SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent polls asked SwimSwam readers what the biggest stories emerging from the pool were at the Olympic Games:
Question: What has been the biggest storyline of Paris 2024 so far?
RESULTS
- Marchand comes through under pressure – 46.2%
- Slow times in shallow pool – 36.9%
- Razor-thin races for medals – 10.6%
- Top names off form – Qin Haiyang, Sam Short – 5.1%
- COVID withdrawals – 1.1%
Question: What was the biggest story of the second half of the Olympic swimming competition?
RESULTS
- Marchand completes 4-for-4 – 52.5%
- China ends U.S. men’s undefeated medley relay Olympic streak – 15.5%
- Finke wins first individual gold for U.S. men on Day 9 – 12.2%
- Three world records – 11.0%
- McIntosh becomes first Canadian with 3 golds at single Games – 8.7%
Leon Marchand was not only the biggest star inside the La Défense Arena in Paris, but his performances in the pool reverberated around the entire Olympics, with other sports even pausing as the French crowd reacted to him winning gold on certain occasions.
Our two polls back up what everyone was feeling in Paris, as Marchand was voted the biggest story of the pool swimming competition both early on and down the back half of the nine days.
He won the men’s 400 IM by a landslide on Day 2, as expected, and then executed the 200 fly/200 breast double to perfection on Day 5, winning gold in both while upending defending Olympic champions Kristof Milak and Zac Stubblety-Cook.
The first poll was significantly closer than the second, as the conversation about the times being relatively slow at the Games was still on the front of everyone’s mind.
Some of the races where this came to the forefront the most was the men’s 100 breast, where the winning time was 59.03, a time nine men had been faster than in 2024, and the women’s 400 free, where Ariarne Titmus was two seconds off her world record and Katie Ledecky failed to break 4:00.
However, the swims seemed to get quicker throughout the meet, and when the second poll was put out, the sentiment that times had been slow was gone.
Marchand was still the top story, having completed a perfect Games with his fourth individual gold in the men’s 200 IM, narrowly missing Ryan Lochte‘s world record. Marchand became just the fourth swimmer in history with four individual gold medals at the Olympics, and added a fifth medal on the final night of racing when he swam the breaststroke leg of the French men’s medley relay that claimed bronze.
In that race, China’s Pan Zhanle unleashed the fastest 100 freestyle relay split in history, overtaking Jason Lezak‘s historic 46.06 leg from 2008 in 45.92, leading China to an upset win over the Americans.
China’s win marked the first time in Olympic swimming history that the U.S. lost the men’s medley relay, with the only non-American gold coming at the boycotted 1980 Games in Moscow.
That result earned the second-most votes at 15.5%, with the magnitude of Pan’s split and the Americans losing the relay after struggling throughout the competition both factoring into it being a big story.
Bobby Finke winning the 1500 free on the final night and ensuring the American men didn’t leave Paris with zero individual gold medals, and the fact that we saw three world records broken late in the meet, also picked up more than 10% of votes.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: What was the most surprising event at the Olympics?
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The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
Pan in the 100 m freestyle
I think a 59 winning the men’s 100 br was the most surprising.
So a 24 year old man winning 1 gold medal is more impressive than a 17 year old girl winning 3 gold and 1 silver.Tells you all you need to know about a lot of things
Surprising and impressive aren’t the same thing
That’s true but I don,t really think I was that surprised at Finke,s swim..however I stand corrected.
I can understand your surprise Bob, but these olympic games are in France , if you were at Paris La Défense Arena on the evenings of July 28 and July 31, if you were at the Arena Champs de Mars or at Pierre Mauroy on July 31, when the crowd were celebrating Leon’s double gold medal night while attending another event , you would understand a little bit how Leon was the cover boy of these olympic games , the athlete who had to bear the biggest expectations on his shoulders and consequently why Leon is the biggest story of these olympic games.
Of course, Summer McIntosh was absolutely fabulous during these games.
The biggest story in France is France losing to Spain (3 – 5 a.e.t.) in the final of the men’s football tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics.