Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre backstroke

The women's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on 11–12 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.[1]

Women's 200 metre backstroke
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
VenueOlympic Aquatics Stadium
Dates11 August 2016 (heats &
semifinals)
12 August 2016 (final)
Competitors28 from 20 nations
Winning time2:05.99
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Maya DiRado  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Katinka Hosszú  Hungary
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Hilary Caldwell  Canada
← 2012
2020 →

Summary

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U.S. swimmer Maya DiRado saved her best race for last before retiring from the sport, as she upset Hungary's Katinka Hosszú on the home stretch to claim the distance backstroke title. Coming from behind at the 150-metre turn, DiRado produced a late surge to touch out the Hungarian favorite by six hundredths of a second for the gold medal in 2:05.99.[2][3] Hosszú commanded a solid lead through the first half of the race, but she was unable to hold off DiRado about the midway of the final lap, leaving with a silver in 2:06.05. Meanwhile, Canada's Hilary Caldwell swam her way into the bronze-medal position with a 2:07.54.[4][5]

Russia's Daria Ustinova, who was allowed to compete in Rio after successfully appealing from her doping ban, obtained the fourth spot in 2:07.89, edging out Australia's Belinda Hocking (2:08.02) to fifth by 0.13 of a second.[6] Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, a five-time Olympian and double gold medalist in this event, capped off her illustrious Olympic career with a sixth-place finish in 2:08.80.[7] Chinese teenager Liu Yaxin (2:09.03) and Iceland's Eygló Ósk Gústafsdóttir (2:09.44) rounded out the top eight.[5]

World-record holder Missy Franklin missed the opportunity to defend her Olympic title in the final, after placing fourteenth in the semifinals (2:09.74).[8][9] Other notable swimmers failed to reach the top eight roster, including Hocking's teammate and reigning world champion Emily Seebohm, London 2012 silver medalist Anastasia Fesikova of Russia, and Ukraine's Daryna Zevina, runner-up at the European Championships two months earlier.[10]

Records

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Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record   Missy Franklin (USA) 2:04.06 London, United Kingdom 3 August 2012 [11][12]
Olympic record   Missy Franklin (USA) 2:04.06 London, United Kingdom 3 August 2012 [11][12]

Competition format

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The competition consisted of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advanced to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.[1]

Results

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Heats

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Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 3 4 Katinka Hosszú   Hungary 2:06.09 Q, NR
2 3 3 Hilary Caldwell   Canada 2:07.40 Q
3 3 5 Maya DiRado   United States 2:08.60 Q
4 2 6 Lisa Graf   Germany 2:08.67 Q
4 5 Belinda Hocking   Australia Q
6 3 7 Liu Yaxin   China 2:08.84 Q
7 2 3 Dominique Bouchard   Canada 2:08.87 Q
8 4 3 Daryna Zevina   Ukraine 2:08.88 Q
9 3 2 Kirsty Coventry   Zimbabwe 2:08.91 Q
10 4 4 Emily Seebohm   Australia 2:09.00 Q
11 2 4 Missy Franklin   United States 2:09.36 Q
12 4 2 Eygló Ósk Gústafsdóttir   Iceland 2:09.62 Q
13 2 5 Daria Ustinova   Russia 2:09.96 Q
14 3 6 Anastasia Fesikova   Russia 2:10.39 Q
15 2 2 Matea Samardžić   Croatia 2:10.51 Q
16 4 6 Jenny Mensing   Germany 2:10.68 Q
17 2 7 Margherita Panziera   Italy 2:10.92
18 4 7 Claudia Lau   Hong Kong 2:10.94
19 2 1 Duane da Rocha   Spain 2:11.17
20 2 8 Alicja Tchórz   Poland 2:11.40
21 1 5 Ekaterina Avramova   Turkey 2:12.98
22 3 1 Réka György   Hungary 2:12.99
23 1 4 Simona Baumrtova   Czech Republic 2:13.26
24 1 3 Martina van Berkel   Switzerland 2:13.46
25 4 8 África Zamorano   Spain 2:13.74
26 3 8 Natsumi Sakai   Japan 2:13.99
27 4 1 Chen Jie   China 2:14.18
28 1 6 Yessy Yosaputra   Indonesia 2:20.88

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 4 Hilary Caldwell   Canada 2:07.17 Q
2 3 Liu Yaxin   China 2:07.56 Q
3 7 Eygló Ósk Gústafsdóttir   Iceland 2:08.84 Q, NR
4 6 Daryna Zevina   Ukraine 2:09.07
5 1 Anastasia Fesikova   Russia 2:09.12
6 2 Emily Seebohm   Australia 2:09.39
7 5 Lisa Graf   Germany 2:09.56
8 8 Jenny Mensing   Germany 2:10.15

Semifinal 2

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Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 4 Katinka Hosszú   Hungary 2:06.03 Q, NR
2 5 Maya DiRado   United States 2:07.53 Q
3 3 Belinda Hocking   Australia 2:07.83 Q
4 2 Kirsty Coventry   Zimbabwe 2:08.83 Q
5 1 Daria Ustinova   Russia 2:08.84 Q
6 6 Dominique Bouchard   Canada 2:09.07
7 7 Missy Franklin   United States 2:09.74
8 8 Matea Samardžić   Croatia 2:09.83

Final

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Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
  3 Maya DiRado   United States 2:05.99
  4 Katinka Hosszú   Hungary 2:06.05
  5 Hilary Caldwell   Canada 2:07.54
4 8 Daria Ustinova   Russia 2:07.89
5 2 Belinda Hocking   Australia 2:08.02
6 7 Kirsty Coventry   Zimbabwe 2:08.80
7 6 Liu Yaxin   China 2:09.03
8 1 Eygló Ósk Gústafsdóttir   Iceland 2:09.44

References

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  1. ^ a b "Women's 200m Backstroke". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  2. ^ Trevelyan, Mark (12 August 2016). "DiRado bows out with backstroke gold". Reuters. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  3. ^ Crouse, Karen (12 August 2016). "Maya DiRado, Exiting the Sport, Catches Katinka Hosszu and Grabs Gold". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  4. ^ Ng, Callum (12 August 2016). "Hilary Caldwell wins bronze, Canada's 6th swim medal". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Maya DiRado Upsets Katinka Hosszu For Victory In The 200 Back". Swimming World Magazine. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  6. ^ Colman, Mike (12 August 2016). "Ghost of the London Olympics still haunt Australian swim team, according to Belinda Hocking". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Coventry caps Olympic career with 6th-place finish". Zimbabwe: The Standard. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Katinka Hosszu Soars Ahead Of 200 Back Semi-Finals Field". Swimming World Magazine. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Swimming: Rio turns into an Olympic-sized disappointment for Missy Franklin". Salt Lake Tribune. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  10. ^ Chammas, Michael (12 August 2016). "Mitch Larkin wins Rio Olympics silver as Emily Seebohm fails to qualify for final". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  11. ^ a b Auerbach, Nicole (4 August 2012). "USA's Missy Franklin wins another gold, sets world record". USA Today. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  12. ^ a b "US swimmer Missy Franklin sets world record, Phelps ends individual races with medal". Fox News. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2013.