Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle
| Women's 400 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center |
| Date | August 10, 2008 (heats) August 11, 2008 (final) |
| Competitors | 42 from 35 nations |
| Winning time | 4:03.22 |
| Medalists | |
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| Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sample picture of the event (unofficial) | ||
| Qualification | ||
| Freestyle | ||
| 50 m | men | women |
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | women | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| Backstroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Breaststroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Butterfly | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Individual medley | ||
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| Freestyle relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| 4 × 200 m | men | women |
| Medley relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| Marathon | ||
| 10 km | men | women |
The women's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10–11 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1] The winning margin was 0.07 seconds which as of 2024 is the narrowest winning margin for this event in the Olympics. Rebecca Adlington became Great Britain's first female gold medalist in swimming in 48 years.[2] She posted an outside-record time of 4:03.22 to pip U.S. swimmer Katie Hoff in the final 5 metres after a 1.46-second deficit, with one length to go. Hoff added a silver to her hardware from the 400 m individual medley just a day earlier, in 4:03.29. Adlington's teammate Joanne Jackson earned a bronze in 4:03.52, handing 2 of the 3 medals won by Team GB in the pool.[3][4][5] France's Coralie Balmy narrowly missed the podium by eight hundredths of a second (0.08), finishing in fourth place at 4:03.60. Italy's world record holder and top favorite Federica Pellegrini earned a fifth spot in a time of 4:04.56, holding off Romania's Camelia Potec to sixth by 0.10 of a second (4:04.66). Australia's Bronte Barratt (4:05.05) and defending Olympic champion Laure Manaudou (4:11.26).[3] Notable swimmers missed out the top 8 final, featuring Poland's Otylia Jędrzejczak, silver medalist in Athens four years earlier, Hoff's teammate Kate Ziegler, and South Africa's Wendy Trott, who broke a new African record (4:08.38) in the heats.[6] Earlier in the prelims, Pellegrini, Hoff, Jackson, and Adlington broke one of the oldest Olympic records in the book as they each went under the time of 4:03.85, which had stood since Janet Evans won the gold medal in the event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.[6]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:
| World record | File:Flag of Italy.svg Federica Pellegrini (ITA) | 4:01.53 | Eindhoven, Netherlands | 24 March 2008 | [7] |
| Olympic record | File:Flag of the United States.svg Janet Evans (USA) | 4:03.85 | Seoul, South Korea | 22 September 1988 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10 | Heat 5 | Katie Hoff | File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | 4:03.71 | OR |
| August 10 | Heat 6 | Federica Pellegrini | File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy | 4:02.19 | OR |
Results
Heats
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Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place, gold medalist(s) | 5 | Rebecca Adlington | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 4:03.22 | |
| 2nd place, silver medalist(s) | 3 | Katie Hoff | File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | 4:03.29 | |
| 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) | 6 | Joanne Jackson | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 4:03.52 | |
| 4 | 7 | Coralie Balmy | File:Flag of France.svg France | 4:03.60 | |
| 5 | 4 | Federica Pellegrini | File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy | 4:04.56 | |
| 6 | 1 | Camelia Potec | File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania | 4:04.66 | |
| 7 | 2 | Bronte Barratt | File:Flag of Australia.svg Australia | 4:05.05 | |
| 8 | 8 | Laure Manaudou | File:Flag of France.svg France | 4:11.26 |
References
- ↑ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ "Adlington snatches swimming gold". BBC Sport. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lohn, John (10 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Rebecca Adlington Overtakes Katie Hoff for Gold in Women's 400 Free". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ Kitson, Robert (11 August 2008). "Olympics: Rebecca Adlington wins gold for Britain in 400m freestyle". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ Lonsbrough, Anita (11 August 2008). "Rebecca Adlington wins gold on a rewarding day for Britain – Beijing Olympics 2008". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lohn, John (10 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Olympic Record Falls Twice in Women's 400 Free, Federica Pellegrini Tops Qualifying". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ "Veldhuis and Pellegrini set world records at Euro swimming championships". International Herald Tribune. 24 March 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
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