At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, American swimmer Misty Hyman made history by winning Olympic gold in the women’s 200m butterfly. But what she is truly remembered for is the fact that by winning, she pulled off one the biggest upsets in the history of swimming.
Susie O’Neill, or “Madame Butterfly,” as she is known, was the defending Olympic champion and world record holder in the 200 fly at the time. She was therefore expected to win the event easily in Sydney. What’s more, fellow Australian Petria Thomas was expected to make it a 1-2 sweep for the Australians.
O’Neill had not lost a 200 fly in 4 years, so heading into the 2000 Olympics, she did not think of Hyman as a threat. She didn’t think about Hyman at all.
But things did not go as planned on race day.
As expected, Petria Thomas led after the first 50. But Hyman wasted no time in taking over the lead, maintaining a fast pace to overtake Thomas for the lead on the second 50.
In her trademark style, O’Neill made up enough ground to overtake Thomas on the second 100, but it was not enough to overtake Hyman. Hyman unleashed an impressive final turn and underwater, defeating Madame Butterfly for Olympic gold in front of a stunned crowd.
Hyman’s winning time of 2:05.88 just missed O’Neill’s world record of 2:05.81. It was a new Olympic record, however, besting fellow American Mary T. Meagher’s mark of 2:06.90.
Hyman’s reaction at the end of the race says it all. Just like everyone in that pool, she could not believe what had just happened. She and fellow American Kaitlin Sandeno, who finished 6th, celebrated in the water in front a roaring crowd of American fans.
While O’Neill showed good sportsmanship after her disappointing performance, her true feelings have recently been revealed. In an interview in 2019, O’Neill admitted that she is still haunted by the race. Prior to that interview, she had never watched the race video. Watching it for the first time brought her to tears.
Although this race happened almost 20 years ago, it still holds significance today. Not only did it help to further elevate Hyman’s name in the world of athletics, but it showed how unpredictable the sport of swimming can be, and that even the greatest swimmers in history are beatable.
I remember watching that. That race was epic. I loved seeing MIsty’s reaction when she realized she had won. I also had a huge amount of respect for Susie who probably felt humiliated at that point but still congratulated Misty.
Anything is possible in a Olympic final.
It was an epic swim.
The better swimmer on the night won.
Hyman always had really great underwaters. I remember reading that in the long course 200 fly she usually faded in the final 50, but for this race, to prevent that from happening one of her coaches suggested that she do slightly fewer underwater kicks off each wall. (like maybe do 5 kicks instead of 7, or something like that). That let her have just a little bit of extra air left at the end, which allowed her to stay ahead and not get caught by O’Neill.
If you notice when they’re announcing the finalists, everyone is stretching and has their game face on. Misty is the only one smiling. She knew she was going to have a good swim. Flo Manaudou was the same in London 2012 when he won gold from out of nowhere after only making the French team by a hundredth of a second. Sandeno in 2004 when she dropped a huge chunk of time in the 400 IM to break Summer Sanders’ AR and get silver in Athens. Missy Franklin before her best races. Pernille Blume in 2016. Look for the smiles and you’ll usually find someone who is ready to swim FAST.
It looked like she might be going out too fast for a 200 fly. But she nailed the final turn and powered home to get the gold. No piano in sight.
Her coach was running around the deck, beside himself after watching her execute a perfect race.
One of the very top 200 fly swims ever.
Twenty years ago and still brought tears to my eyes
I remember watching that race live. Incredible. I loved how Sandeno celebrated with Hyman – holding up her arm like she just won a prize fight. Great memory
The greatest upset by a female swimmer at the Summer Olympics.
To silence a rabid Australian crowd is pure gold.
Ruta would like a word.
Not even close.
As the defending gold medalist in the women’s 100 meter breaststroke, Leisel Jones was not as dominant heading into the 2012 Summer Olympics as Susie O’Neill was heading into the 2000 Summer Olympics.
It’s certainly up there, but I think Katie Ledecky and Ruta Meilutytė in 2012 have pretty strong cases too. Of course the biggest upset in women’s swimming came in 1976 but that was a relay.