| Swimming at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |
|---|---|
 Pictogram for swimming at the 2008 Games | |
| Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Centre (pool) Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park (open water) |
| Dates | 9–17 August 2008 (pool) 20–21 August 2008 (open water) |
| Competitors | 1,026 from 162 nations |
| Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| 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 |
Theswimming competitions at the2008 Summer Olympics took place from 9 to 17 August 2008 at theBeijing National Aquatics Centre.[1] The newly introduced open water marathon events (10 km) were held on 20 and 21 August 2008 atShunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.[2]
Swimming featured 34 events (17 male, 17 female), including two 10 kmopen-water marathons. The remaining 32 were contested in a 50 mlong course pool within the Olympic Park.
TheUnited States claimed a total of 31 medals (12 golds, 9 silver, and 10 bronze) in the leaderboard to maintain its standings as the most successful nation in swimming.[3] A stellar performance in the pool also made an Olympic history forMichael Phelps, who captured eight gold medals to breakMark Spitz's 1972record, a total of seven, at a single Games.[4][5] Despite the male swimmers failing to attain a single gold in swimming,Australia managed to repeat a second-place effort on its third consecutive Olympics with 20 medals (six golds, six silver, and eight bronze).[3] Meanwhile,Great Britain finished third with a total of six medals by the benefit of a sterling long-distance freestyle double fromRebecca Adlington.[5]
A total of 25world records and 65Olympic records were set during the competition.
All the swimming,synchronized swimming, anddiving events of the 2008 Olympics were held at theBeijing National Aquatics Center (better known as the "Water Cube"), which was claimed to be built to increase the speed of the swimmers.[6] The main pool is about 10 feet (3.0 m) deep, 3 feet (0.91 m) deeper than any other Olympic pool.[6] The lane lines, nicknamed "wave eaters", buffer the waves produced by swimmers while they stroke.[6] The technological advances of the pool were enhanced by several advantages inherent to an indoor swimming venue, namely: temperature, humidity and lighting control. Even the wide decks were built to help give the swimmers a sense of space.[6]
The swimming program for 2008 was expanded from 2004, with the addition of the 10 km marathonopen water swimming events, bringing the total number of events to 34 (17 each for men and women). The following events were contested (all pool events were long course, and distances are in metres unless stated):[7]
Unlike the previous Olympics, swimming program schedule occurred in two segments. For the pool events, prelims were held in the evening, with semifinals and final in the following morning session, spanning a day between semifinals and finals in those events with semifinals. The shift of the normal morning prelims and evening finals (to evening prelims and morning finals) occurred for these Games because of the prior request made by US broadcasterNBC (due to the substantial fees NBC has paid for rights to the Olympics, the IOC has allowed NBC to have influence on event scheduling to maximize U.S. television ratings when possible; NBC agreed to a $7.75 billion contract extension on May 7, 2014, to air the Olympics through the 2032 games[8] and is also one of the major sources of revenue for the IOC),[9] so that the finals from the event could be shown live in the United States.[10][11]
| H | Heats | ½ | Semi-finals | F | Final |
| Date → | Aug 9 | Aug 10 | Aug 11 | Aug 12 | Aug 13 | Aug 14 | Aug 15 | Aug 16 | Aug 17 | Aug 21 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event ↓ | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 50 m freestyle | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 100 m freestyle | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m freestyle | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 400 m freestyle | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1500 m freestyle | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 100 m backstroke | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m backstroke | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 100 m breaststroke | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m breaststroke | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 100 m butterfly | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m butterfly | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m individual medley | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 400 m individual medley | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 × 100 m medley relay | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 km open water | F | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date → | Aug 9 | Aug 10 | Aug 11 | Aug 12 | Aug 13 | Aug 14 | Aug 15 | Aug 16 | Aug 17 | Aug 20 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event ↓ | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 50 m freestyle | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 100 m freestyle | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m freestyle | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 400 m freestyle | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 800 m freestyle | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 100 m backstroke | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m backstroke | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 100 m breaststroke | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m breaststroke | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 100 m butterfly | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m butterfly | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 200 m individual medley | H | ½ | F | |||||||||||||||||
| 400 m individual medley | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 × 100 m medley relay | H | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 km open water | F | |||||||||||||||||||
ANational Olympic Committee (NOC) may enter up to 2 qualified athletes in each individual event if both meet the A standard, or 1 athlete per event if they meet the B standard. An NOC may also enter a maximum of 1 qualified relay team per event. NOCs may enter swimmers regardless of time (1 swimmer per sex) if they have no swimmers meeting qualifying B standard.[12]
A total of 1,026 swimmers (571 men and 455 women) from 162 nations would compete in swimming events at these Olympic Games. American Samoa, Botswana, Comoros, Congo Democratic Republic, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, and Tanzania made their official debut in swimming. Meanwhile, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Netherlands Antilles, and Tajikistan returned to the sport after an eight-year absence. Nations with swimmers at the Games are (team size in parentheses):
Albania (2)
Algeria (5)
American Samoa (2)
Andorra (1)
Angola (2)
Antigua and Barbuda (1)
Argentina (11)
Armenia (1)
Aruba (1)
Australia (43)
Austria (12)
Azerbaijan (2)
Bahamas (4)
Bahrain (2)
Bangladesh (2)
Barbados (4)
Belarus (8)
Belgium (7)
Benin (2)
Bermuda (2)
Bolivia (2)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)
Botswana (2)
Brazil (25)
Bulgaria (4)
Burkina Faso (2)
Burundi (1)
Cambodia (2)
Cameroon (2)
Canada (27)
Cayman Islands (2)
Chile (2)
China (42)
Colombia (5)
Comoros (1)
Republic of the Congo (1)
Cook Islands (1)
Costa Rica (2)
Ivory Coast (1)
Croatia (13)
Cuba (2)
Cyprus (2)
Czech Republic (10)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1)
Denmark (9)
Dominican Republic (1)
Ecuador (2)
Egypt (3)
El Salvador (1)
Estonia (9)
Fiji (1)
Finland (5)
France (35)
Georgia (2)
Germany (25)
Great Britain (37)
Greece (18)
Guam (1)
Guatemala (1)
Guinea (2)
Guyana (1)
Honduras (2)
Hong Kong (4)
Hungary (28)
Iceland (8)
India (4)
Indonesia (2)
Iran (1)
Ireland (3)
Israel (7)
Italy (34)
Jamaica (3)
Japan (31)
Jordan (2)
Kazakhstan (12)
Kenya (2)
South Korea (16)
Kuwait (1)
Kyrgyzstan (3)
Laos (2)
Latvia (2)
Lebanon (2)
Libya (2)
Lithuania (9)
Luxembourg (4)
Macedonia (2)
Madagascar (2)
Malawi (2)
Malaysia (5)
Maldives (2)
Mali (2)
Malta (2)
Marshall Islands (2)
Mauritius (2)
Mexico (6)
Federated States of Micronesia (2)
Moldova (3)
Mongolia (2)
Montenegro (1)
Morocco (1)
Mozambique (2)
Myanmar (1)
Nepal (2)
Netherlands (18)
Netherlands Antilles (1)
New Zealand (15)
Nicaragua (2)
Niger (2)
Nigeria (2)
Norway (4)
Oman (4)
Pakistan (2)
Palau (1)
Palestine (2)
Panama (2)
Papua New Guinea (2)
Paraguay (2)
Peru (2)
Philippines (5)
Poland (15)
Portugal (10)
Puerto Rico (4)
Qatar (1)
Romania (6)
Russia (35)
Rwanda (2)
Saint Lucia (1)
San Marino (2)
Saudi Arabia (1)
Senegal (2)
Serbia (9)
Seychelles (2)
Singapore (5)
Slovakia (3)
Slovenia (10)
South Africa (24)
Spain (23)
Sri Lanka (2)
Sudan (1)
Suriname (2)
Swaziland (1)
Sweden (18)
Switzerland (7)
Syria (3)
Chinese Taipei (5)
Tajikistan (2)
Tanzania (2)
Thailand (2)
Trinidad and Tobago (3)
Tunisia (2)
Turkey (11)
Turkmenistan (2)
Uganda (2)
Ukraine (23)
United Arab Emirates (1)
United States (43)
Uruguay (3)
Uzbekistan (7)
Venezuela (13)
Vietnam (1)
Virgin Islands (1)
Yemen (2)
Zambia (2)
Zimbabwe (2)
Retrieved from 2008NBC Olympics website.[13]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (USA) | 12 | 9 | 10 | 31 |
| 2 | Australia (AUS) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 20 |
| 3 | Great Britain (GBR) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Japan (JPN) | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Germany (GER) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Netherlands (NED) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | China (CHN) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | Zimbabwe (ZIM) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | France (FRA) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 | Russia (RUS) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 11 | Italy (ITA) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| South Korea (KOR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 13 | Brazil (BRA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | Tunisia (TUN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 16 | Norway (NOR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Serbia (SRB) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Slovenia (SLO) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 19 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Canada (CAN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Denmark (DEN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (21 entries) | 34 | 34 | 36 | 104 | |
* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, newworld records were set 25 times (affecting 21 distinct world records) and newOlympic records were set 65 times and one other was equalled (affecting 30 distinct Olympic records).[14] OnlyIan Thorpe's 3:40.59 in the 400 metres freestyle andInge de Bruijn's 56.61 in the 100 metres butterfly, both set in Sydney, remained Olympic records.Michael Phelps of the United States also broke the record for the most gold medals ever won by an Olympian with a total of 14; 8 of which were won during the 2008 Summer Olympics - this was also a world record.
* World record split from the4 × 100 m freestyle relay
Note: At the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay final, anchorJason Lezak swam the fastest 100 m split (46.06); however, this is not considered an officialFINA record, as he did not swim the first leg.
Another big change to swimming occurred whenSpeedo launched theLZR Racer swim suits on February 13, 2008. The suits, developed by theAustralian Institute of Sport,[15] were designed to repel water, allow oxygen to flow to the muscles, and hold the body in a more hydrodynamic position.[16][17] The suits had been proven to give the swimmer a lower time by 1.9 to 2.2%.[18] Due to the advantage provided by the suits, some swimmers complained about the fairness in its use, because some people used multiple swimsuits to improve buoyancy and compressing of body;[19] the official blog for theNational Collegiate Athletic Association pondered whether they were "technology doping" and what was the difference between gaining advantage from a swimsuit and gaining advantage fromperformance-enhancing drugs.[18] In response to these complaints, theInternational Swimming Federation (FINA) scheduled a meeting with Speedo to discuss the suits.[19] After the meeting, FINA dismissed the claims of cheating, and endorsed the suits for future swimming meets.[19] By August 14, 2008, 62 world records had been broken by swimmers wearing theLZR Racer.[20][17]
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