Zimbabwe at the Olympics
List of medalists
Table:
Medal

Name

Games

Sport

Event

Gold

show

Field hockey team

Arlene Boxhall
Liz Chase
Sandra Chick
Gillian Cowley
Patricia Davies
Sarah English
Maureen George
Ann Grant
Susan Huggett
Patricia McKillop
Brenda Phillips
Christine Prinsloo
Sonia Robertson
Anthea Stewart
Helen Volk
Linda Watson

1980 Moscow
Field hockey
Women's competition

Gold
Kirsty Coventry
2004 Athens
Swimming
Women's 200-metre backstroke

Gold
Kirsty Coventry
2008 Beijing
Swimming
Women's 200-metre backstroke

Silver
Kirsty Coventry
2004 Athens
Swimming
Women's 100-metre backstroke

Silver
Kirsty Coventry
2008 Beijing
Swimming
Women's 400-metre individual medley

Silver
Kirsty Coventry
2008 Beijing
Swimming
Women's 100-metre backstroke

Silver
Kirsty Coventry
2008 Beijing
Swimming
Women's 200-metre individual medley

Bronze
Kirsty Coventry
2004 Athens
Swimming
Women's 200-metre individual medley

Leveraging the tabular data and the textual context listed.

Answer the following question: What is the medal won by the person at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad for the event that is swimming using all four types of strokes ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Do not introduce information beyond the provided sources.

The 1980 Zimbabwe women 's national field hockey team won the gold medal in women 's field hockey at that year 's Summer Olympics in Moscow , the capital of the Soviet Union . The squad of 16 women , all from Zimbabwe 's white minority , was assembled less than a month before the Olympics began to help fill the gaps the American-led Olympic boycott created in the women 's hockey competition . Zimbabwe 's subsequent victory in the round-robin tournament with three wins and two draws was regarded as a huge upset , particularly considering the team 's lack of preparation and experience ; it has been called an irresistible fairy story . Won at a time of great political transition in Zimbabwe , the gold medal was the country 's first Olympic medal of any colour . The 1980 Olympics were first to feature women 's hockey , and the first to include Zimbabwe under that name - barred from the last three Olympics for political reasons , the country had last competed as Rhodesia in 1964 . The women 's hockey matches , held between 25 and 31 July , were all played on artificial turf , which none of the Zimbabwean team members had ever seen ; they had also never played together until that month . After beating Poland and the USSR and drawing with Czechoslovakia and India , the Zimbabweans won the competition on the final day with a 4-1 victory over Austria . Dubbed the Golden Girls by the media of Zimbabwe , they were met by cheering crowds on their return home , and were briefly national celebrities . Zimbabwe did not win another Olympic medal until 2004 .
Arlene Boxall ( born October 9 , 1961 ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . The youngest member of the team at 18 years old , she was its reserve goalkeeper . She never came onto the field , but still received a gold medal alongside her teammates . At the time she was an operations clerk in Air Force of Zimbabwe .
Elizabeth Chase ( April 26 , 1950 - May 10 , 2018 ) was a Zimbabwean field hockey player and member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Previously , she represented South Africa . She became a sports administrator at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2000 and retired in 2015 . Chase died on May 10 , 2018 , two weeks after her 68th birthday .
Alexandra ( Sandra ) Chick ( born 2 June 1947 in Burnham Market ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Her identical twin sister Sonia Robertson was one of her teammates in the capital of the Soviet Union , and both are the first twin gold medalists in hockey . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the women 's field hockey tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
Gillian Gill Cowley ( born July 8 , 1955 in Kitwe , Northern Rhodesia ) is a former hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the Women 's Hockey Tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games . The team became known as the Golden Girls .
Patricia ( Trish ) Joan Davies ( born December 5 , 1956 ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Because of the boycott by the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the Women 's Field Hockey Tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
Sarah English ( born November 28 , 1955 ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . She was known as the premier hockey goalkeeper in Zimbabwe . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the Women 's Field Hockey Tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
Maureen Jean George ( born September 1 , 1955 in Bulawayo ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the Women 's Field Hockey Tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
Ann-Mary Gwynne Grant ( née Fletcher ; born May 6 , 1955 ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who captained the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Because of a boycott by western European , Australasian and other countries , the Women 's Field Hockey Tournament contained fewer teams than normal . A late request was sent to the government of Zimbabwe , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games . Grant captained the team . Grant is the sister of former Zimbabwe cricketer and India cricket coach Duncan Fletcher .
Susan ( Sue ) Huggett ( born June 29 , 1954 in Bulawayo ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the Women 's Field Hockey Tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
Patricia ( Pat ) Jean McKillop , née Fraser , and now Buckle also simply known as Pat McKillop ( born July 15 , 1956 ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Because of the boycott led by the United States in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan , only the Soviet team remained . The Soviets and international Olympic authorities then invited countries that had not qualified for the tournament . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which hastily assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise , they won . They defeated Poland 4-0 , drew 2-2 with Czechoslovakia , won 2-0 over the host Soviet Union , drew 1-1 with India and lastly trounced Austria 4-1 to claim Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games . McKillop was the co-top scorer of the tournament with six goals , including three penalty corners , tied with the Soviet Union 's Natella Krasnikova . McKillop represented Matabeleland in basketball . She played her club hockey for the Bulawayo Athletic Club and went on to coach the Zimbabwe Under-21 womens team for three years , leading them to the Women 's Hockey Junior World Cup in Canada in 1989 . She has also represented Zimbabwe in golf .
Brenda Phillips ( born January 18 , 1958 ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the women 's field hockey tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
Christine Seraphine Chris Prinsloo ( born May 3 , 1952 in Oldeani , Tanganyika ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the Women 's Field Hockey Tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
Sonia Robertson ( born 2 June 1947 in Burnham Market ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Her identical twin sister Sandra Chick was one of her teammates in the capital of the Soviet Union , and both are the first twin gold medalists in hockey . Because of a boycott by western European , Australasian and other countries , the Women 's Field Hockey Tournament contained fewer teams than normal . A late request was sent to the government of Zimbabwe , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
Anthea Dorine Stewart ( born November 20 , 1944 ) is a former field hockey player who was a member of the Zimbabwe national women 's team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Previously , she had represented South Africa between 1963 and 1974 . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the women 's field hockey tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of Zimbabwe , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise , they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games . Not only was it Zimbabwe 's only medal , it was the first medal given for women 's field hockey in Olympic history . Stewart is the mother of international diver Evan Stewart , who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country , starting in 1992 in Barcelona , Spain .
Helen Volk ( born March 29 , 1954 ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the Women 's Field Hockey Tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
Linda Margaret Watson ( born September 15 , 1955 ) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe , who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Watson was also one of Zimbabwe 's top hurdlers and sprinters . Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries , only one team was available to compete in the Women 's Field Hockey Tournament : the hosting USSR team . A late request was sent to the government of the African nation , which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started . To everyone 's surprise they won , claiming Zimbabwe 's only medal in the 1980 Games .
The 1980 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad ( Russian : И́гры XXII Олимпиа́ды , tr . Igry XXII Olimpiady ) , was an international multi-sport event held in Moscow , Soviet Union , in present-day Russia . The 1980 Games were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Eastern Europe , and remain the only Summer Olympics held there , as well as the first Olympic Games to be held in a Slavic language-speaking country . They were also the only Olympic Games to be held in a communist country until 2008 in China . These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of Michael Morris , 3rd Baron Killanin . Eighty nations were represented at the Moscow Games - the smallest number since 1956 . Led by the United States , 66 countries boycotted the games entirely because of the Soviet-Afghan War . Some athletes from some of the boycotting countries ( they are not included in the list of 66 countries that boycotted the games entirely ) participated in the games under the Olympic Flag . The Soviet Union would later boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals , with the USSR and East Germany winning 127 out of 204 available golds .
Field hockey at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow took place from July 20 to 31 , 1980 at the Minor Arena of the Central Dynamo Stadium and the Young Pioneers Stadium . India won the men 's tournament for the record eighth time , defeating Spain 4-3 in the final . A women 's tournament was won by Zimbabwe . The 33 matches of hockey events across the two venues were watched by 177,880 spectators .
Kirsty Leigh Coventry ( born 16 September 1983 ) is the current Minister of Youth , Sport , Arts and Recreation in the Cabinet of Zimbabwe as of September 2018 . She is a former swimmer and world record holder , and the most decorated Olympian from Africa . She is a member of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) and in early 2018 , was elected the Chairperson of the IOC Athletes ' Commission , the body that represents all Olympic athletes worldwide . Coventry attended and swam competitively for Auburn University in Alabama , in the United States . At the 2004 Summer Olympics , in Athens , Greece , Coventry won three Olympic medals : a gold , a silver , and a bronze , while in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing she won four medals : a gold and three silver . She was subsequently described by Paul Chingoka , head of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee , as our national treasure . Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe called her a golden girl , and awarded her US $ 100,000 in cash for her 2008 Olympic performance . In 2016 , Coventry retired from swimming after her fifth Olympics , having won the joint-most individual medals in women 's swimming in Olympic history .
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( Greek : Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004 , Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 2004 ) , officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad and commonly known as Athens 2004 , was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens , Greece , from 13 to 29 August 2004 with the motto Welcome Home . The Games saw 10,625 athletes compete , some 600 more than expected , accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries . There were 301 medal events in 28 different sports . Athens 2004 marked the first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics that all countries with a National Olympic Committee were in attendance . 2004 also marked the return of the Olympic Games to the city where they began . Having previously hosted the Olympics in 1896 , Athens became one of only four cities to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games on two separate occasions at the time ( together with Paris , London , and Los Angeles ) . A new medal obverse was introduced at these Games , replacing the design by Giuseppe Cassioli that had been used since the 1928 Games . This rectified the long lasting mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue . The new design features the Panathenaic Stadium . The 2004 Summer Games were hailed as unforgettable , dream games by IOC President Jacques Rogge , and left Athens with a significantly improved infrastructure , including a new airport , ring road , and subway system . There have been arguments ( mostly in popular media ) regarding the cost of the 2004 Athens Summer Games and their possible contribution to the 2010-2018 Greek government-debt crisis , however , there is little or no evidence for such a correlation . The 2004 Olympics were generally deemed to be a success , with the rising standard of competition amongst nations across the world .
The swimming competitions at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens took place from 14 to 21 August 2004 at the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre in Marousi . It featured 32 events ( 16 male , 16 female ) , a total of 937 swimmers from 152 nations , and the program 's changes instituted in the previous Games , including notably the three-phase format ( heats , semifinals , and final ) for all short-distance races ( 200 metres and under ) . Swimmers from the United States continued to dominate the medal tally with a total of 28 , earning twelve golds , nine silver , and seven bronze . Australia still maintained the second spot from Sydney in 2000 , but produced a total of 15 more medals ( seven golds , five silver , and three bronze ) to its historical hardware in swimming . Meanwhile , Japan moved from behind to third overall in the medal board with eight medals after a sterling breaststroke double from Kosuke Kitajima . A total of eight world records and twenty-five Olympic records were set during the competition .
The women 's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2004 Olympic Games was contested at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens , Greece on August 19 and 20 . Zimbabwe 's Kirsty Coventry added gold to her silver and bronze medals by a storming victory in this event , breaking an African record time of 2:09.19 . Russia 's Stanislava Komarova took home the silver at 2:09.72 , while Japan 's Reiko Nakamura and Germany 's Antje Buschschulte shared their triumph for the bronze medal , in a joint time of 2:09.88 . British swimmer and world champion Katy Sexton , on the other hand , finished outside the medals in seventh place , with a time of 2:12.11 . Since Zimbabwe made its official debut in 1980 , Coventry also became the nation 's first athlete in its history to claim an individual Olympic medal .
The 2008 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad ( Chinese : 第二十九届夏季奥林匹克运动会 ; pinyin : Dì Èrshíjiǔ Jiè Xiàjì Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì ) and commonly known as Beijing 2008 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 8 to 24 August 2008 in Beijing , China . [ b ] A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees ( NOCs ) competed in 28 sports and 302 events ( one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics ) . This was the first time that China had hosted the Summer Olympics , but the third time that the Games had been held in East Asia , following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo , Japan , and the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics . These were the second summer Olympic Games staged in a Communist country , after the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics and the third in a developing country after the Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union and the first overall Olympics to be hosted by a Communist state since the former Yugoslavia hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo . Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001 , having won a majority of votes from members of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) after two rounds of voting . The Government of the People 's Republic of China promoted the Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transport systems . A total of 37 venues were used to host the events , including twelve constructed specifically for the 2008 Olympics . The equestrian events were held in Hong Kong , making this the third Olympics for which the events were held under the jurisdiction of two different NOCs . [ c ] The sailing events were contested in Qingdao , while the football events took place across several different cities . The official logo for the 2008 Games , titled Dancing Beijing , featured a stylised calligraphic character jīng ( 京 , means capital ) in reference to the host city . The Beijing Olympics was watched by 3,500,000,000 people worldwide and featured the longest distance for an Olympic Torch relay . The event sets numerous world and Olympics records in the history of sports , and is also the most expensive Summer Olympics of all time and second-most expensive overall , after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi .
The swimming competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 9 to 17 August 2008 at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre . The newly introduced open water marathon events ( 10 km ) were held on 20 and 21 August 2008 at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park . Swimming featured 34 events ( 17 male , 17 female ) , including two 10 km open-water marathons . The remaining 32 were contested in a 50 m long course pool within the Olympic Park . United States claimed a total of 31 medals ( 12 golds , 9 silver , and 10 bronze ) in the leaderboard to maintain its standings as the most successful nation in swimming . A stellar performance in the pool also made an Olympic history for Michael Phelps , who captured eight gold medals to break Mark Spitz 's 1972 record , a total of seven , at a single Games . Despite the male swimmers failing to attain a single gold in swimming , Australia managed to repeat a second-place effort on its third consecutive Olympics with 20 medals ( six golds , six silver , and eight bronze ) . Meanwhile , Great Britain finished third with a total of six medals by the benefit of a sterling long-distance freestyle double from Rebecca Adlington . A total of 25 world records and 65 Olympic records were set during the competition .
The women 's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 14-16 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing , China . After claiming three silver medals at these Games , Zimbabwe 's Kirsty Coventry stormed home on the final lap to defend her Olympic title in the event . She posted a time of 2:05.24 to crush a world record set by U.S. swimmer Margaret Hoelzer from the Olympic trials one month earlier . Meanwhile , Hoelzer added a silver to her hardware from the 100 m backstroke , when she touched the wall in 2:06.23 , the second-fastest effort of her career . Japan 's Reiko Nakamura managed to repeat a bronze from Athens four years earlier , in an Asian record of 2:07.13 . Russia 's top favorite Anastasia Zuyeva finished fourth with a time of 2:07.88 , and was followed in the fifth spot by American teenager Elizabeth Beisel , aged 16 , in 2:08.23 . Elizabeth Simmonds set a new British record of 2:08.51 to earn a sixth spot , while Aussies Meagan Nay ( 2:08.84 ) and Belinda Hocking ( 2:10.12 ) closed out the field . Notable swimmers missed out the top 8 final , featuring Russia 's Stanislava Komarova , silver medalist in Athens , and British top favorite Gemma Spofforth . Before her breakthrough final , Coventry broke one of the oldest Olympic records earlier in the prelims . She posted a top-seeded time of 2:06.76 to lead 34 other swimmers in the race , slashing four-tenths of a second ( 0.40 ) off the record set by Hungary 's three-time Olympic champion Krisztina Egerszegi from Barcelona in 1992 .
The women 's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2004 Olympic Games was contested at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens , Greece on August 15 and 16 . U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin won the gold medal in this event , outside the record time of 1:00.37 . The silver medal was awarded to Zimbabwe 's Kirsty Coventry , who finished behind Coughlin by 0.13 of a second , breaking an African record of 1:00.50 . France 's Laure Manaudou , who won the gold in the 400 m freestyle on the previous day , took home the bronze medal , with a time of 1:00.88 . In the semifinals , Coughlin lowered an Olympic record time of 1:00.21 , set by Romania 's Diana Mocanu in Sydney ( 2000 ) , to 1:00.17 .
The women 's 400 metre individual medley event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 9-10 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing , China . Australia 's Stephanie Rice pulled away to a strong finish on the freestyle leg , as she claimed an Olympic gold medal in the event . She established a sterling time of 4:29.45 to slash 1.67 seconds off the world record , set by Katie Hoff from the U.S. Olympic Trials . Zimbabwe 's Kirsty Coventry also went under a world record , but earned her first silver at these Games , in an African record of 4:29.89 . Meanwhile , Hoff did not match her stellar performance from the trials , as she settled only for the bronze in 4:31.71 . Rising American teenager Elizabeth Beisel finished outside the medals in fourth place at 4:34.24 , holding off Italy 's Alessia Filippi ( 4:34.34 ) to fifth by exactly a tenth of a second ( 0.10 ) . Great Britain 's Hannah Miley ( 4:39.44 ) , Russia 's Yana Martynova ( 4:40.04 ) , and China 's Li Xuanxu ( 4:42.13 ) rounded out the finale .
The women 's 100 metre backstroke event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10-12 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing , China . U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin set a lifetime best and an American record of 58.96 to defend her title in the event . Zimbabwe 's new world record holder Kirsty Coventry added a second silver to her hardware from the 400 m individual medley two days earlier , in a time of 59.19 . Coming from fifth place in the turn , Margaret Hoelzer continued her impressive form in the shorter backstroke to pick up a bronze in 59.34 , handing the entire medal haul for Team USA in the pool . Great Britain 's Gemma Spofforth narrowly missed the podium by a twenty-fifth of a second ( 0.04 ) , posting a European record of 59.38 for a fourth-place finish . Russia 's Anastasia Zuyeva finished fifth in a close race at 59.40 , and was followed in the sixth spot by Japan 's Reiko Nakamura in 59.72 . France 's Laure Manaudou ( 1:00.10 ) , bronze medalist in Athens four years earlier , and Japanese Hanae Ito ( 1:00.18 ) rounded out the finale . Earlier in the prelims , Zuyeva , Nakamura , and Coventry scratched out Coughlin 's existing Olympic record , as they went under a time of 59.68 to lead all seeded heats . The following morning , in the semifinals , Coventry blitzed the field on the final lap to set a new world record of 58.77 , breaking Coughlin 's mark by two-tenths of a second ( 0.20 ) .
The women 's 200 metre individual medley event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 11-13 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing , China . Australia 's Stephanie Rice became the third swimmer in Olympic history to strike a medley double , since Michelle Smith did so in 1996 and Yana Klochkova in 2000 and 2004 . She established a sterling time of 2:08.45 to lower her world record from the Olympic trials by almost half a second ( 0.50 ) . Zimbabwe 's Kirsty Coventry added a third silver to her collection , finishing with an African record of 2:08.59 . U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin , who held the lead on the backstroke leg , picked up a bronze medal in 2:10.34 . Completing the second half of a difficult double , American Katie Hoff produced the same result from the 200 m freestyle , as she finished again in fourth place with a time of 2:10.68 . Australia 's Alicia Coutts placed fifth in 2:11.43 , while Japan 's Asami Kitagawa swam the outside lane to finish the race in sixth place at 2:11.56 . On the strength of the breaststroke leg , Kitagawa won a swimoff for the last slot in the top 8 final over Hungary 's Evelyn Verrasztó . Canada 's Julia Wilkinson ( 2:12.43 ) and Poland 's Katarzyna Baranowska ( 2:13.36 ) closed out the field . Earlier in the semifinals , Coventry established an Olympic standard of 2:09.53 to cut off Yana Klochkova 's eight-year record by a 1.15-second deficit .
The women 's 200 metre individual medley event at the 2004 Olympic Games was contested at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens , Greece on August 16 and 17 . Ukraine 's Yana Klochkova became the first woman to claim two consecutive Olympic titles in the individual medley , finishing the final race with a time of 2:11.14 . American swimmer and three-time Olympian Amanda Beard took home the silver , in an American record time of 2:11.70 , while Zimbabwe 's Kirsty Coventry , on the other hand , broke an African record of 2:12.72 to earn the bronze medal .