Swimming_at_the_2000_Summer_Olympics_–_Women's_200_metre_backstroke
The women's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 21–22 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.[1]
Diana Mocanu emerged as a newcomer on the international swimming, after effortlessly winning her second gold at these Games. She maintained a lead from start to finish, and posted a new Romanian record of 2:08.16, the third-fastest of all time, making her the fourth swimmer in Olympic history to strike a backstroke double, since Ulrike Richter did so in 1976, Rica Reinisch in 1980, and Krisztina Egerszegi, the three-time champion in the event, in 1992.[2][3] France's world champion Roxana Maracineanu, born with Romanian heritage, seized off an early lead on the first length, but fell short only for the silver in 2:10.25. Japan's Miki Nakao powered home with the bronze in 2:11.05 to hold off her fast-pacing teammate Tomoko Hagiwara (2:11.21) by 16-hundredths of a second.[4][5][6]
U.S. swimmer Amanda Adkins improved a lifetime best of 2:12.35 to move herself up from seventh to fifth spot on the final half, finishing ahead of Spain's Nina Zhivanevskaya (2:12.75), the bronze medalist in the 100 m backstroke five days earlier, by four-tenths of a second (0.40). Meanwhile, Germany's Antje Buschschulte (2:13.31) and Canada's Kelly Stefanyshyn (2:14.57) rounded out the finale.[6]
