It featured four of the fastest swimmers in Olympic history: Ian Thorpe (Australia, world record holder in the event at the time), Pieter van den Hoogenband (Netherlands, defending Olympic champion), Grant Hackett (Australia, former world record holder in the event), and Michael Phelps (United States, later became the most decorated all-time Olympian, with a total of 28 medals).

[1] Thorpe edged out Pieter van den Hoogenband in the final 50 metres to claim his second gold at the Games and fifth career medal, following his triumph in the 400 m freestyle two days earlier.

[2] With only 50 metres to go, he powered past his arch-rival to touch the wall first in an Olympic record of 1:44.71, matching the third fastest swim over the distance.

Van den Hoogenband, who led the field through the first three laps under a world record pace, won silver in 1:45.23.

[1] Four of the 8 finalists from the 2000 Games returned: gold medalist Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands, silver medalist Ian Thorpe of Australia, seventh-place finisher Rick Say of Canada, and eighth-place finisher Grant Hackett of Australia.

[1] The Cayman Islands, Chile, Georgia, Latvia, Macedonia, Morocco, and Serbia and Montenegro each made their debut in the event.