| | Event type

200 metres Butterfly, Women

Date	26 July 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Participants	34 from 28 countries

Chinese swimmers Qu Yun and Liu Limin had dominated the event at the 1994 World Championships but the Chinese Olympic team was a shadow of the team they had been two years earlier and instead the mantle of pre-Games favourites fell on the shoulders of the Australian pairing of Susie O’Neill and Petria Thomas. As the events of Atlanta unfolded another name was added to the list of contenders as Michelle Smith of Ireland had already visited the top of the Olympic podium on three occasions.

O’Neill had burst onto the world scene as a 16-year-old in 1990 but this was to be her first global title. She led for the entirety of the race and eventually won by a large margin of 2.06 seconds. Behind her Petria Thomas took a large slice off her personal best to finish second ahead of Smith who finally lost an Olympic race. O’Neill would go on to win silver in this event in front of her home crowd in Sydney in 2000 and retired afterwards, having won a total of eight Olympic medals

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	Susie O'Neill	AUS	2:09.46 (1 h5)	–	2:07.76 (1)	Gold
2	Petria Thomas	AUS	2:10.64 (1 h3)	–	2:09.82 (2)	Silver
3	Michelle Smith	IRL	2:10.03 (2 h5)	–	2:09.91 (3)	Bronze
4	Qu Yun	CHN	2:11.35 (2 h3)	–	2:10.26 (4)
5	Liu Limin	CHN	2:13.12 (3 h5)	–	2:10.70 (5)
6	Jessica Deglau	CAN	2:12.48 (3 h3)	–	2:11.40 (6)
7	Mika Haruna	JPN	2:12.59 (1 h4)	–	2:11.93 (7)
8	Trina Jackson	USA	2:12.69 (4 h3)	–	2:11.96 (8)
9	Sophia Skou	DEN	2:13.59 (5 h3)	2:12.41 (1)	–
10	Cécile Jeanson	FRA	2:13.58 (2 h4)	2:12.99 (2)	–
11	María Peláez	ESP	2:13.85 (3 h4)	2:13.05 (3)	–
=12	Anna Uryniuk	POL	2:13.90 (4 h4)	2:13.64 (=4)	–
=12	Annette Salmeen	USA	2:14.69 (6 h5)	2:13.64 (=4)	–
14	Hitomi Kashima	JPN	2:16.04 (5 h4)	2:13.97 (6)	–
15	Andrea Schwartz	CAN	2:13.33 (4 h5)	2:14.07 (7)	–
16	Bárbara Franco	ESP	2:13.34 (5 h5)	2:14.16 (8)	–
17	Ilaria Tocchini	ITA	2:16.10 (6 h3)	–	–
18	Hsieh Shu-Tzu	TPE	2:16.27 (6 h4)	–	–
19	Sabine Herbst	GER	2:16.66 (7 h4)	–	–
20	Nataliya Zolotukhina	UKR	2:16.68 (1 h2)	–	–
21	Loredana Zisu	ROU	2:17.56 (7 h5)	–	–
22	Ana Francisco	POR	2:17.61 (7 h3)	–	–
=23	Edit Klocker	HUN	2:17.90 (8 h3)	–	–
=23	Nataša Meškovska	MKD	2:17.90 (2 h2)	–	–
25	Praphalsai Minpraphal	THA	2:18.19 (8 h5)	–	–
26	Nida Zuhal	TUR	2:18.46 (3 h2)	–	–
27	Marcela Kubalčíková	CZE	2:19.38 (4 h2)	–	–
28	María Pereyra	ARG	2:19.57 (5 h2)	–	–
29	Marina Karystinou	GRE	2:20.57 (6 h2)	–	–
30	Mandy Loots	RSA	2:20.73 (7 h2)	–	–
31	Tinka Dančević	CRO	2:20.74 (8 h2)	–	–
32	Park U-Hui	KOR	2:22.99 (1 h1)	–	–
33	Melissa Mata	CRC	2:23.89 (2 h1)	–	–
34	Sonia Álvarez	PUR	2:25.24 (3 h1)	–	–

Round One (26 July 1996)

Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Heat One (9:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	4	Park U-Hui	KOR	32.79 (3) 36.59 (3)	1:09.38 (3) 35.54 (1)	1:44.92 (1) 38.07 (1)	2:22.99	0.86
2	5	Melissa Mata	CRC	32.26 (1) 36.22 (1)	1:08.48 (1) 37.06 (2)	1:45.54 (2) 38.35 (2)	2:23.89	0.81
3	3	Sonia Álvarez	PUR	32.62 (2) 36.27 (2)	1:08.89 (2) 37.44 (3)	1:46.33 (3) 38.91 (3)	2:25.24	0.80

Heat Two (9:40)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	6	Nataliya Zolotukhina	UKR	29.78 (1) 33.71 (1)	1:03.49 (1) 35.83 (2)	1:39.32 (1) 37.36 (5)	2:16.68	0.86
2	5	Nataša Meškovska	MKD	30.91 (3) 34.22 (2)	1:05.13 (2) 35.95 (4)	1:41.08 (2) 36.82 (3)	2:17.90	0.80
3	8	Nida Zuhal	TUR	31.05 (4) 34.52 (4)	1:05.57 (4) 36.21 (5)	1:41.78 (4) 36.68 (2)	2:18.46	0.87
4	4	Marcela Kubalčíková	CZE	30.85 (2) 34.50 (3)	1:05.35 (3) 35.92 (3)	1:41.27 (3) 38.11 (8)	2:19.38	0.92
5	2	María Pereyra	ARG	32.03 (8) 35.19 (6)	1:07.22 (7) 35.68 (1)	1:42.90 (6) 36.67 (1)	2:19.57	0.81
6	3	Marina Karystinou	GRE	31.26 (5) 34.91 (5)	1:06.17 (5) 36.32 (7)	1:42.49 (5) 38.08 (7)	2:20.57	0.81
7	1	Mandy Loots	RSA	31.42 (6) 36.03 (8)	1:07.45 (8) 36.28 (6)	1:43.73 (8) 37.00 (4)	2:20.73	0.82
8	7	Tinka Dančević	CRO	31.58 (7) 35.29 (7)	1:06.87 (6) 36.41 (8)	1:43.28 (7) 37.46 (6)	2:20.74	0.80

Heat Three (9:50)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	3	Petria Thomas	AUS	29.32 (1) 32.78 (1)	1:02.10 (1) 33.81 (1)	1:35.91 (1) 34.73 (3)	2:10.64	0.75	Q
2	4	Qu Yun	CHN	29.67 (3) 33.91 (5)	1:03.58 (4) 34.15 (3)	1:37.73 (4) 33.62 (1)	2:11.35	0.77	Q
3	6	Jessica Deglau	CAN	30.62 (5) 33.59 (4)	1:04.21 (5) 33.88 (2)	1:38.09 (5) 34.39 (2)	2:12.48	0.77	Q
4	5	Trina Jackson	USA	29.82 (4) 33.45 (3)	1:03.27 (3) 34.42 (5)	1:37.69 (3) 35.00 (4)	2:12.69	0.69	Q
5	2	Sophia Skou	DEN	29.63 (2) 33.32 (2)	1:02.95 (2) 34.37 (4)	1:37.32 (2) 36.27 (6)	2:13.59	0.84	q
6	7	Ilaria Tocchini	ITA	30.76 (8) 34.01 (6)	1:04.77 (6) 35.01 (6)	1:39.78 (6) 36.32 (7)	2:16.10	0.87
7	1	Ana Francisco	POR	30.73 (6) 35.08 (8)	1:05.81 (8) 35.73 (7)	1:41.54 (8) 36.07 (5)	2:17.61	0.86
8	8	Edit Klocker	HUN	30.75 (7) 34.43 (7)	1:05.18 (7) 36.00 (8)	1:41.18 (7) 36.72 (8)	2:17.90	0.90

Heat Four (10:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	5	Mika Haruna	JPN	30.28 (2) 33.32 (1)	1:03.60 (2) 34.15 (2)	1:37.75 (1) 34.84 (1)	2:12.59	0.86	Q
2	2	Cécile Jeanson	FRA	30.75 (5) 33.81 (4)	1:04.56 (5) 33.95 (1)	1:38.51 (2) 35.07 (2)	2:13.58	0.79	q
3	7	María Peláez	ESP	30.36 (3) 33.83 (5)	1:04.19 (3) 34.35 (4)	1:38.54 (3) 35.31 (4)	2:13.85	0.80	q
4	6	Anna Uryniuk	POL	30.56 (4) 33.74 (3)	1:04.30 (4) 34.30 (3)	1:38.60 (4) 35.30 (3)	2:13.90	0.82	q
5	4	Hitomi Kashima	JPN	29.92 (1) 33.39 (2)	1:03.31 (1) 35.63 (7)	1:38.94 (5) 37.10 (7)	2:16.04	0.78	q
6	1	Hsieh Shu-Tzu	TPE	30.76 (6) 34.23 (6)	1:04.99 (6) 35.43 (6)	1:40.42 (6) 35.85 (6)	2:16.27	0.91
7	8	Sabine Herbst	GER	31.17 (7) 34.51 (7)	1:05.68 (7) 35.22 (5)	1:40.90 (7) 35.76 (5)	2:16.66	0.78

Heat Five (10:10)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	4	Susie O'Neill	AUS	29.46 (2) 32.58 (2)	1:02.04 (2) 33.42 (1)	1:35.46 (1) 34.00 (1)	2:09.46	0.88	Q
2	3	Michelle Smith	IRL	29.22 (1) 32.55 (1)	1:01.77 (1) 33.72 (2)	1:35.49 (2) 34.54 (2)	2:10.03	0.81	Q
3	5	Liu Limin	CHN	30.07 (3) 33.53 (5)	1:03.60 (3) 34.47 (6)	1:38.07 (5) 35.05 (4)	2:13.12	0.76	Q
4	2	Andrea Schwartz	CAN	30.08 (4) 33.84 (6)	1:03.92 (6) 34.45 (5)	1:38.37 (6) 34.96 (3)	2:13.33	0.76	q
5	7	Bárbara Franco	ESP	30.37 (5) 33.25 (4)	1:03.62 (4) 34.41 (4)	1:38.03 (4) 35.31 (5)	2:13.34	0.77	q
6	6	Annette Salmeen	USA	30.62 (6) 33.09 (3)	1:03.71 (5) 33.96 (3)	1:37.67 (3) 37.02 (8)	2:14.69	0.82	q
7	1	Loredana Zisu	ROU	30.63 (7) 34.82 (8)	1:05.45 (7) 35.61 (7)	1:41.06 (7) 36.50 (7)	2:17.56	0.83
8	8	Praphalsai Minpraphal	THA	31.39 (8) 34.64 (7)	1:06.03 (8) 35.75 (8)	1:41.78 (8) 36.41 (6)	2:18.19	0.76

B Final (26 July 1996 — 19:40)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	6	Sophia Skou	DEN	29.88 (1) 33.78 (4)	1:03.66 (1) 33.69 (1)	1:37.35 (1) 35.06 (7)	2:12.41	0.88
2	3	Cécile Jeanson	FRA	30.43 (4) 33.72 (3)	1:04.15 (4) 34.22 (4)	1:38.37 (3) 34.62 (3)	2:12.99	0.76
3	2	María Peláez	ESP	30.46 (5) 33.70 (2)	1:04.16 (5) 34.03 (3)	1:38.19 (2) 34.86 (4)	2:13.05	0.80
=4	1	Annette Salmeen	USA	30.99 (7) 33.96 (=5)	1:04.95 (7) 34.24 (5)	1:39.19 (7) 34.45 (1)	2:13.64	0.83
=4	7	Anna Uryniuk	POL	30.18 (2) 33.96 (=5)	1:04.14 (3) 34.53 (7)	1:38.67 (4) 34.97 (6)	2:13.64	0.82
6	8	Hitomi Kashima	JPN	30.50 (6) 33.34 (1)	1:03.84 (2) 35.18 (8)	1:39.02 (6) 34.95 (5)	2:13.97	0.76
7	4	Andrea Schwartz	CAN	30.30 (3) 34.07 (7)	1:04.37 (6) 34.51 (6)	1:38.88 (5) 35.19 (8)	2:14.07	0.75
8	5	Bárbara Franco	ESP	31.07 (8) 34.50 (8)	1:05.57 (8) 33.98 (2)	1:39.55 (8) 34.61 (2)	2:14.16	0.77

Final (26 July 1996 — 19:30)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time	Reaction
1	4	Susie O'Neill	AUS	28.54 (1) 32.12 (1)	1:00.66 (1) 33.10 (2)	1:33.76 (1) 34.00 (2)	2:07.76	0.84
2	3	Petria Thomas	AUS	29.05 (2) 32.74 (5)	1:01.79 (=3) 33.66 (=3)	1:35.45 (3) 34.37 (3)	2:09.82	0.75
3	5	Michelle Smith	IRL	29.16 (3) 32.22 (2)	1:01.38 (2) 33.07 (1)	1:34.45 (2) 35.46 (8)	2:09.91	0.72
4	6	Qu Yun	CHN	29.32 (5) 33.24 (6)	1:02.56 (6) 33.77 (6)	1:36.33 (5) 33.93 (1)	2:10.26	0.76
5	8	Liu Limin	CHN	29.24 (4) 32.55 (3)	1:01.79 (=3) 33.76 (5)	1:35.55 (4) 35.15 (5)	2:10.70	0.78
6	2	Jessica Deglau	CAN	30.06 (8) 33.27 (7)	1:03.33 (8) 33.66 (=3)	1:36.99 (8) 34.41 (4)	2:11.40	0.81
7	7	Mika Haruna	JPN	29.70 (7) 32.70 (4)	1:02.40 (5) 34.10 (8)	1:36.50 (6) 35.43 (7)	2:11.93	0.89
8	1	Trina Jackson	USA	29.43 (6) 33.28 (8)	1:02.71 (7) 34.05 (7)	1:36.76 (7) 35.20 (6)	2:11.96	0.73