100 metres Backstroke, Women

American Missy Franklin won this event at the London Olympics, but failed to make the US Olympic team in the event, still struggling to recover after back injuries in 2014. In her absence Australia’s Emily Seebohm, runner-up to Franklin in London, was considered the favorite, having won both backstroke events at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. Hungary’s Katinka Hosszú was ranked third in the world in this event, but it was not certain she would start, eschewing the 100 back to compete in other events. Coming into Rio, Seebohm and Denmark’s Mie Nielsen were tied at the top of the yearly world list with 58.73.

Hosszú did compete and won the gold medal in the event, but the rest of the results were completely unexpected. Silver went to unheralded American Kathleen Baker, while there was a tie for the bronze medal between Canada’s Kylie Masse and China’s Fu Yuanhui. Nielsen was back in fifth while Seebohm struggled and finished only sixth in the final. This was one of three individual gold medals for Hosszú, who also won both individual medleys.