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)
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- Prelims Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6
- Finals Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5
WOMEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – HEATS
- World Record: 7:37.50 – Australia (2023)
- Olympic Record: 7:40.33 – China (2021)
- 2021 Winning Time: 7:40.33 – China (2021)
- 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 7:56.16
- Australia (Lani Pallister, Jamie Perkins, Brianna Throssell, Shayna Jack) – 7:45.63
- Hungary (Nikolett Padar, Minna Abraham, Ajna Kesely, Panna Ugrai) – 7:52.25
- China (Tang Muhan, Kong Yaqi, Ge Chutong, Liu Yaxin) – 7:52.36
- United States (Anna Peplowski, Erin Gemmell, Simone Manuel, Alex Shackell) – 7:52.72
- Brazil (Maria Costa, Stephanie Balduccini, Maria Heitmann, Gabrielle Roncatto) – 7:52.81
- Canada (Emma O’Croinin, Ella Jansen, Julie Brousseau, Mary-Sophie Harvey) – 7:53.03
- Great Britain (Freya Anderson, Abbie Wood, Lucy Hope, Medi Harris) – 7:53.49
- New Zealand (Erika Fairweather, Eve Thomas, Caitlin Deans, Laticia Transom) – 7;54.37
As expected, Australia led the way through prelims of the women’s 4×200 free relay. They dominated the field and look set up to win gold tonight. Who might they switch in their lineup and who might the rest of the final bring in for a chance to stand on the podium?
Note: * indicates the fastest time from the individual event in Paris. The rest of the times are season best times this year.
Australia
| Morning Splits | Reserves | ||
| Lani Pallister | 1:55.74 | Mollie O’Callaghan | 1:53.27* |
| Jamie Perkins | 1:56.78 | Ariarne Titmus | 1:53.81* |
| Brianna Throssell | 1:55.82 | ||
| Shayna Jack | 1:57.29 |
Australia will look to challenge their World Record tonight and have the top two finishers from the individual 200 free in their reserves. O’Callaghan set an Olympic Record en route to gold while Titmus was silver. They bring in the potential to drop some 1:52 splits, especially as both swam 1:52-points at Australian Trials.
Hungary
| Morning Splits | Reserves | ||
| Nikolett Padar | 1:57.82 | Dora Molnar | 1:58.95 |
| Minna Abraham | 1:57.48 | ||
| Ajna Kesely | 1:58.97 | ||
| Panna Ugrai | 1:57.98 |
Based on splits, Hungary might rotate Molnar in but she made semifinals of the 200 backstroke tonight after swimming the 16th fastest time in prelims, so it seems less likely as she has that double. With no other reserves, it looks like it is going to be harder to make the podium.
China
| Morning Splits | Reserves | ||
| Tang Muhan | 1:59.31 | Yang Junxuan | 1:55.38* |
| Kong Yaqi | 1:59.33 | Li Bingjie | 1:56.56* |
| Ge Chutong | 1:57.88 | ||
| Liu Yaxin | 1:55.84 |
China has the potential to drop about eight seconds off their relay based on this morning’s splits and their potential reserves. Yang finished 5th in the final the other day with a 1:55.38 and has the potential for a 1:54 split if she adds a flying start in.
USA
| Morning Splits | Reserves | ||
| Anna Peplowski | 1:57.98 | Katie Ledecky | 1:54.97 |
| Erin Gemmell | 1:56.77 | Claire Weinstein | 1:55.24* |
| Simone Manuel | 1:58.50 | Paige Madden | 1:56.36 |
| Alex Shackell | 1:59.47 | Torri Huske | 1:59.45 |
The US already used Erin Gemmell this morning and she had the fastest split of the morning. Katie Ledecky swam a 1:54.97 flat start in April and won the event at US Trials but ceded her individual spot to the 3rd place finisher Paige Madden who declined so that spot went to Gemmell, who made the semifinals of the event. Ledecky and Madden are still eligible for the relay though and it looks like they’ll be brought in tonight.
After having a successful meet so far, Torri Huske looks like another name to throw in the hat. Huske swam a 1:59.45 last October and was a 1:59.66 in January. She does not swim the event often and did not race the event at Trials but has been on fire in Paris. She has already won gold in the 100 butterfly, swam a personal best by over half a second in the 100 freestyle to win silver, and swam the fastest split (flying start) for the US women’s 4×100 free relay on night 1 with a 52.06.
Unless something goes awfully wrong tonight the order will be 1. Australia, 2. USA, 3. Canada. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is whether Australia break their world record of 7.37.50. If Pallister and Throssell reproduce their heat times and if O’Callaghan and Titmus reproduce their times from the individual event and you take off .5 from each for takeovers, it comes to 7.37.6.
Huske would likely have needed to show something at training camp and explicitly ask for it for her to be considered here.
I’d love to feed her a medal to really elevate her tally, but this would be pretty reckless. Australia is gonna win. So add her is purely for stat padding and/or a hail-marry play.
Grimes is a reasonable option as well.
Id – go, Ledecky, Gemmel, Weinstein, Madden
Beyond that, you gotta know something regular ‘joes’ that have switched every public swim dont.
Actually the women’s 4×100 medley relay maybe a bigger headache… Kate Douglas won the 100 free at trials. Gretchen Walsh is the 100fly WR holder but Huske won the Olympic gold. Huske won 100free silver and 100fly gold and is an optin for either leg
Best line up
Backstroke – Regan Smith
Breaststroke- Lily King
Fly- Gretchen Walsh
Free- Torri Huske
…with Kate Douglas swimming freestyle legs in the prelims??? Or Gretchen swims fly leg in the prelims session and Huske swims fly in the final with Kate Douglas on freestyle anchor leg… Gonna be an interesting selection thats for sure (free/fly legs will be hot picks!!!!)
The best for the American woman on paper is Weinstein, gemmell, Madden and Ledecky
It’s even want to keep it even close they need to swim with there best times/splits
Also, I think everything is gonna depend on how Weinstein swim And if she can keep close with Molly O’Callaghan
their personal bests add up to like a 7:39.0 which is slower than even just the top 4 aussie times from here
Think there’s a chance Torri could try to add the 200 to her trials line-up in the future. She’s got the fitness for a great 200 IM, so I don’t think that aspect of it would be an issue. Her focus for this meet has just been on the 100 FL and FR though, I don’t think even Meehan would suggest using her right now in this race. It also doesn’t change their ceiling and if it goes wrong it could really cost them.
It would not go wrong. It could have no impact, but Queen TH is on fire. If you’ve ever had a meet like she is having comparable to your own ability, you know from the physical feeling you had yourself that an exceptional and value-added 200 free is within her.
They won’t use Torri. Gemmel will be on relay with other 3! Silver is theirs to lose unless China has a surprise which we have seen in the past!
If they simply want to give Torri the medal, which she totally deserves, the ideal chance was the Heat. Slotting her in with that time and leaving all other 200FR Trials contestants out of the final (Gemmel, Manuel, Shackell) would be borderline stupidity and disrespect.
Torri Huske is not a reserve for the W 4 x 200 FR-R. Torri Huske did not swim the W 200 FR at the 2024 USA Swimming Olympic Team Trials.
Katie Grimes would considered a reserve for the W 4 x 200 FR-R after an eighth place finish in the W 200 FR at the 2024 USA Swimming Olympic Team Trials.
Personal Best Times
W 200 FR
Grimes, Katie – 1:57.19 dated 16 Jun 2024
Huske, Torri – 1:58.09 dated 30 Apr 2021
However, a time of 1:59.66 in the W 200 FR at the 2024 TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville doesn’t cut it.
Not swimming the event at trials doesn’t preclude someone from being on a relay
But having a best time of 1:58 when the top 4 are all 1:56 or better should.
The argument that she didn’t swim the event at the ’24 USA trials isn’t it. But I agree she shouldn’t be on it.
To play devils advocate, she was 57.61and 55.57 (fly / free) at the same meet she swam a 1:58.09. She has since improved 2 seconds on the fly and 3 seconds on the breast. We can all guestimate she’s due, conservatively, for a 1:56… 1:55 or even 1:54 shouldn’t even surprise us if she has the endurance (2IM training suggests she might).
It’s too risky of a play when I don’t think the difference would necessarily net gold.
Thank you for the information, robot.