The top times during the first prelims session yesterday were slower than they were in Tokyo three years ago. That narrative continued today, with the men’s 200 freestyle showing a clear difference in times.
10 men swam under the 1:46 mark during prelims in Tokyo but only two swimmers, David Popovici of Romania and Danas Rapsys of Lithuania did so today.
Number Of Sub-1:46 Prelims Swims In Recent Olympics
| Olympic Games |
# of sub-1:46 swims in prelims
|
| Paris | 2 |
| Tokyo | 10 |
| Rio | 4 |
| London | 0 |
| Beijing | 1 |
Even with “swim-flation” as a big topic lately, it did not strike this morning in the event. Based on the data, Tokyo’s 10 looks to be a large increase but today’s two seems to be an outlier on the lower end, especially once one factors in the typical “swim-flation” and continued increase in competition over time.
The men’s 200 freestyle was not the only race this morning that was slower. Out of the five prelims races, four out of the five top qualifiers for tonight swam slower times than the top qualifier in Tokyo. The lone exception was Leon Marchand in the 400 IM. The bottom of tonight’s qualifiers also displayed the same result, with four out of the five events being slower and the women’s 100 breast was the only exception.
It only took a 1:47.39 to make it back in the men’s 200 free this morning which also was the same exact time it took to make it back in the event at US Olympic Trials. Credit to Instagram user @roger_miret for catching this stat.
Men’s 200 Freestyle, Prelims Comparison vs Tokyo
| Tokyo | Paris | ||||||
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Rank | Name | Country | Time |
| 1 | Hwang Sun-woo | South Korea | 1:44.62 | 1 | David Popovici | Romania | 1:45.65 |
| 2 | Fernando Scheffer | Brazil | 1:45.05 | 2 | Danas Rapsys | Lithuania | 1:45.91 |
| 3 | Thomas Dean | Great Britain | 1:45.24 | 3 | Lucas Henveuax | Belgium | 1:46.04 |
| 4 | David Popovici | Romania | 1:45.32 | 4 | Hwang Sunwoo | South Korea | 1:46.13 |
| 5 | Duncan Scott | Great Britain | 1:45.37 | 5 | Maximillian Giuliani | Australia | 1:46.15 |
| 6 | Martin Malyutin | ROC | 1:45.50 | 6 | Matt Richards | Great Britain | 1:46.19 |
| 7 | Stefano Ballo | Italy | 1:45.80 | 7 | Katsuhiro Matsumoto | Japan | 1:46.23 |
| 8 | Thomas Neill | Australia | 1:45.81 | 8 | Luke Hobson | USA | 1:46.23 |
| 9 | Danas Rapšys | Lithuania | 1:45.84 | 9 | Thomas Neill | Australia | 1:46.27 |
| 10 | Townley Haas | United States | 1:45.86 | 10 | Lukas Maertens | Germany | 1:46.33 |
| 11 | Kregor Zirk | Estonia | 1:46.10 | 11 | Duncan Scott | Great Britain | 1:46.34 |
| 12 | Nándor Németh | Hungary | 1:46.19 | 12 | Kim Woomin | South Korea | 1:46.64 |
| 13 | Kieran Smith | United States | 1:46.20 | 13 | Rafael Miroslaw | Germany | 1:46.81 |
| 14 | Velimir Stjepanović | Serbia | 1:46.26 | 14 | Denis Loktev | Israel | 1:47.01 |
| 15 | Antonio Djakovic | Switzerland | 1:46.37 | 15 | Alessandro Ragaini | Italy | 1:47.31 |
| 16 | Stefano Di Cola | Italy | 1:46.67 | 16 | Filippo Megli | Italy | 1:47.39 |
Men’s 100 Backstroke
| Tokyo | Paris | ||||||
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Rank | Name | Country | Time |
| 1 | Kliment Kolesnikov | ROC | 52.15 | 1 | Hubert Kos | Hungary | 52.78 |
| 2 | Thomas Ceccon | Italy | 52.49 | 2 | Pieter Coetze | South Africa | 52.9 |
| 3 | Xu Jiayu | China | 52.7 | 3 | Apostolos Christou | Greece | 52.95 |
| 4 | Mitch Larkin | Australia | 52.97 | 4 | Ryan Murphy | USA | 53.06 |
| 5 | Ryosuke Irie | Japan | 52.99 | 5 | Ksawery Masuik | Poland | 53.08 |
| 6 | Yohann Ndoye-Brouard | France | 53.13 | 6 | Yohann Ndoye-Brouard | France | 53.2 |
|
7
|
Evgeny Rylov | ROC | 53.22 | 7 | Xu Jiayu | China | 53.2 |
| Ryan Murphy | United States | 53.22 | 8 | Evangelos Makrygiannis | Greece | 53.24 | |
| 9 | Hugo González | Spain | 53.45 | 9 | Hunter Armstrong | USA | 53.34 |
| 10 | Mewen Tomac | France | 53.49 | 10 | Miroslav Knedla | Czech Republic | 53.41 |
| 11 | Guilherme Guido | Brazil | 53.65 | 11 | Oliver Morgan | Great Britain | 53.44 |
| 12 | Robert Glință | Romania | 53.67 | 12 | Thomas Ceccon | Italy | 53.45 |
| 13 | Isaac Cooper | Australia | 53.73 | 13 | Mewen Tomax | France | 53.51 |
| 14 | Marek Ulrich | Germany | 53.74 | 14 | Hugo Gonzalez | Spain | 53.68 |
|
15
|
Hunter Armstrong | United States | 53.77 | 15 | Blake Tierney | Canada | 53.89 |
| Apostolos Christou | Greece | 53.77 | 16 | Jonny Marshall | Great Britain | 53.93 |
Men’s 400 IM
| Tokyo | Paris | ||||||
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Rank | Name | Country | Time |
| 1 | Brendon Smith | Australia | 4:09.27 | 1 | Leon Marchand | France | 4:08.30 |
| 2 | Lewis Clareburt | New Zealand | 4:09.49 | 2 | Max Litchfield | Great Britain | 4:09.51 |
| 3 | Chase Kalisz | United States | 4:09.65 | 3 | Daiya Seto | Japan | 4:10.92 |
| 4 | Dávid Verrasztó | Hungary | 4:09.80 | 4 | Carson Foster | USA | 4:11.07 |
| 5 | Jay Litherland | United States | 4:09.91 | 5 | Tomoyuki Matsushita | Japan | 4:11.18 |
| 5 | Alberto Razzetti | Italy | 4:09.91 | 6 | Alberto Razzetti | Italy | 4:11.52 |
| 7 | Léon Marchand | France | 4:10.09 | 6 | Lewis Clareburt | New Zealand | 4:11.52 |
| 8 | Max Litchfield | Great Britain | 4:10.20 | 6 | Cedric Buessing | Germany | 4:11.52 |
Women’s 200 Freestyle
| Tokyo | Paris | ||||||
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Rank | Name | Country | Time |
| 1 | Katie Ledecky | United States | 1:55.28 | 1 | Mollie O’Callaghan | Australia | 1:55.79 |
| 2 | Penny Oleksiak | Canada | 1:55.38 | 2 | Mary-Sophie Harvey | Canada | 1:56.21 |
| 3 | Madison Wilson | Australia | 1:55.87 | 3 | Ariarne Titmus | Australia | 1:56.23 |
| 4 | Ariarne Titmus | Australia | 1:55.88 | 4 | Li Bingjie | China | 1:56.28 |
| 5 | Summer McIntosh | Canada | 1:56.11 | 5 | Siobhan Haughey | Hong Kong | 1:56.38 |
| 6 | Yang Junxuan | China | 1:56.17 | 6 | Claire Weinstein | USA | 1:56.48 |
| 7 | Barbora Seemanová | Czech Republic | 1:56.38 | 7 | Erika Fairweather | New Zealand | 1:56.54 |
| 8 | Siobhán Haughey | Hong Kong | 1:56.48 | 8 | Maria Fernanda Costa | Brazil | 1:56.65 |
| 9 | Isabel Marie Gose | Germany | 1:56.80 | 9 | Yang Junxuan | China | 1:56.83 |
| 10 | Charlotte Bonnet | France | 1:56.88 | 10 | Barbora Seemanova | Czech Republic | 1:57.02 |
| 11 | Freya Anderson | Great Britain | 1:56.96 | 11 | Erin Gemmell | USA | 1:57.23 |
| 12 | Allison Schmitt | United States | 1:57.10 | 12 | Valentine Dumont | Belgium | 1:57.50 |
| 13 | Annika Bruhn | Germany | 1:57.15 | 13 | Minna Abraham | Hungary | 1:57.77 |
| 14 | Erika Fairweather | New Zealand | 1:57.26 | 14 | Aimee Canee | South Africa | 1:57.81 |
| 15 | Federica Pellegrini | Italy | 1:57.33 | 15 | Snaefridur Sol Jorunnardottir | Iceland | 1:58.32 |
| 16 | Valeriya Salamatina | ROC | 1:58.33 | 16 | Rebecca-Aimme Diaconescu | Romania | 1:59.29 |
Women’s 100 breast
| Tokyo | Paris | ||||||
| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Rank | Name | Country | Time |
| 1 | Tatjana Schoenmaker | South Africa | 1:04.82 | 1 | Tatjana Smith | South Africa | 1:05.00 |
| 2 | Lydia Jacoby | United States | 1:05.52 | 2 | Tang Qianting | China | 1:05.63 |
| 3 | Lilly King | United States | 1:05.55 | 3 | Mona McSharry | Ireland | 1:05.74 |
| 4 | Sophie Hansson | Sweden | 1:05.66 | 4 | Satomi Suzuki | Japan | 1:06.04 |
| 5 | Martina Carraro | Italy | 1:05.85 | 5 | Lilly King | USA | 1:06.10 |
| 6 | Evgeniia Chikunova | ROC | 1:06.16 | 6 | Benedetta Pilato | Italy | 1:06.19 |
| 7 | Ida Hulkko | Finland | 1:06.19 | 7 | Anastasia Gorbenko | Israel | 1:06.22 |
| 8 | Yuliya Yefimova | ROC | 1:06.21 | 8 | Eneli Jefimova | Estonia | 1:06.24 |
| 9 | Mona McSharry | Ireland | 1:06.39 | 9 | Lisa Angiolini | Italy | 1:06.27 |
| 10 | Tang Qianting | China | 1:06.47 | 10 | Ruta Meilutyte | Lithuania | 1:06.34 |
| 11 | Sarah Vasey | Great Britain | 1:06.61 | 11 | Alina Zmushka | Individual Neutral Athlete | 1:06.37 |
| 12 | Chelsea Hodges | Australia | 1:06.70 | 12 | Angharad Evans | Great Britain | 1:06.38 |
| 13 | Lisa Mamié | Switzerland | 1:06.76 | 13 | Sophie Hansson | Sweden | 1:06.66 |
| 14 | Eneli Jefimova | Estonia | 1:06.79 | 14 | Tes Schouten | Netherlands | 1:06.69 |
| 15 | Kotryna Teterevkova | Lithuania | 1:06.82 | 15 | Kotryna Teterevkova | Lithuania | 1:06.76 |
| 16 | Anna Elendt | Germany | 1:06.96 | 16 | Macarena Ceballos | Argentina | 1:06.89 |
Can’t believe we have to wait 4 more years until a world record falls in the Olympics 😭
Yes. It is a slow(er) pool.
“Sure we built the pool slow, but give us some credit, at least we didn’t fill it with E. coli.”
– Paris Olympic Planning Committee (probably)
France trying to give every Frenchman not named Leon a chance.
In all reality, there are community rec centers in America that are better than this pool
The shitty end of season meet I just swam at had a better pool than the Olympics 😂
Peaty said in an interview that it’s “really tough on that back end” and Qin has said to a Chinese reporter something similar along the lines of he feels in form but can’t execute it especially in the back half. At least for Breaststrokers it really looks like they’re struggling and something is happening from the yellow into the walls.
https://www.bundle.app/en/breakingNews/titmus-shrugs-off-pressure-to-win-gold-as-peaty-sets-up-qin-haiyang-showdown-BE7BB6C4-3143-4738-9A6D-EFB11CCD25AA
Yeah I’ve noticed the length towards the blocks seems to be where everyone is slowing down, it’s making me wonder if there’s a 2013 barcelona style current.
The water also seems to be getting chopier as the sessions go on. There’s so many other potential factors and so little data right now it’s hard to say we know anything but that first prelim session the athletes themselves seemed a bit mythed by the times. If it is a “slow pool” I’m just kinda confuaed as the olympics kinda always get that right
I think they are using the same company that has done a lot of other pools, which makes me wonder why they did not use the same setup (ex. they did the US Trials pool). Ex. Why is the pool not as deep as many of the past pools?
Well if there is, shouldn’t they be faster on the way in?
You’re in the air and not in the pool on the way in though
there are more waves the closer you get to the wall
Don’t want to be a Karen in this article but they got their lane assignments wrong for the 400 Free final. Ledecky was in 4, Titmus in 5, and McIntosh in 6.
Asking legit question because I don’t know and not trying to be judgy, but tying 2 threads together…..what’s the chance that allowing a lot more Inclusivity athletes in who are not as fast and keeping “B” standard athletes out of the meet who are relatively fast — and technically could be B finalists have had an effect on this meet?
There are solid B swimmers from South America for example (thinking Pan Am Games finalists etc) who are not here that could be rounding out a faster bottom end of the top 16.
If you look at the Top 8, it’s a little slower — but honestly not much in the events that have Semis. But the 13-16… Read more »
I think probably some impact but not huge. That doesn’t really impact the top 8 being slower, for example.
Can you imagine if Doha sees a world record but Paris doesn’t?
I can definitely imagine that right now but I do firmly believe that Leon will be at least very close to his world record tonight
G. Walsh’s semi and Pan’s relay times weren’t that far off either. Also the Australian women’s 4×200 should probably be there too.
Saying the pool is not slow is pure cope. It’s slow, even if a few sneak through the chop for massive times. They don’t even have a buffer on the outside lanes.
I think the outside lanes are the buffer area as they are not using lane 0 or lane 9
You’re right, there are outside lanes.