The women's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 1–2 August 2012 at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.[1]
| Women's 100 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The London 2012 Aquatics Centre | ||||||||||
| Venue | London Aquatics Centre | |||||||||
| Date | 1 August 1, 2012 (heats & semifinals) 2 August 2012 (final) | |||||||||
| Competitors | 50 from 44 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 53.00 OR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Dutch swimmer Ranomi Kromowidjojo swam to a new Olympic record to become the country's third gold medalist in the event, along with Rie Mastenbroek in 1936 and Inge de Bruijn in 2000. In fourth place at the halfway turn, she pulled ahead of a tightly packed field to touch the wall first and improve her own record in 53.00.[2][3] Belarus' Aliaksandra Herasimenia was in the lead on the first length under a world-record pace, but faded down the stretch to win the silver medal in 53.38.[4] China's Tang Yi swam a fast final lap for the bronze medal in 53.44.[5][6]
Australia's Melanie Schlanger finished fourth in 53.47, while American teenage sensation Missy Franklin finished in fifth place in 53.64.[7] Great Britain's home favorite Francesca Halsall (53.66), Denmark's Jeanette Ottesen (53.75), who shared the title with Herasimenia at the 2011 World Championships, and U.S. swimmer Jessica Hardy (54.02) finished in sixth thru eighth place.[6][8]
Before the breakthrough finale, Kromowidjojo swam a top-seeded time of 53.05 to slice 0.07 seconds off the previous Olympic record set by Germany's defending champion Britta Steffen, who later missed the final roster with a twelfth-place finish (54.18) in the semifinals.[9][10]
Only 48 of the 50 swimmers registered in the event competed. Sweden's five-time Olympian Therese Alshammar suffered a pinched nerve in her neck, and skipped most of her events. Australia's Cate Campbell scratched her first individual race because of a glandular fever.[11][12]
Records edit
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were:
| World record |  Britta Steffen (GER) |
52.07 | Rome, Italy | 31 July 2009 | [13][14] |
| Olympic record |  Britta Steffen (GER) |
53.12 | Beijing, China | 15 August 2008 | [15] |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1 | Semifinal 2 | Ranomi Kromowidjojo |  Netherlands |
53.05 | OR |
| August 2 | Final | Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands |
53.00 | OR |
Results edit
Heats edit
Semifinals edit
Semifinal 1 edit
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Melanie Schlanger |  Australia |
53.38 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Aliaksandra Herasimenia |  Belarus |
53.78 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Jessica Hardy |  United States |
53.86 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Sarah Sjöström |  Sweden |
53.93 | |
| 5 | 3 | Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace |  Bahamas |
54.12 | |
| 6 | 1 | Britta Steffen | Germany |
54.18 | |
| 7 | 8 | Daniela Schreiber | Germany |
54.39 | |
| 8 | 7 | Haruka Ueda |  Japan |
54.59 |
Semifinal 2 edit
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands |
53.05 | Q, OR |
| 2 | 7 | Missy Franklin | United States |
53.59 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Tang Yi |  China |
53.60 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | Jeanette Ottesen |  Denmark |
53.77 | Q |
| 6 | Francesca Halsall |  Great Britain |
Q | ||
| 6 | 8 | Femke Heemskerk | Netherlands |
54.13 | |
| 7 | 2 | Julia Wilkinson |  Canada |
54.25 | |
| 8 | 1 | Amy Smith | Great Britain |
54.28 |
Final edit
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands |
53.00 | OR |
 |
1 | Aliaksandra Herasimenia | Belarus |
53.38 | NR |
 |
6 | Tang Yi | China |
53.44 | |
| 4 | 5 | Melanie Schlanger | Australia |
53.47 | |
| 5 | 3 | Missy Franklin | United States |
53.64 | |
| 6 | 7 | Francesca Halsall | Great Britain |
53.66 | |
| 7 | 2 | Jeanette Ottesen | Denmark |
53.75 | |
| 8 | 8 | Jessica Hardy | United States |
54.02 |
References edit
- ^ "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 29 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ "Kromowidjojo wins women's 100 free with OR". Fox News. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "Flying Dutchwoman: Kromowidjojo cruises to gold". Washington Examiner. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "Herasimenia claims silver at London 2012". Belarusian Telegraph Agency. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-07-10. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "China's Tang Yi bags bronze medal in women's 100m freestyle". China Daily. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ a b "2012 London Olympics: Ranomi Kromowidjojo Clinches 100 Free Gold With Olympic Record; Aliaksandra Herasimenia, Tang Yi Get Silver-Bronze; Missy Franklin, Jessica Hardy Miss Podium". Swimming World Magazine. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "Melanie Schlanger rues missing 100m free medal". The Australian. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "Soni wins gold, breaks world record in 200m breast". USA Swimming. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "2012 London Olympics: The Netherlands' Ranomi Kromowidjojo Clips Olympic Record in 100 Free Semis; Missy Franklin, Jessica Hardy Make Finals". Swimming World Magazine. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-05-27. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "Nathan Adrian of U.S. wins 100-meter freestyle gold medal by smallest of margins". CBS News. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "2012 London Olympics: China's Tang Yi Posts Olympic Textile Best in 100 Free Prelims; Jessica Hardy, Missy Franklin Advance; Defending Champ Britta Steffen In". Swimming World Magazine. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Wordsworth, Matt (1 August 2012). "Cate Campbell pulls out of 100m freestyle". ABC News Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Bull, Andy (31 July 2009). "Fran Halsall dreams of puppy after freestyle silver at world championships". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Cowley, Michael (1 August 2009). "Australians cast in bronze as more records tumble". The Age. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "Steffen wins first swimming gold for Germany". NBC Olympics. 14 August 2008. Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Women's 100m Freestyle – Heats". London2012.com. LOCOG. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ "Women's 100m Freestyle – Semifinals". London2012.com. LOCOG. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ "Women's 100m Freestyle – Final". London2012.com. LOCOG. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.