The
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
competitions at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
took place from 16 to 23 September 2000 at the
Sydney International Aquatic Centre in
Homebush Bay. It featured 32 events (16 male, 16 female), and a total of 954 swimmers from 150 nations.
The swimming program for 2000 was expanded from 1996, with the inclusion of the semifinal phase in each of the events except for some special cases. Long-distance swimming events (400 m freestyle, 800 m freestyle, 1500 m freestyle, and 400 m individual medley) and all relays still maintained the old format with only two phases: heats and final. Because of the radical changes in the competition format, it was extended into an eight-day program and thereby continued into the present era.
Swimmers from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
were the most successful, winning 14 golds, 8 silver, and 11 bronze to lead the overall medal count with 33. Meanwhile,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
had produced a total of 18 medals (five golds, nine silver, and four bronze) to claim the second spot in the tally. A total of fourteen
world records
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
and thirty-eight
Olympic records
Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including:
* Archery (list)
* Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS)
* Athletics (list)
...
were set during the competition.
Events
The following events were contested (all pool events were long course, and distances are in metres unless stated):
*
Freestyle : 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 (women) and 1500 (men);
*
Backstroke
Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...
: 100 and 200;
*
Breaststroke
Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...
: 100 and 200;
*
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
: 100 and 200;
*
Individual medley
Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles—backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle—into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as a medley relay.
Individual m ...
: 200 and 400;
*
Relays
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
: 4 × 100 free, 4 × 200 free, and 4 × 100 medley.
Schedule
Participating nations
A total of 954 swimmers (558 men and 336 women) from 150 nations would compete in swimming events at these Olympic Games.
Aruba, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia, Guinea, Iraq, Laos, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Niger, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, and Tajikistan made their official debut in swimming:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Medal summary
Results
Men's events
* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
Women's events
* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
References
External links
Official Olympic ReportResults2000 Sydney Olympics Coverage – ABC News Australia
{{Swimming at the Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics events
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
O
Swimming competitions in Australia