2024 Paris Olympics: Day 7 Finals 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
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• Prelims Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7
• Finals Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6

DAY 7 FINALS HEAT SHEET

Welcome to day 7 finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Tonight’s finals session will feature finals of the men’s 50 free, women’s 200 back, and men’s 200 IM, as well as semifinals of the men’s 100 fly and women’s 200 IM. Of note, prelims of the mixed 4×100 medley relay took place this morning, however, the finals of that relay won’t take place until tomorrow’s (Saturday) finals session. With that being said, today’s finals session is a short one, scheduled to last just over an hour.

DAY 7 FINALS SCHEDULE

• Men’s 50 Freestyle – Final
• Women’s 200 Backstroke – Final
• Men’s 200 IM – Final
• Men’s 100 Butterfly – Semifinals
• Women’s 200 IM – Semifinals

The session will kick off with the final of the men’s 50 freestyle, where American Caeleb Dressel will be facing the first race of his double tonight. Dressel was 5th in the semifinals of the 50 free last night, swimming a 21.58. He’s the reigning Olympic champion in the event, having set the Olympic Record back in Tokyo with his winning time of 21.07. Dressel has his hands very full in this field, however, as Great Britain’s Ben Proud and Australia’s Cam McEvoy both went 21.38 in the semifinals last night. Additionally, the last seed in this heat was still 21.69 in the semis last night, just 0.31 seconds slower than the top seeds. This ought to be a phenomenal race.

Dressel will then have the men’s 100 fly semifinals later in the session. He’ll have a big of downtime between the events, but not much. The turnaround is scheduled to be about 35 minutes. This morning, Dressel clocked a 50.83 in the 100 fly, then later swam a 50.10 on the mixed medley relay. His goal for tonight will be to simply secure a lane, any lane, for tomorrow night’s final.

Hungarian Kristof Milak looked excellent in prelims of the 100 fly this morning, speeding to a 50.19. Milak earned the silver medal in the 200 fly earlier in the meet. This is a loaded field, and, if the times from this morning hold, it will likely take under 51 seconds to advance to the final.

The women’s 200 backstroke will feature one of the showdowns we’ve been looking forward to most. This race marks round 2 as Australian Kaylee McKeown will go up against American Regan Smith. McKeown, the World Record holder in the 200 back, won gold in the 100 back a few nights ago, while Smith took silver. They won’t be next to each other tonight, as Smith is out in lane 7, since she was racing in last night’s semifinals after taking silver in the final of the 200 fly. American Phoebe Bacon will be in the middle of the pool tonight and is very capable of making a lot of noise as well.

The men’s 200 IM will feature France’s Leon Marchand as he tries to win his 4th individual gold medal of the meet. Having already won the 400 IM, 200 fly, and 200 breast, Marchand comes in as the top seed in the 200 IM tonight after clocking a 1:56.31 in semifinals. This race will mark Marchand’s last individual race of the meet, so we’re surely in for a show as the crowd gets behind him.

American Carson Foster and Great Britain’s Duncan Scott both looked great in the semifinals last night as well, and could push Marchand tonight.

The women’s 200 IM semifinals tonight have an interesting dynamic going on. It just so happens that Summer McIntosh, Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, and Kaylee McKeown, who are the 4 strongest gold medal contenders, are all right next to each other in the 2nd heat of semis. It should act as a little preview of the final tomorrow night, though with less on the line. The only wrinkle in this race is that McKeown will be coming off the 200 back final, so she won’t be as fresh as the others. Still, she’s scheduled to have about an hour between races, so it’s not the worst double we’ve seen.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• 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 Win Bronze: 21.57

1. Cam McEvoy (Australia) – 21.25
2. Ben Proud (Great Britain) – 21.30
3. Florent Manaudou (France) – 21.56
4. Josh Liendo (Canada) – 21.58
5. Kristian Gkolomeev (Greece) – 21.59
6. Caeleb Dressel (United States) – 21.61
7. Leonardo Deplano (Italy) – 21.62
8. Jordan Crooks (Cayman Islands) – 21.64

First things first: this was a very fast final of the men’s 50 free here in Paris tonight. Cayman Islands’ Jordan Crooks came in 8th with a 21.64, which would have been good for 5th back in Tokyo 3 years ago.

In a bunched up field, Australia’s Cam McEvoy finished the mission, winning gold with a time of 21.25. With the performance, McEvoy became Australia’s first ever gold medalist in the 50 free. He managed to get his hand on the wall just before Great Britain’s Ben Proud, who earned silver with a 21.30.

Swimming in front of a raucous home crowd, France’s Florent Manaudou got on the podium as well, touching in 21.56 for bronze. Manaudou was just the latest performance for the French crowd to get behind.

Canada’s Josh Liendo found himself just off the podium, taking 4th in 21.58. Liendo and American Caeleb Dressel are both swimming the 100 fly semifinals later in the session. Dressel took 6th in the 50 with a 21.61.

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2023)
• World Junior Record: 2:03.35 – Regan Smith, USA (2019)
• Olympic Record: 2:04.06 – Missy Franklin, USA (2012)
• 2021 Winning Time: 2:04.68 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS
• 2021 Time to Win Bronze: 2:06.17

1. Kaylee McKeown (Australia) – 2:03.73 (Olympic Record)
2. Regan Smith (United States) – 2:04.26
3. Kylie Masse (Canada) – 2:05.57
4. Phoebe Bacon (United States) – 2:05.61
5. Katie Shanahan (Great Britain) – 2:07.53
6. Peng Xuwei (China) – 2:07.96
7. Honey Osrin (Great Britain) – 2:08.16
8. Anastasiya Shkurdai (Individual Neutral Athletes) – 2:10.23

Kaylee McKeown made history tonight, sweeping the women’s backstroke events in back-to-back Olympics. She did it in record fashion, taking down Missy Franklin’s longstanding Olympic Record of 2:04.06. McKeown put together a fantastic race, coming home fast to pass Regan Smith and get her hands on the wall first. Her performance of 2:03.73 stands as the 6th-fastest 200 back of all-time.

McKeown swam the race expertly, splitting 29.17 and 31.35 on the first pair of 50s for a 1:00.52 on the opening 100. She then clocked a 31.36 on the 3rd 50 and came home in 31.85, for a 1:03.21 on the back half of the race. McKeown now has to get ready for the women’s 200 IM semifinal, which is the last event of this session.

American Regan Smith found herself earning the silver medal once again, swimming a 2:04.26 for 2nd tonight. She was leading through the 150m turn, but just wasn’t quite able to hold on. Smith was out in 59.90 on the opening 100, then clocked a 31.80 on the 3rd 50. It caught up to her, however, and she came home in 32.56, which was just enough off her pace for McKeown to pass her up.

Canadian Kylie Masse had a fantastic swim, earning the bronze medal in 2:05.57. Masse was sitting in 2nd between Smith and McKeown at the 100m turn, flipping in 1:00.37. She then came home a little slower than both of them, falling into 3rd but still landing on the medal stand. Masse earned the silver medal in this event back in Tokyo.

American Phoebe Bacon found herself just off the podium, finishing 4th in 2:05.61. Bacon improved on her 5th place finish from Tokyo 3 years ago, however, she still was just off the medal stand. She had moved into 3rd place on the 3rd 50 of the race tonight, however, she faded pretty hard on the final 50, and fell out of that position.

MEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINAL

• World Record: 1:54.00 – Ryan Lochte, USA (2011)
• World Junior Record: 1:56.99 – Hubert Kos, HUN (2021)
• Olympic Record: 1:54.23 – Michael Phelps, USA (2008)
• 2021 Winning Time: 1:55.00 – Wang Shun, CHN
• 2021 Time to Win Bronze: 1:56.17

1. Leon Marchand (France) – 1:54.06 (Olympic Record)
2. Duncan Scott (Great Britain) – 1:55.31
3. Wang Shun (China) – 1:56.00
4. Carson Foster (United States) – 1:56.10
5. Tom Dean (United States) – 1:56.46
6. Alberto Razzetti (Italy) – 1:56.82
7. Daiya Seto (Japan) – 1:57.21
8. Finlay Knox (Canada) – 1:57.26

22-year-old Leon Marchand can’t be stopped. The general consensus was that there was a pretty good chance he wouldn’t be in the lead at the halfway point of the race, but that his back half is so good, it wouldn’t matter. Well, it turned out none of it mattered. Marchand was 24.72 on fly and 28.83 on back, which put him into the 100m turn 1st with a stunning split of 53.55. It was over at that point. He then tacked on a shocking 32.36 on the breast leg of the race, then sped home in 28.15, putting up a 1:00.51 on the 2nd 100.

Marchand hit the 150m turn 0.60 seconds under Ryan Lochte’s legendary World Record pace, but didn’t come home quite as fast as Lochte did, and ended up touching just 0.06 seconds off the record. Still, Marchand’s performance of 1:54.06 marks a new Olympic Record, as well as a new European Record. He also is now the #2 performer all-time in the event behind Lochte, and his swam was the 2nd-fastest performance of all-time.

That swim represented Marchand’s last individual race of the meet. He went 4-for-4 on gold medals here in Paris in front of the home crowd.

Great Britain’s Duncan Scott had a terrific performance himself, not to be overshadowed by Marchand’s swim. He clocked a 1:55.31, which comes in just 0.03 seconds off his own British Record of 1:55.28. Scott swam that record back in the final of this event in Tokyo, where he earned the silver medal there as well. As usual, Scott was nothing short of incredible on the final 50 of the race, speeding to a phenomenal 27.67 on the freestyle lap.

China’s Wang Shun, the defending Olympic champion in the event, took 3rd tonight in 1:56.00. The performance was exactly 1 second slower than he swam to win gold back in Tokyo. Wang was out fast, splitting 24.65 on the fly 50, which was the fastest fly split in the field. He put up an excellent 29.10 on back as well, hitting the 100m turn in 2nd, however, a 34.03 on breaststroker did him in, and he faded to 3rd.

American Carson Foster finished just off the podium with a 1:56.10. Foster was 7th at the first turn, splitting 25.01 on the fly lap. He struggled on breaststroke a bit as well, splitting 34.07.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – SEMIFINALS

• World Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
• World Junior Record: 50.62 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017)
• Olympic Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 51.30

1. Kristof Milak (Hungary) – 50.38
2. Maxime Grousset (France) – 50.41
3. Josh Liendo (Canada) – 50.42
4. Nyls Kortsanje (Netherlands) – 50.59
5. Noe Ponti (Switzerland) – 50.60
6. Ilya Kharun (Canada) – 50.68
7. Matthew Temple (Australia) – 50.95
8. Naoki Mizunuma (Japan) – 51.08

The men’s 100 fly semifinals saw Kristof Milak lead the field once again, this time clocking a 50.38. While that time was just a bit off the 50.19 he swam in the heats this morning, Milak still grabbed lane 4 for tonight’s final. Milak is on a mission for gold after taking silver in the 200 fly, his best event. He did appear to be checking out something with his fingers after his race tonight, which could be something to keep an eye on, though he didn’t appear to be in significant discomfort or pain.

After swimming the 50 free at the beginning of the session, Canada’s Josh Liendo got it done in the 100 fly, taking 3rd overall with a 50.42. Managing that swim with a tight turnaround after the 50 bodes well for Liendo in the final tomorrow night when he’s fresher.

Canada was the only country to see both their swimmers make it through to the final, Ilya Kharun came in 6th tonight with a 50.68, so he will be joining Liendo tomorrow night.

Perhaps the biggest news from the race is that defending Olympic Champion Caeleb Dressel did not make it through to the final. Dressel, who is also the World Record holder in the event, was clearly not fully recovered from the his 3 other races he’s done today, and clocked a 51.57 for 13th overall. Dressel was 50.83 in the heats of the 100 fly this morning, which would have been good for 8th tonight. He also clocked a 50.10 on the mixed medley relay this morning.

Giving the French crowd yet another race to ecstatically cheer for, Maxime Grousset clocked a 50.41 for the 2nd-fastest time in the field tonight. He was out fast, splitting 23.15 on the opening 50m.

WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – SEMIFINALS

• World Record: 2:06.12 – Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2015)
• World Junior Record: 2:06.89 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
• Olympic Record: 2:06.58 – Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2016)
• 2021 Winning Time: 2:08.52 – Yui Ohashi, JPN
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 2:10.59

1. Alex Walsh (United States) – 2:07.45
2. Summer McIntosh (Canada) – 2:08.30
3. Kate Douglass (United States) -2:08.59
4. Abbie Wood (Great Britain) – 2:09.64
5. Sydney Pickrem (Canada) – 2:09.65
6. Yu Yiting (China) – 2:09.74
7. Kaylee McKeown (Australia) – 2:09.97
8. Ella Ramsey (Australia) – 2:10.16

The women’s 200 IM final tomorrow night is going to look very similar to the field that race in Tokyo, with one notable exception. Japan’s Yui Ohashi, the gold medalist in this event from 3 years ago, came in 12th tonight with a 2:10.94. Ohashi won the event in 2:08.52 back in Tokyo.

Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, fresh off winning gold in the 200 back earlier in the session, nearly didn’t make it back as well, but the bottom line is she got in. McKeown swam a 2:09.97, which was good for 7th. She’ll be in an outside lane tomorrow night for the final, but she’ll undoubtedly be more fresh for the race.

On the other end of the spectrum, American Alex Walsh, for whom this is her only individual race, looked fantastic tonight as she sped to the top time of 2:07.45. She swam an excellent race, splitting 27.19 on fly, 32.73 on back, 36.70 on breast, and 30.83 on free. Interestingly, none of her 50s were the fastest in the field, however, they were all fast enough with respect to the other swimmers that she posted the fastest overall time by nearly a second.

Summer McIntosh put up a solid swim tonight as well, swimming a 2:08.30 for 2nd overall. McIntosh was out fast, splitting 26.94 on fly and 32.10 on back for a 59.04 on the opening 100m. She wasn’t great on the breaststroke leg tonight, splitting 38.66, however, a 30.60 coming home made up for it a bit.

Kate Douglass came in 3rd tonight with a 2:08.59. She was strong on the back half this evening, splitting 37.06 on breast and 30.63 on free, for a 1:07.69 on the 2nd 100m.