| | Event type

100 metres Backstroke, Women

Date	15 – 16 August 2004
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympiako Kentro Ugrou Stivou, Olympiako Athletiko Kentro Athinon Spiros Loues, Athina (Main Pool)
Participants	42 from 35 countries

After dominating the event in 2001 and 2002, when she became the first woman to break the minute for the distance, Natalie Coughlin’s career hit a bump in the road in 2003 when illness wrecked her defence of the world title.

Luckily for Coughlin she was back on form in 2004 and, if not quite back to the level she showed two years earlier, was expected to win the Olympic title in the 100 metres backstroke. The American made her usual quick start and turned for home under her own world record pace. Coughlin began to made slightly down the home stretch and came under pressure from Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry out in lane one. Though Coventry closed down quickly on the tiring Coughlin she was unable to catch her but still had the consolation of winning her country’s first Olympic medal in an individual event. Laure Manaudou the 400 metre freestyle champion, placed third with 2003 World Champion Antje Buschschulte trailing in sixth.

Pos	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	Natalie Coughlin	USA	1:01.45 (1 h6)	1:00.17 (1 h2)	1:00.37 (1)	Gold
2	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	1:01.60 (1 h3)	1:01.21 (2 h1)	1:00.50 (2)	Silver
3	Laure Manaudou	FRA	1:01.27 (1 h4)	1:00.88 (2 h2)	1:00.88 (3)	Bronze
4	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	1:01.39 (2 h4)	1:01.24 (3 h1)	1:01.05 (4)
5	Nina Zhivanevskaya	ESP	1:01.75 (2 h6)	1:01.19 (5 h2)	1:01.12 (5)
6	Antje Buschschulte	GER	1:01.68 (1 h5)	1:00.94 (1 h1)	1:01.39 (6)
7	Louise Ørnstedt	DEN	1:02.17 (4 h5)	1:01.12 (3 h2)	1:01.51 (7)
8	Haley Cope	USA	1:01.99 (3 h5)	1:01.13 (4 h2)	1:01.76 (8)
9	Giaan Rooney	AUS	1:01.96 (2 h5)	1:01.41 (4 h1)	–
10	Stanislava Komarova	RUS	1:01.84 (4 h4)	1:01.63 (5 h1)	–
11	Noriko Inada	JPN	1:01.67 (3 h4)	1:01.74 (6 h2)	–
12	Ilona Hlaváčková	CZE	1:01.95 (5 h4)	1:01.81 (7 h2)	–
13	Katy Sexton	GBR	1:02.01 (3 h6)	1:01.96 (6 h1)	–
14	Zhan Shu	CHN	1:02.39 (6 h4)	1:02.10 (7 h1)	–
15	Gao Chang	CHN	1:02.19 (5 h6)	1:02.17 (8 h2)	–
16	Sarah Price	GBR	1:02.17 (4 h6)	1:02.48 (8 h1)	–
=17	Sanja Jovanović	CRO	1:02.47 (2 h3)	–	–
=17	Erin Gammel	CAN	1:02.47 (7 h4)	–	–
19	Iryna Amshennikova	UKR	1:02.57 (5 h5)	–	–
20	Marieke Guehrer	AUS	1:02.76 (6 h5)	–	–
21	Nikolett Szepesi	HUN	1:02.78 (6 h6)	–	–
22	Hannah McLean	NZL	1:03.09 (7 h5)	–	–
23	Janine Pietsch	GER	1:03.13 (7 h6)	–	–
24	Sim Min-Ji	KOR	1:03.14 (8 h4)	–	–
25	Sviatlana Khokhlava	BLR	1:03.25 (3 h3)	–	–
26	Alessandra Cappa	ITA	1:03.50 (8 h6)	–	–
27	Gisela Morales	GUA	1:03.72 (4 h3)	–	–
28	Anya Gostomelsky	ISR	1:04.06 (5 h3)	–	–
29	Alexandra Putra	FRA	1:04.13 (8 h5)	–	–
30	Sherry Tsai	HKG	1:04.25 (6 h3)	–	–
31	Kiera Aitken	BER	1:04.37 (1 h2)	–	–
32	Chonlathorn Vorathamrong	THA	1:05.15 (2 h2)	–	–
33	Eirini Karastergiou	GRE	1:05.30 (7 h3)	–	–
34	Şadan Derya Erke	TUR	1:05.38 (3 h2)	–	–
35	Serrana Fernández	URU	1:05.51 (4 h2)	–	–
36	Hanna-Maria Seppälä	FIN	1:05.55 (8 h3)	–	–
37	Fu Hsiao-Han	TPE	1:06.62 (5 h2)	–	–
38	Anastasiya Prilepa	KAZ	1:07.55 (6 h2)	–	–
39	Iyingiyikabo Obia	NGR	1:09.65 (1 h1)	–	–
40	Ana Galindo	HON	1:11.80 (2 h1)	–	–
41	Olga Gnedovskaya	UZB	1:15.33 (7 h2)	–	–
42	Yelena Roykova	TKM	1:15.48 (3 h1)	–	–

Round One

Date	15 August 2004
Format	Fastest 16 advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Laure Manaudou	FRA	1:01.27	Q
2	–	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	1:01.39	Q
3	–	Natalie Coughlin	USA	1:01.45	Q
4	–	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	1:01.60	Q
5	–	Noriko Inada	JPN	1:01.67	Q
6	–	Antje Buschschulte	GER	1:01.68	Q
7	–	Nina Zhivanevskaya	ESP	1:01.75	Q
8	–	Stanislava Komarova	RUS	1:01.84	Q
9	–	Ilona Hlaváčková	CZE	1:01.95	Q
10	–	Giaan Rooney	AUS	1:01.96	Q
11	–	Haley Cope	USA	1:01.99	Q
12	–	Katy Sexton	GBR	1:02.01	Q
=13	–	Louise Ørnstedt	DEN	1:02.17	Q
=13	–	Sarah Price	GBR	1:02.17	Q
15	–	Gao Chang	CHN	1:02.19	Q
16	–	Zhan Shu	CHN	1:02.39	Q
=17	–	Sanja Jovanović	CRO	1:02.47
=17	–	Erin Gammel	CAN	1:02.47
19	–	Iryna Amshennikova	UKR	1:02.57
20	–	Marieke Guehrer	AUS	1:02.76
21	–	Nikolett Szepesi	HUN	1:02.78
22	–	Hannah McLean	NZL	1:03.09
23	–	Janine Pietsch	GER	1:03.13
24	–	Sim Min-Ji	KOR	1:03.14
25	–	Sviatlana Khokhlava	BLR	1:03.25
26	–	Alessandra Cappa	ITA	1:03.50
27	–	Gisela Morales	GUA	1:03.72
28	–	Anya Gostomelsky	ISR	1:04.06
29	–	Alexandra Putra	FRA	1:04.13
30	–	Sherry Tsai	HKG	1:04.25
31	–	Kiera Aitken	BER	1:04.37
32	–	Chonlathorn Vorathamrong	THA	1:05.15
33	–	Eirini Karastergiou	GRE	1:05.30
34	–	Şadan Derya Erke	TUR	1:05.38
35	–	Serrana Fernández	URU	1:05.51
36	–	Hanna-Maria Seppälä	FIN	1:05.55
37	–	Fu Hsiao-Han	TPE	1:06.62
38	–	Anastasiya Prilepa	KAZ	1:07.55
39	–	Iyingiyikabo Obia	NGR	1:09.65
40	–	Ana Galindo	HON	1:11.80
41	–	Olga Gnedovskaya	UZB	1:15.33
42	–	Yelena Roykova	TKM	1:15.48

Heat #1

Time	10:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Iyingiyikabo Obia	NGR	1:09.65	0.58	33.15 (1)	36.50 (1)
2	–	Ana Galindo	HON	1:11.80	0.71	34.30 (2)	37.50 (2)
3	–	Yelena Roykova	TKM	1:15.48	0.74	35.09 (3)	40.39 (3)

Heat #2

Time	10:03

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Kiera Aitken	BER	1:04.37	0.69	31.60 (1)	32.77 (1)
2	–	Chonlathorn Vorathamrong	THA	1:05.15	0.65	31.66 (2)	33.49 (4)
3	–	Şadan Derya Erke	TUR	1:05.38	0.66	32.01 (4)	33.37 (2)
4	–	Serrana Fernández	URU	1:05.51	0.56	32.12 (5)	33.39 (3)
5	–	Fu Hsiao-Han	TPE	1:06.62	0.67	32.66 (6)	33.96 (5)
6	–	Anastasiya Prilepa	KAZ	1:07.55	0.71	31.87 (3)	35.68 (6)
7	–	Olga Gnedovskaya	UZB	1:15.33	0.71	36.51 (7)	38.82 (7)

Heat #3

Time	10:06

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	1:01.60	0.71	30.45 (1)	31.15 (1)	Q
2	–	Sanja Jovanović	CRO	1:02.47	0.73	30.50 (2)	31.97 (2)
3	–	Sviatlana Khokhlava	BLR	1:03.25	0.71	31.09 (4)	32.16 (3)
4	–	Gisela Morales	GUA	1:03.72	0.75	31.13 (5)	32.59 (4)
5	–	Anya Gostomelsky	ISR	1:04.06	0.66	31.25 (6)	32.81 (5)
6	–	Sherry Tsai	HKG	1:04.25	0.59	31.39 (7)	32.86 (6)
7	–	Eirini Karastergiou	GRE	1:05.30	0.64	31.64 (8)	33.66 (7)
8	–	Hanna-Maria Seppälä	FIN	1:05.55	0.70	30.94 (3)	34.61 (8)

Heat #4

Time	10:09

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Laure Manaudou	FRA	1:01.27	0.73	29.99 (3)	31.28 (1)	Q
2	–	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	1:01.39	0.64	29.80 (1)	31.59 (4)	Q
3	–	Noriko Inada	JPN	1:01.67	0.63	30.13 (4)	31.54 (3)	Q
4	–	Stanislava Komarova	RUS	1:01.84	0.82	30.54 (6)	31.30 (2)	Q
5	–	Ilona Hlaváčková	CZE	1:01.95	0.66	29.87 (2)	32.08 (7)	Q
6	–	Zhan Shu	CHN	1:02.39	0.68	30.69 (7)	31.70 (5)	Q
7	–	Erin Gammel	CAN	1:02.47	0.62	30.46 (5)	32.01 (6)
8	–	Sim Min-Ji	KOR	1:03.14	0.56	30.76 (8)	32.38 (8)

Heat #5

Time	10:12

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Antje Buschschulte	GER	1:01.68	0.68	30.12 (1)	31.56 (2)	Q
2	–	Giaan Rooney	AUS	1:01.96	0.67	30.43 (5)	31.53 (1)	Q
3	–	Haley Cope	USA	1:01.99	0.69	30.25 (=2)	31.74 (4)	Q
4	–	Louise Ørnstedt	DEN	1:02.17	0.74	30.46 (6)	31.71 (3)	Q
5	–	Iryna Amshennikova	UKR	1:02.57	0.64	30.33 (4)	32.24 (6)
6	–	Marieke Guehrer	AUS	1:02.76	0.62	30.67 (7)	32.09 (5)
7	–	Hannah McLean	NZL	1:03.09	0.68	30.25 (=2)	32.84 (8)
8	–	Alexandra Putra	FRA	1:04.13	0.69	31.43 (8)	32.70 (7)

Heat #6

Time	10:15

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Natalie Coughlin	USA	1:01.45	0.69	30.06 (1)	31.39 (2)	Q
2	–	Nina Zhivanevskaya	ESP	1:01.75	0.61	30.35 (3)	31.40 (3)	Q
3	–	Katy Sexton	GBR	1:02.01	0.71	30.65 (8)	31.36 (1)	Q
4	–	Sarah Price	GBR	1:02.17	0.58	30.24 (2)	31.93 (5)	Q
5	–	Gao Chang	CHN	1:02.19	0.84	30.51 (5)	31.68 (4)	Q
6	–	Nikolett Szepesi	HUN	1:02.78	0.64	30.54 (6)	32.24 (6)
7	–	Janine Pietsch	GER	1:03.13	0.77	30.42 (4)	32.71 (7)
8	–	Alessandra Cappa	ITA	1:03.50	0.62	30.64 (7)	32.86 (8)

Swim-Off

Time	10:18

Pos	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	Sanja Jovanović	CRO	1:02.32
2	Erin Gammel	CAN	1:03.05

Semi-Finals

Date	15 August 2004
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Natalie Coughlin	USA	1:00.17	QOR
2	–	Laure Manaudou	FRA	1:00.88	Q
3	–	Antje Buschschulte	GER	1:00.94	Q
4	–	Louise Ørnstedt	DEN	1:01.12	Q
5	–	Haley Cope	USA	1:01.13	Q
6	–	Nina Zhivanevskaya	ESP	1:01.19	Q
7	–	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	1:01.21	Q
8	–	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	1:01.24	Q
9	–	Giaan Rooney	AUS	1:01.41
10	–	Stanislava Komarova	RUS	1:01.63
11	–	Noriko Inada	JPN	1:01.74
12	–	Ilona Hlaváčková	CZE	1:01.81
13	–	Katy Sexton	GBR	1:01.96
14	–	Zhan Shu	CHN	1:02.10
15	–	Gao Chang	CHN	1:02.17
16	–	Sarah Price	GBR	1:02.48

Heat #1

Time	19:30

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Antje Buschschulte	GER	1:00.94	0.64	29.61 (2)	31.33 (2)	Q
2	–	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	1:01.21	0.70	30.07 (5)	31.14 (1)	Q
3	–	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	1:01.24	0.63	29.55 (1)	31.69 (6)	Q
4	–	Giaan Rooney	AUS	1:01.41	0.67	29.98 (4)	31.43 (3)
5	–	Stanislava Komarova	RUS	1:01.63	0.79	30.19 (6)	31.44 (4)
6	–	Katy Sexton	GBR	1:01.96	0.73	30.50 (8)	31.46 (5)
7	–	Zhan Shu	CHN	1:02.10	0.68	30.39 (7)	31.71 (7)
8	–	Sarah Price	GBR	1:02.48	0.69	29.96 (3)	32.52 (8)

Heat #2

Time	19:38

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Natalie Coughlin	USA	1:00.17	0.62	29.21 (1)	30.96 (1)	QOR
2	–	Laure Manaudou	FRA	1:00.88	0.70	29.65 (2)	31.23 (2)	Q
3	–	Louise Ørnstedt	DEN	1:01.12	0.72	29.83 (5)	31.29 (3)	Q
4	–	Haley Cope	USA	1:01.13	0.67	29.75 (3)	31.38 (4)	Q
5	–	Nina Zhivanevskaya	ESP	1:01.19	0.69	29.78 (4)	31.41 (5)	Q
6	–	Noriko Inada	JPN	1:01.74	0.66	29.96 (7)	31.78 (6)
7	–	Ilona Hlaváčková	CZE	1:01.81	0.62	29.84 (6)	31.97 (=7)
8	–	Gao Chang	CHN	1:02.17	0.79	30.20 (8)	31.97 (=7)

Final Round

Date	16 August 2004 — 19:52

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	Reaction Time	50 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Natalie Coughlin	USA	1:00.37	0.60	28.89 (1)	31.48 (5)	OR
2	–	Kirsty Coventry	ZIM	1:00.50	0.70	29.68 (3)	30.82 (1)
3	–	Laure Manaudou	FRA	1:00.88	0.73	29.86 (4)	31.02 (2)
4	–	Reiko Nakamura	JPN	1:01.05	0.64	29.66 (2)	31.39 (4)
5	–	Nina Zhivanevskaya	ESP	1:01.12	0.66	30.03 (8)	31.09 (3)
6	–	Antje Buschschulte	GER	1:01.39	0.67	29.90 (6)	31.49 (6)
7	–	Louise Ørnstedt	DEN	1:01.51	0.70	29.93 (7)	31.58 (7)
8	–	Haley Cope	USA	1:01.76	0.67	29.88 (5)	31.88 (8)