Women's 100 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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Venue | Olympic Aquatics Stadium | ||||||||||||
Dates | 10 August 2016 (heats & semifinals) 11 August 2016 (final) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 48 from 37 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 52.70 OR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Swimming at the 2016 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 100 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 10 and 11 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. [1]
In one of the most unexpected results at these Games, Canadian teenager Penny Oleksiak and U.S. sprinter Simone Manuel pulled off an enormous upset from Australia's pre-race favorites Bronte and Cate Campbell down the home stretch to be in a dead heat for the gold medal. [2] About midway of the final lap, both Oleksiak and Manuel came from behind to overhaul almost the entire field, before touching the wall simultaneously for an Olympic record in 52.70. [3] [4] Building a new milestone, Manuel became the first ever African-American female to earn an Olympic gold in swimming, while Oleksiak picked up her fourth medal to establish herself as Canada's most successful athlete at a single edition in Summer Olympic history. [5] [6] In later years, she set the record for the most career medals won by a Canadian summer Olympian. [7]
Sweden's Sarah Sjöström captured the bronze with a 52.99 to complete a full set of medals at the Games, edging out Bronte Campbell (53.04) to fourth by a 0.05-second deficit. [8] [9] Dutch sprinter Ranomi Kromowidjojo missed her chance to defend the title with a fifth-place time in 53.08, while world-record holder Cate Campbell, who broke the existing Olympic record in the heats and then again in the semifinals, slipped to sixth in 53.24. [10] [11] Manuel's teammate Abbey Weitzeil (53.30) and Denmark's four-time Olympian Jeanette Ottesen (53.36) rounded out the top eight. [9]
Notable swimmers missed the final roster, including Brazil's home-crowd favorite Etiene Medeiros, Belarus' two-time Olympic medalist Aliaksandra Herasimenia, and Italy's Federica Pellegrini, who scratched the afternoon prelims earlier to focus on her 4 × 200 m freestyle relay duty instead. [12]
In the victory ceremony, the medals for the competition were presented by James Tomkins, Australia, member of the International Olympic Committee, and the gifts were presented by Matthew Dunn, Australia, Bureau Member of FINA.
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | Cate Campbell (AUS) | 52.06 | Brisbane, Australia | 2 July 2016 | [13] [14] |
Olympic record | Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) | 53.00 | London, Great Britain | 2 August 2012 | [15] |
The following records were established during the competition:
Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 10 | Heat 5 | Cate Campbell | Australia | 52.78 | OR |
August 10 | Semifinal 2 | Cate Campbell | Australia | 52.71 | OR |
August 11 | Final | Simone Manuel Penny Oleksiak | United States Canada | 52.70 | OR |
The competition consisted of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advanced to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round. [1]
Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Simone Manuel | United States | 53.11 | Q |
2 | 6 | Bronte Campbell | Australia | 53.29 | Q |
3 | 3 | Jeanette Ottesen | Denmark | 53.35 | Q, NR |
4 | 5 | Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands | 53.42 | Q |
5 | 7 | Zhu Menghui | China | 53.98 | |
6 | 8 | Miki Uchida | Japan | 54.39 | |
7 | 2 | Charlotte Bonnet | France | 54.54 | |
8 | 1 | Etiene Medeiros | Brazil | 54.59 |
Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Cate Campbell | Australia | 52.71 | Q, OR |
2 | 3 | Penny Oleksiak | Canada | 52.72 | Q, WJ, AM |
3 | 5 | Sarah Sjöström | Sweden | 53.16 | Q |
4 | 6 | Abbey Weitzeil | United States | 53.53 | Q |
5 | 2 | Chantal Van Landeghem | Canada | 54.00 | |
6 | 7 | Pernille Blume | Denmark | 54.19 | |
7 | 8 | Rikako Ikee | Japan | 54.31 | |
8 | 1 | Aliaksandra Herasimenia | Belarus | 54.34 |
Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | Penny Oleksiak | Canada | 52.70 | OR , WJ, AM | |
3 | Simone Manuel | United States | OR , AM | ||
6 | Sarah Sjöström | Sweden | 52.99 | ||
4 | 2 | Bronte Campbell | Australia | 53.04 | |
5 | 1 | Ranomi Kromowidjojo | Netherlands | 53.08 | |
6 | 4 | Cate Campbell | Australia | 53.24 | |
7 | 8 | Abbey Weitzeil | United States | 53.30 | |
8 | 7 | Jeanette Ottesen | Denmark | 53.36 |
Ranomi Kromowidjojo is a retired Dutch swimmer of mixed Dutch-Javanese Surinamese origin who mainly specialises in sprint freestyle events. She is a triple Olympic champion, winning the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 2008 Olympics, and in the 50 m freestyle and 100 m freestyle at the 2012 Olympics. Kromowidjojo holds the world record in the 50 meter freestyle short course, and as part of the Dutch team she holds the world record in the 4×50 m freestyle relay. She formerly held world records in the 4 × 100 m and 4 × 200 m freestyle relays. She has won a total of 39 medals in FINA World Championship events.
Sarah Fredrika Sjöström is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialising in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events.
Cate Natalie Campbell, is a Malawian-born Australian former competitive swimmer. She is the current world record holder in the short course 100 m freestyle. She is also a former world record holder in the long course 100 m freestyle, breaking Britta Steffen's supersuit WR by 0.01.
The women's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 1–2 August 2012 at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.
The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 28 July at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.
Bronte Campbell is a Malawian-born Australian competitive swimmer. A four time Olympian, Campbell is a triple Olympic gold medallist and a former World Champion in the 50 and 100 m freestyle, having won both titles in 2015.
Simone Ashley Manuel is an American professional swimmer specializing in freestyle events. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she won two gold and two silver medals: gold in the 100-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter medley, and silver in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. In winning the 100-meter freestyle, a tie with Penny Oleksiak of Canada, Manuel became the first Black American woman to win an individual Olympic gold in swimming and set an Olympic record and an American record. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won a bronze medal as the anchor of the American 4×100-meter freestyle relay team.
Emma Jennifer McKeon, is a retired Australian competitive swimmer. She is an eight-time world record holder, three current and five former, in relays. Her total career haul of 14 Olympic medals following the 2024 Olympic Games made her the most decorated Australian, the third-most decorated swimmer, and the seventh-most decorated athlete in Olympic history and included one gold medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, four gold medals from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and one gold medal from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. With four gold and three bronze medals she was the most decorated athlete across all sports at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and tied for the most medals won by a woman in a single Olympic Games. She also won 20 medals, including five gold medals, at the World Aquatics Championships; and a record 20 medals, including 14 gold, at the Commonwealth Games.
Abbigail "Abbey" Weitzeil is an American competition swimmer specializing in sprint freestyle. A multiple time Olympic medalist, she won a gold medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay for swimming in the preliminary heats and a silver medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics she won a silver medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay and a bronze medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, swimming in the final of both events. She is the American record holder in the 50-yard freestyle and is part of the American Record in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 9–10 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
The men's 100 metre butterfly event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on 11–12 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
The women's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 12–13 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
The women's 100 metre butterfly event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on 6–7 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on 6 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
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Taylor Madison Ruck is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She won two Olympic bronze medals as part of Canada's women's 4×100 metre and 4×200 metre freestyle relay teams at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Ruck won eight medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Her eight medal performance of one gold, five silver, and two bronze tied her with three other athletes for the most all-time at a single Commonwealth Games, as well as making her the most decorated Canadian female athlete ever at a single Commonwealth Games. Ruck is the all-time leading medallist at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships having won nine gold, two silver, and two bronze over the course of the 2015 and 2017 editions.
Penelope Oleksiak is a Canadian competitive swimmer. Nicknamed "Magic Penny", she is one of her country's most decorated Olympians. Oleksiak rose to fame during the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she became the first Canadian to win four medals in the same Summer Games, and the country's youngest Olympic champion with her gold medal win in the 100 m freestyle. She was the first athlete born in the 2000s to claim an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. Her success led to her being awarded the 2016 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete, the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's top female athlete for 2016, and a member of the Canadian Press team of the year. Five years later she won three additional medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, breaking the national record for Olympic medals; joined in 2024 by sprinter Andre De Grasse, with seven Olympic medals each.
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The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. It will be the event's twenty-fifth appearance at the Olympics, having been held at every edition since 1912.