2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
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We had to wait until day five at the 2024 Paris Olympics to get a world record, but when we got it, it wasn’t by a little. Pan Zhanle destroyed his 100 freestyle world record, claiming Olympic gold in a monstrous time of 46.40.
The men’s 100 freestyle is always one of the most anticipated races of the swimming program. This year, the excitement for this Olympic showdown was amped up by how deep the field was. It boasted Pan, the current world record holder, David Popovici, the former world record holder, and Kyle Chalmers, the 2016 Olympic champion, just to name a few. But even as the anticipation grew, many expected that so many big bodies together in the water would prevent a new world record from being set even with so many of the fastest men in history present.
Pan defied expectations. There was also a lot of talk about how important positioning was going to be in this race. One of Pan’s strengths is his front half speed and as expected, the 19-year-old world champion grabbed the race by both hands. He shot out to the lead, turning in 22.28 to the feet.
He did not let up on the way home, pouring on the gas with a 24.12 closing split. His time of 46.40 chops a full four-tenths off the world record that he swam leading off China’s 4×100 freestyle relay at the 2024 World Championships.
Split Comparison, Last Three Men’s 100 Freestyle WR Swims
| Pan Zhanle – 2024 Olympic Games | Pan Zhanle – 2024 World Championships | David Popovici – 2022 European Championships | |
| 50 | 22.28 | 22.26 | 22.74 |
| 100 | 46.40 (24.12) | 46.80 (24.54) | 46.86 (24.12) |
It’s the back half that helped Pan explode for this world record. He was right on his opening split from Doha which got him out to the front of the race by .33 seconds over Maxime Grousset. But he didn’t come back to the field like he did in Doha. Instead, Pan–who began his career as a distance swimmer–found speed in the final 50 meters. He unleashed a 24.12 back-half, tying Popovici’s split from his world record swim two years ago.
Fastest Back-Half Splits of All-Time
- David Popovici (ROU), 24.05 — 2022 European Championships
- David Popovici (ROU), 24.09 — 2024 European Championships
- Andrei Minakov (RUS), 24.11 — 2021 Russian Nationals
- David Popovici (ROU)/Pan Zhanle, 24.12 — 2022 European Championships/2024 Olympic Games
- —
- David Popovici (ROU), 24.19 — 2022 European Junior Championships
Pan won by 1.08 seconds over Chalmers, one of the largest margins of victory we’ve seen in this event at the Olympics in years. He showed that he was on form in the 100 freestyle on the opening day of the Olympic Games by leading off China’s 4×100 freestyle relay, in a then-Olympic record of 46.92. He was the only lead-off man under 47 seconds but backed off during prelims of the men’s 100 free. He improved in the semifinals and secured lane four but saved the fireworks for the moment that mattered most.
Pan is not one of the 23 Chinese swimmers who reportedly tested positive for TMZ seven months before the Tokyo Olympics. The story of the doping scandal first broke earlier this year from reports by The New York Times and ARD. Following that report, World Aquatics shared that Chinese swimmers were the most tested athletes by a wide margin this year and were tested more frequently than other nations’ swimmers in the lead-up to Paris.
This is the first world record set at these Olympic Games, which keeps the streak of at least one world record being set at an Olympics alive. We’d seen many Olympic records go down at these Games but were still waiting for a world record in a difficult pool. In addition, Pan is the first male swimmer to break a world record in 2024.
My prediction(and I’m never wrong) :
Pan will break 46 in Singapore
Chalmers first 50 was slowwwww
C’mon dude
Same strategy here as in Fukuoka, open in 23.0 and close hard.
Popovici may swim faster without so much rest. He was a lot faster at Euros where he said he was untapered. He was out really slow on the first 50. Fortunate to get the bronze here.
Slow pool
Death, Taxes, and Chalmers medaling in 100 free.
Chalmers is the only active swimmer who always medaled in 100 free competition since his first international race (2015 Worlds Junior in Singapore). Not even Dressel did.
Bully!
I put 46.40 on the same pedestal as Mary T Meagher 2:05.96, Egerszegi 2:06.62, Ian Thorpe 3:40.08, Sjostrom 24.43, Peaty 56.88, Milak 1:50.34, Ledecky 8:04.79
It’s transcendental and it’s generational.
It’s awe inspiring.
I like these, I am also not a fan of Biedermann’s 200, Zhang’s 800, and the Women’s 200 Fly because of the Mickey Mouse suits
Yes I decided not to include 2008-2009 WRs
All of them were made in legal suits, if a USA swimmers was on that suit a lot of opinions would be different
Interesting Zhang Lin accomplished the penultimate swimming World Record attained in the Mickey Mouse suit, and the powers that be BANNED it right after! They even went so far as to introduce the 800m Freestyle event back into the Olympics, in hopes to erase Zhang Lin’s WR asap.
Throw Marchand 4:02.50 400IM up there for sure
It’s Godly
And I’m not even religious
The time itself could almost be irrelevant… the writing’s been on the wall that the WR was in danger.
People here expected it to fall… till talk of a ‘slow pool’ emerged.
Still, that talk aside, it was not outside the realm of possibility that the 100m free WR could again have gone down this year.
What surprised me the most is not that he got the WR, but that everyone else was so far behind.
If this race was closer I’d say people may have been less surprised by the time, even expected it… to a degree. Maybe not .4, but .6 or even a .5.
I expected Popovici to be closer, and even Chalmers’ relay split indicated… Read more »
Yes I agree it does happen and I have seen it in my own coaching life – but never on a scale like this – half a second off a 100 free record that he and Poppovici have only just shaved a tenth or a hundredth of second or so off in the last two years . Then suddenly half a second off the WR in one swim after the super suit record had lasted for 13.years. And, in a pool where other great swimmers have not been able replicate an equivalent performance in other events. Hmm!
I think most of the comments here still can’t avoid looking at this achievement from a perspective of racial or nationality discrimination lol
You mean the Lance Armstrong perspective, which we saw from the same nation in the last Olympics?
Where is Lance Armstrong from? And Carl Lewis, Erriyon Knighton and Justin Gatlin?
Racial discrimination…nice try lol
Can’t agree more!