The women's 800 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 21–22 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.[1]
| Women's 800 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Sydney International Aquatic Centre | ||||||||||||
| Date | September 21, 2000 (heats) September 22, 2000 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 28 from 22 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 8:19.67 OR | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
United States' teenager Brooke Bennett became the second swimmer in Olympic history to defend her title in the event, and the fifth to strike a long-distance freestyle double, since Debbie Meyer did so in 1968, Petra Thümer in 1976, Tiffany Cohen in 1984, and the legendary Janet Evans in 1988. She maintained a powerful lead from start to finish before hitting the wall first in 8:19.67, the second-fastest of all time, cutting off Evans' 12-year Olympic record by 0.53 seconds.[2][3][4] After effortlessly striking a medley double over the past six days, Yana Klochkova added a silver to her medal tally at these Games, in a scintillating Ukrainian record of 8:22.66. Bennett's teammate Kaitlin Sandeno gave the Americans a further reason to celebrate, as she powered home with a bronze in 8:24.29.[5][6]
Switzerland's Flavia Rigamonti lost a spirited challenge to Sandeno for the bronze by more than a full body length, but earned a fourth spot in a national record of 8:25.91. She was followed in fifth by Germany's Hannah Stockbauer (8:30.11), and in sixth by China's Chen Hua (8:30.58). Stockbauer's teammate Jana Henke (8:31.97), bronze medalist in Barcelona eight years earlier, and Japan's Sachiko Yamada (8:37.39) rounded out the finale.[6]
Records edit
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Janet Evans (USA) |
8:16.22 | Tokyo, Japan | 20 August 1989 | [7][8] |
| Olympic record |  Janet Evans (USA) |
8:20.20 | Seoul, South Korea | 24 September 1988 | [7] |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 September | Final | Brooke Bennett | United States |
8:19.67 | OR |
Results edit
Heats edit
Final edit
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Brooke Bennett | United States |
8:19.67 | OR |
 |
5 | Yana Klochkova |  Ukraine |
8:22.66 | NR |
 |
3 | Kaitlin Sandeno | United States |
8:24.29 | |
| 4 | 6 | Flavia Rigamonti |  Switzerland |
8:25.91 | NR |
| 5 | 2 | Hannah Stockbauer |  Germany |
8:30.11 | |
| 6 | 8 | Chen Hua |  China |
8:30.58 | |
| 7 | 7 | Jana Henke | Germany |
8:31.97 | |
| 8 | 1 | Sachiko Yamada |  Japan |
8:37.39 |
References edit
- ^ "Swimming schedule". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ Harris, Beth (22 September 2000). "Bennett Wins Gold in 800m Freestyle". ABC News. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ^ "Bennett Doubles in the Distances". Los Angeles Times. 23 September 2000. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ "Bennett wins 800 meters, second gold". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 22 September 2000. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ "Bennett sweeps distance races". ESPN. 22 September 2000. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ a b Whitten, Phillip (22 September 2000). "Olympic Day 7 Finals (50 Free, 800 Free, 200 Back, 100 Fly)". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ a b c "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Women's 800m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 199–202. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ Dimond, Jeff (October 1989). "Swim and Deliver" (PDF). Swimming World and Junior Swimmer. 30 (10): 41–44. Retrieved 8 June 2008.[permanent dead link]