Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle

Women's 400 metre freestyle
at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad
VenueSydney International Aquatic Centre
DateSeptember 17, 2000 (heats & final)
Competitors39 from 32 nations
Winning time4:05.80
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Brooke Bennett  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Diana Munz  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Claudia Poll  Costa Rica
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Swimming at the
2000 Summer Olympics
Freestyle
50 mmenwomen
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
400 mmenwomen
800 mwomen
1500 mmen
Backstroke
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
Breaststroke
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
Butterfly
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
Individual medley
200 mmenwomen
400 mmenwomen
Freestyle relay
4 × 100 mmenwomen
4 × 200 mmenwomen
Medley relay
4 × 100 mmenwomen

The women's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 17 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.[1]

Brooke Bennett emerged as a major force in long-distance swimming, after effortlessly winning a first gold for the United States in the event since Janet Evans did so in 1988. She maintained a powerful lead from start to finish, and posted a lifetime best of 4:05.80, making her the third fastest all-time swimmer in history behind Evans and China's Chen Hua.[2][3] At only 18 years of age, Diana Munz fought off a sprint challenge from Costa Rica's Claudia Poll and Jamaica's Janelle Atkinson on the final lap to take home the silver in 4:07.07, extending a distance swimming legacy for the Americans with a one–two finish.[4] Meanwhile, Poll settled only for the bronze in 4:07.83.[5][6]

Atkinson made an Olympic milestone as the first Jamaican to reach a swimming final, but missed out the podium by almost a full second in a national record of 4:08.79.[7] Russia's Nadezhda Chemezova finished fifth in 4:10.37, holding off a fast-pacing Hannah Stockbauer of Germany (4:10.38) by a hundredth of a second (0.01). Netherlands' Carla Geurts (4:12.36), and China's Chen Hua (4:13.11), the second fastest all-time swimmer, rounded out the finale.[6]

Records

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

World record  Janet Evans (USA) 4:03.85 Seoul, South Korea 22 September 1988 [8]
Olympic record  Janet Evans (USA) 4:03.85 Seoul, South Korea 22 September 1988 [8]

Results

Heats

[8]

Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 3 4 Brooke Bennett  United States 4:07.57 Q
2 3 5 Claudia Poll  Costa Rica 4:09.33 Q
3 3 3 Janelle Atkinson  Jamaica 4:09.61 Q, NR
4 4 5 Diana Munz  United States 4:10.39 Q
5 5 1 Chen Hua  China 4:10.56 Q
6 4 6 Nadezhda Chemezova  Russia 4:10.76 Q
5 4 Hannah Stockbauer  Germany Q
8 3 7 Carla Geurts  Netherlands 4:10.86 Q
9 5 7 Flavia Rigamonti  Switzerland 4:11.77
10 5 6 Kirsten Vlieghuis  Netherlands 4:11.87
11 4 4 Camelia Potec  Romania 4:11.92
12 5 3 Sachiko Yamada  Japan 4:12.45
13 3 6 Natalya Baranovskaya  Belarus 4:12.67
14 2 4 Laetitia Choux  France 4:13.09
15 5 5 Kerstin Kielgaß  Germany 4:13.10
16 4 1 Simona Păduraru  Romania 4:13.89
17 4 2 Irina Ufimtseva  Russia 4:15.41
18 4 7 Kasey Giteau  Australia 4:15.54
19 5 8 Karine Legault  Canada 4:15.55
20 4 8 Sofie Goffin  Belgium 4:15.93
21 3 1 Chantal Strasser  Switzerland 4:16.17
22 2 2 Artemis Dafni  Greece 4:16.94
23 4 3 Yasuko Tajima  Japan 4:17.23
24 2 5 Angels Bardina  Spain 4:17.55
25 2 8 Lin Chi-chan  Chinese Taipei 4:17.76
26 2 6 Hana Černá  Czech Republic 4:17.96
27 5 2 Sarah-Jane D'Arcy  Australia 4:18.05
28 2 3 Sara Goffi  Italy 4:18.16
29 3 2 Éva Risztov  Hungary 4:18.48
30 1 4 Ivanka Moralieva  Bulgaria 4:19.10
31 1 2 Vesna Stojanovska  Macedonia 4:19.69
32 3 8 Olena Lapunova  Ukraine 4:19.96
33 1 3 Patricia Villarreal  Mexico 4:21.03
34 1 7 Chantal Gibney  Ireland 4:23.73
35 1 1 Nataliya Korabelnikova  Kyrgyzstan 4:24.29
36 1 5 Christel Bouvron  Singapore 4:25.16
37 2 1 Roh Joo-hee  South Korea 4:25.66
38 1 6 Adi Bichman  Israel 4:27.33
39 2 7 Pilin Tachakittiranan  Thailand 4:29.28

Final

Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 Brooke Bennett  United States 4:05.80
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 Diana Munz  United States 4:07.07
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 Claudia Poll  Costa Rica 4:07.83
4 3 Janelle Atkinson  Jamaica 4:08.79 NR
5 7 Nadezhda Chemezova  Russia 4:10.37
6 1 Hannah Stockbauer  Germany 4:10.38
7 8 Carla Geurts  Netherlands 4:12.36
8 2 Chen Hua  China 4:13.11

References

  1. ^ "Swimming schedule". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  2. ^ "De Bruijn soars to butterfly gold". BBC Sport. 17 September 2000. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  3. ^ "Dolan, Bennett bring home gold for U.S. swimming". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 16 September 2000. Archived from the original on May 7, 2001. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Dolan, Munz overcome ailments to win". ESPN. 17 September 2000. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Americans Bennett, Munz go 1-2 in 400 free". Canoe.ca. 17 September 2000. Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  6. ^ a b Whitten, Phillip (17 September 2000). "Olympic Day 2 Finals". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Atkinson superb; just misses medal in 400m freestyle". Jamaica Gleaner. 18 September 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  8. ^ a b c "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Women's 400m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 192–193. Retrieved 16 June 2013.