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 FINALS HEAT SHEET
It’s an action-packed day 6 evening schedule, as every stroke/discipline will be contested tonight. There are four finals and three semifinals on the schedule, but only two of them are not 200s, and one is the 4×200 free relay, so it’s really just the men’s 50 free that’s bucking the trend. However, that doesn’t mean it is not going to be a fast and exciting evening. Watch along with SwimSwam’s Coleman Hodges as he is joined by Gold Medal Mel and 2008 Olympic Silver medalist Milord Cavic.
DAY 6 Finals SCHEDULE
- Women’s 200 Butterfly – Finals
- Men’s 200 Backstroke – Finals
- Men’s 50 Freestyle – Semifinals
- Women’s 200 Breaststroke – Finals
- Women’s 200 Backstroke – Semifinals
- Men’s 200 IM – Semifinals
- Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay – Final
Two of the biggest stars on the women’s side go head to head in the finals of the 200 butterfly. Top seed Summer McIntosh will occupy lane 4 as she seeks to earn her third medal of the meet and her second gold. The Canadian will be flanked by American Regan Smith, who is searching to add her first gold medal to her collection of four medals. The pair aren’t alone in the quest for gold however, as 2020 Tokyo Champion Zhang Yufei will occupy the lane on McIntosh’s other side. Like the North Americans, Zhang will be looking to add another medal to her haul after having won an individual bronze in the 100 fly.
From one 200 final to the next, the men’s 200 backstroke is second on the schedule. Not only are we guaranteed a new champion, but we are also guaranteed a whole new podium, as the entire field of finalist is different from what it was in Tokyo. Hubert Kos, the 2023 World Champion, is the front runner, but Switzerland’s Roman Mityukov may have other plans as he was bronze in Fukuoka and won silver in Doha and would love to complete the trifecta of colors. Spain’s Hugo Gonzalez, who won gold in Doha, occupies lane 8 and maybe the outside smoke that sweeps to the win. America’s lone representative, Keaton Jones, and South Africa’s Pieter Coetze, bring the youth as the pair, 19 and 20 are the youngest in the field.
From the 200 back we jump to the 50 free semis, an event where strong underwater and a perfectly timed finish are as equally important. The fastest man in the world this season, Cameron McEvoy, will have tough competition on either side of him as Ben Proud and Florent Manaudou will occupy lanes 3 and 5 in the second semifinal, a heat that also contains 2024 World champion Vladyslav Bukhov. Not to ignore the first semifinal, which pits NCAA star Jordan Crooks against Italy’s Lorenzo Zazzeri in the middle of the pool. The first semi also contains two big names in the outside lanes, who will be looking to use that clean water on their sides to get themselves into the final as Caeleb Dressel and Maxime Grousset occupy lanes 1 and 8, respectively.
The onslaught of 200s continues as we move into the last individual final of the day. Tatjana Smith looks to repeat as the Olympic Champion in the 200 breaststroke. If she wins the gold, she’ll be the first swimmer to sweep the women’s breaststroke at an Olympics since 1996, when fellow South African Penelope Heyns did so. It won’t be an easy task, however, as American Kate Douglass occupies lane 4 after posting the fastest time in the semifinals.
The semifinals of the women’s 200 back and men’s 200 IM end the individual program as Regan Smith returns to the pool. Not only will she have to contend with the double tonight, but she will also deal with a strong field headlined by China’s Peng Xuwei and 2020 silver medalist Kylie Masse. 2020 Tokyo finalist Phoebe Bacon was 4th this morning and will be looking to improve upon her placing but will have to contend with the world record holder, Kaylee McKeown, who swam an easy 2:08.89 this morning to enter tonight as the #3 seed.
Similar to the 200 back, the men’s 200 IM sees favorite Leon Marchand as the #3 seed. After the performance of last night, the Frenchman can be excused for his time this morning, but he will be given no quarter tonight as Duncan Scott, Wang Shun, and Daiya Seto will all be hungry to make tomorrow’s final, as are Americans Shaine Casas and Carson Foster.
The session ends with the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay, in which Australia blew apart the field this morning and took the top seed by over 6 seconds. With the recent gold and silver medalists Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus expected to join the relay, it’ll be a race against the clock to see if the Aussie can get close to either their World Record from 2023 or China’s Olympic record from 2021. China and the USA, who finished first and second in Tokyo, occupy lanes 3 and 6 this evening as a young team from Hungary jumped into the fray this morning.
WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – Finals
- World Record: 2:01.81 – Liu Zige, CHN (2009)
World Junior Record: 2:04.06 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)Olympic Record: 2:03.86 – Zhang Yufei, CHN (2021)- 2021 Winning Time: 2:03.86 – Zhang Yufei, CHN
- 2021 Time to Win Bronze: 2:05.65
Podium
- Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2:03.03 ***NEW OLYMPIC & JUNIOR WORLD RECORD***
- Regan Smith (USA) – 2:03.84
- Zhang Yufei (CHN) – 2:05.09
- Elizabeth Dekkers (AUS)/Helena Bach (DEN) – 2:07.11
- Alex Shackell (USA) – 2:07.73
- Abbey Connor (AUS) – 2:08.15
- Laura Stephens (GBR) – 2:08.82
Chasing an unworldly World Record of 2:01.81 set in the super-suited era, Regan Smith was off the blocks fastest with a .67 reaction time. China’s Zhang Yufei, who won bronze in the 100 fly led at the 50, out in 27.08, just .3 ahead of Summer McIntosh and .52 ahead of Smith.
The trio, who were favored for the medals pre-meet, were in the same order at the 100, albeit with Zhang’s lead cut down to .16 as Zhang turned at the halfway mark in 58.81 to McIntosh’s 58.97 and Smith’s 59.36. McIntosh, in the hunt for her second gold medal took over from Zhang at the 150 wall and never looked back, as she surged down the back half of the race, with the only sub-32 3rd 50 split (31.73) and the fastest last 50 (32.33) to touch in a time of 2:03.03.
The time was not only good for gold but also vaulted the Canadian up the all-time performers list to #2 and rewrote the Canadian and Olympic Record books. Behind her, also rewriting their national record book, was Regan Smith. Smith, who was still 3rd at the 150 mark, was just .01 slower than McIntosh on the last 50, but her 32.34 was more than enough to pass Zhang, who faltered in the last 50, closing in 33.66.
Smith’s time of 2:03.84 is an improvement of .03 on her American Record from this past June and also surpasses Zhang’s former Olympic record. Zhang, who won in Tokyo in 2:03.86, was well back in 2:05.09, but still adds another individual bronze to her haul.
MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE –Finals
- World Record: 1:51.92 – Aaron Peirsol, USA (2009)
- World Junior Record: 1:55.14 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2017)
- Olympic Record: 1:53.27 – Evgeny Rylov, ROC (2021)
- 2021 Winning Time: 1:53.27 – Evgeny Rylov, ROC
- 2021 Time to Win Bronze: 1:54.72
Podium
- Hubert Kos (HUN) – 1:54.26
- Apostolos Christou (GRE) – 1:54.82
- Roman Mityukov (SUI)