2024 Paris Olympics: Day 7 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)
• Meet Central
• Full Swimming Schedule
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Pick ’em Contest
• How To Watch
• Entry Lists
• Live Results
• 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 | Day 6

DAY 7 PRELIMS HEAT SHEET

The swimming portion of the Olympics is beginning to wind down, as we don’t have too many events left. This morning will feature heats of 4 events: the men’s 100 fly, women’s 200 IM, women’s 800 freestyle, and mixed 4×100 medley relay. Despite the 800 free, the session is only projected to last a little over an hour.

DAY 7 PRELIMS SCHEDULE

• Men’s 100 Butterfly – Prelims
• Women’s 200 IM – Prelims
• Women’s 800 Freestyle – Prelims
• Mixed 4×100 Medley Relay – Prelims

Canadian Josh Liendo enters as the top seed in the men’s 100 fly this morning with a 50.06. The field is very bunched up at he top, as France’s Maxime Grousset (50.14), Switzerland’s Noe Ponti (50.16), American Caeleb Dressel (50.19), and Australian Matthew Temple (50.25) are all seeded within 0.2 seconds of Liendo. Dressel is the reigning Olympic champion in the event, having set the World Record of 49.45 back in Tokyo 3 years ago. 200 fly World Record holder and silver medalist from earlier in the week Kristof Milak will also be in the field this morning.

The women’s 200 IM should feature one of the best races of the meet. Australia’s Kaylee McKeown enters as the top seed. McKeown has been swimming very well here in Paris, having won the women’s 100 back in a new Olympic Record earlier in the week. Behind McKeown, 200 breast gold medalist Kate Douglass is the 2nd seed. Adding to the mix, Canadian Summer McIntosh, who has already earned gold in the 400 IM and 200 fly here in Paris, as well as silver in the 400 free, is the 3rd seed coming into the event. McKeown, Douglass, and McIntosh are all seeded with 2:06’s this morning. We also need to mention American Alex Walsh, as well as defending Olympic Champion Yui Ohashi (Japan), who are real threats as well.

The 800 free is very arguably Katie Ledecky‘s best event, and she comes in as the top seed by a large margin this morning. The prelims should actually be pretty interesting this morning, as Ledecky will be racing between Australian Ariarne Titmus and Italian Simona Quadarella. Titmus won gold in the 400 free on the first night of the meet, so she represents something of a threat in the 800.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – HEATS

• World Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
• World Junior Record: 50.62 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017)
• Olympic Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA
• 2021 Time to Advance to Semifinals: 51.74

1. Kristof Milak (Hungary) – 50.19
2. Josh Liendo (Canada) – 50.55
3. Noe Ponti (Switzerland)/Maxime Grousset (France) – 50.65 (TIE)
4. –
5. Ilya Kharun (Canada) – 50.71
6. Caeleb Dressel (United States) – 50.83
7. Matthew Temple (Australia) – 50.89
8. Nyls Kortsanje (Netherlands) – 51.17
9. Jakub Majerski (Poland) – 51.18
10. Gal Groumi (Israel) – 51.30
11. Ben Armbruster (Australia) – 51.33
12. Katsuhiro Matsumoto (Japan) – 51.43
13. Simon Bucher (Austria) – 51.33
14. Hubert Kos (Hungary) – 51.58
15. Naoki Mizunuma (Japan)/Clement Secchi (France) – 51.62 (TIE)
16. –

Perhaps invigorated by his silver medal finish in the men’s 200 fly a few nights ago, Hungarian Kristof Milak looked excellent in the heats of the 100 fly this morning. Milak clocked a 50.19, posting the top time of the morning by a decent margin, given how tight the rest of the field was. He was out in 23.57, a solid opening split, but them came roaring home in 26.62, which was the fastest back half in the field this morning.

Canada had a strong showing in this event, seeing Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun go 1-2 in the final heat. Liendo, who entered the meet as the top seed in the event, hit the wall in 50.55, just ahead of Kharun, who clocked a 50.71. Liendo’s time was good for 2nd overall, while Kharun was 5th.

There was a tie for 3rd this morning, as Switzerland’s Noe Ponti and France’s Maxime Grousset both clocked a time of 50.65. Grousset was out the fastest of anyone this morning, splitting a very speedy 23.27 on the opening 50m. Conversely, Ponti came home in 26.67 on the 2nd 50, which was 2nd only to Milak on the back half this morning.

American Caeleb Dressel put up a solid time in the final heat this morning, swimming a 50.83. Perhaps most importantly, the World Record holder and defending Olympic champion in the event looked happy with the time after he finished this morning. He was out in 23.75, and came home in 27.08. We know Dressel has more speed on the front half in him.

The 2nd American in this event, 17-year-old Thomas Heilman, didn’t make it back for semifinals tonight, finishing 18th with a 51.82.

200 backstroke champion Hubert Kos narrowly made it through to the semis, taking 14th this morning with a 51.58.

WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – HEATS

• World Record: 2:06.12 – Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2015)
• World Junior Record: 2:06.89 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
• Olympic Record: 2:06.58 – Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2016)
• 2021 Winning Time: 2:08.52 – Yui Ohashi, JPN
• 2021 Time to Advance to Semifinals: 2:12.21

1. Summer McIntosh (Canada) – 2:09.90
2. Yu Yiting (China) – 2:10.28
3. Alex Walsh (United States) – 2:10.48
4. Sydney Pickrem (Canada) – 2:10.63
5. Kate Douglass (United States) – 2:10.70
6. Ella Ramsay (Australia) – 2:10.75
7. Abbie Wood (Great Britain) – 2:10.95
8. Ye Shiwen (China) – 2:10.96
9. Kaylee McKeown (Australia) – 2:11.26
10. Charlotte Bonnet (France) – 2:11.47
11. Anastasia Gorbenko (Israel) – 2:11.53
12. Emma Carrasco (Spain) – 2:11.54
13. Shiho Matsumoto (Japan) – 2:11.67
14. Yui Ohashi (Japan) – 2:11.70
15. Ellen Walshe (Ireland) – 2:11.81
16. Rebecca Meder (South Africa) – 2:11.96

The women’s 200 IM was a touch faster here in the Paris than it was in Tokyo 3 years ago. In Tokyo, it took a 2:12.21 to make it through to the semifinals, while 16th this morning was a 2:11.96, which was swum by South African Record holder Rebecca Meder.

Through prelims, Canada had the strongest showing in this event. Summer McIntosh, the champion of the 400 IM and 200 fly, was the only swimmer in the field this morning to go under 2:10, clocking a 2:09.90 to earn the top seed for tonight. McIntosh put together a great race all around, splitting 27.48 on fly, 32.32 on back, 38.61 on breast, and 31.49 on free.

Meanwhile, fellow Canadian Sydney Pickrem clocked a 2:10.63, which was good for 4th overall. Pickrem was phenomenal on the back half of the race tonight, splitting 37.05 on breast and 31.55 on free, for a 1:08.60 on the 2nd 100.

The American duo was also very good this morning, led by Alex Walsh, who clocked a 2:10.48 for 3rd. Kate Douglass swam a 2:10.70 for 5th this morning. Douglass, the 200 breast champion, swam a field-leading 36.69 on the breast leg of the race this morning. She had the fastest back half of anyone this morning, as she came home in 31.10 on freestyle, which means she was 1:07.79 on the 2nd 100.

Australia also saw both their swimmers make it through. Kaylee McKeown, one of the favorite for gold in the event, looked relaxed as she clocked a 2:11.26 for 9th this morning. McKeown has the final of the women’s 200 back tonight to focus on, so she may be focusing on managing her energy throughout the day.

The other Australian in the field, Ella Ramsay, was faster than McKeown this morning, swimming a 2:10.75.

Defending Olympic champion Yui Ohashi swam a 2:11.70 for 14th this morning, getting into the semifinals for tonight.

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• World Record: 8:04.79 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2016)
• World Junior Record: 8:11.00 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2014)
• Olympic Record: 8:04.79 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2016)
• 2021 Winning Time: 8:12.57 – Katie Ledecky, USA
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 8:20.58

1. Katie Ledecky (United States) – 8:16.62
2. Paige Madden (United States) – 8:18.48
3. Ariarne Titmus (Australia) – 8:19.87
4. Lani Pallister (Australia) – 8:20.21
5. Isabel Gose (Germany) – 8:20.63
6. Simona Quadarella (Spain) – 8:20.89
7. Erika Fairweather (New Zealand) – 8:22.22
8. Anastasiia Kirpichnikova (France) – 8:22.99

There were only 16 total swimmers in the women’s 800 free prelims this morning, so half the contestants advanced to the final tomorrow night. There were 4 swimmers from each heat that finished in the top 8. The 2nd heat was clearly the faster of the 2, and not just because Katie Ledecky was in that heat. To the surprise of no one, Ledecky clocked the top time of the morning, swimming an 8:16.62. By my count, the performance was Ledecky’s 53rd-fastest time of her career, which is impressive, because she earned the top seed without a problem.

Fellow American Paige Madden had an excellent swim this morning, taking 2nd in the 2nd heat and 2nd overall with an 8:18.48. The performance marks a huge career best for Madden, as her previous best was an 8:20.71, which she swam at the US Olympic Trials to qualify to race it here in Paris. With the performance, Madden becomes the 5th-fastest American all-time in the event.

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus also had a nice race in the 2nd heat, swimming an 8:19.87 for 3rd in the heat and 3rd overall. Titmus is the 4th-fastest performer all-time in the event with her career best of 8:13.59 from last summer.

Fellow Aussie Lani Pallister made it through without a problem as well, winning the 1st heat in 8:20.21, which was good for 4th overall. That means the middle of the pool in the final tomorrow night will feature two Americans and two Aussies.

France’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova came in 8th this morning with an 8:22.99. Kirpichnikova had a fantastic race for silver in the 1500 a few days ago, so we’ll see what she’s able to do from the outside lane in the final tomorrow.

Of note, China’s Li Bingjie failed to qualify for the final. Li clocked an 8:27.92, which was good for 9th, but was 5 seconds off what it took to make it into the top 8. Li is the 3rd-fastest performer all-time in the event, behind only Ledecky and Canadian Summer McIntosh.

MIXED 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – HEATS

• World Record: 3:37.58 – Great Britain (2021)
• Olympic Record: 3:37.58 – Great Britain (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 3:37.58 – Great Britain
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 3:43.94

1. United States (Regan Smith, Charlie Swanson, Caeleb Dressel, Abbey Weitzeil) – 3:40.98
2. Australia (Iona Anderson, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Emma McKeon, Kyle Chalmers) – 3:41.42
3. China (Xu Jiayu, Tang Qianting, Zhang Yufei, Pan Zhanle) – 3:42.26
4. Netherlands (Kai Van Westering, Caspar Corbeau, Tessa Giele, Marrit Steenbergen) – 3:43.60
5. Great Britain (Kathleen Dawson, James Wilby, Joe Litchfield, Anna Hopkin) – 3:43.73
6. Canada (Blake Tierney, Apollo Hess, Maggie MacNeil, Taylor Ruck) – 3:43.87
7. France (Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, Antoine Viquerat, Lilou Ressencourt, Marie Wattel) – 3:43.99
8. Japan (Riku Matsuyama, Taku Taniguchi, Mizuki Hirai, Rikako Ikee) – 3:44.25

The Americans led the way in the mixed 4×100 medley relay this morning, seeing the team of Regan Smith, Charlie Swanson, Caeleb Dressel, and Abbey Weitzeil teamed up for a 3:40.98. This relay will surely look different tonight in finals, quite possibly, maybe even probably, on all 4 legs. Either way, this group of Americans swam very well this morning, Smith clocked a 57.87 on the lead-off, while Charlie Swanson went 59.65 on the breast leg, which was about 0.3 seconds faster than he swam in the heats of the 100 breast back on the first day of the meet. Caeleb Dressel then threw down a 50.10 fly split, which was faster than the 50.83 he swam in prelims of the event at the beginning of this session. Weitzeil then anchored in 53.36.

The Australians came in 2nd overall, swimming a 3:41.42. Iona Anderson (58.81), Zac Stubblety-Cook (59.68), Emma McKeon (55.86), and Kyle Chalmers (47.07) combined to earn the 2nd seed for tonight. Chalmers’ split was particularly notable, seeing as it was a good bit faster than he went in the 100 free final a few days ago.

France got their relay back for finals tonight, finishing 7th in 3:43.99. Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (52.48), Antoine Viquerat (59.91), Lilou Ressencourt (58.55), and Marie Wattel (53.05) combined to get the job done. There may be some shuffling of positions tonight in the final for France, including the possibility of Leon Marchand coming in. If Marchand was to swim on this relay tonight, it would presumably be on the breaststroke leg.