Who Will Not Defend The Tokyo 2020 Medals At 2024 Paris Olympics

At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games there will be no fewer than eight events in which the reigning Olympic champions will not be present to defend their medals. Between goggles hanging up, cutthroat competition between compatriots, political issues and simple lack of physical condition, let’s see who among the stars par excellence of the Tokyo 2020(1) Olympics will not take part in this summer’s Games in Paris.

100M FREESTYLE

Perhaps the most glaring absences of these Games will be those in 100m free: Caeleb Dressel and Emma McKeon will not defend their Tokyo 2020(1) gold medals.

Both athletes were victims of the ruthless American and Australian Olympic Trials.

Dressel managed to qualify in the other two events in which he is Olympic champion, the men’s 100m fly and men’s 50m free. He placed third in the 100 fly, thus securing a place in the U.S. men’s 400m freestyle relay, but failing to qualify individually.

Dressel’s time of 47.53, despite being slower than the two American swimmers Jack Alexy (47.08) and Chris Guiliano (47.25), still ranks 7th in the world this season. So if Caeleb Dressel had been born in France, Australia, China, Italy, or any country other than U.S., we might see the defending champion on the blocks. But this year, USA sprinting is really deep, and even Caeleb Dressel was not fast enough to win.

2023-2024 LCM Men 100 Free

ZhanleCHN
PAN

02/11
WR 46.80

2	David POPOVICI	ROU	46.88	06/19
3	Jack ALEXY	USA	47.08	06/18
4	Chris GUILIANO	USA	47.25	06/18
5	Maxime GROUSSET	FRA	47.33	06/18
6	Nandor NEMETH	HUN	47.49	06/19
7	Caeleb DRESSEL	USA	47.53	06/18
8	Josh LIENDO	CAN	47.55	05/16
9	Hunter ARMSTRONG	USA	47.59	02/17
10	Alessandro MIRESSI	ITA	47.61	11/30

View Top 31»

As the king will be missed, so too will the queen Emma McKeon.

The Australian champion missed qualifying in the 100m free, finishing sixth with a time of 53.33. McKeon will be in Paris, as well as a reserve/heats relay swimmer in Australia’s deadly women’s 400m relay, with the aim of defending, like Dressel, her medal in the 100 butterfly.

Unlike the American, however, the Wollongong swimmer also narrowly missed qualifying in the 50m freestyle, clocking a 24.32 which, although below the OQT, was not enough to reach the top two positions occupied by Shayna Jack (23.99) and Meg Harris (24.26).

MEN’S 200M FREESTYLE

There will be other important absences in the freestyle races: Olympic champions Tom Dean (200 Free) and Ahmed Hafnaoui (400 Free) will not be present in the Parisian pool.

Britain’s Tom Dean, who won the gold medal in the 200 freestyle at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, was another victim of the Olympic trials. Admittedly, competition in the men’s 200 stroke in Britain is extremely high, as it is in the fast freestyle distances in America and Australia. However, it was expected that the British record holder for the distance would be able to qualify to defend the title. Matthew Richards and Tokyo 2021 silver medalist Duncan Scott, however, touched the wall before the Olympic champion to qualify for the individual spots.

MEN’S 400m FREESTYLE

A different story is that of Ahmed Hafnaoui, the outsider, the dark horse, and the gold medalist in the men’s 400m free at the 2020 Olympics.

The Tunisian swimmer won the event in Tokyo when he was only 18 years old, ahead of athletes such as Australians Jack Mcloughlin and Elijah Winnington and American Kieran Smith.

Hafnaoui won two golds and a silver at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, coming in with the best world performance of that season in both the men’s 800m free, with 7:37.00, and the men’s 1500 free with 14:31.54: both times would lead the pre-Olympic seasonal rankings.

He was also one of the title contenders in the 400m, an event in which he is the reigning Olympic champion. Silver at the 2023 World Championships with a time of 3:40.70, in one of the tightest and most entertaining events of the championships, behind Sam Short who finished just 0,02 ahead of him, this would also be the fastest performance of the current season.

Unfortunately for the man who has already been named as the worthy heir of Oussama Mellouli, there will be no defense in Paris: an injury will likely keep him out of the meet (though this is not definitely confirmed).

WOMEN’S 100M BREASTSTROKE

Also added to the list is Lydia Jacoby, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 100m breast. The then 16-year-old from Alaska finished third at the US Trials in June with a time of 1:06.37, a far cry from the time she qualified with four years ago and also far from the first two positions occupied by the usual Lilly King (1:05.43) and the newcomer Emma Weber (1:06.10).

Jacoby was also supposed to compete in the 200 breaststroke at Trials, but decided not to compete, instead using the end of the meet to process her missed qualification in the event in which she was reigning champion, and come back stronger in the future.

An outlook on the reigning champions who were blocked out by their own national teammates:

WOMEN’S 400M IM

There is still one athlete missing who was a victim not only of her own nation’s trials, but also of the high qualification standards themselves: Yui Ohashi, the reigning champion of the women’s 400m IM.

The Japanese swimmer missed qualifying, falling 0.35 short of OQT set by the JASF. The time, however, was not the only setback, as three athletes put their hands in front of the Olympic gold medalist, thus precluding her from participating in the event in which she had been a star in 2021. Yui Ohashi also holds the Japanese record and is the eighth best performer ever with 4:30.82.

OTHER ABSENTEES

Among the many non-qualifiers, due to the trials and the time limits imposed, there are also athletes who will miss the Olympic appointment for other reasons.

One of these will be, as we have seen, Ahmed Hafnaoui, due to injury. However, another champion, indeed double Olympic champion in Tokyo 2021 will not attend in Paris due to a personal choice.

You may ask, how does one not compete in the Olympics, leaving no fewer than two Olympic titles undefended? And all this of his own free will? This is a question that should be asked of Evgeny Rylov, a Russian athlete who chose not to take part in the Paris Games.

Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov, the gold medalist in the men’s 100m and 200m back, hails from Russia, but did not have the chance to in the Olympics under a neutral flag as he did in 2021 because of an IOC ban.

Russian athletes had the option of applying to the IOC to be admitted as neutral athletes if they met certain requirements. These were:

• not to be affiliated with the army or intelligence services
• never having publicly shown support for the invasion of Ukraine

Rylov said that “signing the declaration (of conditions of participation) would mean disowning one’s country,” though the choice was likely made for him after he infamously appeared on stage at a pro-war Rally shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian won the backstroke events in Tokyo with the then European record of 51.98 in the 100 backstroke and the Olympic record of 1:53.27 in the men’s 200 backstroke. Now his absence (together with that of fellow medalist Kliment Kolesnikov) will make way for the competition between the remaining big 3 of the world backstroke: Thomas Ceccon, Hunter Armstrong and Ryan Murphy.

WHO WILL NOT DEFEND THE SILVER AND BRONZE MEDALS (INDIVIDUAL) FROM TOKYO?

In addition to the numerous absences among the reigning Olympic champions, there is also a long list of medalists from the Tokyo 2021 Olympics who will not be present in Paris 2024.

These athletes will not compete in the Games for a variety of reasons, including IOC ban, such as the aforementioned Kliment Kolesnikov, silver in the 100 backstroke and bronze medal in men’s 100m free in Tokyo. The list includes athletes who have retired during the four-year Olympic period and also those who failed to make the qualifying time or a win at their national trials.

RETIRED

• Pernille Blume (DEN) – bronze medal in women’s 50m freestyle
• Sarah Wellbrock (GER) – bronze medal in women’s 1500m freestyle
• Annie Lazor (USA) – bronze medal in women’s 200m breaststroke
• Hali Flickinger (USA) – bronze medal in women’s 400m IM, 200m fly
• Jack McLoughlin (AUS) – silver medal in men’s400 freestyle

Russian Ban (and not applying or qualifying for neutral status)

Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) – bronze medal in men’s 100 back; silver medal in men’s 100m freestyle

NON-QUALIFIED

• Cate Campbell (AUS) – bronze medal in women’s 100 freestyle (also retired after Australian Trials )
• Penny Oleksiak (CAN) – bronze medal in women’s 200m freestyle
• Emily Seebohm (AUS) – bronze medal in 200m backstroke
• Bruno Fratus (BRA) – bronze medal in men’s 50m freestyle
• Federico Burdisso (ITA) – bronze medal in men’s 200m butterfly
• Jay Litherland (USA) – silver medal in men’s 400m IM
• Erica Sullivan (USA) – silver in women’s 1500 freestyle
• Fernando Scheffer (BRA) – bronze medal in men’s 200m free
• Jeremy Desplances (SUI) – Bronze medal in men’s 200m IM