Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 50 metre freestyle
Men's 50 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Beijing National Aquatics Center | ||||||||||||
Dates | August 14, 2008 (heats) August 15, 2008 (semifinals) August 16, 2008 (final) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 97 from 90 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 21.30 OR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
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 |
The men's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 14–16 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.[1]
César Cielo made an Olympic milestone to become Brazil's first ever gold medalist in swimming. He rocketed to an unexpected triumph in a new Olympic record of 21.30, then the second-fastest in history, powering past the field by 0.15 of a second, a sizable chunk in Olympic swimming's shortest race.[2][3] The French tandem of Amaury Leveaux and Alain Bernard took home the silver and bronze with respective times of 21.45 and 21.49.[4]
Australia's Ashley Callus finished fourth in 21.62, while his teammate and world record holder Eamon Sullivan was a fraction behind the leading pack in sixth at 21.65.[5] For the first time in Olympic history, no American swimmer had reached the podium in the event, as the reigning world champion Ben Wildman-Tobriner, swimming on the outside in lane eight, pulled off a fifth-place effort in 21.64.[6] Competing at their third Olympics, South Africa's Roland Mark Schoeman (21.67) and Sweden's Stefan Nystrand (21.72) rounded out the finale in seventh and eighth place, respectively.[4]
Earlier in the prelims, Cielo posted a time of 21.47 to erase Alexander Popov's 1992 Olympic record by 0.44 of a second. One heat later, Leveaux established the same record by winning the twelfth heat in 21.46.[7] The following morning, in the semifinals, Cielo lowered again an Olympic record to 21.34 that had been set by Leveaux in the preliminaries under 0.12 seconds.[8]
Records[]
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | Eamon Sullivan (AUS) | 21.28 | Sydney, Australia | 28 March 2008 | [9] |
Olympic record | Alexander Popov (EUN) | 21.91 | Barcelona, Spain | 30 July 1992 | - |
The following Olympic records were set during this competition.
Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 August | Heat 11 | César Cielo | Brazil | 21.47 | OR |
14 August | Heat 12 | Amaury Leveaux | France | 21.46 | OR |
15 August | Semifinal 2 | César Cielo | Brazil | 21.34 | OR |
16 August | Final | César Cielo | Brazil | 21.30 | OR |
Qualification[]
The A standard for the event was 22.35 seconds. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) could qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The B standard was 23.13 seconds. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time could qualify. NOCs without a male swimmer qualified in any event could also use their universality place.[10]
Competition format[]
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.
Results[]
Heats[]
The swimmers with the top 16 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the semifinals.
Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | 4 | Amaury Leveaux | France | 21.46 | Q, OR |
2 | 11 | 5 | César Cielo | Brazil | 21.47 | Q, OR, =AM |
3 | 12 | 3 | Stefan Nystrand | Sweden | 21.75 | Q |
12 | 5 | Ben Wildman-Tobriner | United States | Q | ||
5 | 13 | 3 | Roland Mark Schoeman | South Africa | 21.76 | Q |
6 | 11 | 1 | George Bovell | Trinidad and Tobago | 21.77 | Q |
7 | 13 | 5 | Alain Bernard | France | 21.78 | Q |
8 | 13 | 4 | Eamon Sullivan | Australia | 21.79 | Q |
9 | 11 | 4 | Garrett Weber-Gale | United States | 21.95 | Q |
10 | 12 | 7 | Rafed El-Masri | Germany | 21.96 | Q |
11 | 11 | 7 | Nicholas Santos | Brazil | 22.00 | Q |
12 | 11 | 3 | Duje Draganja | Croatia | 22.05 | Q |
13 | 13 | 2 | Ashley Callus | Australia | 22.11 | Q |
14 | 12 | 6 | Krisztián Takács | Hungary | 22.14 | Q |
15 | 11 | 6 | Bartosz Kizierowski | Poland | 22.15 | Q |
16 | 12 | 2 | Gideon Louw | South Africa | 22.17 | Q |
17 | 12 | 1 | Andrey Grechin | Russia | 22.20 | |
18 | 10 | 4 | Jernej Godec | Slovenia | 22.21 | |
19 | 8 | 4 | Flori Lang | Switzerland | 22.27 | |
20 | 9 | 1 | David Dunford | Kenya | 22.29 | |
21 | 13 | 1 | Yevgeny Lagunov | Russia | 22.30 | |
22 | 11 | 2 | Javier Noriega | Spain | 22.33 | |
23 | 13 | 6 | Mark Foster | Great Britain | 22.35 | |
13 | 8 | Salim Iles | Algeria | |||
25 | 9 | 6 | Miko Mälberg | Estonia | 22.37 | NR |
26 | 10 | 5 | Apostolos Tsagkarakis | Greece | 22.39 | |
27 | 10 | 6 | Richard Hortness | Canada | 22.42 | |
28 | 10 | 7 | Yoris Grandjean | Belgium | 22.45 | |
29 | 10 | 1 | Matti Rajakylä | Finland | 22.48 | |
30 | 9 | 3 | Cai Li | China | 22.50 | |
9 | 7 | Alessandro Calvi | Italy | |||
32 | 10 | 3 | Robert Lijesen | Netherlands | 22.51 | |
33 | 10 | 2 | Jakob Andkjær | Denmark | 22.52 | |
34 | 8 | 8 | Jacinto de Jesus Ayala Benjamin | Dominican Republic | 22.57 | |
35 | 10 | 8 | José Meolans | Argentina | 22.58 | |
36 | 9 | 2 | Andrei Radzionau | Belarus | 22.65 | NR |
37 | 11 | 8 | Kaan Tayla | Turkey | 22.66 | |
38 | 13 | 7 | Steffen Deibler | Germany | 22.67 | |
39 | 9 | 8 | Daniel Coakley | Philippines | 22.69 | |
40 | 9 | 5 | Virdhawal Khade | India | 22.73 | |
41 | 7 | 4 | Oliver Elliot | Chile | 22.75 | NR |
42 | 8 | 3 | Yuriy Yegoshin | Ukraine | 22.77 | |
43 | 7 | 2 | Norbert Trandafir | Romania | 22.80 | |
44 | 7 | 8 | Árni Már Árnason | Iceland | 22.81 | NR |
45 | 7 | 5 | Jevon Atkinson | Jamaica | 22.83 | NR |
8 | 1 | Mohammad Madwa | Kuwait | |||
47 | 8 | 6 | Jonathan Javier Camacho Riera | Venezuela | 22.87 | |
48 | 7 | 6 | Stanislav Kuzmin | Kazakhstan | 22.91 | |
49 | 9 | 4 | Camilo Becerra | Colombia | 22.93 | |
50 | 8 | 5 | Francisco Picasso | Uruguay | 23.01 | |
51 | 7 | 3 | Martyn Forde | Barbados | 23.08 | |
52 | 8 | 2 | Elvis Burrows | Bahamas | 23.19 | |
53 | 7 | 1 | Joshua Laban | Virgin Islands | 23.28 | |
54 | 12 | 8 | Mohamed El Nady | Egypt | 23.92 | |
55 | 6 | 4 | Yellow Yeiyah | Nigeria | 24.00 | |
56 | 7 | 7 | Vitaly Vasilyev | Kyrgyzstan | 24.02 | |
57 | 6 | 5 | Rodion Davelaar | Netherlands Antilles | 24.21 | |
58 | 8 | 7 | Rolandas Gimbutis | Lithuania | 24.36 | |
59 | 6 | 6 | Anas Hamadeh | Jordan | 24.40 | |
60 | 6 | 2 | Luke Hall | Swaziland | 24.41 | |
61 | 5 | 7 | Alain Brigion Tobe | Cameroon | 24.53 | |
62 | 1 | 4 | Alois Dansou | Benin | 24.54 | |
63 | 5 | 5 | Sidni Hoxha | Albania | 24.56 | |
64 | 1 | 5 | Omar Jasim | Bahrain | 24.65 | |
65 | 5 | 4 | Zane Jordan | Zambia | 24.82 | |
66 | 6 | 1 | Daniel Lee | Sri Lanka | 24.92 | |
67 | 6 | 7 | Chakyl Camal | Mozambique | 24.93 | NR |
68 | 5 | 3 | Andrey Molchanov | Turkmenistan | 25.02 | |
69 | 6 | 8 | Niall Roberts | Guyana | 25.13 | |
70 | 5 | 6 | Kerson Hadley | Federated States of Micronesia | 25.34 | |
71 | 4 | 4 | Stewart Glenister | American Samoa | 25.45 | |
72 | 5 | 1 | John Kamyuka | Botswana | 25.54 | |
73 | 4 | 3 | Hamse Abdouh | Palestine | 25.60 | |
74 | 5 | 2 | Adil Baig | Pakistan | 25.66 | |
75 | 1 | 3 | Omar Nunez | Nicaragua | 26.00 | |
76 | 5 | 8 | Kouassi Brou | Ivory Coast | 26.08 | |
77 | 4 | 5 | Kyaw Zin | Myanmar | 26.17 | |
78 | 4 | 6 | Tural Abbasov | Azerbaijan | 26.31 | |
79 | 4 | 1 | Hemthon Ponloeu | Cambodia | 27.39 | |
80 | 3 | 5 | Charlton Nyirenda | Malawi | 27.46 | |
81 | 4 | 7 | Prasiddha Jung Shah | Nepal | 27.59 | |
82 | 4 | 8 | Gilbert Kaburu | Uganda | 27.72 | |
83 | 3 | 3 | Jackson Niyomugabo | Rwanda | 27.74 | |
84 | 3 | 7 | Khalid Rushaka | Tanzania | 28.50 | |
85 | 3 | 6 | Dwayne Didon | Seychelles | 28.95 | |
86 | 3 | 8 | Mohamed Coulibaly | Mali | 29.09 | |
87 | 3 | 1 | Alisher Chingizov | Tajikistan | 29.10 | |
88 | 3 | 2 | Ibrahim Shameel | Maldives | 29.28 | |
89 | 3 | 4 | Mamadou Cisse | Guinea | 29.29 | |
90 | 2 | 3 | Thepphithak Chindavong | Laos | 29.31 | |
91 | 6 | 3 | Mohamed Attoumane | Comoros | 29.63 | |
92 | 2 | 6 | Rene Jacob Yougbara | Burkina Faso | 30.08 | |
93 | 4 | 2 | Ahmed Adam | Sudan | 30.12 | |
94 | 2 | 4 | Abdulsalam Al Gadabi | Yemen | 30.63 | NR |
95 | 2 | 5 | Mohamed Alhousseini Alhassan | Niger | 30.90 | |
96 | 2 | 2 | Kareem Valentine | Antigua and Barbuda | 31.23 | |
97 | 2 | 7 | Stany Kempompo Ngangola | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 35.19 |
Semifinals[]
The swimmers with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.
Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 4 | César Cielo Filho | Brazil | 21.34 | Q, OR, AM |
2 | 2 | 6 | Alain Bernard | France | 21.54 | Q |
3 | 2 | 1 | Ashley Callus | Australia | 21.68 | Q |
4 | 1 | 5 | Stefan Nystrand | Sweden | 21.71 | Q |
5 | 2 | 3 | Roland Mark Schoeman | South Africa | 21.74 | Q |
6 | 1 | 6 | Eamon Sullivan | Australia | 21.75 | Q |
7 | 2 | 4 | Amaury Leveaux | France | 21.76 | Q |
2 | 5 | Ben Wildman-Tobriner | United States | Q | ||
9 | 1 | 1 | Krisztián Takács | Hungary | 21.84 | |
10 | 1 | 7 | Duje Draganja | Croatia | 21.85 | |
11 | 1 | 3 | George Bovell | Trinidad and Tobago | 21.86 | |
12 | 1 | 8 | Gideon Louw | South Africa | 21.97 | |
13 | 2 | 2 | Garrett Weber-Gale | United States | 22.08 | |
14 | 1 | 2 | Rafed El-Masri | Germany | 22.09 | |
15 | 2 | 8 | Bartosz Kizierowski | Poland | 22.12 | |
16 | 2 | 7 | Nicholas Santos | Brazil | 22.15 |
Final[]
Rank | Lane | Name | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | César Cielo Filho | Brazil | 21.30 | OR, AM | |
1 | Amaury Leveaux | France | 21.45 | ||
5 | Alain Bernard | France | 21.49 | ||
4 | 3 | Ashley Callus | Australia | 21.62 | |
5 | 8 | Ben Wildman-Tobriner | United States | 21.64 | |
6 | 7 | Eamon Sullivan | Australia | 21.65 | |
7 | 2 | Roland Mark Schoeman | South Africa | 21.67 | AF |
8 | 6 | Stefan Nystrand | Sweden | 21.72 |
References[]
- ^ "Olympic Swimming Schedule". USA Today. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ "'Big Cesar' races to first Brazilian swim gold". ESPN. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Cielo hands Brazil's first swimming gold". South China Morning Post. 16 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ a b Lohn, John (16 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Cesar Cielo Claims 50 Free Gold in Olympic Record Time". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Cielo Filho takes 50m gold". ABC News. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ Crumpacker, John (16 August 2008). "Wildman-Tobriner is 5th in the 50". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ Lohn, John (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Olympic Standard Falls Twice in Men's 50 Free Prelims". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ Lohn, John (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Cesar Cielo Drops Olympic Record in 50 Free Semis". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Sullivan snaps 50m record again". ABC News. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ^ "Olympic Qualifying Procedures for Swimming" (PDF). FINA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-03-04. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
External links[]
- Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Men's events at the 2008 Summer Olympics