Jeremy Desplanches Goes 1:56.17 For Swiss Record and First Olympic Medal

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
  • Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
• Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
• Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
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Jeremy Desplanches lowered his own Swiss Record during the final of the men’s 200 IM on day 6 of the 2020 Olympic Games. His time of 1:56.17 was a 0.39-second improvement from the previous record, which he set at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju. He finished third and picked up his first Olympic medal. This was Switzerland’s first medal for swimming since the 1984 Olympics when Étienne Dagon won bronze in the 200 breast.

1. GOLD: Wang Shun (CHN), 1:55.00
2. SILVER: Duncan Scott (GBR), 1:55.28
3. BRONZE: Jeremy Desplanches (SUI), 1:56.17
4. Daiya Seto (JPN), 1:56.22
5. Michael Andrew (USA), 1:57.31
6. Kosuke Hagino (JPN), 1:57.40
7. Laszlo Cseh (HUN), 1:57.68
8. Lewis Clareburt (NZL), 1:57.70

Wang Shun of China took home the gold medal in the event. He chased down race-leader Michael Andrew, splitting a 27.37 on the free to go the top time of 1:55.00. Scott Duncan was 5th after the breaststroke leg. He had a similar finish to Wang, powering home in 27.46 to claim the silver medal.

Desplanches was fourth throughout the entire race, until the very end when he managed to out-touch Japan’s Daiya Seto for the bronze medal. The race was reminiscent of the 2019 World Championship final, where Seto and Desplanches battled it out in the 200 IM in a close race for first place. Seto ultimately beat Desplanches to the finish for the gold medal. Desplanches was the 2019 World runner-up with a new Swiss record in the event.

Desplanches’s race strategy was almost identical to his swim Worlds in 2019. This time though, he came home 0.4 seconds faster than he had in Gwangju. Tonight, he chased down Seto and got his hand on the wall third, securing his first-ever Olympic medal.

Desplanches now holds 9 of the 10 fastest Swiss times in the men’s 200 IM. He broke David Karasek‘s record for the first time in 2015 and has continued to lower his own time ever since.

Top 10 All-Time Swiss Times:

1. 1:56.17, Jeremy Desplanches – 2021
2. 1:56.56, Jeremy Desplanches – 2019
3. 1:56.73, Jeremy Desplanches – 2019
4. 1:56.86, Jeremy Desplanches – 2017
5. 1:57.40, Jeremy Desplanches – 2017
6. 1:58.31, Jeremy Desplanches – 2017
7. 1:59.35, Jeremy Desplanches – 2015
8. 1:59.46, Jeremy Desplanches – 2015
9. 2:01.18, Jeremy Desplanches – 2015
10. 2:01.35, David Karasek – 2012