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 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Olympic Aquatics Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 11 August 2016 (heats & semifinals) 12 August 2016 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 28 from 20 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 2:05.99 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Summary
editU.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
editPrior 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
editThe 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
editHeats
edit
Semifinals
editSemifinal 1
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit- ^ a b "Women's 200m Backstroke". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Trevelyan, Mark (12 August 2016). "DiRado bows out with backstroke gold". Reuters. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ Crouse, Karen (12 August 2016). "Maya DiRado, Exiting the Sport, Catches Katinka Hosszu and Grabs Gold". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ^ Ng, Callum (12 August 2016). "Hilary Caldwell wins bronze, Canada's 6th swim medal". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Maya DiRado Upsets Katinka Hosszu For Victory In The 200 Back". Swimming World Magazine. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Coventry caps Olympic career with 6th-place finish". Zimbabwe: The Standard. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ "Katinka Hosszu Soars Ahead Of 200 Back Semi-Finals Field". Swimming World Magazine. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ "Swimming: Rio turns into an Olympic-sized disappointment for Missy Franklin". Salt Lake Tribune. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Auerbach, Nicole (4 August 2012). "USA's Missy Franklin wins another gold, sets world record". USA Today. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
- ^ a b "US swimmer Missy Franklin sets world record, Phelps ends individual races with medal". Fox News. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2013.