2024 Paris Olympics: Paige Madden Clocks PB in 800 Free Heats to Become #5 American All-Time

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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Heat 2 of the women’s 800 freestyle this morning might end up looking like a preview of tomorrow night’s final, as Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus swam in adjacent lanes. The gold and silver medalists from Tokyo did what they needed to do to qualify, but they didn’t go 1-2 in the heat as Paige Madden finished in between them with a big personal best.

Madden clocked 8:18.48 to cut over two seconds from her previous best of 8:20.71, which she swam at Trials to qualify for this event. That performance also represented a big drop for Madden, as she had never been under 8:27 prior to that meet.

With that, Madden jumps from 10th to 5th all-time U.S. performer in the event.

Top 10 U.S. Performers – Women’s 800-Meter Freestyle (LCM)

1. Katie Ledecky – 8:04.79 (2016)
2. Janet Evans – 8:16.22 (1989)
3. Leah Smith – 8:16.33 (2019)
4. Katie Grimes – 8:17.05 (2021)
5. Paige Madden – 8:18.48 (2024)
6. Kate Ziegler – 8:18.52 (2007)
7. Brooke Bennett – 8:19.67 (2000)
8. Katie Hoff – 8:19.70 (2008)
9. Jillian Cox – 8:19.73 (2023)
10. Haley Anderson – 8:20.51 (2021)

Madden improved significantly in the closing 200 meters compared to Trials. While she slipped to two 32-point splits at the end of her swim in Indy, she stayed strong here, holding 31-points before closing in 30.54. It was only in the last 200 meters that she passed Titmus, who had been running second to Ledecky for the entire race prior. The American women have the #1 and #2 seed going into the final.

It looks to be an exciting race brewing for tomorrow night. Ledecky will take aim at her fourth-straight Olympic gold in this event. Titmus, Lani Pallister, and Simona Quadarella all rank within the top-10 all-time performers. And Madden will look to continue her momentum from this morning.

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• World Record: 8:04.79 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2016)
• World Junior Record: 8:11.00 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2014)
• Olympic Record: 8:04.79 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2016)
• 2021 Winning Time: 8:12.57 – Katie Ledecky, USA
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 8:20.58

1. Katie Ledecky (United States) – 8:16.62
2. Paige Madden (United States) – 8:18.48
3. Ariarne Titmus (Australia) – 8:19.87
4. Lani Pallister (Australia) – 8:20.21
5. Isabel Gose (Germany) – 8:20.63
6. Simona Quadarella (Spain) – 8:20.89
7. Erika Fairweather (New Zealand) – 8:22.22
8. Anastasiia Kirpichnikova (France) – 8:22.99

There were only 16 total swimmers in the women’s 800 free prelims this morning, so half the contestants advanced to the final tomorrow night. There were 4 swimmers from each heat that finished in the top 8. The 2nd heat was clearly the faster of the 2, and not just because Katie Ledecky was in that heat. To the surprise of no one, Ledecky clocked the top time of the morning, swimming an 8:16.62. By my count, the performance was Ledecky’s 53rd-fastest time of her career, which is impressive, because she earned the top seed without a problem.

Fellow American Paige Madden had an excellent swim this morning, taking 2nd in the 2nd heat and 2nd overall with an 8:18.48. The performance marks a huge career best for Madden, as her previous best was an 8:20.71, which she swam at the US Olympic Trials to qualify to race it here in Paris. With the performance, Madden becomes the 5th-fastest American all-time in the event.

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus also had a nice race in the 2nd heat, swimming an 8:19.87 for 3rd in the heat and 3rd overall. Titmus is the 4th-fastest performer all-time in the event with her career best of 8:13.59 from last summer.

Fellow Aussie Lani Pallister made it through without a problem as well, winning the 1st heat in 8:20.21, which was good for 4th overall. That means the middle of the pool in the final tomorrow night will feature two Americans and two Aussies.

France’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova came in 8th this morning with an 8:22.99. Kirpichnikova had a fantastic race for silver in the 1500 a few days ago, so we’ll see what she’s able to do from the outside lane in the final tomorrow.

Of note, China’s Li Bingjie failed to qualify for the final. Li clocked an 8:27.92, which was good for 9th, but was 5 seconds off what it took to make it into the top 8. Li is the 3rd-fastest performer all-time in the event, behind only Ledecky and Canadian Summer McIntosh.