2024 Paris Olympics: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• Pool Swimming: July 27 – August 4, 2024
  • Open Water Swimming: August 8 – 9, 2024
• La Défense Arena — Paris, France
• LCM (50 meters)
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• Prelims Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
• Finals Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

DAY 4 PRELIMS HEAT SHEET

Buckle up everyone, after a very light day 3 schedule, day 4 prelims is going to be much, much longer. Now, that’s mostly due to the heats of the women’s 1500 free that will be taking place in the middle of the session this morning, but there are more events today overall.

DAY 4 PRELIMS SCHEDULE

• Men’s 200 Butterfly – Prelims
• Men’s 100 Freestyle – Prelims
• Women’s 1500 Freestyle – Prelims
• Women’s 100 Freestyle – Prelims
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke – Prelims
• Men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay – Prelims

Though it will be a longer session this morning, there are a ton of races to be excited about. While most of the action will be going on in semis and finals, the ball still has to get rolling this morning. Out the gates we’ll have the men’s 200 fly, where Hungarian Kristof Milak is looking to defend his Olympic title. Milak, the World Record holder in the event, is the #2 seed, behind France’s Leon Marchand, who is still on the start lists. Milak at his peak is far and away the fastest 200 flyer in history, holding the World Record at 1:50.34 from 2022. He hasn’t been quite as fast of late, however, meanwhile Marchand just keeps getting faster. It should make for an incredible race when the final rolls around.

After the 200 fly, we’ll have the men’s 100 free, where China’s Pan Zhanle and Romania’s David Popovici will have to battle it out amidst a very tough field. Popovici is fresh off his first Olympic gold in the 200 free last night. Both swimmers have been 46.8 in their careers, so this should make for a great race as the phases progress. American Jack Alexy went 47.08 at the US Trials last month, so he’s one to keep an eye on as well.

The women’s 1500 free prelims will of course see Katie Ledecky looking to secure her lane for the final tomorrow night. She’s the top seed by 17 seconds, so there’s not that much to look at there.

The women’s 100 free should be a great race as we go through the phases. After giving the Australian duo of Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Tirmus a real battle in the 200 free final last night, Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey comes in as the top seed in the 100 free. MOC is seeded 2nd in this event, while fellow Aussie Shayna Jack is high up there as well. World Record holder Sarah Sjostrom is in the mix as well, and cannot be overlooked. Though Sjostrom is much closer to the end of her career than the beginning, she has proven that age is just a number when it comes to her racing. She is still the fastest 50 freestyler in the world and will be a threat in this race.

China’s Qin Haiyang is looking to continue his stretch of great racing in the men’s 200 breast. The 25-year-old was the story of the summer last year, breaking the World Record in the event with a 2:05.48. Qin will be up against reigning Olympic champion and Olympic Record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook (Australia), so he’ll have his work cut out for him.

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – HEATS

• World Record: 1:50.34 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2022)
• World Junior Record: 1:53.79 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017)
• Olympic Record: 1:51.25 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 1:51.25 – Kristof Milak, HUN
• 2021 Time to Advance to Semis: 1:55.96

1. Kristof Milak (HUN) – 1:53.92
2. Ilya Kharun (CAN) – 1:54.06
3. Noe Ponti (SUI) – 1:54.77
4. Alberto Razzetti (ITA) – 1:54.78
5. Martin Espernberger (AUT) – 1:5.19
6. Leon Marchand (FRA) – 1:55.26
7. Michal Chmielewski (POL) – 1:55.28
8. Wang Kuan-Hung (TPE) – 1:55.32
9. Krzysztof Cmielewski (POL) – 1:55.42
10. Kregor Zirk (Estonia) – 1:55.42
11. Thomas Heilman (USA) – 1:55.74
12. Giacomo Carini (ITA) – 1:55.81
13. Genki Terakado (JPN) – 1:55.82
14. Arbidel Gonzalez (ESP) – 1:55.86
15. Kim Minseop (KOR) -1:56.02
16. Richard Marton (HUN) – 1:56.03

This morning kicked off with the men’s 200 fly, where Bulgarian Petar Mitsin took the 1st of 4 heats in 1:57.03. That was a good swim for Mitsin, coming in less than a second off his personal best.

The 2nd heat this morning saw Canadian Ilya Kharun put up a very strong performance, winning in 1:54.06. He was out pretty fast, splitting 25.19 on the opening 50m, then went 29.03, 29.92, and 29.92 respectively the rest of the way. Though Kharun didn’t go the fastest time overall this morning, he was notably the only swimmer in the field to keep all 4 of his 50s under 30 seconds.

American Luca Urlando was swimming in the 2nd heat as well. He put up a solid morning swim of 1:56.18. Unfortunately for Urlando, his bid fell just short, as he finished 17th overall this morning, one spot away from advancing. Urlando had pulled into the lead over Kharun in the middle of the race, splitting 28.34 and 29.84 respectively on the 2nd and 3rd 50s, however, he paid for that speed, coming home in 32.41 on the final 50, which saw him fade from 1st all the way to 5th in the heat.

The 3rd heat featured World Record holder Kristof Milak, who led from start to finish. Milak clocked a very encouraging 1:53.92 to win the heat. That time would stand as the fastest of the morning when all was said and done. He was pretty aggressive early in the race this morning, splitting 24.61 and 28.84 on the first pair of 50s for a 53.45 on the opening 100m. He kept it under 30 seconds on the 3rd 50, splitting 29.82, then came home in 30.65. His swim this morning was right on the 1:53.58 he swam in prelims in Tokyo 3 years ago.

Swiss swimmer Noe Ponti was excellent in the 3rd heat as well, swimming a 1:54.77 for 2nd. He established himself as 2nd in the heat early, splitting a 54.00 on the opening 100m, which was 0.55 seconds behind Milak. He would split 30.60 on the 3rd 50, then actually ended up coming home the fastest of anyone in the heat, splitting 30.17 on the final 50.

The final heat was probably the best race of the 4, with Italian Alberto Razzetti swimming a 1:54.78. Leon Marchand was also in the heat, sitting in 2nd for most of the race. Marchand, swimming the first of two races this morning as he’s also in the men’s 200 breast later, clocked a 1:55.26 for 2nd. He finished 6th overall with the time, meanwhile, Razzetti was 4th.

American Thomas Heilman, 17, made it through to semifinals, swimming a 1:55.74, which was good for 11th.

MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• World Record: 46.80 – Pan Zhanle, CHN (2024)
• World Junior Record: 46.86 – David Popovici, ROU (2022)
• Olympic Record: 47.02 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 47.02 – Caeleb Dressel, USA
• 2021 Time to Advance to Semis: 48.44

1. Jack Alexy (USA) – 47.57
2. Maxime Grousset (FRA) – 47.70
3. David Popovici (ROU) – 47.92
4. Nandor Nemeth (Hungary) – 47.93
5. Jordan Crooks (CAY) – 48.01
6. Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – 48.07
7. Alessandro Miressi (ITA) – 48.24
8. Chris Giuliano (USA)/Josha Salchow (GER) – 48.25 (TIE)
9. –
10. Andrej Barna (SRB)/Josh Liendo (CAN) – 48.34 (TIE)
11. –
12. Guilherme Santos (BRA) – 48.35
13. Velimir Stjepanovic (SRB)/Matt Richards (GBR)/Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 48.40 (TIE)
14. –
15. –
16. Hwang Sunwoo (KOR) – 48.41

In the first of the circle seeded heats, American Jack Alexy pulled into the lead with about 10m to go in the race. He would get his hand on the wall 1st in the heat with a 47.57. Alexy swam an excellent race, going out in 22.69 and coming home in 24.88. His time would prove to be the fastest of the morning, earning him the lane 4 position in the 2nd semifinals heat tonight.

That 1st circle seeded heat also saw France’s Maxime Grousset and Jordon Crooks (Cayman Islands) put up strong performances. Grousset clocked a 47.70, which would stand as the 2nd fastest time of the morning when all was said and done. He was out slightly faster than Alexy, swimming a 22.62 on the opening 50m. Crooks, meanwhile, came in 3rd in the heat with a 48.01. That time was 5th overall this morning.

In the 2nd circle seeded heat, 200 free champion David Popovici closed very fast to get his hand on the wall 1st. The Romanian19-year-old clocked a 47.92, touching out Hungarian Nandor Nemeth by just 0.01 seconds. Povici and Nemeth were 3rd and 4th overall respectively. As we would expect, Popovici had the fastest 2nd 50 split in the field this morning, clocking a blistering 24.62 coming home.

American Chris Giuliano was in the 2nd circle seeded heat as well, finished 3rd with a 48.24. That time was plenty fast enough for Giuliano to advance to semifinals, as Giuliano finished 8th overall. It was an important swim for Giuliano, as he failed to advance to semifinals in the 200 free two days ago.

Australian veteran Kyle Chalmers swam a 48.07 to win the final heat of the morning. Chalmers time would only be 6th overall this morning, He was another swimmer who was great on the back half, swimming a 24.81 to close it out this morning.

Of note, World Record holder Pan Zhanle had a close call this morning, landing in a 3-way tie for 13th with a time of 48.40. That wasn’t a great swim for the star, who posted the World Record of 46.80 in February of this year.

Great Britain’s duo of Matt Richards and Jacob Whittle were a bit off as well. Richards was also in tha tie for 13th, while Whittle came in 18th this morning with a 48.47.

WOMEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• World Record: 15:20.48 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2018)
• World Junior Record: 15:28.36 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2014)
• Olympic Record: 15:35.35 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 15:37.34
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 15:58.96

1. Katie Ledecky (USA) – 15:47.43
2. Simona Quadarella (ITA) – 15:51.19
3. Anastasiia Kirpichnikova (FRA) – 15:52.46
4. Isabel Gose (GER) – 15:53.27
5. Moesha Johnson (AUS) – 16:04.02
6. Li Bingjie (CHN) – 16:05.26
7. Beatriz Dizotti (BRA) – 16:05.40
8. Leonie Martens (GER) – 16:08.69

In a surprise turn of events, Australia’s Lani Pallister scratched out of the women’s 1500 free preliminaries. Pallister tested positive for COVID, which is a developing story. She was the 5th seed in the event.

In a not at all surprising turn of events, Katie Ledecky clocked the top time of the morning in the women’s 1500 free. It was actually a pretty slow 1500 for Ledecky, however, she won her heat by over 17 seconds and clocked the top time this morning by about 4 seconds. She was out pretty well, then settled into 31-high 50 splits.

Simona Quadarella out of Italy was the 2nd-fastest this morning. She put up a strong prelims swim of 15:51.19, winning the 2nd heat. Quadarella won the 1500 at the World Championships in Doha in February of this year.

France’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova was right behind Quadarella in the 2nd heat this morning, swimming a 15:52.46. She and Quadarella were swimming stroke-for-stroke for large sections of the race.

Of note, American Katie Grimes didn’t qualify for the final, as she finished 10th with a time of 16:12.11. Grimes won the silver medal in the women’s 400 IM last night.

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• World Record: 51.71 – Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2017)
• World Junior Record: 52.70 – Penny Oleksiak, CAN (2016)
• Olympic Record: 51.96 – Emma McKeon, AUS (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 51.96 – Emma McKeon, AUS
• 2021 Time to Advance to Semis: 53.71

1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 52.99
2. Siobhan Haughey (HKG) – 53.02
3. Yang Junxuan (CHN) – 53.05
4. Marrit Steenbergen (NED) – 53.22
5. Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) – 53.27
6. Shayna Jack (AUS) – 53.40
7. Torri Huske (USA) – 53.53
8. Gretchen Walsh (USA) – 53.54
9. Beryle Gastaldello (FRA) – 53.65
10. Anna Hopkin (GBR)/Kayla Sanchez (PHI) – 53.67
11. –
12. Marie Wattel (FRA) – 53.70
13. Wu Qingfeng (CHN) – 54.03
14. Michelle Coleman (SWE) – 54.10
15. Neza Klancar (SLO) – 54.12
16. Maggie MacNeil (CAN) – 54.16

World Record holder Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden) led the way in prelims of the women’s 100 free this morning in Paris. The WR holder in the women’s 50 free and 100 free, Sjostrom was out fast this morning, splitting a 25.44 on the opening 50m. She then came home in 27.55, securing the win in heat 2 and putting up the top time of prelims.

Behind Sjostrom, Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey won heat 4 this morning in a time of 53.02. The 200 free bronze medalist from last night clocked a 53.02. She was out in 25.38, a touch faster than Sjostrom.

Speaking of going out fast, it was American Gretchen Walsh who clocked the fastest first 50 split in the field this morning. She was out in 25.21. Her 28.33 on the back half of the race wasn’t as good as it will need to be tonight, but it was plenty good enough for this morning, and Walsh ended up 8th overall with a 53.54.

Fellow American Torri Huske, the champion of the women’s 100 fly, finished just ahead of Walsh with a 53.53 for 7th overall.

200 free champion Mollie O’Callaghan clocked a 53.27 for 5th this morning. O’Callaghan posted the fastest 2nd 50 in the field this morning, swimming a 27.12 on the back half.

Canadian Maggie MacNeil clocked a 54.16 for 16th this morning, advancing to the semifinals tonight. it was a big swim for MacNeil, who we typically only see racing fly events at the international LCM level.

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – HEATS

• World Record: 2:05.48 – Qin Haiyang, CHN (2023)
• World Junior Record: 2:07.94 – Dong Zhihao, CHN (2024)
• Olympic Record: 2:06.38 – Zac Stubblety-Cook, AUS (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 2:06.38 – Zac Stubblety-Cook, AUS
• 2021 Time to Advance to Semis: 2:09.95

1. Cho Sung Jae (KOR) – 2:09.45
2. Zac Stubblety-Cook (AUS) – 2:09.49
3. Leon Marchand (FRA) – 2:09.55
4. Caspar Corbeau (NED) – 2:09.78
5. Ippei Watanabe (JPN) – 2:09.86
6. Dong Zhihao (CHN) – 2:09.91
7. Yu Hanaguruma (JPN)/Erik Persson (SWE) – 2:10.35 (TIE)
8. –
9. Anton McKee (Iceland) – 2:10.36
10. Josh Matheny (USA) – 2:10.39
11. Matt Fallon (USA) – 2:10.49
12. Arno Kamminga (NED) – 2:10.53
13. Lyubomir Epitropov (BUL) – 2:10.59
14. Joshua Yong (AUS) – 2:10.68
15. Qin Haiyang (CHN) – 2:10.98
16. Denis Petrashov (KGZ) – 2:10.99

In a prelims that was quite a bit slower than the Tokyo’s 3 years ago, only 6 men were under 2:10 in the 200 breast this morning. Perhaps most notably, China’s Qin Haiyang, the World Record holder in this event from last summer, nearly didn’t make it back, finishing 15th overall with a 2:10.98. Qin’s WR stands at 2:05.48, so we’ll see where he’s at tonight in the semifinals.

Australian Zac-Stubblety-Cook, the former World Record holder and reigning Olympic Champion in this event, put together an incredible race this morning. ZSC is known for his back half on the 200 breast, but, boy, it was on full display this morning. He looked out of the race in his heat this morning, going 1:03.62 on the opening 100m. He was in control of his race, however, and threw down a blistering 32.26 on the final 50 to actually pull ahead and win his heat. His time of 2:09.49 was 2nd overall.

South Korea’s Cho Sung Jae clocked the top time of the morning with a 2:09.45. He set a good tone early, splitting 1:02.36 on the first 100, then came home in 1:07.09.

Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau had a great race this morning as well, clocking a 2:09.78 for 4th overall.

Leon Marchand managed to grab the 3rd seed for tonight’s final, swimming his 2nd race of the morning. Having opened up the session with a 200 fly this morning, Marchand looked long and smooth on his breaststroke this morning, clocking a 2:09.55.

The American duo of Josh Matheny and Matt Fallon came in 10th and 11th respectively.

MEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – HEATS

• World Record: 6:58.55 – USA (2009)
• Olympic Record: 6:58.56 – USA (2009)
• 2021 Winning Time: 6:58.58 – Great Britain
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 7:07.73

1. Great Britain – 7:05.11
2. United States – 7:05.57
3. France – 7:05.61
4. Australia – 7:05.63
5. Germany – 7:06.20
6. China – 7:07.72
7. South Korea – 7:07.96
8. Japan/Israel – 7:08.43 (TIE)

First things first. There was a tie for 8th in the men’s 4×200 free relay this morning. Both Japan and Israel, swimming in heat 1, touched in 7:08.43. Now, before you get too excited about a relay swim-off (like I did), there is no swim-off and both teams will be advancing to the final tonight. Per the rules published by the IOC, “For individual events of 200m or less, ties for the last qualification or reserve position (from heats and semi-finals) may be broken by swim-offs. In longer distance events and relays, if athletes or teams are tied for the last qualification place, all tied athletes or teams will take part in the final (maximum of 10 lanes). If more than three athletes or teams are tied for the last qualification place, a swim-off may be held. There are no other tie-breaking rules for ranking.”

The Americans took the first heat of the men’s 4×200 free relay this morning. Drew Kibler led the US crew off in 1:46.43, then Brooks Curry dove in and gave the Americans a very strong morning swim of 1:45.96. Veteran Blake Pieroni was steady as always, giving the US a 1:46.44, and Chris Giuliano bounced back from his disappointing prelims 200 free earlier in the meet and gave his team the heat win with a 1:46.74 on the anchor. Giuliano notably raced in the 100 free prelims earlier this morning.

The French team, which, of course, didn’t feature Leon Marchand, looked very good this morning. Hadrien Salvan (1:47.80), Amazigh Yebba (1:46.04), Yann le Goff (1:46.55), and Roman Fuchs (1:45.22) teamed up for a 7:05.61. It’s unclear whether Marchand would find his way onto this relay tonight, as he has semifinals of both the 200 fly and 200 breast, however, we know he’s world class freestyler in the same way he’s a world class everything. Regardless, this French relay will be an interesting one to keep an eye on tonight, as they’ll surely be boosted in morale by the rowdy crowd in Paris.

Great Britain looked great in the 2nd heat of the race this morning. That was in large part thanks to a huge front half from James Guy, who led off in 1:45.04, and Jack McMillan, who clocked a 1:45.68 on the 2nd leg. From there, Kieran Bird swam a 1:47.68 on the 3rd leg, and Tom Dean anchored in 1:46.71. That put the British team into the finish in 7:05.11, just ahead of the Americans’ mark from the previous heat. Great Britain looks great heading into the final tonight, as we know they’ll be swapping in some phenomenal 200 freestylers as they look to repeat as Olympic champions in the event.

Australia had the opposite relay as the Brits. They came on very strong at the end, seeing Flynn Southam clock a 1:45.62 0n the 3rd leg, and Thomas Neill anchor in 1:45.36. Kai Taylor led the Aussies off in 1:47.60, while Zac Incerti clocked a 1:47.05 on the 2nd leg. They finished in 7:05.63, good for 4th overall.

We will end the morning and let you ponder this thought.

Does Marchand eschew his Dirty Double of the 200 Breast and 200 Fly Semis and make it a Tortuous Triple with the 4×200 Free Relay?

— SwimSwam Live (@SwimSwamLive) July 30, 2024