Litchfield Nails British 400 IM Record, Finishes In Fourth At Third Consecutive Olympics

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

All eyes were on the center of the pool for tonight’s men’s 400m IM final, with host nation powerhouse Leon Marchand cranking out a new Olympic Record of 4:02.95.

He was head and shoulders ahead of the field, with Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita earning the silver nearly 6 seconds back in 4:08.62 while American Carson Foster clocked 4:08.66 for the bronze.

Unfortunately for British swimming fans, Max Litchfield found himself in 4th place and off the podium, producing a mark of 4:08.85 to fall only .19 away from bronze.

Paris marks the third consecutive Olympic Games where 29-year-old Litchfield finished in 4th place.

A small consolation is the fact that Litchfield’s time checked in as a new British national record.

Litchfield was already Great Britain’s fastest 400m IM performer of all time entering Paris, owning a lifetime best and national standard of 4:09.14 from this year’s Olympic Trials. He and Duncan Scott (4:09.18, 2022) represent the only British men ever to have broken the 4:10 barrier.

Comparing Litchfield’s previous and new record, the Loughborough swimmer was slower on the breaststroke tonight but was able to make up for it with a sub-58 split on the final 100m.

LITCHFIELD’S NEW 4:08.85 BRITISH RECORD LITCHFIELD’S PREVIOUS 4:09.14 BRITISH RECORD
56.23 56.46
1:03.79 1:03.76
1:11.73 1:10.71
57.50 58.21

The men’s 400m IM was Litchfield’s only event for these Games.

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I miss the ISL (Go dawgs)
3 months ago

Reminds me of Melanie Margalis – 4th at 2016 Olympics, 4th at 2017 WCs, 4th at 2019 WCs, 3rd at 2021 Trials in 400 IM. She still has an awesome legacy, as does Max.

Barty’s Bakery
3 months ago

Literally thought that pic was Ledecky with a pixie cut for a second

Greg P2
3 months ago

Same thing happened to Alessio Bogiatto in the 400 medley right? or was it 2 consecutive olympics?

Greg P2
3 months ago

Let him swim the 4×200 relay prelims do he can win a medal

MastersSwimmer
Reply to  Greg P2
3 months ago

Nice idea but GBR just can’t risk it. Imagine if they didn’t make it to the final…..They’re already having a mediocre Olympics in the pool.Max needs to carry on- he’s just PB’d fgs

Lpman
3 months ago

The world has seen bigger strategies. He is a three-time Olympian and a national record holder

LBSWIM
Reply to  Lpman
3 months ago

Strategies ?

MastersSwimmer
Reply to  LBSWIM
3 months ago

Tragedies?

HeGetsItDoneAgain
3 months ago

Cast him as Victor Von Doom instead. Bros about to go on a villain arc.

Togger
3 months ago

The swimming equivalent of Raymond Poulidor (second 3 times, third 5 times in the Tour de France)

David S
Reply to  Togger
3 months ago

Yikes

Games Juy
3 months ago

Brutal

About Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC.

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