# Swimming at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships – Women's 50 metre backstroke

The women's 50 metre backstroke competition of the swimming events at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships took place on July 27 with the heats and the semifinals and July 28 with the final.

## Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and championship records were as follows.
| | Name | Nation | Time | Location | Date |
| World record Championship record | Zhao Jing | China | 27.06 | Rome | July 30, 2009 |

## Results
### Heats

57 swimmers participated in 8 heats.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | 4 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 28.20 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | 7 | Zhou Yanxin | China | 28.24 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | 4 | Gao Chang | China | 28.27 | Q |
| 4 | 8 | 5 | Aya Terakawa | Japan | 28.34 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | 8 | Elizabeth Pelton | United States | 28.35 | Q |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | Missy Franklin | United States | 28.37 | Q |
| 7 | 7 | 4 | Aleksandra Gerasimenya | Belarus | 28.38 | Q |
| 8 | 7 | 5 | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 28.39 | Q |
| 8 | 8 | 6 | Georgia Davies | Great Britain | 28.39 | Q |
| 10 | 6 | 2 | Theodora Drakou | Greece | 28.46 | Q, NR |
| 10 | 6 | 5 | Mercedes Peris | Spain | 28.46 | Q |
| 12 | 7 | 3 | Julia Wilkinson | Canada | 28.62 | Q |
| 13 | 6 | 8 | Ekaterina Avramova | Bulgaria | 28.66 | Q, NR |
| 14 | 8 | 8 | Kseniya Moskvina | Russia | 28.71 | Q |
| 15 | 8 | 3 | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain | 28.79 | Q |
| 16 | 6 | 6 | Jenny Mensing | Germany | 28.84 | Q |
| 17 | 7 | 1 | Sinead Russell | Canada | 28.87 | |
| 18 | 3 | 4 | Mie Nielsen | Denmark | 28.89 | |
| 19 | 6 | 3 | Shiho Sakai | Japan | 28.89 | |
| 20 | 7 | 6 | Belinda Hocking | Australia | 28.92 | |
| 21 | 5 | 3 | Daryna Zevina | Ukraine | 28.99 | |
| 22 | 5 | 6 | Sanja Jovanović | Croatia | 29.03 | |
| 22 | 5 | 7 | Karin Prinsloo | South Africa | 29.03 | |
| 24 | 7 | 7 | Elena Gemo | Italy | 29.12 | |
| 25 | 7 | 2 | Etiene Medeiros | Brazil | 29.16 | |
| 26 | 8 | 7 | Alina Vats | Ukraine | 29.24 | |
| 27 | 4 | 6 | Isabella Arcila | Colombia | 29.27 | |
| 28 | 5 | 2 | Fabienne Nadarajah | Austria | 29.29 | |
| 28 | 6 | 1 | Sviatlana Khakhlova | Belarus | 29.29 | |
| 30 | 5 | 4 | Simona Baumrtova | Czech Republic | 29.37 | |
| 31 | 4 | 8 | Anni Alitalo | Finland | 29.39 | |
| 32 | 5 | 5 | Tao Li | Singapore | 29.40 | |
| 33 | 8 | 1 | Maria Gonzalez Ramirez | Mexico | 29.45 | |
| 34 | 4 | 4 | Alicja Tchorz | Poland | 29.50 | |
| 35 | 5 | 1 | Ingibjoerg Kristi Jonsdottir | Iceland | 29.66 | |
| 36 | 5 | 8 | Hazal Sarikaya | Turkey | 29.71 | |
| 37 | 3 | 3 | Cecilia Bertoncello | Argentina | 29.73 | |
| 38 | 4 | 5 | Yekaterina Rudenko | Kazakhstan | 29.76 | |
| 39 | 4 | 1 | Kiera Aitken | Bermuda | 29.78 | |
| 40 | 4 | 3 | Lau Yin Yan | Hong Kong | 29.79 | |
| 41 | 4 | 7 | Sophia Batchelor | New Zealand | 29.90 | |
| 42 | 4 | 2 | Alana Dillette | Bahamas | 29.97 | |
| 43 | 3 | 5 | Kah Chan | Malaysia | 30.22 | |
| 44 | 3 | 2 | Anna Volchkov | Israel | 30.59 | |
| 45 | 3 | 6 | Monica Ramirez Abella | Andorra | 30.66 | |
| 46 | 3 | 7 | Sylvia Bruhnlehner | Kenya | 32.09 | |
| 47 | 2 | 4 | Jessika Cossa | Mozambique | 32.29 | |
| 48 | 3 | 8 | Anahit Barseghyan | Armenia | 32.49 | |
| 49 | 3 | 1 | Nicola Muscat | Malta | 32.62 | |
| 50 | 2 | 5 | Jade Ashleigh Howard | Zambia | 32.91 | |
| 51 | 2 | 3 | Kiran Khan | Pakistan | 33.18 | |
| 52 | 2 | 6 | Angelique Trinquier | Monaco | 33.19 | |
| 53 | 2 | 2 | Mareme Faye | Senegal | 33.43 | |
| 54 | 2 | 7 | Vitiny Hemthon | Cambodia | 36.57 | |
| 55 | 1 | 3 | Faleumata Samassekou | Mali | 37.79 | |
| 56 | 1 | 4 | Gebremedhin Yanet Seyoum | Ethiopia | 38.06 | |
| 57 | 1 | 5 | Antoinette Guedia Mouafo | Cameroon | 39.02 | |

### Semifinals

The semifinals were held at 18:13.

#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Mercedes Peris | Spain | 27.93 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Julia Wilkinson | Canada | 28.10 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Missy Franklin | United States | 28.14 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | Aya Terakawa | Japan | 28.16 | Q |
| 5 | 6 | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 28.19 | Q |
| 6 | 4 | Zhou Yanxin | China | 28.44 | |
| 7 | 1 | Kseniya Moskvina | Russia | 28.75 | |
| 8 | 8 | Jenny Mensing | Germany | 28.83 | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 27.88 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Aleksandra Gerasimenya | Belarus | 27.93 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Gao Chang | China | 28.05 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Theodora Drakou | Greece | 28.25 | NR |
| 5 | 2 | Georgia Davies | Great Britain | 28.26 | |
| 6 | 1 | Ekaterina Avramova | Bulgaria | 28.64 | NR |
| 7 | 8 | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain | 28.75 | |
| 8 | 3 | Elizabeth Pelton | United States | 28.85 | |

### Final

The final was held at 19:17.
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time |
| | 4 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 27.79 |
| | 1 | Aya Terakawa | Japan | 27.93 |
| | 7 | Missy Franklin | United States | 28.01 |
| 4 | 6 | Gao Chang | China | 28.06 |
| 5 | 8 | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 28.07 |
| 6 | 2 | Julia Wilkinson | Canada | 28.09 |
| 6 | 3 | Aliaksandra Herasimenia | Belarus | 28.09 |
| 8 | 5 | Mercedes Peris Minguet | Spain | 28.42 |