Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre freestyle

{{Short description|none}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}

{{Infobox Olympic event

|event = Women's 200-metre freestyle

|games = 2000 Summer

|image =

|caption =

|venue = Sydney International Aquatic Centre

|date = 18 September 2000 (heats &
semi-finals)
19 September 2000 (final)

|competitors = 41

|nations = 35

|win_value = 1:58.24

|gold = Susie O'Neill

|goldNOC = AUS

|silver = Martina Moravcová

|silverNOC = SVK

|bronze = Claudia Poll

|bronzeNOC = CRC

|prev = 1996

|next = 2004}}

{{SwimmingAt2000SummerOlympics}}

The women's 200-metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 18–19 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/2000/SWIMMING/schedule.htm|title=Swimming schedule |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=14 September 2000|accessdate=14 May 2013}}

Australia's overwhelming favorite Susie O'Neill, dubbed as Madame Butterfly, gave the home crowd a further reason to celebrate, as she claimed the gold medal in the event. Rocketed to the boisterous chants of "Susie, Susie" by her swimming fans, O'Neill held off a challenge from Slovakia's Martina Moravcová to strengthen her lead on the final lap before hitting the wall first in 1:58.24.{{cite news|title=O'Neill strikes gold for Australia|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics2000/swimming/931743.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|date=19 September 2000|accessdate=15 June 2013}}{{cite news|title=Aussies rule relays|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/2000/swimming/news/2000/09/19/swimming_finals_ap/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130619213427/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/2000/swimming/news/2000/09/19/swimming_finals_ap/|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 June 2013|work=Sports Illustrated|publisher=CNN|date=20 September 2000|accessdate=15 June 2013}} Moravcova trailed behind by a small fraction of a second to capture another silver at these Games in 1:58.32, while Costa Rica's Claudia Poll, defending Olympic champion, added a second bronze to her hardware from the 400 m freestyle, in a sterling time of 1:58.81.{{cite news|title=Malchow sets Olympic record in 200 fly|url=http://www.canoe.ca/2000GamesSwimming/sep18_mal.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615050120/http://www.canoe.ca/2000GamesSwimming/sep18_mal.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=15 June 2013|publisher=Canoe.ca|date=18 September 2000|accessdate=28 May 2013}}{{cite news|last=Longman|first=Jere|title=Sydney 2000: Swimming; Malchow Lies Low, Then Rockets To the Wall|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/20/sports/sydney-2000-swimming-malchow-lies-low-then-rockets-to-the-wall.html|work=The New York Times|date=20 September 2000|accessdate=8 June 2013}}{{cite news|last=Whitten|first=Phillip|title=Olympic Day 4 Finals|url=http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/1804.asp|work=Swimming World|date=19 September 2000|accessdate=8 June 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154751/http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/1804.asp|archivedate=30 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}

Russia's Nadezhda Chemezova and Germany's Kerstin Kielgass tied for fourth place in a matching time of 1:58.86, finishing off the podium by just five-hundredths of a second (0.05). Belarus' Natalya Baranovskaya pulled off a sixth-place finish in a national record of 1:59.28, while Romania's Camelia Potec (1:59.46) and China's Wang Luna (1:59.55) closed out the field.

Notable swimmers failed to reach the top 8 final, featuring world-record holder Franziska van Almsick, who faded shortly on the final lap and finished eleventh in the semi-finals; South Africa's Helene Muller, who posted a second-fastest prelims time (1:59.89) earlier but ended up only in ninth; and American duo Lindsay Benko and Rada Owen, both of whom earned a twelfth and a sixteenth spot, respectively.{{cite news|last=Whitten|first=Phillip|title=Olympic Day 3 Finals (100 Breast, 100 Back M, 100 Back W, 200 Free)|url=http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/1799.asp|work=Swimming World|date=18 September 2000|accessdate=23 May 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154738/http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/1799.asp|archivedate=30 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}

Shortly after the Games, O'Neill announced her retirement from swimming, and was elected to the IOC Athletes' Commission, along with ten other athletes.{{cite news|title=Susie O'Neill Hangs Up Her Swim Suit|url=http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/1984.asp|work=Swimming World|date=23 November 2000|accessdate=16 June 2013}}{{cite news|title=Swimming star O'Neill retires|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/1034800.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|date=22 November 2000|accessdate=15 June 2013}}