What Competitions Did The Olympic Champions Use As A Test Before Paris 2024?

This Olympic cycle has been quite exceptional. For the second time, the traditional four-year cycle was not a four-year cycle: whereas the Tokyo cycle was extended to five years, this time there were only three years to prepare for Paris.

Due to the pandemic, many major events, including the World Championships originally slated for 2021 and the European Championships scheduled for 2020, were postponed to 2022. This overlap resulted in two World Championships (Fukuoka 2023 and Doha 2024) and the Belgrade 2024 Europeans, all within eleven months, during the preparatory period for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

These scheduling challenges led athletes and their teams to adopt different strategies to arrive at the Defense Arena in peak condition. One constant was undoubtedly the 2023 World Championships, which we will use as a benchmark to assess who met expectations from the past season and who emerged as a surprise, either positively or negatively.

Some swimmers chose to skip the Doha 2024 World Championships, a significant event that lost relevance for many as they focused on greater goals like winning an Olympic title. As the event approached, others opted to compete in the Settecolli Trophy in Rome, an annual event held in late June for over 60 years: a unique opportunity to test their form a few weeks before the finish line. During the same period, the Europeans were held in Belgrade, so many athletes chose to use that stage to evaluate their condition.

In this article, we analyze the strategic choices of some of these champions, asking: who reached the podium at both the European Championships in Belgrade and the Olympics? Who achieved this at the Settecolli Trophy in Rome and confirmed themselves in Paris? Who did not succeed in these feats?

WHO REACHED THE PODIUM AT BOTH THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS AND THE OLYMPICS?

The European Championships in Belgrade were largely bypassed by many top swimmers, with notable exceptions among the men. Among those who defended their European podium positions at the 2024 Olympics, there are only four (+ two) athletes, all men.

The young freestyle star David Popovici achieved the 100 and 200 freestyle double at the European Championships in Belgrade, swimming the then third-fastest time in history (46.88). The 20-year-old Romanian replicated this in Paris, securing gold in the 200 and bronze in the 100.

Another athlete who achieved a double, this time in butterfly, was Kristof Milak. The Hungarian won gold in both butterfly events at the European Championships but managed to replicate the results at the Olympics only in the 100 butterfly, where he defended his Olympic title. In the 200 butterfly, the 24-year-old was narrowly beaten by hometown favorite Leon Marchand, securing a fantastic silver.

Two other athletes were part of both podiums: Swiss swimmer Roman Mityukov, who won bronze in the 200 backstroke both times, with a time of 1:55.75 at the Europeans and 1:54.85 in Paris, where Hubert Kos dominated.

The second is Apostolos Christou. The Greek swimmer secured silver in the 200 backstroke at the Olympics with a time of 1:54.82. At the European Championships in Belgrade, he competed in the shorter backstroke events, winning gold in the 100 with 52.23. In Paris, he finished just off the podium in that event.

Last but not least let’s keep talking about 200 back, and about his winner: Hubert Kos. The hungarian guy is the new 200 back olympic champion, but also competed in Belgrade. There he swam the 200 IM, becoming the new european champion with the time of 1:57.21.

WHO REACHED THE PODIUM AT BOTH SETTECOLLI AND THE OLYMPICS?

In addition to the standout Olympic champions such as Sarah Sjostrom in the 50 and 100 freestyle, Nicolo Martinenghi in the 100 breaststroke, and Thomas Ceccon in the 100 backstroke, other athletes also appeared on both podiums.

• Caspar Corbeau in 200 Breaststroke: Gold at Settecolli, Bronze at the Olympics
• Tatjana Smith in 200 Breaststroke: Gold at Settecolli, Silver at the Olympics
• Daniel Wiffen in 800 Freestyle: Bronze at Settecolli, Gold at the Olympics
• Daniel Wiffen in 1500 Freestyle: Bronze at Settecolli, Bronze at the Olympics
• Siobhan Haughey in 200 Freestyle: Gold at Settecolli, Bronze at the Olympics
• Siobhan Haughey in 100 Freestyle: Silver at Settecolli, Bronze at the Olympics
• Ben Proud in 50 Freestyle: Gold at Settecolli, Silver at the Olympics
• Isabel Gose in 1500 Freestyle: Silver at Settecolli, Bronze at the Olympics

WHICH FUKUOKA 2023 CHAMPIONS DID NOT REACH THE OLYMPIC PODIUM?

From the data, it’s noteworthy that almost all athletes who became Olympic champions in Paris were also world champions from Fukuoka 2023, with the percentage even higher among women.

However, some Fukuoka world champions were unable to replicate their success at the Defense Arena, missing the podium. Among the men, excluding the injured Ahmed Hafnaoui, the first standout is Australian Sam Short, who came very close to the world record in the 800 freestyle in 2023 but missed the final in Paris.

Another swimmer who notably missed the Olympic podium, as well as the final in the 200 breaststroke, is Chinese athlete Qin Haiyang. Having set the world record in the double distance in Fukuoka, he finished only tenth in the event and seventh in the 100 breaststroke, the other race he won at last year’s World Championships.

Less surprising in terms of times but notable given the home context is the missed podium of Fukuoka world champion Maxime Grousset. The Frenchman, who won the title with a time of 50.14, only managed 50.75 in Paris, finishing in fifth place.

Among the women, the only two swimmers who did not reach the Olympic podium despite their Fukuoka victories were Mollie O’Callaghan and Ruta Meilutyte. While the Australian won the 200 freestyle as expected, the swimmer who took gold in the 100 freestyle in 2023 narrowly missed the Olympic podium, finishing fourth in an event surprisingly won by Sarah Sjostrom.

The Lithuanian swimmer, who had secured the 100 breaststroke title in Japan with an impressive time of 1:04.62, also missed the Olympic final, like Qin Haiyang, finishing eleventh with a time over 1:06.

ALL THE WINNERS AND THEIR SEASONAL PARTICIPATIONS

n.e. = not eligible, non-European