 4 Georgina Bardach   Argentina 5:00.87
37 1 7 Nimitta Thaveesupsoonthorn   Thailand 5:02.18
1 2 Maroua Mathlouthi   Tunisia DNS

Final

edit
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

edit
  1. ^ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Rice claims first Aussie gold". ABC News. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ a b 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.
  5. ^ "Hoff loses world record, finishes 3rd in 400 IM". NBC News. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  6. ^ Crouse, Karen (30 June 2008). "Rival's fast finish propels Phelps to another record". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
edit