The Top 5 Olympic Swimming Storylines To Tell Your Friends & Family About

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 Schedule
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Once every four years, swimming fans will get asked about the sport from people who usually have no idea what happened at the previous year’s World Championships or might still think Michael Phelps is competing.

So when you, a hardcore swim fan who will be looking closely to see which order the Swedish women opt to use in the 400 free relay, are asked about what to watch for during the swimming competition in Paris by your non-swimming friends and family, here are the top five storylines you can tell them about.

And if they’re wondering, in total, 2,402 medals were won by 2,175 athletes in 339 events at the Olympic Games in 2021.

Katie Ledecky Aims For More History

At this point of her career, Katie Ledecky rewrites the history books every time she hits the water at a major international competition, and that should continue this week in Paris.

Phelps is the only swimmer in history to win the same event at four straight Olympics, having done so in the men’s 200 IM from 2004 to 2016, and Ledecky has a chance to match that feat in the women’s 800 freestyle, having won in 2012, 2016 and 2021. She’s the big favorite there, and is also poised to win the 1500 free for a second straight time.

Two more gold medals would give Ledecky nine in her Olympic career, which would tie her for #2 all-time alongside Larisa Latynina, Paavo Nurmi, Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis. Phelps ranks 1st with 23.

If Ledecky manages to win a third gold, which is tough but not impossible with chances in the 400 free and 800 free relay, she would join Phelps as the second athlete with double-digit Olympic gold medals. She only needs three medals of any color to become the most decorated female Olympic swimmer ever, sitting with 10 medals right now and the top mark stands at 12 from Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres.

Leon Marchand Racing On Home Soil

Leon Marchand is a superstar in swimming, but non-sports fans may have never heard of him. If he does anything like what he did last year at the World Championships, that won’t be the case for long, as the Frenchman could walk away with four individual medals and multiple golds in front of his home crowd.

Marchand pursuit of another world record in the men’s 400 IM, completing the medley sweep in the 200 IM, and challenging heavyweights Kristof Milak (200 fly) and Qin Haiyang and Zac Stubblety-Cook (200 breast) will be must-see TV. If Marchand performs well, his popularity will explode in France and worldwide.

Kaylee McKeown vs Regan Smith (Australia vs USA)

One of the most intriguing rivalries in the sport, the impending battles between Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith could be seen as a microcosm of the Australia vs USA rivalry that could end up being a massive storyline in Paris.

McKeown and Smith are the two best female backstrokers of all-time from a speed perspective, and McKeown could go a long way in entrenching her legacy if she’s able to successfully defend her Olympic titles in the women’s 100 and 200 back from Tokyo.

Smith’s on a revenge tour after McKeown has held over her in major competition over the last three years. Smith reclaimed the 100 back world record last month, and if she can upend McKeown in at least one of the backstroke finals in Paris, it will be the most critical performance of her career.

McKeown is also a gold medal threat in the 200 IM, and Smith is in the hunt for the title in the 200 fly.

Australian Female Freestylers

If there’s one country that dominates one specific discipline in swimming right now, it’s the Australian women in freestyle.

Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus could easily lead the Aussies to three gold medals in the 100, 200 and 400 free, with O’Callaghan the favorite in the 100, Titmus the favorite in the 400, and them meeting in the middle with another world record on the line in the 200.

Shayna Jack is also a threat in the sprints, Lani Pallister could earn some hardware in the distance events, and the relays should be a spectacle with the Australian dominance to be expected in the 400 and 800 free relay.

How Will China Perform?

The Chinese doping scandal that came to light earlier this year made global headlines, and now with 11 of the swimmers who tested positive in 2021 competing in Paris, all eyes will be on them.

If they perform well, the scrutiny will come down heavy—Zac Stubblety-Cook has already said he’s considering a podium protest against Qin Haiyang in the men’s 200 breaststroke.

There’s also the chance the weight of the increased testing and attention weighs on the Chinese swimmers and they falter in Paris. It’s hard to read how things will play out, but it will be a developing story throughout the swimming competition.

Triple breaststroke world champion Qin and defending Olympic champions Zhang Yufei (women’s 200 fly) and Wang Shun (men’s 200 IM) will be the three names with the most eyeballs on them.

BONUS: SUMMER MCINTOSH

Summer McIntosh will be a major story as well, with a very good chance of winning four individual medals after she got her feet wet by placing 4th in the women’s 400 free in Tokyo at the age of 14.

Now 17, McIntosh is the undisputed favorite in the 400 IM, with a chance to re-break her world record, and many have her penciled in as the leading candidate for gold in the 200 fly. She’s got some real battles on her hands in the 400 free and 200 IM, but at her best, she should land on the podium, and the Canadian women also have an outside shot at a relay medal or two.