| Date | 24 July 1996 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia |
| Participants | 43 from 39 countries |
On July 20 Michelle Smith won Ireland’s first gold medal in Olympic swimming in the 400 metres medley. Two days later she added the 400 metres freestyle title to her collection. By July 24 and her third Olympic final the whole country of Ireland were obsessing over Michelle Smith’s Olympic exploits. There were even stories of pubs in rural Ireland who were illegally extending their opening hours so customers could watch her Olympic races and celebrate her victories.
The third and last of Smith’s victories was the hardest of the three. She led at 100 metres but slumped back to fourth over his breaststroke leg before counterattacking over the last fifty to edge home in front of Canadian Marianne Limpert. When Smith was convicted of tampering with a urine sample in 1998 and subsequently banned from the sport, the Canadian authorities asked the IOC to consider stripping Smith of her Olympic medals but nothing came of this.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | R1 | B Final | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michelle Smith |  IRL | 2:16.35 (3 h5) | – | 2:13.93 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Marianne Limpert |  CAN | 2:15.12 (1 h4) | – | 2:14.35 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Lin Li |  CHN | 2:16.31 (2 h6) | – | 2:14.74 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Joanne Malar | CAN | 2:16.34 (2 h4) | – | 2:15.30 (4) | |||
| 5 | Elli Overton |  AUS | 2:15.81 (1 h6) | – | 2:16.04 (5) | |||
| 6 | Allison Wagner |  USA | 2:16.32 (2 h5) | – | 2:16.43 (6) | |||
| 7 | Minouche Smit |  NED | 2:16.30 (1 h5) | – | 2:16.73 (7) | |||
| 8 | Louise Karlsson |  SWE | 2:16.37 (4 h5) | – | 2:17.25 (8) | |||
| 9 | Kristine Quance | USA | 2:17.48 (4 h4) | 2:15.24 (1) | – | |||
| 10 | Wu Yanyan | CHN | 2:16.55 (3 h6) | 2:16.61 (2) | – | |||
| 11 | Sabine Herbst |  GER | 2:18.00 (5 h5) | 2:16.68 (3) | – | |||
| 12 | Beatrice Coadă |  ROU | 2:16.80 (1 h3) | 2:16.75 (4) | – | |||
| 13 | Martina Moravcová |  SVK | 2:16.50 (3 h4) | 2:17.40 (5) | – | |||
| 14 | Britta Vestergaard |  DEN | 2:18.35 (5 h4) | 2:17.95 (6) | – | |||
| 15 | Alicja Pęczak |  POL | 2:17.48 (5 h6) | 2:18.21 (7) | – | |||
| 16 | Silvia Parera |  ESP | 2:17.67 (2 h3) | 2:19.92 (8) | – | |||
| 17 | Emma Johnson | AUS | 2:17.02 (4 h6) | – | – | 1 | ||
| 18 | Brigitte Becue |  BEL | 2:18.28 (6 h6) | – | – | |||
| 19 | Alenka Kejžar |  SLO | 2:18.39 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 20 | Lenka Maňhalová |  CZE | 2:18.43 (7 h6) | – | – | |||
| 21 | Sue Rolph |  GBR | 2:18.81 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 22 | Gabrielle Rose |  BRA | 2:18.99 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 23 | Katia Sarakatsani |  GRE | 2:19.74 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 24 | Elin Austevoll |  NOR | 2:19.81 (1 h2) | – | – | |||
| 25 | Anna Wilson |  NZL | 2:19.97 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 26 | Darya Shmelyova |  RUS | 2:20.34 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 27 | Julia Russell |  RSA | 2:20.40 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 28 | Fumie Kurotori |  JPN | 2:20.58 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| 29 | Olena Lapunova |  UKR | 2:20.76 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 30 | Martina Nemec |  AUT | 2:21.10 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 31 | Carolyn Adel |  SUR | 2:21.54 (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 32 | Joscelin Yeo |  SGP | 2:21.76 (8 h6) | – | – | |||
| 33 | Petra Chaves |  POR | 2:22.03 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 34 | Praphalsai Minpraphal |  THA | 2:22.34 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 35 | Lee Ji-Hyeon |  KOR | 2:22.97 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 36 | Nadège Cliton |  FRA | 2:25.25 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 37 | Sonia Álvarez |  PUR | 2:25.57 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 38 | Akiko Thomson |  PHI | 2:25.87 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 39 | Olga Bogatyreva |  KGZ | 2:26.42 (1 h1) | – | – | |||
| 40 | Beáta Újhelyi |  HUN | 2:26.77 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 41 | Tsai Shu-Min |  TPE | 2:28.71 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 42 | Meritxell Sabaté |  AND | 2:37.38 (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| 43 | Mira Ghniem |  JOR | 2:56.99 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| Mette Jacobsen | DEN | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
| Date | 24 July 1996 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final. |
| Time | 10:00 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Olga Bogatyreva | KGZ | 2:26.42 | 0.75 | 31.97 (1) | 1:09.64 (1) | 1:52.53 (1) | 37.67 (1) | 42.89 (1) | 33.89 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Meritxell Sabaté | AND | 2:37.38 | 0.83 | 32.21 (2) | 1:12.30 (2) | 1:59.31 (2) | 40.09 (2) | 47.01 (2) | 38.07 (2) | ||
| 3 | – | Mira Ghniem | JOR | 2:56.99 | 0.88 | 38.33 (3) | 1:23.77 (3) | 2:15.57 (3) | 45.44 (3) | 51.80 (3) | 41.42 (3) |
| Time | 10:08 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Elin Austevoll | NOR | 2:19.81 | 0.81 | 30.91 (3) | 1:07.49 (4) | 1:46.66 (1) | 36.58 (6) | 39.17 (1) | 33.15 (4) | ||
| 2 | – | Carolyn Adel | SUR | 2:21.54 | 0.79 | 30.65 (2) | 1:06.97 (3) | 1:48.97 (3) | 36.32 (4) | 42.00 (3) | 32.57 (2) | ||
| 3 | – | Petra Chaves | POR | 2:22.03 | 0.83 | 30.57 (1) | 1:05.31 (1) | 1:47.21 (2) | 34.74 (1) | 41.90 (2) | 34.82 (6) | ||
| 4 | – | Lee Ji-Hyeon | KOR | 2:22.97 | 0.81 | 31.33 (6) | 1:08.47 (7) | 1:50.52 (4) | 37.14 (7) | 42.05 (4) | 32.45 (1) | ||
| 5 | – | Sonia Álvarez | PUR | 2:25.57 | 0.79 | 31.95 (7) | 1:08.15 (6) | 1:51.82 (7) | 36.20 (3) | 43.67 (5) | 33.75 (5) | ||
| 6 | – | Akiko Thomson | PHI | 2:25.87 | 0.82 | 30.94 (4) | 1:06.59 (2) | 1:50.56 (5) | 35.65 (2) | 43.97 (6) | 35.31 (8) | ||
| 7 | – | Beáta Újhelyi | HUN | 2:26.77 | 0.77 | 31.14 (5) | 1:07.59 (5) | 1:51.62 (6) | 36.45 (5) | 44.03 (7) | 35.15 (7) | ||
| 8 | – | Tsai Shu-Min | TPE | 2:28.71 | 0.82 | 32.24 (8) | 1:10.43 (8) | 1:55.70 (8) | 38.19 (8) | 45.27 (8) | 33.01 (3) |
| Time | 10:16 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Beatrice Coadă | ROU | 2:16.80 | 0.86 | 30.17 (3) | 1:05.17 (1) | 1:44.46 (1) | 35.00 (2) | 39.29 (1) | 32.34 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Silvia Parera | ESP | 2:17.67 | 0.71 | 30.72 (5) | 1:05.44 (2) | 1:45.20 (3) | 34.72 (1) | 39.76 (3) | 32.47 (2) | ||
| 3 | – | Alenka Kejžar | SLO | 2:18.39 | 0.86 | 30.37 (4) | 1:05.67 (4) | 1:45.12 (2) | 35.30 (4) | 39.45 (2) | 33.27 (4) | ||
| 4 | – | Katia Sarakatsani | GRE | 2:19.74 | 0.82 | 30.82 (6) | 1:06.83 (7) | 1:47.25 (5) | 36.01 (6) | 40.42 (5) | 32.49 (3) | ||
| 5 | – | Julia Russell | RSA | 2:20.40 | 0.78 | 29.64 (1) | 1:06.64 (6) | 1:46.93 (4) | 37.00 (8) | 40.29 (4) | 33.47 (6) | ||
| 6 | – | Martina Nemec | AUT | 2:21.10 | 0.76 | 30.16 (2) | 1:05.65 (3) | 1:47.64 (6) | 35.49 (5) | 41.99 (6) | 33.46 (5) | ||
| 7 | – | Praphalsai Minpraphal | THA | 2:22.34 | 0.75 | 31.04 (7) | 1:06.26 (5) | 1:48.55 (7) | 35.22 (3) | 42.29 (8) | 33.79 (7) | ||
| 8 | – | Nadège Cliton | FRA | 2:25.25 | 0.78 | 31.16 (8) | 1:07.66 (8) | 1:49.93 (8) | 36.50 (7) | 42.27 (7) | 35.32 (8) |
| Time | 10:24 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Marianne Limpert | CAN | 2:15.12 | 0.78 | 29.26 (3) | 1:03.73 (1) | 1:43.19 (1) | 34.47 (2) | 39.46 (1) | 31.93 (2) | ||
| 2 | – | Joanne Malar | CAN | 2:16.34 | 0.86 | 29.95 (6) | 1:04.17 (3) | 1:44.09 (2) | 34.22 (1) | 39.92 (3) | 32.25 (3) | ||
| 3 | – | Martina Moravcová | SVK | 2:16.50 | 0.80 | 29.31 (4) | 1:04.43 (4) | 1:45.73 (4) | 35.12 (5) | 41.30 (7) | 30.77 (1) | ||
| 4 | – | Kristine Quance | USA | 2:17.48 | 0.84 | 29.16 (2) | 1:03.99 (2) | 1:44.63 (3) | 34.83 (3) | 40.64 (5) | 32.85 (6) | ||
| 5 | – | Britta Vestergaard | DEN | 2:18.35 | 0.86 | 30.28 (8) | 1:05.33 (6) | 1:45.79 (5) | 35.05 (4) | 40.46 (4) | 32.56 (4) | ||
| 6 | – | Gabrielle Rose | BRA | 2:18.99 | 0.78 | 28.77 (1) | 1:04.99 (5) | 1:45.92 (6) | 36.22 (7) | 40.93 (6) | 33.07 (8) | ||
| 7 | – | Anna Wilson | NZL | 2:19.97 | 0.86 | 29.91 (5) | 1:07.25 (8) | 1:46.96 (7) | 37.34 (8) | 39.71 (2) | 33.01 (7) | ||
| 8 | – | Olena Lapunova | UKR | 2:20.76 | 0.86 | 30.04 (7) | 1:05.78 (7) | 1:48.07 (8) | 35.74 (6) | 42.29 (8) | 32.69 (5) | ||
| – | Mette Jacobsen | DEN | – | – | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – | – | – |
| Time | 10:32 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Minouche Smit | NED | 2:16.30 | 0.75 | 29.47 (3) | 1:04.18 (5) | 1:44.84 (4) | 34.71 (5) | 40.66 (4) | 31.46 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Allison Wagner | USA | 2:16.32 | 0.74 | 29.74 (5) | 1:03.50 (2) | 1:43.24 (1) | 33.76 (1) | 39.74 (2) | 33.08 (6) | ||
| 3 | – | Michelle Smith | IRL | 2:16.35 | 0.83 | 29.02 (1) | 1:02.87 (1) | 1:43.86 (2) | 33.85 (2) | 40.99 (6) | 32.49 (3) | ||
| 4 | – | Louise Karlsson | SWE | 2:16.37 | 0.77 | 29.32 (2) | 1:04.95 (6) | 1:44.43 (3) | 35.63 (8) | 39.48 (1) | 31.94 (2) | ||
| 5 | – | Sabine Herbst | GER | 2:18.00 | 0.76 | 29.70 (4) | 1:03.62 (3) | 1:45.15 (6) | 33.92 (3) | 41.53 (8) | 32.85 (4) | ||
| 6 | – | Sue Rolph | GBR | 2:18.81 | 0.84 | 29.83 (6) | 1:04.09 (4) | 1:44.93 (5) | 34.26 (4) | 40.84 (5) | 33.88 (7) | ||
| 7 | – | Darya Shmelyova | RUS | 2:20.34 | 0.86 | 30.76 (8) | 1:05.64 (7) | 1:46.23 (7) | 34.88 (6) | 40.59 (3) | 34.11 (8) | ||
| 8 | – | Fumie Kurotori | JPN | 2:20.58 | 0.78 | 30.59 (7) | 1:06.00 (8) | 1:47.52 (8) | 35.41 (7) | 41.52 (7) | 33.06 (5) |
| Time | 10:40 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Elli Overton | AUS | 2:15.81 | 0.80 | 30.21 (6) | 1:04.00 (1) | 1:43.29 (1) | 33.79 (1) | 39.29 (5) | 32.52 (5) | ||
| 2 | – | Lin Li | CHN | 2:16.31 | 0.73 | 29.65 (2) | 1:04.59 (2) | 1:43.78 (2) | 34.94 (3) | 39.19 (4) | 32.53 (6) | ||
| 3 | – | Wu Yanyan | CHN | 2:16.55 | 0.88 | 29.69 (3) | 1:04.84 (4) | 1:44.91 (3) | 35.15 (4) | 40.07 (6) | 31.64 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | Emma Johnson | AUS | 2:17.02 | 0.95 | 29.98 (5) | 1:04.63 (3) | 1:45.94 (7) | 34.65 (2) | 41.31 (8) | 31.08 (1) | ||
| 5 | – | Alicja Pęczak | POL | 2:17.48 | 0.79 | 29.58 (1) | 1:06.11 (5) | 1:45.09 (4) | 36.53 (6) | 38.98 (3) | 32.39 (4) | ||
| 6 | – | Brigitte Becue | BEL | 2:18.28 | 0.72 | 30.42 (7) | 1:07.51 (7) | 1:45.23 (5) | 37.09 (7) | 37.72 (1) | 33.05 (8) | ||
| 7 | – | Lenka Maňhalová | CZE | 2:18.43 | 0.81 | 30.86 (8) | 1:07.27 (6) | 1:45.85 (6) | 36.41 (5) | 38.58 (2) | 32.58 (7) | ||
| 8 | – | Joscelin Yeo | SGP | 2:21.76 | 0.84 | 29.94 (4) | 1:08.19 (8) | 1:49.40 (8) | 38.25 (8) | 41.21 (7) | 32.36 (3) |
| Date | 24 July 1996 — 19:40 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Kristine Quance | USA | 2:15.24 | 0.81 | 29.77 (3) | 1:04.66 (2) | 1:43.26 (1) | 34.89 (2) | 38.60 (1) | 31.98 (4) | ||
| 2 | – | Wu Yanyan | CHN | 2:16.61 | 0.84 | 29.67 (2) | 1:04.34 (1) | 1:44.71 (3) | 34.67 (1) | 40.37 (5) | 31.90 (3) | ||
| 3 | – | Sabine Herbst | GER | 2:16.68 | 0.77 | 30.28 (7) | 1:05.37 (6) | 1:45.21 (4) | 35.09 (3) | 39.84 (4) | 31.47 (2) | ||
| 4 | – | Beatrice Coadă | ROU | 2:16.75 | 0.82 | 29.88 (4) | 1:05.28 (4) | 1:44.58 (2) | 35.40 (6) | 39.30 (3) | 32.17 (6) | ||
| 5 | – | Martina Moravcová | SVK | 2:17.40 | 0.81 | 29.55 (1) | 1:05.01 (3) | 1:46.19 (7) | 35.46 (7) | 41.18 (8) | 31.21 (1) | ||
| 6 | – | Britta Vestergaard | DEN | 2:17.95 | 0.87 | 30.10 (6) | 1:05.34 (5) | 1:45.75 (5) | 35.24 (5) | 40.41 (6) | 32.20 (7) | ||
| 7 | – | Alicja Pęczak | POL | 2:18.21 | 0.78 | 30.00 (5) | 1:07.08 (8) | 1:46.07 (6) | 37.08 (8) | 38.99 (2) | 32.14 (5) | ||
| 8 | – | Silvia Parera | ESP | 2:19.92 | 0.70 | 31.01 (8) | 1:06.18 (7) | 1:46.73 (8) | 35.17 (4) | 40.55 (7) | 33.19 (8) |
| Date | 24 July 1996 — 19:30 |
|---|
| 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 | – | Michelle Smith | IRL | 2:13.93 | 0.80 | 28.79 (1) | 1:02.97 (1) | 1:43.34 (4) | 34.18 (3) | 40.37 (7) | 30.59 (1) | ||
| 2 | – | Marianne Limpert | CAN | 2:14.35 | 0.79 | 29.42 (5) | 1:04.23 (6) | 1:43.25 (3) | 34.81 (6) | 39.02 (2) | 31.10 (2) | ||
| 3 | – | Lin Li | CHN | 2:14.74 | 0.76 | 29.22 (2) | 1:03.86 (5) | 1:42.58 (1) | 34.64 (5) | 38.72 (1) | 32.16 (4) | ||
| 4 | – | Joanne Malar | CAN | 2:15.30 | 0.85 | 29.87 (7) | 1:04.71 (7) | 1:43.81 (6) | 34.84 (7) | 39.10 (3) | 31.49 (3) | ||
| 5 | – | Elli Overton | AUS | 2:16.04 | 0.80 | 29.99 (8) | 1:03.80 (4) | 1:43.16 (2) | 33.81 (1) | 39.36 (4) | 32.88 (7) | ||
| 6 | – | Allison Wagner | USA | 2:16.43 | 0.72 | 29.71 (6) | 1:03.69 (2) | 1:43.45 (5) | 33.98 (2) | 39.76 (5) | 32.98 (8) | ||
| 7 | – | Minouche Smit | NED | 2:16.73 | 0.74 | 29.31 (4) | 1:03.72 (3) | 1:44.47 (7) | 34.41 (4) | 40.75 (8) | 32.26 (5) | ||
| 8 | – | Louise Karlsson | SWE | 2:17.25 | 0.78 | 29.27 (3) | 1:04.91 (8) | 1:44.94 (8) | 35.64 (8) | 40.03 (6) | 32.31 (6) |
