| Event: | Swimming |
| Games: | 2016 Summer |
| Venue: | Olympic Aquatics Stadium (pool) Fort Copacabana (open water) |
| Dates: | 6–13 August 2016 15–16 August (Marathon) |
| Competitors: | 955 |
| Nations: | 174 |
| Num Events: | 34 |
| Prev: | 2012 |
| Next: | 2020 |
The swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 13 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.[1] The women's open-water marathon was held on August 15, and the men's open water race on August 16 in Fort Copacabana.[2]
The location for open-water events was a source of concern for athletes since scientists have found microbes in the waters off of Fort Copacabana and drug-resistant super bacteria off the beaches of Rio de Janeiro in 2014 and 2016 studies due to the daily dumping of hospital waste and household raw sewage into the rivers and ocean. Ten percent of the Copacabana water test samples contained drug-resistant super bacteria.[3] [4] However, during the races the water quality was good.[5] [6]
Similar to the program's format in 2012, swimming features a total of 34 events (17 each for men and women), including two 10 km open-water marathons. The following events were contested (all pool events are long course, and distances are in metres unless stated):
50, 100, 200, 400, 800 (women), and 1,500 (men);
100 and 200;
100 and 200;
100 and 200;
200 and 400;
4 × 100 free, 4 × 200 free; 4 × 100 medley
10 kilometres
Similar to previous Olympics since 2000, with the exception of 2008, the swimming program schedule occurred in two segments. For the pool events, prelims are held in the afternoon, followed by the semifinals and final in the evening and the night session (due to the substantial fees NBC has paid for rights to the Olympics, the IOC has allowed NBC to have influence on event scheduling to maximize U.S. television ratings when possible; NBC agreed to a $7.75 billion contract extension on May 7, 2014, to air the Olympics through the 2032 games[7] and is also one of the major sources of revenue for the IOC).[8] [9] The dates in the table are for August.
A = Afternoon session, starting at 13:00 local time (16:00 UTC).
N = Night session, starting at 22:00 local time (01:00 UTC the next day).
| Date → | Aug 6 | Aug 7 | Aug 8 | Aug 9 | Aug 10 | Aug 11 | Aug 12 | Aug 13 | Aug 16 | ||||||||||
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| Date → | Aug 6 | Aug 7 | Aug 8 | Aug 9 | Aug 10 | Aug 11 | Aug 12 | Aug 13 | Aug 15 | ||||||||||
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| Event ↓ | A | N | A | N | A | N | A | N | A | N | A | N | A | N | A | N | A | N | |
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See main article: Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification.
FINA By-Law BL 9.3.6.4 (swimming) and BL 9.3.7.5.3 (open water) laid out the qualification procedures for the "Swimming" competition at the Olympics.[11] Each country is allowed to enter up to two swimmers per individual event (provided they qualify), and one entry per relay; and a country may not have more than 26 males and 26 females (52 total) on its team.
On January 15, 2015, FINA posted the qualifying times for individual events for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[12] The time standards consisted of two types: an "Olympic Qualifying Time" (OQT) and an "Olympic Selection time" (OST). Each country was able to enter up to two swimmers per event, provided both swimmers met the (faster) qualifying time. A country was able to enter one swimmer per event that met the invitation standard. Any swimmer who met the "qualifying" time was entered in the event for the Games; a swimmer meeting the "invitation" standard was eligible for entry, and their entry was allotted/filled in by ranking.[12] [13]
If a country had had no swimmers who meet either qualifying standard, it may have entered one male and one female. A country that did not receive an allocation spot but had at least one swimmer who met a qualifying standard might have enter the swimmer with the highest ranking.[13]
Each relay event features 16 teams, composed of:
The men's and women's 10 km races at the 2016 Summer Olympics featured 25 swimmers:[14]
Brazil, as the host country, receives guaranteed quota place in case it would not qualify any qualification places.
| 50 m freestyle | 21.40 | 21.41 | 21.49 | ||||||
| 100 m freestyle | 47.58 WJ | 47.80 NR | 47.85 | ||||||
| 200 m freestyle | 1:44.65 | 1:45.20 AF | 1:45.23 | ||||||
| 400 m freestyle | 3:41.55 | 3:41.68 | 3:43.49 | ||||||
| 1500 m freestyle | 14:34.57 | 14:39.48 AM | 14:40.86 | ||||||
| 100 m backstroke | 51.97 | 52.31 | 52.40 | ||||||
| 200 m backstroke | 1:53.62 | 1:53.96 | 1:53.97 ER | ||||||
| 100 m breaststroke | 57.13 | 58.69 | 58.87 AM | ||||||
| 200 m breaststroke | 2:07.46 NR | 2:07.53 | 2:07.70 NR | ||||||
| 100 m butterfly | 50.39, AS | 51.14 | Not awarded as there was a tie for silver. | ||||||
| 200 m butterfly | 1:53.36 | 1:53.40 | 1:53.62 | ||||||
| 200 m individual medley | 1:54.66 | 1:56.61 | 1:57.05 | ||||||
| 400 m individual medley | 4:06.05 AS | 4:06.75 | 4:09.71 | ||||||
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | valign=top | Caeleb Dressel (48.10) Michael Phelps (47.12) Ryan Held (47.73) Nathan Adrian (46.97) Jimmy Feigen Blake Pieroni Anthony Ervin | 3:09.92 | valign=top | Mehdy Metella (48.08) Fabien Gilot (48.20) Florent Manaudou (47.14) Jérémy Stravius (47.11) Clément Mignon William Meynard | 3:10.53 | valign=top | James Roberts (48.88) Kyle Chalmers (47.38) James Magnussen (48.11) Cameron McEvoy (47.00) Matthew Abood | 3:11.37 |
| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | valign=top | Conor Dwyer (1:45.23) Townley Haas (1:44.14) Ryan Lochte (1:46.03) Michael Phelps (1:45.26) Clark Smith Jack Conger Gunnar Bentz | 7:00.66 | valign=top | Stephen Milne (1:46.97) Duncan Scott (1:45.05) Daniel Wallace (1:46.26) James Guy (1:44.85) Robbie Renwick | 7:03.13 NR | valign=top | Kosuke Hagino (1:45.34) Naito Ehara (1:46.11) Yuki Kobori (1:45.71) Takeshi Matsuda (1:46.34) | 7:03.50 |
| 4 × 100 m medley relay | valign=top | Ryan Murphy (51.85) Cody Miller (59.03) Michael Phelps (50.33) Nathan Adrian (46.74) David Plummer Kevin Cordes Tom Shields Caeleb Dressel | 3:27.95 | valign=top | Chris Walker-Hebborn (53.68) Adam Peaty (56.59) James Guy (51.35) Duncan Scott (47.62) | 3:29.24 NR | valign=top | Mitch Larkin (53.19) Jake Packard (58.84) David Morgan (51.18) Kyle Chalmers (46.72) Cameron McEvoy | 3:29.93 |
| 10 km open water | 1:52:59.8 | 1:53:00.5 | 1:53:02.0 | ||||||
| 50 m freestyle | 24.07 NR | 24.09 | 24.11 NR | ||||||
| 100 m freestyle | 52.70, WJ, AM 52.70, AM | Not awarded as there was a tie for gold. | 52.99 | ||||||
| 200 m freestyle | 1:53.73 | 1:54.08 NR | 1:54.92 | ||||||
| 400 m freestyle | 3:56.46 | 4:01.23 | 4:01.92 | ||||||
| 800 m freestyle | 8:04.79 | 8:16.17 | 8:16.37 NR | ||||||
| 100 m backstroke | 58.45 NR | 58.75 | 58.76 NR 58.76 NR | ||||||
| 200 m backstroke | 2:05.99 | 2:06.05 | 2:07.54 | ||||||
| 100 m breaststroke | 1:04.93 | 1:05.50 | 1:05.69 | ||||||
| 200 m breaststroke | 2:20.30 | 2:21.97 | 2:22.28 | ||||||
| 100 m butterfly | 55.48 | 56.46 WJ, NR | 56.63 | ||||||
| 200 m butterfly | 2.04.85 | 2.04.88 | 2.05.20 | ||||||
| 200 m individual medley | 2:06.58 | 2:06.88 NR | 2:08.79 | ||||||
| 400 m individual medley | 4:26.36 | 4:31.15 | 4:32.39 | ||||||
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | valign=top | Emma McKeon (53.41) Brittany Elmslie (53.12) Bronte Campbell (52.15) Cate Campbell (51.97) Madison Wilson | 3:30.65 | valign=top | Simone Manuel (53.36) Abbey Weitzeil (52.56) Dana Vollmer (53.18) Katie Ledecky (52.79) Amanda Weir Lia Neal Allison Schmitt | 3:31.89 AM | valign=top | Sandrine Mainville (53.86) Chantal Van Landeghem (53.12) Taylor Ruck (53.19) Penny Oleksiak (52.72) Michelle Williams | 3:32.89 NR |
| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | valign=top | Allison Schmitt (1:56.21) Leah Smith (1:56.69) Maya DiRado (1:56.39) Katie Ledecky (1:53.74) Missy Franklin Melanie Margalis Cierra Runge | 7:43.03 | valign=top | Leah Neale (1:57.95) Emma McKeon (1:54.64) Bronte Barratt (1:55.81) Tamsin Cook (1:56.47) Jessica Ashwood | 7:44.87 | valign=top | Katerine Savard (1:57.91) Taylor Ruck (1:56.18) Brittany MacLean (1:56.36) Penny Oleksiak (1:54.94) Kennedy Goss Emily Overholt | 7:45.39 NR |
| 4 × 100 m medley relay | Kathleen Baker (59.00) Lilly King (1:05.70) Dana Vollmer (56.00) Simone Manuel (52.43) Olivia Smoliga Katie Meili Kelsi Worrell Abbey Weitzeil | 3:53.13 | Emily Seebohm (58.83) Taylor McKeown (1:07.05) Emma McKeon (56.95) Cate Campbell (52.17) Madison Wilson Madeline Groves Brittany Elmslie | 3:55.00 | Mie Nielsen (58.75) Rikke Møller Pedersen (1:06.62) Jeanette Ottesen (56.43) Pernille Blume (53.21) | 3:55.01 ER | |||
| 10 km open water | 1:56:32.1 | 1:56:49.5 | 1:56:51.4 | ||||||
See also: World and Olympic records set at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Established for | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record | Day | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (same) | 6 August | Heats | align=left | 57.55 | 1 | |||||
| (same) | 7 August | Final | align=left | 57.13 | 2 | |||||
| (same) | 8 August | Final | align=left | 51.97 | 3 | |||||
| (same) | 9 August | Semifinal | align=left | 2:07.22 | 4 | |||||
| (same) | 12 August | Final | align=left | 50.39 | 7 | |||||
| Men's 100 metre backstroke | 13 August | Final | align=left | 51.85 r | 8 | |||||
| (same) | 13 August | Final | Ryan Murphy (51.85) Cody Miller (59.03) Michael Phelps (50.33) Nathan Adrian (46.74) | align=left | 3:27.95 | 8 |
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record | Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay | 6 August | Heats | Madison Wilson (54.11) Brittany Elmslie (53.22) Bronte Campbell (53.26) Cate Campbell (51.80) | align=left | 3:32.39 | 1 | ||
| Women's 100 metre butterfly | 6 August | Semifinal | align=left | 55.84 | 1 | |||
| Women's 400 metre individual medley | 6 August | Final | align=left | 4:26.36 | 1 | |||
| Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay | 6 August | Final | Emma McKeon (53.41) Brittany Elmslie (53.12) Bronte Campbell (52.15) Cate Campbell (51.97) | align=left | 3:30.65 | 1 | ||
| Women's 400 metre freestyle | 7 August | Heats | align=left | 3:58.71 | 2 | |||
| Women's 100 metre butterfly | 7 August | Final | align=left | 55.48 | 2 | |||
| Women's 400 metre freestyle | 7 August | Final | align=left | 3:56.46 | 2 | |||
| Women's 200 metre individual medley | 8 August | Heats | align=left | 2:07.45 | 3 | |||
| Women's 100 metre breaststroke | 8 August | Final | align=left | 1:04.93 | 3 | |||
| Women's 200 metre individual medley | 9 August | Final | align=left | 2:06.58 | 4 | |||
| Women's 100 metre freestyle | 10 August | Heats | align=left | 52.78 | 5 | |||
| Women's 100 metre freestyle | 10 August | Semifinals | align=left | 52.71 | 5 | |||
| Women's 800 metre freestyle | 11 August | Heats | align=left | 8.12.86 | 6 | |||
| Women's 100 metre freestyle | 11 August | Final | align=left | 52.70 | 6 | |||
| Women's 100 metre freestyle | 11 August | Final | align=left | 52.70 | 6 | |||
| Women's 800 metre freestyle | 12 August | Final | align=left | 8.04.79 | 7 | |||
Legend: r – First leg of relay