[1] Camelia Potec became the second Romanian swimmer to claim a gold medal in swimming (the first being done by Diana Mocanu in Sydney), outside the record time of 1:58.03.

The silver medal was awarded to 15-year-old Federica Pellegrini of Italy, who finished behind Potec by 0.19 of a second, clocking at 1:58.22.

France's Solenne Figuès, on the other hand, took home the bronze in 1:58.45.

World record holder Franziska van Almsick, however, finished outside of medals in fifth place, with a time of 1:58.88.

[2][3] Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.