2024 Paris Olympics: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

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:
• Finals Live Recaps:

Day 1 Prelims Heat Sheets

Bonjour, Mes Amis. C’est l’heure queue noue attendions. It’s finally here. While just a shortened quad of three years, it still feels like an entirety from when the Tokyo Games started, and while those games were memorable in their own right, these Games feel like a major moment in the sport.

Not only on the macro scale but also on the micro-scale. While the return of crowds to the stadium and the heated battle for supremacy on the medal table are major storylines, it’s the individual one that we, as fans, get caught up in. The number of comments alone on all the Olympic preview articles is a testament to the power of these events, and day 1 certainly has its fair share of them.

For starters, Adam Peaty, the greatest sprint breaststroke ever and the fastest man across both the 50 and 100, begins his quests for the ‘Three-Peaty” after having claimed gold in both Rio and Tokyo. He has had his ups and downs, and his path to Paris (via the Chunnel, yes I’m bringing it back) has been more turbulent than others, but his will to compete is not only a testament to himself but to what these Games mean to each and every one of these athletes competing and while we don’t have the space nor bandwidth to cover each of them, they all deserve recognition for all they have sacrificed to get here.

However, that doesn’t mean the Brit is just going to be handed the 100 Breaststroke crown. Peaty, in his lone individual event, is the second seed and finds himself behind China’s Qin Haiyang, who shocked the world last summer, sweeping the medals at the World Championships. While those two have separated themselves from the pack, that doesn’t mean that they don’t pose a threat. Arno Kamminga is the third fastest performer in the event ever and will line up next to Qin in the prelims, and Nic Fink enters as the third seed and as the reigning World Champion.

Yet, let’s not jump the gun, as the morning starts off with the Women’s 100 Butterfly. We’ll see Gretchen Walsh‘s first-ever Olympic swim in heat 4 as she leads a powerful field filled with competition, both domestic and foreign. Fellow American Torri Huske is the second seed and will be looking for that first individual Olympic medal. The ever-dangerous Zhang Yufei and 2021 Olympic Champion Maggie MacNeil lurk in the field as well and will be looking to find a way back to the podium.

The longest race of the morning quickly follows, but it is also one of the most highly anticipated races of the meet. Australian freestyle ace Ariarne Titmus will begin her title defense in the Women’s 400 Free, and while she is the world record holder, it is certainly not a guaranteed victory. In the prelims heat, she will be flanked on one side by 2021 bronze medalist Li Bingjie and on the other by the 2021 silver medalist and one of the greatest swimmers of all time, Katie Ledecky. Despite those accolades, Titmus’s litmus test will come in the heat before teen phenom Summer McIntosh, a former WR holder in the event, enters the waters in the hunt for her first Olympic medal.

The men’s 100 breaststroke separates the women’s 400 free from the men’s 400, which is the last individual event of the morning. A plethora of men led by Germany’s Lukas Märtens and Australia’s Sam Short will be chasing after the oldest individual LCM record still on the books, Paul Biedermann’s 3:40.07. Both enter with times within a second, and while is unlikely that they’ll be gunning for it this morning, they still will need to put in strong performances to make the final as their compatriots Oliver Klement and Elijah Winnington will look to also pressure that record as will 2024 World Champion Kim Woo-min.

While swimming is, by its nature, an individual sport, some of the most memorable events in the sport occur when teamwork is involved, and this morning will provide two perfect demonstrations of that.

The women’s 4×100 Free Relay will see the dominance of Australia on display as they look to defend their Olympic gold medal and make it four in a row. The World Record holding team likely won’t use their best swimmers, but such is the depth of Australia’s sprinting that they should face no challenge to the final. That said, the relay is not a foregone conclusion; this race will be the start of many swimmer’s week and will help set the tone not only for themselves but for their nation.

The morning concludes with the men’s version of the event, where the USA, based on entry times, appears to be the favorite. However, not until the last hand has struck the wall and the officials don’t call any disqualifications will we know the results, so all that the USA, who owns the WR) and for the matter all the team can do is just swim as fast as they can and hope it’s enough for a spot in tonight’s final.

Women’s 100 Butterfly – Prelims

• World Record: 55.18 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 56.43 – Claire Curzan, USA (2021)
• Olympic Record: 55.48 – Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2016)
• 2021 Winning Time: 55.59 – Maggie MacNeil, CAN
• 2021 Time to Advance to Semis: 58.08

Top 16

1. Zhang Yufei (CHN) – 56.50
2. Mizuki Hirai (JPN) – 56.71
3. Torri Huske (USA) – 56.72
4. Gretchen Walsh (USA) – 56.75
5. Emma McKeon (AUS) – 56.79
6. Angelina Koehler (GER) – 56.90
7. Maggie MacNeil (CAN) – 57.00
8. Alexandria Perkins (AUS) – 57.46
9. Barbora Seemanova (CZE) – 57.50
10. Marie Wattel (FRA) – 57.54
11. Roos Vanotterdijk (BEL) – 57.54
12. Louise Hansson (SWE) – 57.57
13. Erin Gallagher (RSA) – 57.80
14. Rikako Ikee (JPN) – 57.82
15. Tessa Giele (NED) – 57.89
16. Keanna MacInnes (GBR) – 57.90

And just like that we have our first Olympic swims. Winning the first heat was Denmark’s Helena Roesndahl Bach. The Dane lead from start to finish, taking the race out in 27.46 and coming home in 30.99 to finish in 58.45, just a little off her entry time of 58.13.

Heat 2 went Zhang Yufei‘s way. The defending 2021 silver medalist was second at the turn, trailing Australia’s Emma McKeon by just .01, but pulled away on the last 50, outsplitting her rival by .30 to take the heat win in 56.50. McKeon would take second, also dipping under 57, hitting the wall in 56.79. Home favorite Marie Wattel moved up from 4th at the 50 to 3rd to hit the wall in 57.54.

American and the #2 seed Torri Huske looked smooth and in control of the penultimate heat. Out in 26.01, Huske held off a late charge from the defending Olympic Champion, Maggie MacNeil, to finish in a time of 56.72. MacNeil, who passed Louise Hansson in the last 50, would touch 2nd in 57.00, .28 back of Huske. Australian Alexandria Perkins also put in a great last 50 to move from 5th at the 50 (26.77) to touch 3rd overall in 57.46.

The last heat of the morning, heat 4, saw the newly minted world record holder, Gretchen Walsh, kick off her Olympic Campaign. The University of Virginia swimmer was out first in 25.98, a trademark speedy opening split. At the 50, she was over half a second ahead of Mizuki Hirai, who touched 2nd in 26.54. Hirai, however, was not content to just sit in 2nd and pulled out a speed of 30.17 on the last 50 to pass Walsh in the last meters to take the heat win in 56.71. Walsh closed .6 slower with a split of 30.77 to stop the clock in 56.75. 2024 World Champ Angelina Koehler made a strong move on the last 50, like Hirai, to move into 3rd, touching the wall in 56.90.

In 2021, it took 58.08 to advance to the semifinals, whereas this morning, it took 57.97.

Women’s 400 Freestyle – Prelims

• World Record:  3:55.38 – Ariarne Titmus, AUS (2023)
• World Junior Record: 3:56.08 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
• Olympic Record: 3:56.46 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2016)
• 2021 Winning Time: 3:56.69 – Ariarne Titmus, AUS
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 4:04.07

Top 8

1. Katie Ledecky (USA) – 4:02.19
2. Ariarne Titmus (AUS) – 4:02.46
3. Erika Fairweather (NZL) – 4:02.55
4. Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 4:02.65
5. Jamie Perkins (AUS) – 4:03.30
6. Paige Madden (USA) – 4:03.34
7. Maria Fernanda Costa (BRA) – 4:03.47
8. Isabel Gose (GER) – 4:03.83

Leonie Martens of Germany put up the fastest time in the first heat with a time of 4:09.62, but her time wouldn’t last long atop the rankings as the next heat was the start of the circle-seeded heats.

New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather led from start to finish but was constantly shadowed by Summer McIntosh. The pair were separated by just .1 at the 100-meter mark, 57.67 vs 57.77. By the 200, Fairweather pried the gap to a larger margin of .31, and by the 300, it was .4. However, McIntosh put in a strong performance on the last 50, outsplitting Fairweather by .38 but lacked the pool space to run her down completely. Fairweather would hold on to win the heat in a time of 4:02.55, with McIntosh just .1 behind at 4:02.65.

While those two were duking it out for first, Jamie Perkins of Australia closed in the only sub-30 split of the heat, 29.67, to move up from 5th to 3rd in the heat, finishing in 4:03.30. Paige Madden of the USA, had been in 3rd, finished just .04 behind in 4:03.47, about 1.5 seconds behind her time from the US Trials, but faster than her Trials prelims swim of 4:04.83.

The last heat saw the entire podium from the 2021 Olympics take to the water. Defending gold medalist Ariarne Titmus looked smooth and in control of the race, opening up in 57.10 and flipping at the halfway mark in 1:58.16. Katie Ledecky shadowed the Australian for much of the opening lengths of the race, going out in 57.87 and was .9 back at the 200, flipping in 1:59.06. But the American started to crawl back from that nearly one-second deficit by out-splitting her rival over the next 150 so that each flipped equal at the 350 mark. Ledecky closed in 30.16 to win the heat in 4:02.19. Titmus was close behind, splitting 30.43 on the last 50 to take second in the heat with a time of 30.43. China’s Li Bingjie was 3rd up through the 100 mark and traded that position with Germany’s Isabel Gose but was unable to generate enough speed, and she finished 4th in the heat in 4:03.96, and 9th overall, .13 back of making the final.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Prelims

• World Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty, GBR (2019)
• World Junior Record:  59.01 – Nicolo Martinenghi, ITA (2017)
• Olympic Record: 57.13 – Adam Peaty, GBR  (2016)
• 2021 Winning Time: 57.37 – Adam Peaty, GBR
• 2021 Time to Advance to Semis: 59.68

Top 16

1. Caspar Corbeau (NED) – 59.04
2. Adam Peaty (GBR) – 59.18
3. Ilya Shymanovich (NIA) – 59.25
4. Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA)/Arno Kamminga (NED) – 59.39
6. James Wilby (GBR) – 59.40
7. Melvin Imoudu (GER) – 59.49
8. Lucas Matzerath (GER) – 59.52
9. Qin Haiyang (CHN) -59.58
10. Nic Fink (USA) – 59.66
11. Bernard Reitshammer (AUT) – 59.68
12. Joshua Yong (AUS) – 59.75
13. Evgenii Somov (NIA) – 59.83
14. Charlie Swanson (USA) – 59.92
15. Ludovico Viberti (ITA) – 59.93
16. Ron Polonsky (ISR) – 1:00.00

Up through the circle-seeded heats, the early leader was Anton McKee. The Icelandic swimmer, who attended the University of Alabama, posted a mark of 1:00.62 out of heat 2.

Heat 3, the first of the circle-seeded heats, saw Dutch national but US-born Caspar Corbeau take the win. Corbeau, who swam collegiately for the University of Texas but nows trains in the Netherlands, led from start to finish, taking the first 50 out in 27.69. Corbeau also had the fastest last 50 of 31.35 to take the heat win in 59.04. Behind him was the American Nic Fink. Fink, a 2021 Olympian in the 200, was 3rd at the 50, in 28.07, but used his backhalf speed to overcome Joshua Yong and take second in 59.66, to Yong’s 59.75. The time should be fast enough to make the top 16 (in 2021, it took 59.68), but it is a little worrying for the American as he was 59.24 in the prelims at the US trials.

Heat 4 went the way of the World Record holder Great Britain’s Adam Peaty. Peaty displayed his trademark speed, attacking the first 50 and hitting the turn wall in 27.21. Not far behind him was Ilya Shymanovich, a Belarussian swimmer competing as a Neutral Independent Athlete. Shymanovich also has a penchant for speed as he is the world record holder in the short course version of the event and was not far behind Peaty, hitting the turn in 27.35. Shymanovich closed faster than Peaty, 31.90 vs 31.97, but it wasn’t enough as the Brit finished in 59.18 to Shymanovich’s 59.25. Peaty’s teammate, James Wilby, has the fastest last 50 of 31.49, but it wasn’t fastest enough to run down Nicolo Martinenghi for 3rd as the pair finished separated by just .01 in times of 59.39 vs 59.40.

The last heat seemed to be built for speed, with the second and third fastest swimmers of all time, but it was rather slow in comparison to the preceding heats. Arno Kamminga took the heat win in 59.39 and was just 3rd at the 50 (27.83), passing both Qin, who was 1st at the turn 27.56, and Sun Jiajun, who was 2nd in 27.63. Kamminga wasn’t the only swimmer to make a move on the back half, though; Germany’s Melvin Imoudu, who recently won the 2024 Europeans, moved up from 5th at the turn to touch ahead of Qin by .09 in a mark of 59.49. Qin would finish 3rd in the heat in 59.58.

These results were much slower compared to 2021, as it took 59.68 to make the semis in Tokyo. Despite the slowness of the event, several big names missed out on the finals. China’s Sun finished 17th in 1:00.20, and Australia’s Sam Williamson, who entered as the 9th seed with his PB of 58.80, finished 24th in 1:00.50.

Men’s 400 Freestyle – Prelims

• World Record:  3:40.07 — Paul Biedermann, GER (2009)
• World Junior Record: 3:44.31 — Petar Mitsin, BUL (2023)
• Olympic Record: 3:40.14 — Sun Yang, CHN (2012)
• 2021 Winning Time: 3:43.36 – Ahmed Hafnaoui, TUN
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 3:45.68

Top 8 

1. Lukas Martens(GER) – 3:44.13
2. Guilherme Costa (BRA) – 3:44.23
3. Fei Liwei (CHN) – 3:44.60
4. Elijah Winnington (AUS) – 3:44.87
5. Samuel Short (AUS) – 3:44.88
6. Aaron Shackell (USA) – 3:45.45
7. Kim Woomin (KOR) – 3:45.52
8. Oliver Klemet (GER) – 3:45.75

Up through the circle-seeded heats, China’s Fei Liwei had the top time of the morning, posting a swim of 3:44.60, slicing 1.36 off his seed time of 3:45.96. Whereas above, McKee’s time was whipped off the board quickly, Fei’s time would have placed 2nd in the next heat as only Brazil’s Guilherme Costa was faster.

The Brazilian slowly and steadily moved his way up through the field after flipping 7th at the 50 and 5th at the 100 (54.08). By the halfway mark, he had clawed himself into 3rd (1:50.63) but kept up the pace on the backhalf, closing in 27.57 to post the fastest time of the morning so far at 3:44.23. Australian Sam Short was not that far behind at the end and had led for much of the race, but came home in just 28.34, nearly a second slower than Costa to touch in 3:44.88. American Aaron Shackell’s last 50 of 27.95 might have been fast enough to earn him a spot in tonight’s final as he passed Korea’s Kim Woomin in the last few meters, out-touching him 3:45.45 to 3:45.52. American Kieran Smith was also in this heat but struggled to get things going. 8th at the 200 mark (1:51.78), Smith could only claw his way up to 6th in the heat, finishing in 3:46.47.

The final heat brought the speed as Lukas Martens, the top seed, and Elijah Winnington, the 3rd seed, dueled it out and traded the lead back and forth. The pair were under World Record pace at the beginning of the race, with Winnington flipping at the 200 turn in 1:48.58 with Winnington just .02 back in 1:48.60. However, a combination of the pair slowing down and Biedermann’s back half speed, the pair soon fell off the record, with Martens taking the win and posting the fastest time of the morning of  3:44.13. Winnington was not that far back, hitting the wall in 3:44.87.

Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay – Prelims

• World Record: 3:27.96 – Australia: M. O’Callaghan, S. Jack, M. Harris, E. McKeon (2023) 
• World Junior Record: 3:36.19 – Canada: T. Ruck, P. Oleksiak, R. Smith, K. Sanchez (2017)
• Olympic Record: 3:29.69 – Australia: B. Campbell, C. Campbell, M. Harris, E. McKeon (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 3:29.69 – Australia: B. Campbell, C. Campbell, M. Harris, E. McKeon
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 3:35.93

Top 8 

1. Australia – 3:31.57
2. USA – 3:33.29
3. China – 3:34.31
4. Sweden – 3:34.35
5. France – 3:35.25
6. Canada – 3:35.29
7. Great Britain – 3:36.13
8. Italy – 3:36.28

The United States looked smooth and in control of the first heat, as the squad of Abbey Weitzeil (53.60), Simone Manuel (53.23), Erika Connolly (53.83), and Kate Douglass (52.63) combined to take the heat win in a time of 3:33.29. The Americans led for the entirety of the race except the first 50, when Great Britain’s Anna Hopkin flipped first at the first turn.

For the US, it was a strong performance as the time was faster than the relay’s prelims swim from Tokyo (3:34.80) and from last summer’s World Championships (3:33.34). Of the four, Weitzeil improved the most from trials, where she was 53.70 in the individual final.

Great Britain started out fast, but Anna Hopkin fell from first to third over the course of her 100, touching in 54.08. The Brits finished 4th in Tokyo in a then-national record of 3:33.90, with Lucy Hope and Freya Anderson splitting 53.53 and 52.51, respectively. However, this morning, the pair were well off that pace, splitting 54.74 and 53.47. They have been conserving some energy, but the team will have to be much faster tonight if they wish to replicate that 4th place finish.

After not fielding a team in Tokyo and finishing 9th last summer, the Italians have made huge jumps in the event to finish 3rd in the heat. Sofia Morini led off in 53.92 and Sara Curtis’ had a third leg split of 53.93 to have the team finish 3rd in the heat in a time of 3:36.28.

Contrary to what it may have appeared to be, the Australians were never in any danger of losing this relay. While the Aussies led off with the rookie Olivia Wunsch (53.94) and veteran Bronte Campbell (53.46) many of the other relays top loaded their teams with France’s fastest swimmer Beryl Gastaldello (53.54) touching first at the first exchange, just ahead of 2016 Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak.

Michelle Coleman of Sweeden wasn’t too far behind the leaders, touching third and handing things off to World Record holder Sarah Sjostrom. The spriting star, who is entered in the individual event, recorded the second fastest split of the morning, hitting the wall in a blazing 51.99. Sweden, who was then in the lead, kept it through the 250 turn but gave way to the power and might of Australia’s last two legs, Meg Harris and Emma McKeon.

Harris, who has long been a key leg on Australia’s relays, split 52.23 and handed things over to McKeon. The 2021 Olympic Champion in the individual 100, McKeon pulled the double with 100 fly prelims this morning, and while MacNeil, Walsh, Huske and Zhang all sat off the relay, McKeon dropped a hammer of a split, swimming under 52 again, recording a mark of 51.94, Altogether the Australian’s recorded a mark of 3:31.57, a time that would have won silver at both the 2021 Olympics and 2023 Worlds.

China got off to a slow start and was sitting 5th at the 300, but recent national record holder Yang Junxuan turned things around quickly, passing three other swimmers in the last 100 to bring the Chinese up into second place in a time of 3:34.31. Her split of 52.47 was the 4th fastest of the heat and 5th fastest overall.

Men’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay – Prelims

• World Record: 3:08.24 — United States: M. Phelps, G. Weber-Gale, C. Jones, J. Lezak (2008)
• World Junior Record: 3:15.49 — United States: D. Diehl, M. Williamson, H. Williams, J. Zhao (2023)
• Olympic Record: 3:08.24 — United States: M. Phelps, G. Weber-Gale, C. Jones, J. Lezak (2008)
• 2021 Winning Time: 3:08.97 — United States: C. Dressel, B. Pieroni, B. Becker, Z. Apple
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 3:13.13

Top 8 

1. China – 3:11.62
2. Australia – 3:12.25
3. Great Britain – 3:12.49
4. USA- 3:12.61
5. Canada – 3:12.77
6. Italy – 3:12.94
7. Hungary – 3:12.96
8. Germany – 3:13.15

The first of two heats was a close affair until Pan Zhanle closed in 46.98 to lead the Chinese relay to not only a heat win but to the fastest time overall. Hungary frontloaded their relay, going with Nandor Nemeth (48.07) and Szebaztian Szabo (48.02), and was leading Germany at the halfway point by close to half a second. But Great Britain and China had other plans as the two countries pulled into the lead with a 47.91 split by Alexander Cohoon and 47.93 by Ji Xinjie.

Separated by .22 at this point, Pan’s 46.98 left Tom Dean in his rearview mirrors as the Brit’s split of 48.07 was not enough to maintain contact as the Chinese relay won in 3:11.62, nearly a full second ahead of the Brits 3:12.49. Much like the Chinese Women’s relay, the Italian men were just 6th at the 300-meter mark but used a strong anchor to pull themselves back into contention. The 2021 silver medalists in the event were anchored by Manuel Frigo, whose 47.80 split was second ot only Pan’s in the heat.

The second heat was a slower affair, with only three teams advancing into tonight’s final—2nd, 4th, and 5th. The lead jumped around a lot, with three different teams holding it over the course of the 400.

Jack Cartwright got the Aussies into pole position, opening up in a split of 48.51, albeit just .01 ahead of the USA’s Ryan Held. The second leg saw Brazil’s Marcelo Chierighini take over the lead as he split 48.21 to give his nation the lead over Israel, who was 4th at the 100, but Gal Cohen Groumi’s 48.22 pulled them into 2nd. After some disappointing splits from William Yang (48.39) and Matt King (48.40), the Aussies and Americans righted the ship with a 47.91 from Flynn Southam and a blistering 47.50 from Hunter Armstrong.

Armstrong, who finished 4th at US trials in 47.78, had pulled the Americans into the lead by .39 of a second over the Australians (2:24.42 vs 2:24.81) and turned things over to Caeleb Dressel. Dressel was out quick in 22.86 but could not keep the USA in the lead as Australia’s Chalmers cruised by his rival, splitting 47.44 to touch first in a time of 3:12.25. Dressel would wind up splitting 48.19, and the American finished behind the Aussie in a time of 3:12.61.

Sitting 5th at the halfway point, Team Canada went with a strong backhalf as Javier Acevedo split 48.15 to bring the Canadians up into 3rd. 1.10 seconds back of the Americans, Josh Liendo posted the second-fastest split of the entire field, 47.25, closing the gap to just .16 as the Canadians touched in 3:12.77