Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metre freestyle

The women's 800 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 21–22 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.[1]

Women's 800 metre freestyle
at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad
VenueSydney International Aquatic Centre
DateSeptember 21, 2000 (heats)
September 22, 2000 (final)
Competitors28 from 22 nations
Winning time8:19.67 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Brooke Bennett  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Yana Klochkova  Ukraine
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Kaitlin Sandeno  United States
← 1996
2004 →

United States' teenager Brooke Bennett became the second swimmer in Olympic history to defend her title in the event, and the fifth to strike a long-distance freestyle double, since Debbie Meyer did so in 1968, Petra Thümer in 1976, Tiffany Cohen in 1984, and the legendary Janet Evans in 1988. She maintained a powerful lead from start to finish before hitting the wall first in 8:19.67, the second-fastest of all time, cutting off Evans' 12-year Olympic record by 0.53 seconds.[2][3][4] After effortlessly striking a medley double over the past six days, Yana Klochkova added a silver to her medal tally at these Games, in a scintillating Ukrainian record of 8:22.66. Bennett's teammate Kaitlin Sandeno gave the Americans a further reason to celebrate, as she powered home with a bronze in 8:24.29.[5][6]

Switzerland's Flavia Rigamonti lost a spirited challenge to Sandeno for the bronze by more than a full body length, but earned a fourth spot in a national record of 8:25.91. She was followed in fifth by Germany's Hannah Stockbauer (8:30.11), and in sixth by China's Chen Hua (8:30.58). Stockbauer's teammate Jana Henke (8:31.97), bronze medalist in Barcelona eight years earlier, and Japan's Sachiko Yamada (8:37.39) rounded out the finale.[6]

Records

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

World record   Janet Evans (USA) 8:16.22 Tokyo, Japan 20 August 1989 [7][8]
Olympic record   Janet Evans (USA) 8:20.20 Seoul, South Korea 24 September 1988 [7]

The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.

Date Event Name Nationality Time Record
22 September Final Brooke Bennett   United States 8:19.67 OR

Results

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Heats

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[7]

Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 4 4 Brooke Bennett   United States 8:26.47 Q
2 3 2 Yana Klochkova   Ukraine 8:29.84 Q, NR
3 3 4 Kaitlin Sandeno   United States 8:30.12 Q
4 2 4 Flavia Rigamonti   Switzerland 8:30.44 Q
5 4 5 Hannah Stockbauer   Germany 8:31.74 Q
6 3 5 Jana Henke   Germany 8:31.86 Q
7 4 3 Sachiko Yamada   Japan 8:33.06 Q
8 3 7 Chen Hua   China 8:33.23 Q
9 4 6 Janelle Atkinson   Jamaica 8:34.51 NR
10 3 3 Kirsten Vlieghuis   Netherlands 8:35.80
11 2 5 Chantal Strasser   Switzerland 8:35.84
12 4 2 Rachel Harris   Australia 8:36.94
13 2 3 Hayley Lewis   Australia 8:38.75
14 3 6 Éva Risztov   Hungary 8:43.07
15 2 2 Rebecca Cooke   Great Britain 8:43.22
16 2 7 Karine Legault   Canada 8:43.56
17 3 1 Irina Ufimtseva   Russia 8:44.64
18 4 8 Mirjana Boševska   Macedonia 8:46.39 NR
19 2 8 Hana Černá   Czech Republic 8:47.64
20 1 3 Ivanka Moralieva   Bulgaria 8:52.61
21 1 4 Patricia Villarreal   Mexico 8:54.79
22 3 8 Marianna Lymperta   Greece 8:56.33
23 2 6 Olga Beresnyeva   Ukraine 9:00.12
24 1 5 Lin Chi-chan   Chinese Taipei 9:01.09
25 2 1 Adi Bichman   Israel 9:01.90
26 1 6 Cecilia Biagioli   Argentina 9:04.02
4 1 Claudia Poll   Costa Rica DNS
4 7 Joanne Malar   Canada DNS

Final

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Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
  4 Brooke Bennett   United States 8:19.67 OR
  5 Yana Klochkova   Ukraine 8:22.66 NR
  3 Kaitlin Sandeno   United States 8:24.29
4 6 Flavia Rigamonti   Switzerland 8:25.91 NR
5 2 Hannah Stockbauer   Germany 8:30.11
6 8 Chen Hua   China 8:30.58
7 7 Jana Henke   Germany 8:31.97
8 1 Sachiko Yamada   Japan 8:37.39

References

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  1. ^ "Swimming schedule". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  2. ^ Harris, Beth (22 September 2000). "Bennett Wins Gold in 800m Freestyle". ABC News. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  3. ^ "Bennett Doubles in the Distances". Los Angeles Times. 23 September 2000. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Bennett wins 800 meters, second gold". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 22 September 2000. Archived from the original on August 21, 2001. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Bennett sweeps distance races". ESPN. 22 September 2000. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  6. ^ a b Whitten, Phillip (22 September 2000). "Olympic Day 7 Finals (50 Free, 800 Free, 200 Back, 100 Fly)". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  7. ^ a b c "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Women's 800m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 199–202. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  8. ^ Dimond, Jeff (October 1989). "Swim and Deliver" (PDF). Swimming World and Junior Swimmer. 30 (10): 41–44. Retrieved 8 June 2008.[permanent dead link]
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