Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 50 metre freestyle
Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 12 6 Pernille Blume Denmark 24.23 Q
2 11 5 Fran Halsall Great Britain 24.26 Q
3 10 6 Aliaksandra Herasimenia Belarus 24.42 Q
4 12 4 Bronte Campbell Australia 24.45 Q
5 10 5 Abbey Weitzeil United States 24.48 Q
5 11 6 Jeanette Ottesen Denmark 24.48 Q
7 11 4 Cate Campbell Australia 24.52 Q
8 10 3 Chantal Van Landeghem Canada 24.57 Q
8 10 4 Ranomi Kromowidjojo Netherlands 24.57 Q
10 12 5 Sarah Sjöström Sweden 24.66 Q
11 11 3 Simone Manuel United States 24.71 Q
12 11 7 Therese Alshammar Sweden 24.73 Q
13 9 7 Inge Dekker Netherlands 24.77 Q
13 12 3 Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace Bahamas 24.77 Q
13 12 7 Dorothea Brandt Germany 24.77 Q
16 11 2 Etiene Medeiros Brazil 24.82 Q
17 11 8 Silvia di Pietro Italy 24.89
18 9 4 Farida Osman Egypt 24.91 AF
18 10 7 Liu Xiang China 24.91
18 12 1 Michelle Williams Canada 24.91
Results -- Heats
The women's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 12-13 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. Pernille Blume defeated the field of experienced sprinters to give Denmark its first Olympic swimming title in 68 years. Leading the program's shortest race from prelims into the semifinals, she splashed her way to a gold-medal triumph in 24.07, but fell short of her attempt to overhaul Ranomi Kromowidjojo's Olympic record by a small fraction of a second. U.S. sprinter Simone Manuel, newly crowned Olympic champion of the 100 m freestyle, settled for the silver in 24.09, stopping 0.02 seconds behind Blume. Meanwhile, London 2012 runner-up Aliaksandra Herasimenia of Belarus secured the top three spot with a 24.11 for the bronze. Great Britain's Francesca Halsall narrowly missed out of the medals by 0.02 of a second, finishing with a fourth-place time in 24.13. Unable to bounce back from their out-of-medal feat in the 100 m freestyle, sisters and pre-race favorites Cate (24.15) and Bronte Campbell (24.42) slipped to fifth and seventh, respectively, while defending champion Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands split the Australian duo to take the sixth spot in 24.19. Brazil's hometown favorite Etiene Medeiros wrapped up the top eight with a 24.69.
 Notable swimmers failed to reach the top eight final, including Blume's fellow sprinter Jeanette Ottesen, London 2012 finalist Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace of the Bahamas, and Swedish tandem of three-time medalist Sarah Sjöström and Therese Alshammar, who built a historic milestone as the first ever female in the pool to compete at her sixth Olympics.