This morning we saw some of the most highly anticipated events for the first time in Paris, with the men’s 100 fly, women’s 200 IM, women’s 800 free, and the 4×100 mixed medley relay. Swimmers like Kaylee McKeown, Kate Douglass, Summer McIntosh, and Hubert Kos will all be back tonight to further their chances at another individual gold medal in these games. Unique to this preliminary session, we saw an opportunity for all twelve medalists from these events at the Tokyo Games to return to continue their journey of becoming repeat medalists in the same event in 2021. Each person or nation that stood on the podium for these events (men’s 100 butterfly, women’s 200 IM, women’s 800 freestyle, and the 4×100 mixed medley relay) in Tokyo will be back to defend their titles. Day seven’s finals will start at 2:30 EST.
PRELIMS SWIMS
MEN’S 100 FLY
- Kristof Milak, Hungary: 50.19
- Josh Liendo, Canada: 50.55
- Noe Ponti, Switzerland/Maxime Grousset, France: 50.65
- ^tie for fourth
- Ilya Kharun, Canada: 50.71
- Caeleb Dressel, United States: 50.83
- Matt Temple, Australia: 50.89
- Nyls Korstanje, Netherlands: 51.17
- Jakub Majerski, Poland: 51.18
- Gal Cohen Groumi, Israel: 51.30
- Ben Armbruster, Australia: 51.33
- Katsuhiro Matsumoto, Japan: 51.43
- Simon Bucher, Austria: 51.33
- Hubert Kos, Hungary: 51.58
- Naoki Mizunuma, Japan/Clement Secchi, France: 51.62
- ^tie for 15th
- Time to Qualify: 51.62
- Time to Qualify (Tokyo): 51.74
- Time to Qualify (Rio): 52.08
Returning Olympic Medalists:
- Caeleb Dressel (Gold, 2021)
- Kristof Milak (Silver, 2021)
- Noe Ponti (Bronze, 2021)
Returning Tokyo Finalists:
- Caeleb Dressel (1), Kristof Milak (2), Noe Ponti (3), Jakub Majerski (5), Matt Temple (5)
Current International Record Holders:
- Caeleb Dressel (World, Olympic, and Americas Record, 49.45)
- Kristof Milak (European Record, 49.68)
- Matt Temple (Oceanian Record, 50.25)
This morning we saw seven of the top fastest performers in the history of this event (Dressel (1), Milak (2), Liendo (5), Grousset (6), Ponti (7), Temple (8), Korstanje (19)) earn a spot in the semifinals, with this year’s semifinal qualifying time being faster than any time we’ve seen in a past Olympics. Many big names in the sport are looking to add another international medal to their collection, including Dressel and Hubert Kos, who have all already won a gold medal in Paris. France’s Maxime Grousset scratched himself out of the 50 freestyle final tonight (which will occur around 35 minutes before the first semifinal of the 100 butterfly), presumably to focus on this event. Swimmers like Josh Liendo and Dressel will be completing the 50 free/100 fly double tonight.
WOMEN’S 200 IM
- Summer McIntosh, Canada: 2:09.90
- Yu Yiting, China: 2:10.28
- Alex Walsh, United States: 2:10.48
- Sydney Pickrem, Canada: 2:10.63
- Kate Douglass, United States: 2:10.70
- Ella Ramsay, Australia: 2:10.75
- Abbie Wood, Great Britain: 2:10.95
- Ye Shiwen, China: 2:10.96
- Kaylee McKeown, Australia: 2:11.26
- Charlotte Bonnet, France: 2:11.47
- Anastasia Gorbenko, Israel: 2:11.53
- Emma Carrasco, Spain: 2:11.54
- Shiho Matsumoto, Japan: 2:11.67
- Yui Ohashi, Japan: 2:11.70
- Ellen Walshe, Ireland: 2:11.81
- Rebecca Meder, South Africa: 2:11.96
- Time to Qualify: 2:11.96
- Time to Qualify (Tokyo): 2:12.21
- Time to Qualify (Rio): 2:13.01
Returning Olympic Medalists:
- Yui Ohashi (Gold, 2021)
- Alex Walsh (Silver, 2021)
- Kate Douglass (Bronze, 2021)
- Ye Shiwen (Gold, 2012)
Returning Tokyo Finalists:
- Yui Ohashi (1), Alex Walsh (2), Kate Douglass (3), Abbie Wood (4), Yu Yiting (5), Sydney Pickrem (6)
Current International Record Holders:
- Kaylee McKeown (Oceanian and Commonwealth Record, 2:06.63)
- Summer McIntosh (World Junior Record, 2:06.89)
- Ye Shiwen (Asian Record, 2:07.57)
Kaylee McKeown (100 backstroke), Summer McIntosh (200 butterfly/400 IM) and Kate Douglass (200 breaststroke), all already individual gold medalists in this year’s competition, will look to pick up another gold in the finals of the women’s 200 IM tomorrow night. These three swimmers, joined by Alex Walsh, were the top four swimmers coming into the prelims session this morning. They will all be competing in semifinal #2 tonight, swimming in lanes 2-5. McKeown will be completing the 200 back/200 IM double tonight, but she has a slightly more gracious turnaround time than the men do in the 50 free/100 fly, at around an hour instead of 30 minutes. This is a jam-packed event, and it’s one you surely don’t want to miss.
WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE
- Katie Ledecky, United States: 8:16.62
- Paige Madden, United States: 8:18.48
- Ariarne Titmus, Australia: 8:19.87
- Lani Pallister, Australia: 8:20.21
- Isabel Gose, Germany: 8:20.63
- Simona Quadarella, Italy: 8:20.89
- Erika Fairweather, New Zealand: 8:22.22
- Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, France: 8:22.99
- Time to Qualify: 8:22.99
- Time to Qualify (Tokyo): 8:20.58
- Time to Qualify (Rio): 8:25.55
Returning Olympic Medalists:
- Katie Ledecky (Gold, 2012/2016/2021)
- Ariarne Titmus (Silver, 2021)
- Simona Quadarella (Bronze, 2021)
Returning Tokyo Finalists:
- Katie Ledecky (1), Ariarne Titmus (2), Simona Quadarella (3), Anastasiia Kirpichnikova (8)
Current International Record Holders:
- Katie Ledecky (World, Olympic, and Americas Record, 8:04.79)
- Ariarne Titmus (Oceanian Record, 8:13.59)
Katie Ledecky looks well-positioned to continue adding gems to her distance crown, as she holds the top seed going into tomorrow night’s final. She’s already taken home a gold medal in the 1500 freestyle, with a new Olympic record to boot. We’ll see a rematch of the Titmus/Ledecky rivalry, after Titmus took home the gold medal in the 400 freestyle earlier in the meet. Titmus is seeded third behind Ledecky and Paige Madden. Both of the other medalists in the women’s 1500, Anastasiia Kirpichnikova from France and Germany’s Isabel Gose will have a chance to earn another medal, qualifying eight and fifth respectively.
MIXED 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY
- United States: 3:40.98 (FMMF)
- Australia: 3:41.42 (FMFM)
- China: 3:42.26 (MFFM)
- Netherlands: 3:43.60 (MMFF)
- Great Britain: 3:43.73 (FMMF)
- Canada: 3:43.87 (MMFF)
- France: 3:43.99 (MMFF)
- Japan: 3:44.25 (MMFF)
- Time to Qualify: 3:44.25
- Time to Qualify (Tokyo): 3:43.94
Returning Olympic Medalists:
- Great Britain (Gold, 2021)
- China (Silver, 2021)
- Australia (Bronze, 2021)
Returning Tokyo Finalists:
- Great Britain (1), China (2), Australia (3), United States (5), Netherlands (6)
Current International Record Holders:
- Great Britain (World, Olympic, European, and Commonwealth Record: 3:37.58)
- United States (Americas Record: 3:38.56)
- Australia (Oceanian Record: 3:38.91)
- China (Asian Record: 3:37.73)
One of the three events to get added to the Olympic program in Tokyo alongside the men’s 800 freestyle and the women’s 1500 freestyle, the mixed medley relay is back in action, and many countries are looking to take down defending gold medalists Great Britain. This event is one of the most unpredictable, due to the age-old question of “who is going to swim where?” Many countries, like the United States and Australia, are lucky to have an abundance of options for their final relay lineup, an intrinsic advantage that heavily favors the larger swimming countries. There are many nations in this final that can stand a chance to medal, and I’m extremely curious as to who will be on each team’s final relay. The United States and Great Britain employed a Female/Male/Male/Female strategy, China went with the opposite, going Male/Female/Female/Male. Australia chose to swim Female/Male/Female/Male, and the other four nations in the final chose to go Male/Male/Female/Female. The finals of this event will be swum tomorrow night, August 3.
FASTEST SPLITS
Men’s Backstroke:
- Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (FRA): 52.48
- Apostolos Christou (GRE): 52.83
- Xu Jiayu (CHN): 53.16
Women’s Backstroke:
- Regan Smith (USA): 57.87
- Iona Anderson (AUS): 58.81
- Anastasia Gorbenko (ISR): 59.91
Men’s Breaststroke:
- Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA): 59.02
- Caspar Corbeau (NED): 59.28
- Melvin Imoudou (GER): 59.33
Women’s Breaststroke:
- Tang Qianting (CHN): 1:05.44
- Dominika Szrandera (POL): 1:07.92
- Gabrielle Roncatto (BRA): 1:16.74
Men’s Butterfly:
- Caeleb Dressel (USA): 50.10
- Gal Cohen Groumi (ISR): 50.84
- Joe Litchfield (GBR): 51.37
Women’s Butterfly:
- Emma McKeon (AUS): 55.86
- Maggie MacNeil (CAN): 56.14
- Hirai Mizuki (JPN): 56.52
Men’s Freestyle:
- Kyle Chalmers (AUS): 47.07
- Pan Zhanle (CHN): 47.07
- Robin Hanson (SWE): 48.81
Women’s Freestyle:
- Marrit Steenbergen (NED): 52.26
- Anna Hopkin (GBR): 52.83
- Marie Wattel (FRA): 53.05
NATIONAL RECORDS
France, 4×100 mixed medley relay: 3:43.99
- The team of Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (52.48), Antoine Viquerat (59.91), Lilou Ressencourt (58.55), and Marie Wattel (53.05) broke the French MMR record in this morning’s prelims, supplemented heavily by Ndoye-Brouard’s 52.48 lead-off backstroke leg. The previous French record of 3:46.07 was set in 2023 at the Fukuoka World Championships.
Ching Hwee Gan, Singapore, 800 freestyle: 8:32.37
- The Indiana University distance specialist broke her own Singaporean national record this morning, swimming an 8:32.37. Her previous best time was an 8:34.01, which she set at Singapore’s national championships in June.
Jesse Ssengonzi, Uganda, 100 butterfly: 53.76
- Ssengonzi, a recently-graduated senior for the University of Chicago and NCAA DIII record holder in the men’s 100 fly, just broke his previous Ugandan national record of 54.06, a time he swam at the Westmont Pro Swim Series in 2023.
Note: for the following swimmers, there are seemingly little to no officially-recognized national records on World Aquatics’ website or elsewhere. These swimmers swam faster than their seed times, and there are no accessible records of any faster swims for their countries.
- Yusuf Marwan Abdullah Nasser, Yemen, 100 butterfly: 1:08.72
- Oscar Peyre Mitilla, Rwanda, 100 butterfly: 58.77
- Valerie Tarazi, Palestine, 200 IM: 2:20.56
- Jayla Pina, Cabo Verde, 200 IM: 2:24.51
Ye Shiwen was gold in 2012 and still has the Asian Record.
Updated, thanks for the catch!