2024 Paris Olympic: Maxime Grousset Out, Josh Liendo In For Men’s 50 Free Final

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

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Two Frenchmen placed in the top eight of the men’s 50 free in tonight’s semifinals, but only one of them will swim. While veteran Florent Manaudou will go for his fourth straight medal in this event in as many Olympic Games, Maxime Grousset has bowed out of the final.

That scratch brings in Canada’s Josh Liendo, who will make his first appearance in an individual Olympic final. His semis time was 21.69, just five-hundredths back of Manaudou.

Grousset’s scratch implies that he is going all-in on the 100 butterfly tomorrow, where he is the #2 seed (50.16). Liendo is also entered in the 100 fly as the top seed by just eight-hundredths (50.06). If Liendo makes semis, he will have to manage a double with the final of the 50 free. But he won’t be alone, as fellow Florida Gator and the defending champion in both events Caeleb Dressel is also set to take on the double.

Liendo’s best time in the 50 stands at 21.48 from Canadian Trials earlier this year. He’ll likely have to get closer to that time to challenge for a medal, based on the form of his other competitors.

Originally reported by Mark Wild.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – Semifinals

• World Record: 20.91 – Cesar Cielo, BRA (2009)
• World Junior Record: 21.75 – Michael Andrew, USA (2017)
• Olympic Record: 21.07 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 21.07 – Caeleb Dressel, USA
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 21.78

Top 8

1. Ben Proud (GBR)/ Cam McEvoy (AUS) – 21.38
3. Leonadro Deplano (ITA) – 21.50
4. Jordan Crooks (CAY) – 21.54
5. Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 21.58
6. Maxime Grousset (FRA) – 21.60
7. Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE) – 21.62
8. Florent Manaudou (FRA) – 21.64

We mentioned in the opening paragraphs of this Live Recap that Caeleb Dressel and Maxime Grousset could pose some massive threats in the 50 free as they were in the outside lanes. The pair were a little off this morning but blasted out of the starting gates and appeared to have double outside smoke alarms going off. The pair out of lanes 1 and 8 surged to the wall, but Cayman Islands swimmer Jordan Crooks reasserted his authority to take the semi-win in 21.54.

Dressel, the defending champion, placed 2nd just .04 back and .02 ahead of Grousset who touched in 21.60. In a race where a hundredth can make or break you, the trio were ahead of the next fastest finisher, Thomas Fannon, who was .20 back.

That margin between the top trio would be telling as those three would be the only three to advance from the first semifinal.

The second semifinal saw 2023 World Champion and 2022 World Champion Cam McEvoy and Ben Proud duke it out from lanes 4 and 3. Proud had the better start and the fastest reaction time of the semifinal (.58) surged out to a lead but McEvoy, who like Proud is only entered in this event, surged back to dead heat the Brit in 21.38.

The pair’s time was well ahead of Crook’s 21.54 and gained a good amount of separation in their own semifinal as they touched .12 ahead of Leonardo Deplano’s 21.50. In the conversation to medal and the third fastest swimmer out of the prelims this morning, Florent Manaudou struggled in the 50 and finished in 5th in the heat in 21.64. Fortunately, with the 1st semifinal slower than the second, the three-time medalist qualified for the final the next day in 8th.