Swimming at the 2012 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games
Host City: London, Great Britain
Venue(s): London Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park, Stratford, London
Date Started: August 3, 2012
Date Finished: August 4, 2012
Gold: | ![]() |
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Sweden's [Therese Alshammar] had won this event at the 2011 World Championships, and the defending gold medalist, German [Britta Steffen], was back, but they were expected to be challenged by Dutchwoman [Ranomi Kromowidjojo], who had already won the 100 freestyle in London. But it was Kromo who won relatively easily, taking the lead from the start and stopping the clock in 24.05 for the gold medal. Behind her teammate [Marleen Veldhuis] appeared ready to give the Netherlands a 1-2 finish but was pipped at the finish by Belarussian [Aleksandra Gerasimenya] for the silver. Steffen just missed the medals in fourth place, nipping out Alshammar in fifth.
Kromowidjojo became the fourth woman to sweep the two sprint freestyles since the 50 was introduced in 1988, joining East German [Kristin Otto] from 1988, her countrywoman [Inge de Bruijn] in 2000, and Steffan at Beijing. Kromowidjojo's unusual name reflects her mixed Dutch-Javanese-Surinamese ethnicity.