# Swimming at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships – Women's 100 metre backstroke

The heats for the Women's 100 m Backstroke race at the 2009 World Championships took place in the morning and evening of 27 July and the final took place in the evening session of 28 July at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy.

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and competition records were as follows:
| World record | Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) | 58.77 | Beijing, China | 11 August 2008 |
| Championship record | Natalie Coughlin (USA) | 59.44 | Melbourne, Australia | 27 March 2007 |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
| 27 July | Heat 11 | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain | 58.78 | CR |
| 27 July | Semifinal 1 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 58.48 | WR |
| 28 July | Final | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain | 58.12 | WR |

## Heats

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Heat | Lane | Notes |
| 1 | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain | 58.78 | 11 | 4 | CR, ER |
| 2 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 59.01 | 12 | 5 | NR |
| 3 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 59.51 | 12 | 4 | |
| 4 | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 59.64 | 11 | 5 | |
| 5 | Shiho Sakai | Japan | 59.80 | 10 | 5 | |
| 6 | Gao Chang | China | 59.84 | 11 | 7 | |
| 7 | Hayley McGregory | United States | 59.91 | 10 | 4 | |
| 8 | Elizabeth Simmonds | Great Britain | 1:00.04 | 10 | 6 | |
| 9 | Aya Terakawa | Japan | 1:00.18 | 11 | 3 | |
| 10 | Maria Gromova | Russia | 1:00.32 | 11 | 8 | |
| 11 | Daniela Samulski | Germany | 1:00.34 | 12 | 2 | |
| 12 | Elizabeth Pelton | United States | 1:00.47 | 12 | 7 | |
| 13 | Fabíola Molina | Brazil | 1:00.53 | 10 | 2 | SA |
| 14 | Pernille Jessing Larsen | Denmark | 1:00.67 | 12 | 8 | |
| 15 | Zhao Jing | China | 1:00.79 | 12 | 3 | |
| 16 | Alexianne Castel | France | 1:00.80 | 11 | 6 | |
| 17 | Belinda Hocking | Australia | 1:00.90 | 10 | 3 | |
| 18 | Fernanda González | Mexico | 1:00.94 | 9 | 5 | NR |
| 19 | Eszter Dara | Hungary | 1:01.10 | 11 | 2 | |
| 19 | Elena Gemo | Italy | 1:01.10 | 11 | 1 | |
| 21 | Valentina De Nardi | Italy | 1:01.46 | 10 | 0 | |
| 22 | Esther Baron | France | 1:01.48 | 12 | 6 | |
| 23 | Sanja Jovanović | Croatia | 1:01.53 | 10 | 7 | |
| 24 | Sinead Russell | Canada | 1:01.63 | 12 | 1 | |
| 25 | Alicja Tchorz | Poland | 1:01.75 | 12 | 0 | |
| 26 | Simona Baumrtova | Czech Republic | 1:01.79 | 12 | 9 | |
| 27 | Petra Klosova | Czech Republic | 1:01.83 | 8 | 4 | |
| 28 | Carolina Colorado Henao | Colombia | 1:01.85 | 10 | 1 | |
| 29 | Iryna Amshennikova | Ukraine | 1:02.00 | 11 | 0 | |
| 30 | Gabrielle Soucisse | Canada | 1:02.14 | 10 | 8 | |
| 31 | Kseniya Grygorenko | Ukraine | 1:02.36 | 9 | 4 | |
| 32 | Kimberly Buys | Belgium | 1:02.46 | 9 | 1 | NR |
| 33 | Aisling Cooney | Ireland | 1:02.55 | 9 | 8 | |
| 34 | Anastasiya Prilepa | Kazakhstan | 1:02.72 | 7 | 7 | |
| 35 | Klaudia Nazieblo | Poland | 1:02.74 | 11 | 9 | |
| 36 | Melanie Nocher | Ireland | 1:02.76 | 8 | 7 | |
| 37 | Marica Strazmester | Serbia | 1:02.90 | 9 | 0 | |
| 38 | Sarah Rolko | Luxembourg | 1:02.97 | 8 | 1 | |
| 39 | Kiera Aitken | Bermuda | 1:02.99 | 9 | 7 | |
| 40 | Dina Hegazy | Egypt | 1:03.03 | 8 | 3 | NR |
| 41 | Aleksandra Kovaleva | Belarus | 1:03.17 | 8 | 2 | |
| 42 | Yekaterina Rudenko | Kazakhstan | 1:03.29 | 8 | 5 | |
| 43 | Martina van Berkel | Switzerland | 1:03.44 | 8 | 6 | |
| 44 | Ekaterina Avramova | Bulgaria | 1:03.47 | 9 | 2 | |
| 45 | Jeserick Pinto | Venezuela | 1:03.48 | 7 | 5 | NR |
| 46 | Lau Yin Yan Claudia | Hong Kong | 1:03.51 | 7 | 3 | |
| 47 | Katarina Milly | Slovakia | 1:03.57 | 6 | 3 | |
| 48 | Maja Sovinek | Slovenia | 1:03.66 | 7 | 6 | |
| 49 | Tsai Hiu Wai Sherry | Hong Kong | 1:03.69 | 10 | 9 | |
| 50 | Lim Shana Jia Yi | Singapore | 1:03.72 | 8 | 8 | |
| 51 | Ramirez Monica | Andorra | 1:03.79 | 5 | 4 | |
| 52 | Elodie Vanhamme | Belgium | 1:04.01 | 9 | 9 | |
| 53 | Alana Dillette | Bahamas | 1:04.09 | 9 | 6 | |
| 54 | Dana Gales | Luxembourg | 1:04.12 | 8 | 0 | |
| 55 | Anna-Liisa Põld | Estonia | 1:04.14 | 6 | 7 | |
| 56 | Lourdes Villaseñor | Mexico | 1:04.22 | 6 | 5 | |
| 57 | Erika Stewart | Colombia | 1:04.55 | 7 | 9 | |
| 58 | Kätlin Sepp | Estonia | 1:04.79 | 7 | 1 | |
| 59 | Riia-Rosa Koskelainen | Finland | 1:04.89 | 7 | 8 | |
| 60 | Kang Yeong-Seo | South Korea | 1:05.19 | 8 | 9 | |
| 61 | Diana Chang | Ecuador | 1:05.33 | 6 | 9 | |
| 62 | Yulduz Kuchkarova | Uzbekistan | 1:05.34 | 7 | 0 | |
| 63 | Lynette Ng | Singapore | 1:05.65 | 6 | 1 | |
| 63 | Chen Ting | Chinese Taipei | 1:05.65 | 7 | 4 | |
| 65 | Nicole Marmol | Ecuador | 1:05.77 | 6 | 4 | |
| 66 | Maria Virginia Baez Franco | Paraguay | 1:05.81 | 7 | 2 | |
| 67 | Elimar Barrios | Venezuela | 1:06.14 | 6 | 2 | |
| 68 | Amina Meho | Lebanon | 1:06.80 | 6 | 8 | NR |
| 69 | Nishani Cicilson | Suriname | 1:07.34 | 4 | 3 | |
| 70 | Siona Huxley | Saint Lucia | 1:07.55 | 4 | 1 | NR |
| 71 | Gizem Çam | Turkey | 1:07.62 | 1 | 6 | |
| 72 | Karla Toscano | Guatemala | 1:07.76 | 5 | 3 | |
| 73 | Karen Milenka Torrez Guzman | Bolivia | 1:07.90 | 5 | 5 | NR |
| 74 | Kirsten Lapham | Zimbabwe | 1:07.95 | 5 | 8 | |
| 75 | Silvie Ketelaars | Netherlands Antilles | 1:08.09 | 5 | 2 | |
| 76 | Rebecca Sharpe | Bermuda | 1:08.31 | 6 | 0 | |
| 77 | Kendese Nangle | Jamaica | 1:08.37 | 5 | 7 | |
| 78 | Karen Vilorio | Honduras | 1:08.84 | 4 | 2 | |
| 79 | Jonay Briedenhann | Namibia | 1:08.88 | 5 | 6 | |
| 80 | Nicol Cremona | Malta | 1:09.10 | 5 | 1 | |
| 81 | Rachita Shah | Kenya | 1:09.32 | 3 | 1 | |
| 82 | Fong Man Wai | Macau | 1:09.53 | 4 | 5 | |
| 83 | Fariha Zaman | India | 1:10.12 | 5 | 0 | |
| 84 | Che Lok In | Macau | 1:10.20 | 5 | 9 | |
| 85 | Laura Lucia Paz Chavez | Honduras | 1:10.25 | 4 | 8 | |
| 86 | Birita Debes | Faroe Islands | 1:10.30 | 3 | 5 | |
| 87 | Angelique Trinquier | Monaco | 1:10.58 | 3 | 6 | |
| 88 | Mariana Zaballa | Bolivia | 1:11.10 | 4 | 0 | |
| 89 | Sophia Noel | Grenada | 1:11.40 | 4 | 9 | |
| 90 | Sylvia Brunlehner | Kenya | 1:11.60 | 3 | 2 | |
| 91 | Jade Ashleigh Howard | Zambia | 1:11.86 | 2 | 5 | |
| 92 | Dalia Torrez | Nicaragua | 1:12.99 | 4 | 6 | |
| 93 | Jessika Cossa | Mozambique | 1:13.10 | 2 | 3 | |
| 94 | Mareme Faye | Senegal | 1:13.23 | 3 | 7 | |
| 95 | Kiran Khan | Pakistan | 1:13.37 | 4 | 4 | |
| 96 | Ruth Carvalho | Angola | 1:13.52 | 3 | 4 | |
| 97 | Cheyenne Rova | Fiji | 1:13.53 | 3 | 9 | |
| 98 | Rachael Catherine Glenister | American Samoa | 1:13.74 | 3 | 0 | |
| 99 | Faina Salate | Mozambique | 1:14.77 | 2 | 7 | |
| 100 | Estellah Fils Rabetsara | Madagascar | 1:14.81 | 3 | 3 | |
| 101 | Khadidiatou Dieng | Senegal | 1:14.91 | 3 | 8 | |
| 102 | Amelie Trinquier | Monaco | 1:16.10 | 2 | 2 | |
| 103 | Maria Grace Koh | Brunei | 1:17.73 | 2 | 4 | |
| 104 | Judith Ilan Meauri | Papua New Guinea | 1:18.09 | 2 | 6 | |
| 105 | Amnahliyani Mohamed Husain | Brunei | 1:19.60 | 2 | 9 | |
| 106 | Reni Jani | Albania | 1:19.95 | 1 | 4 | |
| 107 | Sausan Aishath | Maldives | 1:20.65 | 1 | 5 | |
| 108 | Rida Mitha | Pakistan | 1:21.22 | 2 | 8 | |
| 109 | Gouri Kotecha | Tanzania | 1:23.64 | 1 | 3 | |
| 110 | Shaila Rana | Nepal | 1:23.81 | 2 | 0 | |
| 111 | Ifiezibe Gagbe | Nigeria | 1:24.96 | 2 | 1 | |
| 112 | Daoheuang Inthavong | Laos | 1:30.02 | 1 | 7 | |
| 113 | Thepaksone Chinfavong | Laos | 1:42.58 | 1 | 2 | |
| — | Magdalena Kuras | Sweden | DNS | 1 | 1 | |
| — | Anahit Barseghyan | Armenia | DNS | 4 | 7 | |
| — | Ingvild Snildal | Norway | DNS | 9 | 3 | |
| — | Anna Volchkov | Israel | DSQ | 6 | 6 | |

## Semifinals

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Heat | Lane | Notes |
| 1 | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 58.48 | 1 | 4 | WR |
| 2 | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain | 58.74 | 2 | 4 | NR |
| 3 | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 59.15 | 1 | 5 | OC |
| 4 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 59.21 | 2 | 5 | |
| 5 | Shiho Sakai | Japan | 59.25 | 2 | 3 | AS |
| 6 | Zhao Jing | China | 59.39 | 2 | 8 | NR |
| 7 | Elizabeth Simmonds | Great Britain | 59.55 | 1 | 6 | |
| 7 | Hayley McGregory | United States | 59.55 | 2 | 6 | |
| 9 | Daniela Samulski | Germany | 59.77 | 2 | 7 | NR |
| 10 | Gao Chang | China | 1:00.21 | 1 | 3 | |
| 11 | Aya Terakawa | Japan | 1:00.31 | 2 | 2 | |
| 12 | Maria Gromova | Russia | 1:00.49 | 1 | 2 | |
| 13 | Elizabeth Pelton | United States | 1:00.51 | 1 | 7 | |
| 14 | Fabíola Molina | Brazil | 1:00.55 | 2 | 1 | |
| 15 | Alexianne Castel | France | 1:00.63 | 1 | 8 | |
| 16 | Pernille Jessing Larsen | Denmark | 1:00.67 | 1 | 1 | |

## Final

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Lane | Notes |
| | Gemma Spofforth | Great Britain | 58.12 | 5 | WR |
| | Anastasia Zuyeva | Russia | 58.18 | 4 | NR |
| | Emily Seebohm | Australia | 58.88 | 3 | OC |
| 4 | Shiho Sakai | Japan | 59.14 | 2 | AS |
| 5 | Zhao Jing | China | 59.28 | 7 | NR |
| 6 | Hayley McGregory | United States | 59.42 | 8 | |
| 7 | Elizabeth Simmonds | Great Britain | 59.71 | 1 | |
| 8 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 59.74 | 6 | |