Swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre backstroke
The women's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on 25 July at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, United States.Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.Results
Heats
Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A, while the next eight to final B.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | 4 | Krisztina Egerszegi | | 2:09.18 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | 3 | Whitney Hedgepeth | | 2:11.63 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | 6 | Anke Scholz | | 2:12.73 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | Miki Nakao | | 2:12.92 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | 5 | Nina Zhivanevskaya | | 2:13.32 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | Lorenza Vigarani | | 2:13.58 | Q |
| 6 | 5 | 5 | Cathleen Rund | | 2:13.58 | Q |
| 8 | 5 | 2 | Anna Simcic | | 2:13.74 | Q |
| 9 | 3 | 4 | Beth Botsford | | 2:14.16 | q |
| 10 | 3 | 2 | Hélène Ricardo | | 2:14.18 | q |
| 10 | 3 | 7 | Lee Chang-ha | | 2:14.18 | q, NR |
| 12 | 5 | 6 | Chen Yan | | 2:14.74 | q |
| 13 | 5 | 3 | Mai Nakamura | | 2:15.05 | q |
| 14 | 5 | 1 | Joanne Deakins | | 2:15.12 | q |
| 15 | 4 | 7 | Cătălina Cășaru | | 2:15.92 | q |
| 16 | 4 | 2 | Marianne Kriel | | 2:15.99 | q |
| 17 | 4 | 1 | Mette Jacobsen | | 2:16.68 | |
| 18 | 4 | 5 | Nicole Stevenson | | 2:16.71 | |
| 19 | 3 | 1 | Izabela Burczyk | | 2:16.91 | NR |
| 20 | 2 | 4 | Julie Howard | | 2:17.25 | |
| 21 | 5 | 8 | Kateřina Pivoňková | | 2:18.20 | |
| 22 | 4 | 8 | Yseult Gervy | | 2:18.69 | |
| 23 | 3 | 8 | Ivette María | | 2:18.72 | |
| 24 | 5 | 7 | Lydia Lipscombe | | 2:19.54 | |
| 25 | 2 | 2 | Anu Koivisto | | 2:19.58 | NR |
| 26 | 2 | 6 | Petra Chaves | | 2:20.49 | |
| 27 | 1 | 5 | Maja Grozdanić | | 2:20.65 | |
| 28 | 3 | 6 | Wu Yanyan | | 2:20.89 | |
| 29 | 2 | 5 | Akiko Thomson | | 2:21.36 | |
| 30 | 1 | 4 | Praphalsai Minpraphal | | 2:21.82 | |
| 31 | 2 | 3 | Aikaterini Klepkou | | 2:22.83 | |
| 32 | 1 | 3 | Dijana Kvesić | | 2:23.78 | |
| 33 | 2 | 7 | Lin Chi-chan | | 2:24.50 | |
Finals
Final A
