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Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre breaststroke

The women's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 1–2 August 2012 at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.[1]

U.S. swimmer Rebecca Soni cleared a 2:20-barrier in a remarkable world record to defend her Olympic title for the first time in the event's history. Dominating the race from the start, she threw down a stunning time of 2:19.59 to open up a full-body length gap over the rest of the field on the final stretch.[2][3] Meanwhile, Japan's Satomi Suzuki powered home with silver in a scorching time of 2:20.72 to match an Asian record previously held by Rie Kaneto in 2009.[4] Russia's Yuliya Yefimova, who trained with Soni at the Trojan Swim Club, snatched the bronze medal with an astonishing European record in 2:20.92.[5][6]

Denmark's Rikke Pedersen fell short of the podium by almost a full second with a fourth-place time in 2:21.65, and was followed in fifth by Canada's Martha McCabe (2:23.16) and sixth by Soni's teammate Micah Lawrence (2:23.27).[7] South Africa's Suzaan van Biljon got off to a flying start in the first length, but dropped back to seventh in 2:23.72, while Australia's Sally Foster rounded out the field to eighth in 2:26.00.[6][8]

Before the breakthrough finale, Soni scorched the field with a world-record time in 2:20.00 to pick up a top seed in the semifinals, slicing 0.12 seconds off the standard set by Canada's Annamay Pierse in a since-banned high tech bodysuit from the 2009 World Championships.[9][10]

Other notable swimmers missed the final roster featuring Serbia's Nađa Higl, the 2009 world champion; Norway's Sara Nordenstam, the defending bronze medalist; and Jamaica's Alia Atkinson, fourth-place finalist in the 100 m breaststroke.[11]

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

The following records were established during the competition:

Results

Heats

[15]

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

References

  1. ^ "Swimming: Results & Schedules". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  2. ^ Auerbach, Nicole (2 August 2012). "Rebecca Soni sets world record in winning gold". USA Today. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Rebecca Soni breaks 200 breast world record again, wins gold". London 2012. NBC Olympics. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Swimmers Irie, Suzuki add silver to Japan's medal count". The Japan Times. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  5. ^ "US swimmer Rebecca Soni sets another world record in the 200-meter breaststroke". Fox News. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  6. ^ a b "2012 London Olympics: Rebecca Soni Clears 2:20 In Remarkable World Record Swim to Defend 200 Breast Title; Satomi Suzuki, Yuliya Efimova Round Out Podium; Micah Lawrence Sixth". Swimming World Magazine. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  7. ^ "McCabe finishes fifth; Hayden fails to advance". The Vancouver Sun. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Van Biljon falls short in final". Sport24. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  9. ^ "2012 London Olympics: USA's Rebecca Soni Throws Down World Record in 200 Breast Semis; Micah Lawrence Makes Finals". Swimming World Magazine. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Soni sets world record in 200 breast semifinals". Gillette News-Record. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  11. ^ "2012 London Olympics: Rebecca Soni Surges to Olympic Textile Best in 200 Breast; Micah Lawrence Fourth". Swimming World Magazine. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  12. ^ "Pierse sets world breaststroke record". CBC Sports. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Canadian Pierse sets world swim record". CBC Sports. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Rebecca Soni breaks 200m breaststroke record". France 24. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  15. ^ "Women's 200m Breaststroke – Heats". London2012.com. LOCOG. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.

External links