SafekipediaSwimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre backstroke
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
The women's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10–12 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China. This race is a fast and exciting swimming event where athletes race from one end of the pool to the other, turning once along the way.
U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin won the gold medal, setting a new personal best and an American record with a time of 58.96 seconds. She successfully defended her title from the previous Olympics. Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry took the silver medal with a time of 59.19, adding to her earlier win in the 400 m individual medley. Margaret Hoelzer from the U.S. team won the bronze medal, finishing in 59.34 seconds.
Other strong swimmers included Great Britain's Gemma Spofforth, who came fourth with a European record time of 59.38, and Russia's Anastasia Zuyeva, who finished fifth in 59.40. Japan's Reiko Nakamura came sixth, followed by France's Laure Manaudou and Japan's Hanae Ito.
Records
Before this race, there were existing world and Olympic records. During the competition, new world and Olympic records were set.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10 | Heat 5 | Anastasia Zuyeva |  Russia | 59.61 | OR |
| August 10 | Heat 6 | Reiko Nakamura |  Japan | 59.36 | OR |
| August 10 | Heat 7 | Kirsty Coventry |  Zimbabwe | 59.00 | OR |
| August 11 | Semifinal 2 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 58.77 | WR |
Results
The women's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games happened from August 10 to August 12 in Beijing, China.
U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin won the gold medal by setting her best time ever and breaking an American record. Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry won the silver medal in this race, adding to her earlier medal from another event.
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Natalie Coughlin |  United States | 59.43 |
| 2 | 4 | Reiko Nakamura | Japan | 59.64 |
| 3 | 3 | Gemma Spofforth |  Great Britain | 59.79 |
| 4 | 6 | Hanae Ito | Japan | 1:00.13 |
| 5 | 7 | Elizabeth Simmonds | Great Britain | 1:00.39 |
| 6 | 2 | Julia Wilkinson |  Canada | 1:00.60 |
| 7 | 1 | Sophie Edington |  Australia | 1:01.05 |
| 8 | 8 | Kseniya Moskvina | Russia | 1:01.06 |
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 58.77 |
| 2 | 5 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 59.77 |
| 3 | 6 | Margaret Hoelzer | United States | 59.84 |
| 4 | 3 | Laure Manaudou |  France | 1:00.19 |
| 5 | 2 | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 1:00.31 |
| 6 | 1 | Nina Zhivanevskaya |  Spain | 1:00.50 |
| 7 | 7 | Antje Buschschulte |  Germany | 1:01.15 |
| 8 | 8 | Elizabeth Coster |  New Zealand | 1:01.45 |
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 5 | Natalie Coughlin | United States | 58.96 |
 | 4 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 59.19 |
 | 7 | Margaret Hoelzer | United States | 59.34 |
| 4 | 2 | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain | 59.38 |
| 5 | 6 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 59.40 |
| 6 | 3 | Reiko Nakamura | Japan | 59.72 |
| 7 | 8 | Laure Manaudou | France | 1:00.10 |
| 8 | 1 | Hanae Ito | Japan | 1:00.18 |
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre backstroke, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.