2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
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We had to wait until day five at the 2024 Paris Olympics to get a world record, but when we got it, it wasn’t by a little. Pan Zhanle destroyed his 100 freestyle world record, claiming Olympic gold in a monstrous time of 46.40.
The men’s 100 freestyle is always one of the most anticipated races of the swimming program. This year, the excitement for this Olympic showdown was amped up by how deep the field was. It boasted Pan, the current world record holder, David Popovici, the former world record holder, and Kyle Chalmers, the 2016 Olympic champion, just to name a few. But even as the anticipation grew, many expected that so many big bodies together in the water would prevent a new world record from being set even with so many of the fastest men in history present.
Pan defied expectations. There was also a lot of talk about how important positioning was going to be in this race. One of Pan’s strengths is his front half speed and as expected, the 19-year-old world champion grabbed the race by both hands. He shot out to the lead, turning in 22.28 to the feet.
He did not let up on the way home, pouring on the gas with a 24.12 closing split. His time of 46.40 chops a full four-tenths off the world record that he swam leading off China’s 4×100 freestyle relay at the 2024 World Championships.
Split Comparison, Last Three Men’s 100 Freestyle WR Swims
| Pan Zhanle – 2024 Olympic Games | Pan Zhanle – 2024 World Championships | David Popovici – 2022 European Championships | |
| 50 | 22.28 | 22.26 | 22.74 |
| 100 | 46.40 (24.12) | 46.80 (24.54) | 46.86 (24.12) |
It’s the back half that helped Pan explode for this world record. He was right on his opening split from Doha which got him out to the front of the race by .33 seconds over Maxime Grousset. But he didn’t come back to the field like he did in Doha. Instead, Pan–who began his career as a distance swimmer–found speed in the final 50 meters. He unleashed a 24.12 back-half, tying Popovici’s split from his world record swim two years ago.
Fastest Back-Half Splits of All-Time
- David Popovici (ROU), 24.05 — 2022 European Championships
- David Popovici (ROU), 24.09 — 2024 European Championships
- Andrei Minakov (RUS), 24.11 — 2021 Russian Nationals
- David Popovici (ROU)/Pan Zhanle, 24.12 — 2022 European Championships/2024 Olympic Games
- —
- David Popovici (ROU), 24.19 — 2022 European Junior Championships
Pan won by 1.08 seconds over Chalmers, one of the largest margins of victory we’ve seen in this event at the Olympics in years. He showed that he was on form in the 100 freestyle on the opening day of the Olympic Games by leading off China’s 4×100 freestyle relay, in a then-Olympic record of 46.92. He was the only lead-off man under 47 seconds but backed off during prelims of the men’s 100 free. He improved in the semifinals and secured lane four but saved the fireworks for the moment that mattered most.
Pan is not one of the 23 Chinese swimmers who reportedly tested positive for TMZ seven months before the Tokyo Olympics. The story of the doping scandal first broke earlier this year from reports by The New York Times and ARD. Following that report, World Aquatics shared that Chinese swimmers were the most tested athletes by a wide margin this year and were tested more frequently than other nations’ swimmers in the lead-up to Paris.
This is the first world record set at these Olympic Games, which keeps the streak of at least one world record being set at an Olympics alive. We’d seen many Olympic records go down at these Games but were still waiting for a world record in a difficult pool. In addition, Pan is the first male swimmer to break a world record in 2024.
Death, Taxes, and Chalmers medaling in 100 free.
Chalmers is the only active swimmer who always medaled in 100 free competition since his first international race (2015 Worlds Junior in Singapore). Not even Dressel did.
I put 46.40 on the same pedestal as Mary T Meagher 2:05.96, Egerszegi 2:06.62, Ian Thorpe 3:40.08, Sjostrom 24.43, Peaty 56.88, Milak 1:50.34, Ledecky 8:04.79
It’s transcendental and it’s generational.
It’s awe inspiring.
I like these, I am also not a fan of Biedermann’s 200, Zhang’s 800, and the Women’s 200 Fly because of the Mickey Mouse suits
The time itself could almost be irrelevant… the writing’s been on the wall that the WR was in danger.
People here expected it to fall… till talk of a ‘slow pool’ emerged.
Still, that talk aside, it was not outside the realm of possibility that the 100m free WR could again have gone down this year.
What surprised me the most is not that he got the WR, but that everyone else was so far behind.
If this race was closer I’d say people may have been less surprised by the time, even expected it… to a degree. Maybe not .4, but .6 or even a .5.
I expected Popovici to be closer, and even Chalmers’ relay split indicated… Read more »
Yes I agree it does happen and I have seen it in my own coaching life – but never on a scale like this – half a second off a 100 free record that he and Poppovici have only just shaved a tenth or a hundredth of second or so off in the last two years . Then suddenly half a second off the WR in one swim after the super suit record had lasted for 13.years. And, in a pool where other great swimmers have not been able replicate an equivalent performance in other events. Hmm!
I think most of the comments here still can’t avoid looking at this achievement from a perspective of racial or nationality discrimination lol
A great deal of caution needed here. How do you go from a 48.4 heat swim and almost missing the semis – =16th finisher in the heats was 48.46- to an astonishing WR in the final? All in the space of 36 hours – hmmm!
Surely if he was serious and at the peak of his taper he would not have allowed himself to finish 5th in a preliminary heat and risk not making the cut for the semis.
There needs to be some explaing of how such a rapid transformation could take place.
His home nation also doesn’t have a great track record of these types of transformation.
You mess up trying to save your energy during prelims. Trust me, it happens a lot lool
He got interview withTVB and said he swam behind Chalmers in preliminaries but didnt expect Chalmers swam that slowed and almost didn’t make it to semi, so he decided to swim quickly in semi. This is a very normal tactic. Don’t Armstrong and Ceccon often do this in order to save their strength for more important rounds? What makes you think it’s evidence of cheating?
He saved up? Phelps was 1:46 in heats before going 1:42 at the final in Beijing. Hunter Armstrong got 16th and 8th before winning once. What are you going on about?
you konw nothing about swim
I really want to believe this swim was legitimate. It was incredible. His past 9 months and repeat sub 47s suggested he had this in him. It is remiss of us however to ignore that this pool is slow, and the win is over 1 second on a world class field. I know he hasn’t tested positive yet to anything, however neither did Marion Jones or Lance Armstrong – neither failed a drug test. Testing isn’t 100%. Unfortunately for Pan his country has a history of state doping programs and any success is viewed with natural scepticism. If he’s clean, that was arguably the greatest swim in history.
2023 – Cam McEvoy wins the 50 free world title by 0.51 > Brett Hawke proclaims him the best sprinter ever
2024 – Pan Zhanle wins the 100 free (2x the distance) by 1.08 (2x the margin) > Brett Hawke proclaims this swim to be “impossible” and “suspicious”