| | Event type

200 metres Breaststroke, Women

Date	18 – 19 August 2004
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympiako Kentro Ugrou Stivou, Olympiako Athletiko Kentro Athinon Spiros Loues, Athina (Main Pool)
Participants	31 from 28 countries

Five weeks before the Olympic Games began Australia’s Leisel Jones broke the world record at the Australian trials. Three days later at the US trials, World Champion Amanda Beard took half a second off Jones’ time and reclaimed the record she had previously shared with China’s Qi Hui.

Despite the presence of Qi and reigning champion Ágnes Kovács of Hungary it seemed that the gold medal was certain to be decided between Beard and Jones. Jones had laid off the pace in the early stages of 100 metres final and had been unable to catch Luo of China. In the longer race she seemed determined not to repeat her mistake and sped into the lead. For all but the final five metres it appeared her tactic was the right one but a devastating finishing burst from Beard was just enough to send the championship across to America. After silver in Atlanta and bronze in Sydney, Beard now completed a full set of medals in the event.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	Amanda Beard	USA	2:26.61 (1 h5)	2:25.62 (1 h2)	2:23.37 (1)	Gold
2	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:26.02 (1 h4)	2:26.71 (3 h2)	2:23.60 (2)	Silver
3	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.48 (1 h3)	2:26.59 (2 h1)	2:25.82 (3)	Bronze
4	Masami Tanaka	JPN	2:26.91 (2 h4)	2:26.38 (2 h2)	2:25.87 (4)
5	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	2:26.90 (2 h5)	2:26.63 (3 h1)	2:26.12 (5)
6	Qi Hui	CHN	2:28.66 (4 h5)	2:26.75 (4 h1)	2:26.35 (6)
7	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:28.28 (3 h3)	2:26.95 (4 h2)	2:26.36 (7)
8	Brooke Hanson	AUS	2:27.38 (3 h4)	2:26.43 (1 h1)	2:26.39 (8)
9	Caroline Bruce	USA	2:27.82 (3 h5)	2:27.60 (5 h1)	–
10	Kirsty Balfour	GBR	2:29.78 (4 h4)	2:28.92 (5 h2)	–
11	Birte Steven	GER	2:27.42 (2 h3)	2:29.22 (6 h2)	–
12	Yelena Bogomazova	RUS	2:31.49 (5 h5)	2:30.35 (6 h1)	–
13	Lauren Van Oosten	CAN	2:30.44 (5 h4)	2:30.39 (7 h1)	–
14	Chiara Boggiatto	ITA	2:30.32 (4 h3)	2:30.76 (8 h1)	–
15	Marina Kuč	SCG	2:30.39 (1 h2)	2:31.77 (7 h2)	–
16	Ina Kapishina	BLR	2:31.26 (6 h4)	– (DQ h2)	–
17	Smiljana Marinović	CRO	2:32.52 (7 h4)	–	–
18	Alenka Kejžar	SLO	2:32.64 (8 h4)	–	–
19	İlkay Dikmen	TUR	2:32.69 (2 h2)	–	–
20	Jaclyn Pangilinan	PHI	2:33.38 (1 h1)	–	–
21	Siow Yi Ting	MAS	2:33.79 (6 h5)	–	–
22	Eeva Saarinen	FIN	2:34.17 (2 h1)	–	–
23	Diana Gomes	POR	2:34.23 (5 h3)	–	–
24	Lee Ji-Yeong	KOR	2:34.55 (7 h5)	–	–
25	Majken Thorup	DEN	2:35.29 (3 h2)	–	–
26	Agustina De Giovanni	ARG	2:35.94 (4 h2)	–	–
27	Adriana Marmolejo	MEX	2:36.10 (5 h2)	–	–
28	Imaday Núñez	CUB	2:36.40 (6 h2)	–	–
29	Iryna Maistruk	UKR	2:37.42 (6 h3)	–	–
30	Nicolette Teo	SGP	2:38.17 (3 h1)	–	–
31	Athina Tzavella	GRE	2:40.18 (7 h3)	–	–
DNS	Luo Xuejuan	CHN	– (DNS h5)	–	–
DNS	Diána Reményi	HUN	– (DNS h3)	–	–

Round One

Date	18 August 2004
Format	Fastest 16 advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:26.02	Q
2	–	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.48	Q
3	–	Amanda Beard	USA	2:26.61	Q
4	–	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	2:26.90	Q
5	–	Masami Tanaka	JPN	2:26.91	Q
6	–	Brooke Hanson	AUS	2:27.38	Q
7	–	Birte Steven	GER	2:27.42	Q
8	–	Caroline Bruce	USA	2:27.82	Q
9	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:28.28	Q
10	–	Qi Hui	CHN	2:28.66	Q
11	–	Kirsty Balfour	GBR	2:29.78	Q
12	–	Chiara Boggiatto	ITA	2:30.32	Q
13	–	Marina Kuč	SCG	2:30.39	Q
14	–	Lauren Van Oosten	CAN	2:30.44	Q
15	–	Ina Kapishina	BLR	2:31.26	Q
16	–	Yelena Bogomazova	RUS	2:31.49	Q
17	–	Smiljana Marinović	CRO	2:32.52
18	–	Alenka Kejžar	SLO	2:32.64
19	–	İlkay Dikmen	TUR	2:32.69
20	–	Jaclyn Pangilinan	PHI	2:33.38
21	–	Siow Yi Ting	MAS	2:33.79
22	–	Eeva Saarinen	FIN	2:34.17
23	–	Diana Gomes	POR	2:34.23
24	–	Lee Ji-Yeong	KOR	2:34.55
25	–	Majken Thorup	DEN	2:35.29
26	–	Agustina De Giovanni	ARG	2:35.94
27	–	Adriana Marmolejo	MEX	2:36.10
28	–	Imaday Núñez	CUB	2:36.40
29	–	Iryna Maistruk	UKR	2:37.42
30	–	Nicolette Teo	SGP	2:38.17
31	–	Athina Tzavella	GRE	2:40.18
DNS	–	Diána Reményi	HUN	–
DNS	–	Luo Xuejuan	CHN	–

Heat #1

Time	10:44

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Jaclyn Pangilinan	PHI	2:33.38	0.69	34.40 (2)	1:12.62 (1)	1:52.45 (1)	38.22 (1)	39.83 (1)	40.93 (2)
2	–	Eeva Saarinen	FIN	2:34.17	0.86	34.17 (1)	1:13.08 (2)	1:53.87 (2)	38.91 (2)	40.79 (2)	40.30 (1)
3	–	Nicolette Teo	SGP	2:38.17	0.76	35.72 (3)	1:15.34 (3)	1:56.52 (3)	39.62 (3)	41.18 (3)	41.65 (3)

Heat #2

Time	10:49

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Marina Kuč	SCG	2:30.39	0.89	34.61 (2)	1:12.16 (1)	1:50.97 (1)	37.55 (1)	38.81 (2)	39.42 (1)	Q
2	–	İlkay Dikmen	TUR	2:32.69	0.71	34.88 (3)	1:13.32 (2)	1:52.09 (2)	38.44 (2)	38.77 (1)	40.60 (3)
3	–	Majken Thorup	DEN	2:35.29	0.75	34.28 (1)	1:13.39 (3)	1:53.97 (3)	39.11 (3)	40.58 (6)	41.32 (6)
4	–	Agustina De Giovanni	ARG	2:35.94	0.84	35.63 (4)	1:14.83 (4)	1:55.06 (4)	39.20 (4)	40.23 (3)	40.88 (=4)
5	–	Adriana Marmolejo	MEX	2:36.10	0.74	35.83 (6)	1:15.33 (6)	1:55.62 (6)	39.50 (5)	40.29 (=4)	40.48 (2)
6	–	Imaday Núñez	CUB	2:36.40	0.73	35.70 (5)	1:15.23 (5)	1:55.52 (5)	39.53 (6)	40.29 (=4)	40.88 (=4)

Heat #3

Time	10:54

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.48	0.81	33.49 (1)	1:10.89 (1)	1:48.51 (1)	37.40 (3)	37.62 (2)	37.97 (1)	Q
2	–	Birte Steven	GER	2:27.42	0.76	33.79 (2)	1:11.76 (4)	1:49.34 (2)	37.97 (4)	37.58 (1)	38.08 (2)	Q
3	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:28.28	0.79	34.34 (4)	1:11.70 (3)	1:49.85 (3)	37.36 (2)	38.15 (3)	38.43 (3)	Q
4	–	Chiara Boggiatto	ITA	2:30.32	0.82	34.02 (3)	1:11.24 (2)	1:49.98 (4)	37.22 (1)	38.74 (4)	40.34 (5)	Q
5	–	Diana Gomes	POR	2:34.23	0.83	35.51 (7)	1:15.07 (5)	1:54.45 (5)	39.56 (5)	39.38 (5)	39.78 (4)
6	–	Iryna Maistruk	UKR	2:37.42	0.84	35.44 (6)	1:15.33 (6)	1:56.10 (6)	39.89 (6)	40.77 (6)	41.32 (6)
7	–	Athina Tzavella	GRE	2:40.18	0.82	35.33 (5)	1:15.57 (7)	1:57.43 (7)	40.24 (7)	41.86 (7)	42.75 (7)
DNS	–	Diána Reményi	HUN	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #4

Time	10:59

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:26.02	0.75	33.46 (2)	1:10.90 (2)	1:48.29 (1)	37.44 (4)	37.39 (1)	37.73 (1)	Q
2	–	Masami Tanaka	JPN	2:26.91	0.81	34.03 (4)	1:11.36 (4)	1:48.98 (3)	37.33 (2)	37.62 (2)	37.93 (2)	Q
3	–	Brooke Hanson	AUS	2:27.38	0.76	33.27 (1)	1:10.66 (1)	1:48.88 (2)	37.39 (3)	38.22 (4)	38.50 (3)	Q
4	–	Kirsty Balfour	GBR	2:29.78	0.84	33.85 (3)	1:11.12 (3)	1:49.25 (4)	37.27 (1)	38.13 (3)	40.53 (6)	Q
5	–	Lauren Van Oosten	CAN	2:30.44	0.79	34.31 (7)	1:12.58 (7)	1:51.55 (6)	38.27 (7)	38.97 (6)	38.89 (4)	Q
6	–	Ina Kapishina	BLR	2:31.26	0.78	34.27 (6)	1:12.55 (6)	1:50.89 (5)	38.28 (8)	38.34 (5)	40.37 (5)	Q
7	–	Smiljana Marinović	CRO	2:32.52	0.83	34.26 (5)	1:12.47 (5)	1:51.57 (7)	38.21 (6)	39.10 (7)	40.95 (8)
8	–	Alenka Kejžar	SLO	2:32.64	0.89	34.67 (8)	1:12.72 (8)	1:52.03 (8)	38.05 (5)	39.31 (8)	40.61 (7)

Heat #5

Time	11:04

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Amanda Beard	USA	2:26.61	0.71	34.13 (3)	1:11.75 (3)	1:49.62 (3)	37.62 (2)	37.87 (3)	36.99 (1)	Q
2	–	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	2:26.90	0.82	33.69 (1)	1:10.71 (1)	1:48.46 (1)	37.02 (1)	37.75 (1)	38.44 (4)	Q
3	–	Caroline Bruce	USA	2:27.82	0.76	34.03 (2)	1:11.74 (2)	1:49.55 (2)	37.71 (3)	37.81 (2)	38.27 (3)	Q
4	–	Qi Hui	CHN	2:28.66	0.81	34.33 (4)	1:12.36 (4)	1:50.76 (4)	38.03 (5)	38.40 (4)	37.90 (2)	Q
5	–	Yelena Bogomazova	RUS	2:31.49	0.84	34.70 (5)	1:12.54 (5)	1:51.66 (5)	37.84 (4)	39.12 (5)	39.83 (5)	Q
6	–	Siow Yi Ting	MAS	2:33.79	0.82	34.99 (6)	1:13.68 (6)	1:53.53 (6)	38.69 (6)	39.85 (6)	40.26 (6)
7	–	Lee Ji-Yeong	KOR	2:34.55	0.81	35.41 (7)	1:14.34 (7)	1:54.25 (7)	38.93 (7)	39.91 (7)	40.30 (7)
DNS	–	Luo Xuejuan	CHN	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Semi-Finals

Date	18 August 2004
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Amanda Beard	USA	2:25.62	Q
2	–	Masami Tanaka	JPN	2:26.38	Q
3	–	Brooke Hanson	AUS	2:26.43	Q
4	–	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.59	Q
5	–	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	2:26.63	Q
6	–	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:26.71	Q
7	–	Qi Hui	CHN	2:26.75	Q
8	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:26.95	Q
9	–	Caroline Bruce	USA	2:27.60
10	–	Kirsty Balfour	GBR	2:28.92
11	–	Birte Steven	GER	2:29.22
12	–	Yelena Bogomazova	RUS	2:30.35
13	–	Lauren Van Oosten	CAN	2:30.39
14	–	Chiara Boggiatto	ITA	2:30.76
15	–	Marina Kuč	SCG	2:31.77
DQ	–	Ina Kapishina	BLR	–

Heat #1

Time	20:25

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Brooke Hanson	AUS	2:26.43	0.78	33.31 (2)	1:10.28 (1)	1:48.15 (1)	36.97 (1)	37.87 (3)	38.28 (4)	Q
2	–	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.59	0.80	33.81 (3)	1:11.32 (4)	1:48.80 (3)	37.51 (4)	37.48 (1)	37.79 (3)	Q
3	–	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	2:26.63	0.87	33.88 (4)	1:11.28 (3)	1:49.07 (4)	37.40 (3)	37.79 (2)	37.56 (1)	Q
4	–	Qi Hui	CHN	2:26.75	0.80	33.27 (1)	1:10.42 (2)	1:48.44 (2)	37.15 (2)	38.02 (4)	38.31 (5)	Q
5	–	Caroline Bruce	USA	2:27.60	0.76	34.02 (5)	1:11.59 (5)	1:49.83 (5)	37.57 (5)	38.24 (5)	37.77 (2)
6	–	Yelena Bogomazova	RUS	2:30.35	0.82	34.71 (7)	1:12.76 (7)	1:51.46 (7)	38.05 (7)	38.70 (7)	38.89 (7)
7	–	Lauren Van Oosten	CAN	2:30.39	0.80	34.61 (6)	1:13.06 (8)	1:51.90 (8)	38.45 (8)	38.84 (8)	38.49 (6)
8	–	Chiara Boggiatto	ITA	2:30.76	0.81	34.75 (8)	1:12.45 (6)	1:51.10 (6)	37.70 (6)	38.65 (6)	39.66 (8)

Heat #2

Time	20:31

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Amanda Beard	USA	2:25.62	0.74	33.66 (3)	1:11.04 (4)	1:48.39 (1)	37.38 (4)	37.35 (1)	37.23 (2)	Q
2	–	Masami Tanaka	JPN	2:26.38	0.78	34.07 (6)	1:11.65 (6)	1:49.43 (6)	37.58 (5)	37.78 (3)	36.95 (1)	Q
3	–	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:26.71	0.74	33.36 (2)	1:11.12 (5)	1:48.92 (5)	37.76 (6)	37.80 (4)	37.79 (3)	Q
4	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:26.95	0.78	33.84 (5)	1:10.95 (3)	1:48.70 (3)	37.11 (2)	37.75 (2)	38.25 (4)	Q
5	–	Kirsty Balfour	GBR	2:28.92	0.82	33.68 (4)	1:10.62 (2)	1:48.82 (4)	36.94 (1)	38.20 (6)	40.10 (6)
6	–	Birte Steven	GER	2:29.22	0.80	33.34 (1)	1:10.58 (1)	1:48.66 (2)	37.24 (3)	38.08 (5)	40.56 (7)
7	–	Marina Kuč	SCG	2:31.77	0.92	34.60 (7)	1:13.26 (7)	1:52.40 (7)	38.66 (7)	39.14 (7)	39.37 (5)
DQ	–	Ina Kapishina	BLR	–	[0.79]	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Final Round

Date	19 August 2004 — 19:41

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Amanda Beard	USA	2:23.37	0.72	33.18 (3)	1:09.69 (2)	1:46.56 (2)	36.51 (2)	36.87 (2)	36.81 (1)	OR
2	–	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:23.60	0.76	32.58 (1)	1:08.88 (1)	1:45.63 (1)	36.30 (1)	36.75 (1)	37.97 (5)
3	–	Anne Poleska	GER	2:25.82	0.85	33.67 (5)	1:10.98 (7)	1:48.38 (=5)	37.31 (6)	37.40 (5)	37.44 (3)
4	–	Masami Tanaka	JPN	2:25.87	0.81	33.85 (8)	1:11.18 (8)	1:48.91 (8)	37.33 (7)	37.73 (7)	36.96 (2)
5	–	Ágnes Kovács	HUN	2:26.12	0.81	33.68 (6)	1:10.77 (6)	1:48.11 (4)	37.09 (5)	37.34 (3)	38.01 (7)
6	–	Qi Hui	CHN	2:26.35	0.82	33.08 (2)	1:10.00 (3)	1:47.36 (3)	36.92 (3)	37.36 (4)	38.99 (8)
7	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:26.36	0.78	33.75 (7)	1:10.69 (5)	1:48.38 (=5)	36.94 (4)	37.69 (6)	37.98 (6)
8	–	Brooke Hanson	AUS	2:26.39	0.74	33.22 (4)	1:10.62 (4)	1:48.44 (7)	37.40 (8)	37.82 (8)	37.95 (4)