Women's 400 metre individual medley at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | London Aquatics Centre | ||||||||||||
Date | July 28, 2012 (heats & final) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 36 from 29 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 4:28.43 WR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics | ||
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Qualification | ||
Freestyle | ||
50 m | men | women |
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
800 m | women | |
1500 m | men | |
Backstroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Breaststroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Butterfly | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
Individual medley | ||
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
Freestyle relay | ||
4×100 m | men | women |
4×200 m | men | women |
Medley relay | ||
4×100 m | men | women |
Marathon | ||
10 km | men | women |
The women's 400 metre individual medley event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 28 July at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom. [1]
At only 16 years of age, China's Ye Shiwen blasted a new world record to capture the Olympic title in the event. She trailed behind American teenager Elizabeth Beisel more than halfway through the race, before pulling away with a superb freestyle leg to bring home the Olympic gold medal and the world record in a sterling time of 4:28.43. Her spectacular swim also demolished the previous standard from Australia's Stephanie Rice in Beijing four years earlier by more than a second. [2] [3] Meanwhile, Beisel enjoyed the race with a powerful lead on the breaststroke leg, but felt satisfied to claim the silver in 4:31.27. [4] [5] Ye's teammate Li Xuanxu stormed home on the final stretch to grab a bronze in 4:32.91, edging out Hungary's early leader Katinka Hosszú (4:33.49) by more than half a second (0.50). [6]
Great Britain's home favorite Hannah Miley finished fifth in 4:34.17, while Rice, the defending Olympic champion, matched United States' Caitlin Leverenz with an unexpected sixth-place time in 4:35.49. [7] [8] Spain's Mireia Belmonte García rounded out the final roster in 4:35.62. [6]
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | Stephanie Rice (AUS) | 4:29.45 | Beijing, China | 10 August 2008 | [9] [10] |
Olympic record | Stephanie Rice (AUS) | 4:29.45 | Beijing, China | 10 August 2008 | – |
The following records were established during the competition:
Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
July 28 | Final | Ye Shiwen | China | 4:28.43 | WR |
Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | Ye Shiwen | China | 4:28.43 | WR | |
4 | Elizabeth Beisel | United States | 4:31.27 | ||
6 | Li Xuanxu | China | 4:32.91 | ||
4 | 3 | Katinka Hosszú | Hungary | 4:33.49 | |
5 | 7 | Hannah Miley | Great Britain | 4:34.17 | |
6 | 1 | Stephanie Rice | Australia | 4:35.49 | |
8 | Caitlin Leverenz | United States | |||
8 | 2 | Mireia Belmonte García | Spain | 4:35.62 |
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