| Event: | Women's 800 metre freestyle |
| Games: | 2000 Summer |
| Venue: | Sydney International Aquatic Centre |
| Date: | September 21, 2000 (heats) September 22, 2000 (final) |
| Competitors: | 28 |
| Nations: | 22 |
| Win Value: | 8:19.67 |
| Gold: | Brooke Bennett |
| Goldnoc: | USA |
| Silver: | Yana Klochkova |
| Silvernoc: | UKR |
| Bronze: | Kaitlin Sandeno |
| Bronzenoc: | USA |
| Prev: | 1996 |
| Next: | 2004 |
The women's 800 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 21–22 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.[1]
United States' teenager Brooke Bennett became the second swimmer in Olympic history to defend her title in the event, and the fifth to strike a long-distance freestyle double, since Debbie Meyer did so in 1968, Petra Thümer in 1976, Tiffany Cohen in 1984, and the legendary Janet Evans in 1988. She maintained a powerful lead from start to finish before hitting the wall first in 8:19.67, the second-fastest of all time, cutting off Evans' 12-year Olympic record by 0.53 seconds.[2] [3] [4] After effortlessly striking a medley double over the past six days, Yana Klochkova added a silver to her medal tally at these Games, in a scintillating Ukrainian record of 8:22.66. Bennett's teammate Kaitlin Sandeno gave the Americans a further reason to celebrate, as she powered home with a bronze in 8:24.29.[5] [6]
Switzerland's Flavia Rigamonti lost a spirited challenge to Sandeno for the bronze by more than a full body length, but earned a fourth spot in a national record of 8:25.91. She was followed in fifth by Germany's Hannah Stockbauer (8:30.11), and in sixth by China's Chen Hua (8:30.58). Stockbauer's teammate Jana Henke (8:31.97), bronze medalist in Barcelona eight years earlier, and Japan's Sachiko Yamada (8:37.39) rounded out the finale.[6]
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 8:26.47 | Q | |||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 8:29.84 | Q, NR | |||
| 3 | 3 | 4 | 8:30.12 | Q | |||
| 4 | 2 | 4 | 8:30.44 | Q | |||
| 5 | 4 | 5 | 8:31.74 | Q | |||
| 6 | 3 | 5 | 8:31.86 | Q | |||
| 7 | 4 | 3 | 8:33.06 | Q | |||
| 8 | 3 | 7 | 8:33.23 | Q | |||
| 9 | 4 | 6 | 8:34.51 | NR | |||
| 10 | 3 | 3 | 8:35.80 | ||||
| 11 | 2 | 5 | 8:35.84 | ||||
| 12 | 4 | 2 | 8:36.94 | ||||
| 13 | 2 | 3 | 8:38.75 | ||||
| 14 | 3 | 6 | 8:43.07 | ||||
| 15 | 2 | 2 | 8:43.22 | ||||
| 16 | 2 | 7 | 8:43.56 | ||||
| 17 | 3 | 1 | 8:44.64 | ||||
| 18 | 4 | 8 | 8:46.39 | NR | |||
| 19 | 2 | 8 | 8:47.64 | ||||
| 20 | 1 | 3 | 8:52.61 | ||||
| 21 | 1 | 4 | 8:54.79 | ||||
| 22 | 3 | 8 | 8:56.33 | ||||
| 23 | 2 | 6 | 9:00.12 | ||||
| 24 | 1 | 5 | 9:01.09 | ||||
| 25 | 2 | 1 | 9:01.90 | ||||
| 26 | 1 | 6 | 9:04.02 | ||||
| 4 | 1 | ||||||
| 4 | 7 |
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 8:19.67 | |||||
| 5 | 8:22.66 | NR | ||||
| 3 | 8:24.29 | |||||
| 4 | 6 | 8:25.91 | NR | |||
| 5 | 2 | 8:30.11 | ||||
| 6 | 8 | 8:30.58 | ||||
| 7 | 7 | 8:31.97 | ||||
| 8 | 1 | 8:37.39 |