Swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's 50 metre freestyle explained

The women's 50 metre freestyle event at the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on 26 July at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, United States.^[1]

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A (Q), while the next eight to final B (q).^[2]

Rank	Heat	Lane	Time	Notes
1	7	4	25.10	Q
2	6	4	25.12	Q
3	6	5	25.45	Q
4	5	4	25.47	Q
5	5	5	25.71	Q
6	7	5	25.73	Q
7	5	6	25.76	Q
8	6	3	25.84	Q
9	5	3	25.88	q
10	7	3	25.89	q
11	6	6	25.93	q
12	5	7	25.97	q, NR
13	6	2	26.00	q
13	7	6	26.00	q
15	4	4	26.13	q, =NR
16	7	7	26.17	q
17	4	2	26.22
18	7	1	26.26	NR
19	7	8	26.29	NR
20	4	6	26.34
20	5	2	26.34
22	4	5	26.39
22	6	1	26.39
24	5	1	26.42
25	4	7	26.43
26	4	3	26.44
27	6	7	26.47
28	4	8	26.50
29	4	1	26.52
29	7	2	26.52
31	5	8	26.55
32	3	8	26.57	NR
33	3	2	26.67
34	3	4	26.72
35	2	4	26.74
36	3	1	26.76
37	3	6	26.90
38	6	8	27.00
39	3	5	27.12
40	1	5	27.18	NR
41	2	1	27.30	NR
42	2	2	27.34
43	2	5	27.38
44	3	3	27.51
45	2	8	27.62	NR
46	2	3	27.63
47	2	7	27.65
48	1	3	28.02
49	1	2	28.40
50	1	4	28.43
51	2	6	28.51
52	1	6	29.02
53	1	7	29.56
54	1	1	34.43
55	1	8	41.45
	3	7

Web site: Swimming at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games: Women's 50 metres Freestyle . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417165650/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1996/SWI/womens-50-metres-freestyle.html . dead . 17 April 2020 . 17 March 2020 . Sports Reference.
Web site: Atlanta 1996: Swimming – Women's 50m Freestyle Heats. PDF. Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. 35–36. 11 September 2017.
Web site: Atlanta 1996: Swimming – Women's 50m Freestyle Finals. PDF. Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. 36. 11 September 2017.