The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 2004 Summer Olympics was contested at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece. The event took place on 15 and 16 August. There were 59 competitors from 53 nations, with each nation having up to two swimmers.
Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward is a Zimbabwean swimmer and politician currently serving as the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation in the Cabinet of Zimbabwe since September 2018. A former Olympic swimmer and world record holder, she is the most decorated Olympian from Africa. She is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and was elected the Chairperson of the IOC Athletes' Commission, the body that represents all Olympic athletes worldwide in early 2018.
Markus Antonius Rogan is a retired Austrian swimmer, who won two silver medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and a gold medal for 200 m backstroke at the 2008 World Short Course Championships in Manchester. He also was the world record holder in 200 metres backstroke in that year.
Lenny Krayzelburg is an American former backstroke swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record holder. He swam in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, winning a total of four Olympic gold medals.
Katy Sexton, MBE is a former Olympic swimmer from Great Britain. She became the first British swimmer to win a World Championship title, when she won the Women's 200m Back at the 2003 World Championships. She is twice an Olympian and has represented Great Britain in four World Championships, the first in 1998 when she was 16, and in three Commonwealth Games. She was given the MBE for services to swimming in the 2004 New Year Honours list.
Melissa Louise Belote, also known by her current married name Melissa Belote Ripley, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. She represented the United States at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.
Fabíola Pulga Molina is a butterfly and backstroke swimmer from Brazil, who competed at the 2000, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Joanna de Albuquerque Maranhão Bezerra de Melo, or Joanna Maranhão is a swimmer from Brazil, who competed at three consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 2004. She was a finalist in the 400-metre individual medley at 2004 Athens, finishing in 5th place, the best position of all time obtained by the Brazil women's swimming, along with Piedade Coutinho. Joanna also broke countless Brazilian and South American records.
Lea Loveless Maurer, née Lea E. Loveless, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former college swimming coach. She represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where she won a gold medal swimming the backstroke leg of the women's 4×100-meter medley relay. She also won a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke. She was the head coach of the Stanford University women's swimming and diving team from 2005 to 2012.
Kaye Marie Hall, later known by her married name Kaye Greff, is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events.
Meagen Marree Nay is a competitive swimmer from Australia. She competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in the 200-metre backstroke and placed seventh in the final. Nay is a former Australian record holder in the 200-metre backstroke.
Cathy Jean Ferguson is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. She competed at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, where she received the gold medal for winning the women's 100-meter backstroke, and another gold as a member of the first-place U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter medley relay.
Elizabeth Clare Simmonds is an English competitive swimmer who has represented Great Britain in the Olympics, FINA World Aquatics Championships, and European championships, and England in the Commonwealth Games. She specialises in backstroke events, and is a former European champion in the 200-metre backstroke.
Gemma Mary Spofforth is an English former competition swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics, FINA world championships and European championships, and England in the Commonwealth Games. Spofforth is the former world record-holder and former world champion in the 100-metre backstroke, and won a total of eight medals in major international championships.
Susanne Jean Atwood is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in two events.
Haley Cope, also known by her married name Haley Clark, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. She won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, eight world championship medals, and held a world record in the 50-meter backstroke.
Belinda Hocking is a retired Australian backstroke swimmer. She is an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.
He Cihong is a Chinese former swimmer who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics and in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Kira Marije Toussaint is a Dutch competitive swimmer who specialises in backstroke. She is the former world record holder in the short course 50 metre backstroke and the Dutch record holder in the long course 50 metre backstroke and 100 metre backstroke, and the short course 50 metre, 100 metre, and 200 metre backstroke. She also holds the European record in the long course and short course 50 metre backstroke. At the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup, Toussaint placed second overall for a competitor of any gender in terms of total points scored and earned 11 gold medals.
Kaylee Rochelle McKeown is an Australian swimmer and triple Olympic gold medalist. She is the world record holder in the long course 100 metre backstroke and both the long course and short course 200 metre backstroke. She won Gold in both the 100 metre and 200 metre backstroke, as well as the 4×100 metre medley relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics staged in Tokyo in 2021.
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