2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
9 superb days of swimming on the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games are within the books. Within the transient interval after the Olympics, there’s an afterglow, a processing, a fullness to the conclusion of actually nice tales, and an vacancy of not understanding what the brand new tales can be.
We take this debriefing to, amongst different issues, evaluate with the advantage of hindsight, who and what have been one of the best of the spectacular meet we simply watched.
Whereas I believe lots of the males’s awards are pretty straight-forward, the ladies’s meet for me is filled with large decisions which are going to result in some sturdy differing opinions. I’ll do my greatest to parse out why we selected the swimmers and swims we did for this, as a result of even our employees didn’t agree on many of those.
Swimmer of the Meet – Summer season McIntosh, Canada
This one was robust, however after we dug into the information, the winner was clear. McIntosh received 3 particular person gold medals, 1 particular person silver medal, set two Olympic Information, set two World Junior Information, and posted greatest instances and Canadian Information within the 200 IM and 200 fly. Australian Kaylee McKeown received two particular person golds, one particular person silver, received a relay silver, received a relay bronze, set two Olympic Information, and tied a private greatest within the 100 again. One among her Olympic Information was damaged by Regan Smith later within the meet.
The distinction then is distilled into whether or not you worth 1 particular person gold and 1 particular person silver over a person bronze, a person silver, and a person bronze. Basically, I believe the previous class is best, and McKeown not being the star performer of any of these relays closes any doubt.
McIntosh, solely 17, is already swimming in her second Olympic Crew and is the way forward for world swimming on the ladies’s facet. She received a marquee occasion towards a marquee area within the 200 IM, she dominated the 400 IM by nearly six seconds, and whereas she didn’t swim any greatest instances, at this meet particularly, that isn’t actually an excellent nice metric.
I believe we additionally want to acknowledge how she ended the meet, with a 53.29 within the 100 free to anchor Canada’s ladies’s 400 medley relay to 4th. On display screen, it didn’t appear to be an incredible swim, as a result of she was racing a gaggle of dash studs. However that’s the world’s greatest 400 IM’er doing that. Her flat-start greatest is 53.90. I believe Canada’s higher relay would have had her on fly and MacNeil on the anchor leg, however Summer season rose to the event she was given.
Her capacity to swim probably the most grueling 200 and 400 meter occasions on the schedule and in addition contribute to relays is…dare I say…Phelpsian? Can not anticipate the subsequent 4 years to observe this expertise develop.
Honorable Mentions, Feminine Swimmer of the Meet:
Australian Kaylee McKeown accomplished a historic double-double, profitable the 100 again and 200 again on the 2nd straight Olympics. In a sure pool and a sure circumstance, her finals swim within the 100 again, which tied her greatest time, would have been a World File. Because it was, that 57.33 was two tenths shy. I believe it’s honest now to declare McKeown one of the best feminine backstroker in historical past, surpassing the legendary Krisztina Egerszegi, and right into a 50/50 debate with Roland Matthes as one of the best backstroker in historical past, interval.
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom profitable the 50 free was anticipated, however her win within the 100 free wasn’t anticipated – even by her. She didn’t have any relays to lean on for additional medals, however her two gold medals cement her place in swimming historical past.
Swim of the Meet – U.S. Ladies’s 400 Medley Relay
The one World File of the meet in a ladies’s meet, this American relay was sharp from begin to end. Regan Smith led off with a brand new Olympic File and her greatest swim of the meet; Lilly King swam a full-relay-exchange higher than her particular person, Gretchen Walsh tied the quickest 100 fly cut up on a medley relay in historical past, and whereas Torri Huske wasn’t pretty much as good as she was in anchoring the combined medley, she was nonetheless ok to carry on for gold and the World File.
This may go down as one of many most-complete medley relays we’ve ever had on the world stage. The entrance three legs are all of the World File holders of their respective occasions, they usually swam prefer it in Paris.
Honorable Mentions, Swim of the Meet
Summer season McIntosh of Canada received what was the premier occasion of those Olympics, the ladies’s 200 IM, to solidify her standing as one of the best feminine swimmer in Paris.
Torri Huske of the USA cut up 51.88 on the anchor leg of the combined medley relay, and the USA want each little bit of that to go China for gold and the World File. For a swimmer who has been labeled a ‘relay legal responsibility’ during the last 12 months after not having good performances in Fukuoka, she has grow to be the American hero in a rush.
Junior of the Meet – Summer season McIntosh, Canada
The Swimmer of the Meet was a junior. How may this go another approach?
This was one of the best Olympic efficiency by a junior swimmer on the Olympics since a minimum of Missy Franklin in 2012.
Honorable Mentions, Junior of the Meet
Katie Grimes of the USA received silver within the 400 IM, and whereas she paid for it the subsequent morning within the 1500 free, she was the one junior in addition to McIntosh to medal individually on the meet.
There have been surprisingly-few swimmers to even closing at this meet, not to mention medal, and Yu Yiting was among the many closest to a person medal. She received bronze as a prelims leg of the 400 free relay, one other because the butterfly leg of the 400 medley relay in finals, and completed 4th individually within the 200 IM.
Alex Shackell of the USA received silver and gold, respectively, as a prelims leg of the American ladies’s 800 free relay and 400 medley relay, and in addition completed sixth within the 200 fly. Her 2:06.46 within the semifinals would have positioned her 4th within the closing.
Iona Anderson of Australia did her half in prelims of the ladies’s medley relay (silver) and combined medley relay (bronze), performing persistently by means of all three swims. Her ladies’s medley leadoff cut up of 58.67 was inside .15 seconds of her Australian Age File for 18-year-olds.
In a meet with precious-few greatest instances and even fewer breakout performances, Kirpichnikova dropped 8 seconds of her greatest time, broke a French File in entrance of a French crowd, and took silver within the ladies’s 1500 free.
Kirpichnikova beforehand represented Russia internationally, however after years dwelling and coaching in France, she was authorized to symbolize France. That gave the house nation followers, who have been large the entire meet, another excuse to cheer for the tricolore.
Honorable Mentions, Breakout Swimmer of the Meet
Mona McSharry of Eire took bronze within the 100 breaststroke, making her nation’s first Olympic medal in swimming since Mona McSharry in 1996 and simply the second Olympic medalist in swimming in her nation’s historical past. That launched off momentum that led to Daniel Wiffen profitable gold within the 800 free later within the meet.
American Paige Madden had a greatest time of 8:32.46 within the 800 free on the 2023 US Professional Championships. On the Olympics she swam 8:13.00 and grabbed a bronze medal and made a race of it towards superstars Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus. Her entire season was an enormous breakout. She was a well known amount within the US as a multi-time NCAA Champion, however is now a participant globally.
Clutch Relay Performer – Torri Huske, USA
Huske’s 52.0 cut up on the 400 free relay third leg and 51.88 anchor on the combined medley relay are an enormous level-up for her, and the form of relay splits that the U.S. must placed on the board extra typically in the event that they ever hope to catch as much as Australia within the sprints.
By comparability, Mollie O’Callaghan, who on any given day might be one of the best 100 freestyler on the planet (although she missed the medals in an excellent tight end on the Olympics) had a greatest cut up of 51.83 on the Video games. Huske is an excellent 100 freestyler – however she is not so good as O’Callaghan. Besides when she was.
That’s the Twenty ninth-best relay cut up in historical past by any swimmer from anyplace on the planet, and the Tenth-best by a non-Australian.
Honorable Mentions, Clutch Relay Performer
Regan Smith of the USA swam the quickest 100 backstroke of the Olympics when main off the American medley relay.
Ariarne Titmus of Australia was upset by her teammate Mollie O’Callaghan within the particular person 200 free, however within the 800 free relay, Titmus ripped off an enormous 1:52.95 cut up.
American Gretchen Walsh cut up 55.03 fly on the ladies’s medley, 55.18 on the combined medley, and 52.55 on a rolling begin on the American 400 free relay. Her greatest flat-start is 53.13, so to do a 52.55 on this pool, early within the meet when the instances weren’t spectacular, is large.
Meg Harris of Australia has a lifetime better of 52.52 on a flat-start within the 100 free, and he or she cut up 51.94 to anchor Australia’s 400 free relay in finals. With among the outdated guard ageing out of the system, Harris, 22, appears like the important thing cog to the continuity of Australian dominance within the 400 free relay.
