The women's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 17 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.

Brooke Bennett emerged as a major force in long-distance swimming, after effortlessly winning a first gold for the United States in the event since Janet Evans did so in 1988. She maintained a powerful lead from start to finish, and posted a lifetime best of 4:05.80, making her the third fastest all-time swimmer in history behind Evans and China's Chen Hua. At only 18 years of age, Diana Munz fought off a sprint challenge from Costa Rica's Claudia Poll and Jamaica's Janelle Atkinson on the final lap to take home the silver in 4:07.07, extending a distance swimming legacy for the Americans with a one–two finish. Meanwhile, Poll settled only for the bronze in 4:07.83.

Atkinson made an Olympic milestone as the first Jamaican to reach a swimming final, but missed out the podium by almost a full second in a national record of 4:08.79. Russia's Nadezhda Chemezova finished fifth in 4:10.37, holding off a fast-pacing Hannah Stockbauer of Germany (4:10.38) by a hundredth of a second (0.01). Netherlands' Carla Geurts (4:12.36), and China's Chen Hua (4:13.11), the second fastest all-time swimmer, rounded out the finale.

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

Results

Heats

Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes 1 3 4 Brooke Bennett 4:07.57 Q 2 3 5 Claudia Poll 4:09.33 Q 3 3 3 Janelle Atkinson 4:09.61 Q, NR 4 4 5 Diana Munz 4:10.39 Q 5 5 1 Chen Hua 4:10.56 Q6 4 6 Nadezhda Chemezova 4:10.76 Q 5 4 Hannah Stockbauer Q 8 3 7 Carla Geurts 4:10.86 Q 9 5 7 Flavia Rigamonti 4:11.77 10 5 6 Kirsten Vlieghuis 4:11.87 11 4 4 Camelia Potec 4:11.92 12 5 3 Sachiko Yamada 4:12.45 13 3 6 Natalya Baranovskaya 4:12.67 14 2 4 Laetitia Choux 4:13.09 15 5 5 Kerstin Kielgaß 4:13.10 16 4 1 Simona Păduraru 4:13.89 17 4 2 Irina Ufimtseva 4:15.41 18 4 7 Kasey Giteau 4:15.54 19 5 8 Karine Legault 4:15.55 20 4 8 Sofie Goffin 4:15.93 21 3 1 Chantal Strasser 4:16.17 22 2 2 Artemis Dafni 4:16.94 23 4 3 Yasuko Tajima 4:17.23 24 2 5 Angels Bardina 4:17.55 25 2 8 Lin Chi-chan 4:17.76 26 2 6 Hana Černá 4:17.96 27 5 2 Sarah-Jane D'Arcy 4:18.05 28 2 3 Sara Goffi 4:18.16 29 3 2 Éva Risztov 4:18.48 30 1 4 Ivanka Moralieva 4:19.10 31 1 2 Vesna Stojanovska 4:19.69 32 3 8 Olena Lapunova 4:19.96 33 1 3 Patricia Villarreal 4:21.03 34 1 7 Chantal Gibney 4:23.73 35 1 1 Nataliya Korabelnikova 4:24.29 36 1 5 Christel Bouvron 4:25.16 37 2 1 Roh Joo-hee 4:25.66 38 1 6 Adi Bichman 4:27.33 39 2 7 Pilin Tachakittiranan 4:29.28

Final Rank Lane Name Nationality Time Notes 4 Brooke Bennett 4:05.80 6 Diana Munz 4:07.07 5 Claudia Poll 4:07.83 4 3 Janelle Atkinson 4:08.79 NR 5 7 Nadezhda Chemezova 4:10.37 6 1 Hannah Stockbauer 4:10.38 7 8 Carla Geurts 4:12.36 8 2 Chen Hua 4:13.11

References

External links Official Olympic Report