In the first surprising scratch of this meet, The Netherlands’ Femke Heemskerk has scratched the women’s 200 free prelims on Monday morning at the 2012 London Olympics.
Heemskerk ended 2011 as the second-fastest swimmer in the world in this race, though her best time was swum in an early round at the World Championships. In the finals, she fell apart a little bit after seeming destined for a medal, but still was only behind Missy Franklin’s relay leadoff among all swims at the meet.
There’s no obvious direct conflict here, as her next race isn’t until the 100 freestyle prelims on Wednesday morning, but this will allow her to save a bit of energy.
