# Swimming at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships – Women's 50 metre backstroke

The women's 50 metre backstroke event in swimming at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships took place on 31 July and 1 August at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain.

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and championship records were:
| World record | Zhao Jing (CHN) | 27.06 | Rome, Italy | 30 July 2009 |
| Competition record | Zhao Jing (CHN) | 27.06 | Rome, Italy | 30 July 2009 |

## Results
### Heats

The heats were held at 10:00.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | 4 | Fu Yuanhui | China | 27.55 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | 5 | Zhao Jing | China | 27.81 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | 4 | Aya Terakawa | Japan | 28.05 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | 5 | Mercedes Peris | Spain | 28.07 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | Etiene Medeiros | Brazil | 28.16 | Q |
| 6 | 4 | 4 | Rachel Bootsma | United States | 28.28 | Q |
| 7 | 6 | 3 | Georgia Davies | Great Britain | 28.35 | Q |
| 7 | 6 | 6 | Lauren Quigley | Great Britain | 28.35 | Q |
| 9 | 5 | 2 | Duane Da Rocha | Spain | 28.37 | Q |
| 9 | 5 | 6 | Aleksandra Urbanczyk | Poland | 28.37 | Q |
| 11 | 6 | 2 | Simona Baumrtová | Czech Republic | 28.38 | Q, NR |
| 12 | 4 | 9 | Stephanie Au | Hong Kong | 28.39 | Q, NR |
| 13 | 5 | 3 | Missy Franklin | United States | 28.44 | Q, WD |
| 13 | 6 | 8 | Sanja Jovanović | Croatia | 28.44 | Q |
| 15 | 4 | 3 | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 28.48 | Q |
| 16 | 4 | 6 | Sinead Russell | Canada | 28.60 | Q |
| 17 | 4 | 8 | Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir | Iceland | 28.62 | NR |
| 17 | 5 | 9 | Anni Alitalo | Finland | 28.62 | Q, NR |
| 19 | 4 | 7 | Klaudia Nazieblo | Poland | 28.65 | |
| 20 | 3 | 7 | Amit Ivry | Israel | 28.75 | NR |
| 21 | 6 | 7 | Belinda Hocking | Australia | 28.80 | |
| 22 | 4 | 2 | Theodora Drakou | Greece | 28.81 | |
| 22 | 6 | 1 | Daria Ustinova | Russia | 28.81 | |
| 24 | 6 | 9 | Tao Li | Singapore | 28.90 | |
| 25 | 4 | 1 | Carolina Colorado Henao | Colombia | 29.08 | |
| 25 | 6 | 0 | Jessica Ashley-Cooper | South Africa | 29.08 | |
| 27 | 5 | 0 | Kimberly Buys | Belgium | 29.16 | |
| 28 | 3 | 3 | Fernanda González | Mexico | 29.17 | |
| 29 | 5 | 8 | Kim Ji-Hyun | South Korea | 29.18 | |
| 30 | 4 | 0 | Yekaterina Rudenko | Kazakhstan | 29.19 | |
| 31 | 5 | 1 | Magdalena Kuras | Sweden | 29.39 | |
| 32 | 3 | 6 | Gisela Morales | Guatemala | 29.42 | |
| 33 | 5 | 7 | Selina Hocke | Germany | 29.50 | |
| 34 | 3 | 4 | Jeserik Pinto | Venezuela | 29.62 | |
| 35 | 3 | 1 | Ekaterina Avramova | Bulgaria | 29.75 | |
| 36 | 3 | 9 | Barbara Caraballo | Puerto Rico | 29.80 | NR |
| 37 | 3 | 2 | Yulduz Kuchkarova | Uzbekistan | 29.84 | |
| 38 | 3 | 5 | Hazal Sarıkaya | Turkey | 30.15 | |
| 39 | 2 | 4 | Caroline Puamau | Fiji | 30.36 | |
| 40 | 3 | 0 | Birita Debes | Faroe Islands | 30.57 | NR |
| 41 | 3 | 8 | Heather Arseth | Mauritius | 30.61 | |
| 42 | 2 | 5 | Siona Huxley | Saint Lucia | 31.33 | |
| 43 | 2 | 2 | Faye Sultan | Kuwait | 31.36 | |
| 44 | 2 | 6 | Kuan Weng I | Macau | 31.64 | |
| 45 | 2 | 8 | Evelina Afoa | Samoa | 31.67 | |
| 46 | 2 | 3 | Nadeera Jayasekera | Sri Lanka | 32.33 | |
| 47 | 2 | 1 | Caylee Watson | U.S. Virgin Islands | 32.38 | |
| 48 | 2 | 0 | Nur Hamizah Ahmad | Brunei | 33.85 | |
| 49 | 1 | 5 | Colleen Furgeson | Marshall Islands | 34.48 | |
| 50 | 1 | 4 | Osisang Chilton | Palau | 34.60 | |
| 51 | 2 | 9 | Khadidiatou Dieng | Senegal | 34.90 | |
| | 1 | 3 | Meseret Amare | Ethiopia | | DNS |
| | 2 | 7 | Khahliso Mpeta | Lesotho | | DNS |

### Semifinals

The semifinals were held at 18:12.

#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Mercedes Peris | Spain | 27.71 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 4 | Zhao Jing | China | 27.87 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Rachel Bootsma | United States | 27.93 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Lauren Quigley | Great Britain | 28.02 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Duane Da Rocha | Spain | 28.25 | |
| 6 | 1 | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 28.29 | |
| 7 | 7 | Stephanie Au | Hong Kong | 28.33 | NR |
| 8 | 8 | Anni Alitalo | Finland | 28.61 | NR |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Fu Yuanhui | China | 27.40 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Aya Terakawa | Japan | 27.70 | Q, NR |
| 3 | 3 | Etiene Medeiros | Brazil | 27.89 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Georgia Davies | Great Britain | 28.05 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | Simona Baumrtová | Czech Republic | 28.20 | NR |
| 6 | 2 | Aleksandra Urbańczyk | Poland | 28.25 | |
| 7 | 8 | Sinead Russell | Canada | 28.35 | |
| 8 | 1 | Sanja Jovanović | Croatia | 28.60 | |

### Final

The final was held at 19:14.
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| | 6 | Zhao Jing | China | 27.29 | |
| | 4 | Fu Yuanhui | China | 27.39 | |
| | 5 | Aya Terakawa | Japan | 27.53 | NR |
| 4 | 2 | Etiene Medeiros | Brazil | 27.83 | |
| 5 | 3 | Mercedes Peris | Spain | 27.93 | |
| 6 | 8 | Georgia Davies | Great Britain | 27.96 | |
| 7 | 7 | Rachel Bootsma | United States | 28.05 | |
| 8 | 1 | Lauren Quigley | Great Britain | 28.33 | |