The women's 100 metre
backstroke
Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four 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 disadvantage of swimm ...
event at the
2004 Olympic Games was contested at the
Olympic Aquatic Centre of the
Athens Olympic Sports Complex in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
on August 15 and 16.
U.S. swimmer
Natalie Coughlin won the gold medal in this event, outside the record time of 1:00.37. The silver medal was awarded to Zimbabwe's
Kirsty Coventry, who finished behind Coughlin by 0.13 of a second, breaking an African record of 1:00.50. France's
Laure Manaudou
Laure Manaudou (; born 9 October 1986) is a retired French Olympic, world and European champion swimmer. She has held the world record in freestyle events between 200 and 1500 meter. She is the daughter of a French father and a Dutch mother, and s ...
, who won the gold in the
400 m freestyle on the previous day, took home the bronze medal, with a time of 1:00.88. In the semifinals, Coughlin lowered an Olympic record time of 1:00.21, set by Romania's
Diana Mocanu in Sydney (2000), to 1:00.17.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
Results
Heats
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
Semifinal 2
Final
References
External links
Official Olympic Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming At The 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 Metre Backstroke
W
2004 in women's swimming
Women's events at the 2004 Summer Olympics