[1][2] Chinese swimmer and triple world champion Luo Xuejuan won the gold medal in this event, with an Olympic record time of 1:06.64, missing the world record by 0.27 of a second.

[3] Australia's Brooke Hanson took home the silver at 1:07.15, while her teammate and world record holder Leisel Jones, who won silver as a 15-year-old in Sydney (2000), finished behind Hanson for a bronze medal by a hundredth of a second (0.01), with a time of 1:07.16.

[4] In 2007, Luo announced her official retirement from swimming, because of heart ailments that had plagued her and had caused fainting spells during her training.

[5][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.