2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
- Pool Swimming: July 27 – August 4, 2024
- Open Water Swimming: August 8 – 9, 2024
- La Défense Arena — Paris, France
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Full Swimming Schedule
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Pick ’em Contest
- How To Watch
- Entry Lists
- Live Results
- Prelims Live Recaps: Day 1
- Finals Live Recaps: Day 1
The first final of the evening was the men’s 400m freestyle which saw a three-way battle for gold among Germany’s Lukas Maertens, Australia’s Elijah Winnington and South Korea’s Kim Woomin.
Maertens was in the lead from start to finish and ultimately got to the wall first in a time of 3:41.78 followed by Winnington who touched in 3:42.21.
Kim posted a mark of 3:42.50 to reap bronze, giving South Korea its first Olympic swimming medal since Park Tae Hwan earned double 200m/400m freestyle silver at the 2012 Games in London.
Kim’s performance comes just days after his Australian coach Michael (Mick) Palfrey came under fire for backing his Korean protege when speaking to the media.
Palfrey, one of eight Australian Olympic coaches on staff for Paris, said about the men’s 400m free, “I think it’s going to come down to that last 100 meters. We need Woomin to lift, that’s what I’ll be saying to him. He’s got to race tough.”
He also reportedly stated, “Go Korea”. (Fox Sports)
Both Aussie head coach Rohan Taylor and the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) expressed disappointment over Palfrey’s seemingly cheering on an athlete from another nation.
Palfrey faced possible expulsion from Paris over the incident. However, it was decided that the coach’s departure would prove too much of a disruption.
“We took the time to consider the two options -– for Mick Palfrey to stay, and for him to be sent home,” Taylor said in a statement.
“After extended conversations with athletes, the athlete leadership group, and coaching staff we have made the decision for Michael to stay.” (AFP.com)
The warning signs were there that Kim was going all-in for this race as he wound up dropping out of both the 800m and 1500m events. That also means Kim’s eyes are on the men’s 4x200m free relay prize, with the nation seeking an Olympic medal after topping last year’s Asian Games podium and snagging silver at this year’s World Championships.
Quick Hits
- Two Asian women made it into tomorrow night’s 100m butterfly final. China’s Zhang Yufei, silver medalist in this event from Tokyo, claimed the 3rd seed in 56.15. Japan’s 17-year-old Mizuki Hirai earned the 7th slot in 56.80. Rikako Ikee of Japan, racing in her 3rd Olympic Games, settled for 12th.
- Fei Liwei placed 6th in the men’s 400m free final in 3:44.24, a new personal best by well over a second. He now ranks 3rd among all-time Chinese performers.
- The women’s 400m free was devoid of any Asian contestants. Li Bingjie of China entered these Games ranked 5th in the world but was 9th out of the heats.
- In an overall pedestrian set of men’s 100m breast semi-finals, Qin Haiyang posted the 2nd-fastest time of 58.93 to take the #2 seed behind Great Britain’s Adam Peaty (58.86).
- The Chinese women’s 4x100m free relay very nearly upset the Americans for silver behind winners Australia. China stopped the clock at 3:30.30 to bag bronze only .10 behind the stars n’ stripes, with their outing checking in as a new Asian Record. Lead-off Yang Junxuan fired off a new Chinese national record of 52.48 to get things going.
- Pan Zhanle roared his way to a monster lead-off of 46.92 to try to position China for a medal in the men’s 4x100m free relay. Pan vsplit 22.56/24.36 to put up the 5th-fastest 100m freestyle performance in history. Of note, however, is the fact that Pan did not have Romania’s David Popovici nor Australia’s Kyle Chalmers in the water beside him. We’ll have to see how this factor comes into play when the individual 100m free event takes place.
Top 5 Men’s LCM 100 Free Performers All-Time
- 46.80 – Pan Zhanle (CHN), 2024
- 46.86 – David Popovici (ROU), 2022
- 46.88 – David Popovici (ROU), 2024
- 46.91 – Cesar Cielo (BRA), 2009
- 46.92 – Pan Zhanle (CHN), 2024
Continental & National Records Through Day 1
- Yang Junxuan (CHN) – national record in women’s 100m free (52.48)
- Chinese Women’s 4x100m free relay – national record & Asian record (3:30.30)
Asian Swimming Medal Table Through Day 1
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | China | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | South Korea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Kim would have beaten Park TH’s record if this was a real pool let’s be honest
No, Palfrey said Kim would win. Nice swim for bronze 🥉. Jinxed him
This is so ridiculous, it’s not a war. He’s just supporting his athlete.
I mean Bob Bowman copped a lot more criticism for privately supporting his protégés while being USA team coach
Go Korea