North America: Women’s 200 Breast the “Double Miss” Event for U.S. in 2016

2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Swimming: August 6-13
• Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Barra Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro
• Prelims – 9:00 a.m/12:00 p.m PST/EST (1:00 p.m local), Finals – 6:00 p.m/9:00 p.m PST/EST (10:00 p.m local)
• SwimSwam previews 
• Rio Schedule & Results
• Live Stream (NBC)

We’re used to American dominance in this sport. It’s what we know.

But dominant doesn’t mean perfect, and it seems that every Olympics in this century, the Americans tend to have an event where both swimmers miss the final.

In 2008, Katie Hoff and Kate Ziegler missed the 800 free final. In 2004, Ian Crocker and Jason Lezak missed the 100 free final. Lindsay Benko and Rada Owen missed the 200 free final in 2000. It didn’t happen in London, but it’s happened at 4 of the 5 Olympics in the 21st century. Now, in 2016, Lilly King and Molly Hannis have failed to qualify for the 200 breast final.

Were they expected to make it? Nope. Is it that big of a deal that they missed it? Not really.

Rather, it serves as a reminder that as dominant as the Americans are, they’re not perfect. There are American swimmers who miss the final, sometimes both in the same event.

So, what does that mean, exactly?

It plays into the storyline of the rest of the world “catching up,” if you will. While America is the iconic model of swimming greatness, as a whole, it is certainly not the model for female 200 butterfliers. The rest of the world doesn’t really look up to the American male sprint breaststrokers. It means that, yes, the mighty United States has something to work on.

Which is great. The better the rest of the world gets, and the more that other nations set the pace for various events, the more competitive the entire playing field gets. It’s everyone chasing each other.

This isn’t to say that it’s necessarily *good* that Americans are missing Olympic finals. This isn’t to take away from the tough performances that King and Hannis gritted through. It’s not all about the Americans! My hands are on your ears and I’m shaking your head!

This is about the sport of swimming; the grand scheme of competition. And while King and Hannis might have missed the mark in this event, the Americans have plenty to be excited about this week.

Other than the disappointment of the 200 breast for the U.S. this evening, there were plenty of highlights for North Americans on day 5. Take a look:

• Canada’s Penny Oleksiak re-broke her own world junior record in the women’s 100 free semis, qualifying 2nd for the final in an incredible 52.72. Only world record holder Cate Campbell (52.71) was faster than Oleksiak in the semis. It also broke her own Canadian record.
• American Josh Prenot picked up a silver medal in the men’s 200 breast, missing the gold medal spot by just seven one-hundredths of a second.
• Fellow American Nathan Adrian didn’t finish in the spot he wanted, but still made his way onto the podium in the men’s 100 freestyle, winning bronze in 47.85. Canadian Santo Condorelli led through the first 70 metres of the race, ultimately just missing a medal in 4th.
• Both the American and Canadian women medalled in their second second straight relay, with the Americans taking gold and the Canadians bronze in the 4×200 free. That makes three gold and four total medals for Katie Ledecky, and gives Penny Oleksiak from Canada her third medal. Oleksiak will look to become the first Canadian swimmer to win four medals at one Olympics tomorrow night in the 100 free where she’s seeded 2nd.
• Other North Americans who qualified for finals tomorrow night: Simone Manuel and Abbey Weitzel in the women’s 100 free, Ryan Murphy and Jacob Pebley in the men’s 200 back, Kierra Smith in the women’s 200 breast, and the Phelps/Lochte duo in the men’s 200 IM.

In the medal column, the United States had their slowest night thus far, but still added one medal of each color to make it an impressive total of 21 through five days.

With their fourth medal, the Canadians now have won the same number of medals in swimming through five days in Rio than they did at the previous four Olympics combined.