| Women's 800 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Tokyo Aquatics Centre | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 29 July 2021 (heats) 31 July 2021 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 30 from 22 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 8:12.57 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| ← 20162024 → | |||||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Qualification | |||
| Freestyle | |||
| 50 m | men | women | |
| 100 m | men | women | |
| 200 m | men | women | |
| 400 m | men | women | |
| 800 m | men | women | |
| 1500 m | men | women | |
| 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 | mixed | women |
| Marathon | |||
| 10 km | men | women | |
The women's 800 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 29 to 31 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. It was the event's 14th consecutive appearance, having been held at every edition since 1968.
Katie Ledecky won the gold medal, becoming the first person to win the event three consecutive times. At age 24, Ledecky became the oldest winner in the event after already being the youngest at the age of 15 in 2012.
Summary
U.S. distance legend Katie Ledecky won her third consecutive Olympic title in this event, joining Australian Dawn Fraser (100 free, 1956-64) and Hungarian Krisztina Egerszegi (200 back, 1988-96) as the only female swimmers in Olympic history to three-peat an event. Dominating the race from the start, Ledecky fended off a late charge by Australia's Ariarne Titmus to win gold in 8:12.79 - the 17th-fastest swim of all-time and of her career. Titmus, having bettered Ledecky in their 200 and 400 freestyle duels earlier in the week, lowered her Commonwealth record by almost two seconds to claim silver in 8:13.83.
Meanwhile, Italy's Simona Quadarella edged out the U.S.' 15-year-old Katie Grimes to earn bronze in 8:18.37. Grimes, the second fastest qualifier into the final following her teammate Ledecky, was unable to replicate her heat time and settled for fourth place in 8:19.38. Outside the 8:20 club, China's Wang Jianjiahe (8:21.93) and Titmus's teammate Kiah Melverton (8:22.25), picked up the fifth and sixth spots respectively, finishing 31-hundredths of a second apart from each other. Germany's Sarah Köhler (8:24.56) and ROC's Anastasiia Kirpichnikova (8:26.30) rounded out the championship field.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  Katie Ledecky (USA) |
8:04.79 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 12 August 2016 | |
| Olympic record |  Katie Ledecky (USA) |
8:04.79 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 12 August 2016 |
No new records were set during the competition.
Qualification
Main article: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – QualificationThe Olympic Qualifying Time for the event was 8:33.36. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) could automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time was 8:48.76. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time was eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events was reached. NOCs without a female swimmer qualified in any event could also use their universality place.
Competition format
The competition consisted of two rounds: heats and a final. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the heats advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.
Schedule
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| 29 July | 19:00 | Heats |
| 31 July | 10:46 | Final |
Results
Heats
The swimmers with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.
Final
| Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Katie Ledecky | United States |
8:12.57 | |
 |
7 | Ariarne Titmus |  Australia |
8:13.83 | OC |
 |
3 | Simona Quadarella |  Italy |
8:18.35 | |
| 4 | 5 | Katie Grimes | United States |
8:19.38 | |
| 5 | 8 | Wang Jianjiahe |  China |
8:21.93 | |
| 6 | 1 | Kiah Melverton | Australia |
8:22.25 | |
| 7 | 6 | Sarah Köhler |  Germany |
8:24.56 | |
| 8 | 2 | Anastasiya Kirpichnikova |  ROC |
8:26.30 |
See also
References
- ^ "Tokyo 2020: Swimming Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- Norlander, Matt. "Katie Ledecky makes history with 6th individual gold, cements Olympic icon status, and she'll be back in 2024".
- ^ Crouse, Karen (12 August 2016). "Katie Ledecky Smashes World Record in the 800-Meter Freestyle". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- "FINA Swimming Rulebook, 2017–21" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- "Heats results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
| Olympic champions in women's 800 m freestyle | |
|---|---|
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