| | Event type

200 metres Breaststroke, Women

Date	13 – 15 August 2008
Status	Olympic
Location	Beijing Guojia Youyong Zhongxin, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing
Participants	40 from 34 countries

As world champion and world record holder Leisel Jones of Australia was already a hot favourite for the gold medal at 200 metres breaststroke. Her impressive victory in the 100 three days earlier seem to put the matter beyond doubt. Rebecca Soni’s performance in the heats, where she set an Olympic record may, have a good impression but few thought the American could challenge Jones for the title. The Australian went into an early lead but Soni was always at her shoulder and at 150 metres she surged into the lead. Over the final length of the pool Soni put over three quarters of a second between her and Jones and touched the wall in a new world record time of 2:20.22.

Another surprise was the identity of the bronze medal winner. Sara Nordenstam broke the European record and became the first Norwegian woman to win an Olympic swimming medal.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:22.17 (1 h5)	2:22.64 (1 h2)	2:20.22 (1)	Gold
2	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:23.81 (1 h6)	2:23.04 (1 h1)	2:22.05 (2)	Silver
3	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	2:24.47 (3 h6)	2:23.79 (2 h1)	2:23.02 (3)	Bronze
4	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:24.39 (2 h6)	2:23.76 (2 h2)	2:23.24 (4)
5	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:25.07 (3 h4)	2:24.00 (3 h1)	2:23.76 (5)
6	Annamay Pierse	CAN	2:25.01 (2 h4)	2:23.94 (3 h2)	2:23.77 (6)
7	Rie Kaneto	JPN	2:24.62 (1 h4)	2:25.65 (4 h2)	2:25.14 (7)
8	Megumi Taneda	JPN	2:24.75 (2 h5)	2:25.42 (4 h1)	2:25.23 (8)
9	Sally Foster	AUS	2:25.54 (4 h5)	2:26.33 (5 h1)	–
10	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.74 (5 h5)	2:26.71 (6 h1)	–
11	Jeong Seul-Gi	KOR	2:25.95 (4 h6)	2:26.83 (5 h2)	–
12	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:26.00 (5 h6)	2:27.14 (7 h1)	–
13	Qi Hui	CHN	2:26.16 (6 h6)	2:27.63 (6 h2)	–
14	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:27.28 (5 h4)	2:28.28 (8 h1)	–
15	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:25.51 (3 h5)	2:28.45 (7 h2)	–
16	Elise Matthysen	BEL	2:27.04 (4 h4)	2:29.64 (8 h2)	–
17	Ina Kapishina	BLR	2:27.34 (1 h3)	–	–
18	Amanda Beard	USA	2:27.70 (6 h4)	–	–
19	Siow Yi Ting	MAS	2:27.80 (1 h2)	–	–
=20	Olga Detenyuk	RUS	2:27.87 (7 h4)	–	–
=20	Kirsty Balfour	GBR	2:27.87 (6 h5)	–	–
22	Adriana Marmolejo	MEX	2:28.10 (2 h3)	–	–
23	Yuliya Pidlisna	UKR	2:28.84 (7 h6)	–	–
24	Mireia Belmonte	ESP	2:29.46 (8 h4)	–	–
25	Alia Atkinson	JAM	2:29.53 (2 h2)	–	–
26	Luo Nan	CHN	2:29.67 (8 h6)	–	–
27	Katalin Bor	HUN	2:29.95 (3 h3)	–	–
28	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	2:30.04 (4 h3)	–	–
29	Diana Gomes	POR	2:30.18 (5 h3)	–	–
30	Sophie de Ronchi	FRA	2:30.93 (7 h5)	–	–
31	Marina Kuč	MNE	2:31.24 (3 h2)	–	–
32	Buse Günaydın	TUR	2:31.86 (4 h2)	–	–
33	Nađa Higl	SRB	2:32.78 (6 h3)	–	–
34	Smiljana Marinović	CRO	2:32.80 (5 h2)	–	–
35	Raminta Dvariškytė	LTU	2:33.32 (1 h1)	–	–
36	Nicolette Teo	SGP	2:34.60 (6 h2)	–	–
37	Agustina De Giovanni	ARG	2:34.94 (7 h3)	–	–
38	Angeliki Exarchou	GRE	2:36.83 (8 h3)	–	–
39	Noora Laukkanen	FIN	2:38.97 (2 h1)	–	–
40	Tatiane Sakemi	BRA	2:39.13 (3 h1)	–	–
DNS	Sarah Poewe	GER	– (DNS h5)	–	–

Round One

Date	13 August 2008
Format	Fastest 16 swimmers advanced to semi-finals

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:22.17	QOR
2	–	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:23.81	Q
3	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:24.39	Q
4	–	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	2:24.47	Q
5	–	Rie Kaneto	JPN	2:24.62	Q
6	–	Megumi Taneda	JPN	2:24.75	Q
7	–	Annamay Pierse	CAN	2:25.01	Q
8	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:25.07	Q
9	–	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:25.51	Q
10	–	Sally Foster	AUS	2:25.54	Q
11	–	Jeong Seul-Gi	KOR	2:25.95	Q
12	–	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:26.00	Q
13	–	Qi Hui	CHN	2:26.16	Q
14	–	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.74	Q
15	–	Elise Matthysen	BEL	2:27.04	Q
16	–	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:27.28	Q
17	–	Ina Kapishina	BLR	2:27.34
18	–	Amanda Beard	USA	2:27.70
19	–	Siow Yi Ting	MAS	2:27.80
=20	–	Olga Detenyuk	RUS	2:27.87
=20	–	Kirsty Balfour	GBR	2:27.87
22	–	Adriana Marmolejo	MEX	2:28.10
23	–	Yuliya Pidlisna	UKR	2:28.84
24	–	Mireia Belmonte	ESP	2:29.46
25	–	Alia Atkinson	JAM	2:29.53
26	–	Luo Nan	CHN	2:29.67
27	–	Katalin Bor	HUN	2:29.95
28	–	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	2:30.04
29	–	Diana Gomes	POR	2:30.18
30	–	Sophie de Ronchi	FRA	2:30.93
31	–	Marina Kuč	MNE	2:31.24
32	–	Buse Günaydın	TUR	2:31.86
33	–	Nađa Higl	SRB	2:32.78
34	–	Smiljana Marinović	CRO	2:32.80
35	–	Raminta Dvariškytė	LTU	2:33.32
36	–	Nicolette Teo	SGP	2:34.60
37	–	Agustina De Giovanni	ARG	2:34.94
38	–	Angeliki Exarchou	GRE	2:36.83
39	–	Noora Laukkanen	FIN	2:38.97
40	–	Tatiane Sakemi	BRA	2:39.13
DNS	–	Sarah Poewe	GER	–

Heat #1

Time	19:19

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	–	Raminta Dvariškytė	LTU	2:33.32	0.78	34.01 (1)	1:11.82 (1)	1:51.87 (1)	37.81 (1)	40.05 (1)	41.45 (2)
2	–	Noora Laukkanen	FIN	2:38.97	0.89	36.70 (3)	1:16.85 (3)	1:57.66 (3)	40.15 (3)	40.81 (2)	41.31 (1)
3	–	Tatiane Sakemi	BRA	2:39.13	0.69	36.12 (2)	1:14.99 (2)	1:56.55 (2)	38.87 (2)	41.56 (3)	42.58 (3)

Heat #2

Time	19:23

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	–	Siow Yi Ting	MAS	2:27.80	0.77	34.17 (3)	1:12.00 (=1)	1:49.82 (1)	37.83 (1)	37.82 (1)	37.98 (1)
2	–	Alia Atkinson	JAM	2:29.53	0.80	34.33 (4)	1:12.84 (6)	1:51.00 (2)	38.51 (6)	38.16 (2)	38.53 (2)
3	–	Marina Kuč	MNE	2:31.24	0.80	34.10 (2)	1:12.52 (3)	1:51.73 (4)	38.42 (5)	39.21 (4)	39.51 (3)
4	–	Buse Günaydın	TUR	2:31.86	0.74	34.64 (6)	1:12.60 (4)	1:51.74 (5)	37.96 (2)	39.14 (3)	40.12 (4)
5	–	Smiljana Marinović	CRO	2:32.80	0.86	33.96 (1)	1:12.00 (=1)	1:51.64 (3)	38.04 (3)	39.64 (6)	41.16 (5)
6	–	Nicolette Teo	SGP	2:34.60	0.75	34.60 (5)	1:12.65 (5)	1:52.24 (6)	38.05 (4)	39.59 (5)	42.36 (6)

Heat #3

Time	19:28

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	–	Ina Kapishina	BLR	2:27.34	0.69	33.48 (2)	1:11.16 (2)	1:48.74 (1)	37.68 (4)	37.58 (1)	38.60 (2)
2	–	Adriana Marmolejo	MEX	2:28.10	0.73	34.57 (6)	1:11.99 (4)	1:50.05 (3)	37.42 (2)	38.06 (2)	38.05 (1)
3	–	Katalin Bor	HUN	2:29.95	0.80	34.39 (5)	1:12.63 (6)	1:51.20 (5)	38.24 (5)	38.57 (4)	38.75 (3)
4	–	Sara El-Bekri	MAR	2:30.04	0.77	33.41 (1)	1:10.59 (1)	1:48.86 (2)	37.18 (1)	38.27 (3)	41.18 (6)
5	–	Diana Gomes	POR	2:30.18	0.83	34.11 (4)	1:11.73 (3)	1:50.31 (4)	37.62 (3)	38.58 (5)	39.87 (4)
6	–	Nađa Higl	SRB	2:32.78	0.81	35.05 (8)	1:13.44 (7)	1:52.55 (6)	38.39 (7)	39.11 (6)	40.23 (5)
7	–	Agustina De Giovanni	ARG	2:34.94	0.76	34.05 (3)	1:12.42 (5)	1:52.57 (7)	38.37 (6)	40.15 (7)	42.37 (8)
8	–	Angeliki Exarchou	GRE	2:36.83	0.85	35.03 (7)	1:13.68 (8)	1:54.57 (8)	38.65 (8)	40.89 (8)	42.26 (7)

Heat #4

Time	19:32

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	–	Rie Kaneto	JPN	2:24.62	0.82	33.92 (4)	1:10.68 (2)	1:47.45 (1)	36.76 (1)	36.77 (1)	37.17 (2)	Q
2	–	Annamay Pierse	CAN	2:25.01	0.78	33.28 (1)	1:10.11 (1)	1:47.52 (2)	36.83 (2)	37.41 (3)	37.49 (3)	Q
3	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:25.07	0.77	34.18 (6)	1:11.51 (5)	1:48.58 (3)	37.33 (4)	37.07 (2)	36.49 (1)	Q
4	–	Elise Matthysen	BEL	2:27.04	0.76	34.32 (8)	1:11.70 (6)	1:49.24 (5)	37.38 (5)	37.54 (4)	37.80 (4)	Q
5	–	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:27.28	0.81	33.90 (3)	1:11.44 (4)	1:49.45 (6)	37.54 (6)	38.01 (7)	37.83 (5)	Q
6	–	Amanda Beard	USA	2:27.70	0.72	33.94 (5)	1:11.78 (7)	1:49.63 (7)	37.84 (8)	37.85 (5)	38.07 (6)
7	–	Olga Detenyuk	RUS	2:27.87	0.88	33.89 (2)	1:11.16 (3)	1:49.03 (4)	37.27 (3)	37.87 (6)	38.84 (7)
8	–	Mireia Belmonte	ESP	2:29.46	0.87	34.29 (7)	1:12.01 (8)	1:50.18 (8)	37.72 (7)	38.17 (8)	39.28 (8)

Heat #5

Time	19:37

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	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:22.17	0.77	32.74 (1)	1:09.04 (1)	1:45.47 (1)	36.30 (1)	36.43 (1)	36.70 (1)	QOR
2	–	Megumi Taneda	JPN	2:24.75	0.85	33.63 (6)	1:10.09 (3)	1:47.19 (3)	36.46 (2)	37.10 (2)	37.56 (2)	Q
3	–	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:25.51	0.75	32.93 (2)	1:09.46 (2)	1:47.18 (2)	36.53 (3)	37.72 (5)	38.33 (4)	Q
4	–	Sally Foster	AUS	2:25.54	0.90	33.33 (4)	1:10.16 (4)	1:47.68 (5)	36.83 (4)	37.52 (4)	37.86 (3)	Q
5	–	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.74	0.78	33.02 (3)	1:10.32 (5)	1:47.57 (4)	37.30 (7)	37.25 (3)	39.17 (5)	Q
6	–	Kirsty Balfour	GBR	2:27.87	0.77	33.46 (5)	1:10.61 (6)	1:48.51 (6)	37.15 (5)	37.90 (6)	39.36 (6)
7	–	Sophie de Ronchi	FRA	2:30.93	0.75	33.93 (7)	1:11.14 (7)	1:49.76 (7)	37.21 (6)	38.62 (7)	41.17 (7)
DNS	–	Sarah Poewe	GER	–	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #6

Time	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	–	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:23.81	0.83	32.81 (2)	1:08.97 (1)	1:45.96 (1)	36.16 (1)	36.99 (=1)	37.85 (3)	Q
2	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:24.39	0.78	33.16 (4)	1:09.68 (3)	1:46.81 (3)	36.52 (2)	37.13 (3)	37.58 (1)	Q
3	–	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	2:24.47	0.86	32.70 (1)	1:09.64 (2)	1:46.63 (2)	36.94 (3)	36.99 (=1)	37.84 (2)	Q
4	–	Jeong Seul-Gi	KOR	2:25.95	0.85	33.44 (6)	1:10.39 (=5)	1:47.90 (5)	36.95 (4)	37.51 (5)	38.05 (4)	Q
5	–	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:26.00	0.79	33.17 (5)	1:10.25 (4)	1:47.49 (4)	37.08 (5)	37.24 (4)	38.51 (6)	Q
6	–	Qi Hui	CHN	2:26.16	0.76	32.93 (3)	1:10.39 (=5)	1:47.99 (6)	37.46 (8)	37.60 (6)	38.17 (5)	Q
7	–	Yuliya Pidlisna	UKR	2:28.84	0.78	33.75 (8)	1:11.01 (7)	1:49.54 (8)	37.26 (6)	38.53 (8)	39.30 (7)
8	–	Luo Nan	CHN	2:29.67	0.76	33.74 (7)	1:11.03 (8)	1:49.44 (7)	37.29 (7)	38.41 (7)	40.23 (8)

Semi-Finals

Date	14 August 2008
Format	Fastest eight swimmers advanced to final

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:22.64	Q
2	–	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:23.04	Q
3	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:23.76	Q
4	–	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	2:23.79	Q
5	–	Annamay Pierse	CAN	2:23.94	Q
6	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:24.00	Q
7	–	Megumi Taneda	JPN	2:25.42	Q
8	–	Rie Kaneto	JPN	2:25.65	Q
9	–	Sally Foster	AUS	2:26.33
10	–	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.71
11	–	Jeong Seul-Gi	KOR	2:26.83
12	–	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:27.14
13	–	Qi Hui	CHN	2:27.63
14	–	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:28.28
15	–	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:28.45
16	–	Elise Matthysen	BEL	2:29.64

Heat #1

Time	10:56

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	2:23.04	0.82	31.99 (1)	1:08.16 (1)	1:44.99 (1)	36.17 (1)	36.83 (1)	38.05 (6)	Q
2	–	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	2:23.79	0.88	32.89 (2)	1:09.41 (2)	1:46.87 (2)	36.52 (3)	37.46 (5)	36.92 (2)	Q
3	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:24.00	0.78	33.79 (7)	1:10.12 (3)	1:47.19 (3)	36.33 (2)	37.07 (2)	36.81 (1)	Q
4	–	Megumi Taneda	JPN	2:25.42	0.79	33.60 (5)	1:10.39 (5)	1:47.77 (4)	36.79 (4)	37.38 (4)	37.65 (4)	Q
5	–	Sally Foster	AUS	2:26.33	0.80	33.71 (6)	1:11.11 (6)	1:48.35 (6)	37.40 (6)	37.24 (3)	37.98 (5)
6	–	Anne Poleska	GER	2:26.71	0.79	33.52 (4)	1:11.59 (8)	1:49.29 (8)	38.07 (8)	37.70 (7)	37.42 (3)
7	–	Joline Höstman	SWE	2:27.14	0.78	33.14 (3)	1:10.26 (4)	1:48.07 (5)	37.12 (5)	37.81 (8)	39.07 (7)
8	–	Jeong Da-Rae	KOR	2:28.28	0.82	33.99 (8)	1:11.42 (7)	1:49.11 (7)	37.43 (7)	37.69 (6)	39.17 (8)

Heat #2

Time	11:02

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	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:22.64	0.74	33.05 (2)	1:09.37 (1)	1:46.24 (1)	36.32 (1)	36.87 (1)	36.40 (1)	Q
2	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:23.76	0.77	33.14 (3)	1:09.73 (3)	1:46.77 (=2)	36.59 (2)	37.04 (2)	36.99 (2)	Q
3	–	Annamay Pierse	CAN	2:23.94	0.80	32.88 (1)	1:09.70 (2)	1:46.77 (=2)	36.82 (3)	37.07 (3)	37.17 (3)	Q
4	–	Rie Kaneto	JPN	2:25.65	0.83	34.17 (7)	1:11.09 (5)	1:48.41 (4)	36.92 (4)	37.32 (4)	37.24 (4)	Q
5	–	Jeong Seul-Gi	KOR	2:26.83	0.87	33.88 (6)	1:11.23 (6)	1:48.65 (5)	37.35 (5)	37.42 (5)	38.18 (5)
6	–	Qi Hui	CHN	2:27.63	0.79	33.40 (4)	1:11.30 (7)	1:49.21 (6)	37.90 (8)	37.91 (6)	38.42 (6)
7	–	Suzaan van Biljon	RSA	2:28.45	0.77	33.43 (5)	1:11.06 (4)	1:49.39 (7)	37.63 (6)	38.33 (7)	39.06 (8)
8	–	Elise Matthysen	BEL	2:29.64	0.80	34.50 (8)	1:12.23 (8)	1:51.01 (8)	37.73 (7)	38.78 (8)	38.63 (7)

Final Round

Date	15 August 2008 — 10:11

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	–	Rebecca Soni	USA	2:20.22	0.71	32.17 (2)	1:07.46 (2)	1:43.70 (1)	35.29 (1)	36.24 (1)	36.52 (1)	WR
2	–	Leisel Jones	AUS	2:22.05	0.81	31.84 (1)	1:07.23 (1)	1:43.71 (2)	35.39 (2)	36.48 (2)	38.34 (8)
3	–	Sara Nordenstam	NOR	2:23.02	0.86	32.70 (4)	1:09.19 (4)	1:46.00 (4)	36.49 (5)	36.81 (5)	37.02 (3)
4	–	Mirna Jukic	AUT	2:23.24	0.77	32.69 (3)	1:09.05 (3)	1:45.74 (3)	36.36 (4)	36.69 (3)	37.50 (6)
5	–	Yuliya Yefimova	RUS	2:23.76	0.77	33.85 (7)	1:10.10 (6)	1:46.87 (6)	36.25 (3)	36.77 (4)	36.89 (2)
6	–	Annamay Pierse	CAN	2:23.77	0.83	32.86 (5)	1:09.42 (5)	1:46.29 (5)	36.56 (6)	36.87 (6)	37.48 (5)
7	–	Rie Kaneto	JPN	2:25.14	0.78	33.98 (8)	1:10.79 (8)	1:47.81 (8)	36.81 (8)	37.02 (7)	37.33 (4)
8	–	Megumi Taneda	JPN	2:25.23	0.78	33.60 (6)	1:10.21 (7)	1:47.40 (7)	36.61 (7)	37.19 (8)	37.83 (7)