Tokyo Olympics Swimming Day 3 Semifinals: Regan Smith sets new Olympic record

Day 3 at the Tokyo Olympics of swimming witnessed exciting races in the semifinals of 4 events. All the favourites progressed to the finals avoiding any upsets.

Duncan Scott (200m freestyle), Tatjana Schoenmaker (100m breaststroke), Ryan Murphy (100m backstroke) and Regan Smith (100m backstroke) topped their respective events with the latter's time becoming a new Olympic record.

Here are the event-wise results from each of the events.

Men's 200m Freestyle

Duncan Scott laid down a marker to the rest of the field in a stunning swim of 1:44.60 to take the top seeding for the finals. The final promises to be a cracker with all 8 swimmers going under 1:45. Meanwhile, Hwang Sun-Hoo, the top seed from the heats qualified in sixth place.

The top 8 swimmers progress to the finals. Here is the full list -

1.Duncan Scott (GBR) - 1:44.60
2. Kieran Smith (USA) - 1:45.07
3. Danas Rapysys (LTU) - 1:45.32
4. Tom Dean (GBR) - 1:45.34
5. Martin Malyutin (ROC) - 1:45.45
6. Hwang Sun-Hoo (KOR) - 1:45.53
7. David Popovici (ROU) - 1:45.68
8. Fernando Scheffer (BRA) - 1:45.71

Women's 100m Breaststroke

Lilly King has her task cut out in the 100m breaststroke final as she tries to defend her Rio Olympics crown. The American swimmer finished second in the semifinals, behind South Africa's Tatjana Schoenmaker.

17-year old Lydia Jacoby finished third and will look to finish on the podium in the finals.

The top 8 swimmers progress to the finals. Here is the full list -

1. Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA) - 1:05.07
2. Lilly King (USA) - 1:05.40
3. Lydia Jacoby (USA) - 1:05.72
4. Sophie Hansson (SWE) - 1:05.81
5. Yuliya Efimova (ROC) - 1:06.34
6. Evgeniia Chikunova (ROC) - 1:06.47
7. Martina Carraro (ITA) - 1:06.50
8. Mona McSharry (IRL) - 1:06.59

Men's 100m Backstroke

Ryan Murphy showed he is ready to defend his title by taking the top spot with 52.24. Kliment Kolesnikov and Mitch Larkin rounded off the top 3 ahead of the final tomorrow.

The top 8 from both semifinals combined progress to the finals. Here is the full list -

1. Ryan Murphy (USA) - 52.24
2. Kliment Kolesnikov (ROC) - 52.29
3. Mitch Larkin (AUS) - 52.76
4. Thomas Ceccon (ITA) - 52.78
5. Evgeny Rylov (ROC) - 52.91
6. Jiayu Xu (CHN) - 52.94
7. Hugo Gonzalez (ESP) - 53.05
8. Robert Glinta (ROU) - 53.20

Women's 100m Backstroke

The 100m backstroke Olympic record was broken once more, this time by Regan Smith, as the American took the top seed in the semifinals. Kylie Masse and Kaylee McKeown qualified as well and will look to win gold in the final.

The top 8 swimmers from the two heats progress to the finals. Here is the full list -

1. Regan Smith (USA) - 57.86
2. Kylie Masse (CAN) - 58.09
3. Kaylee McKeown (AUS) - 58.11
4. Rhyan Elizabeth White (USA) - 58.46
5. Kathleen Dawson (GBR) - 58.56
6. Emily Seebohm (AUS) - 58.59
7. Kira Toussaint (NED) - 59.09
8. Anastasia Gorbenko (ISL) - 59.30

The finals will take play on Day 4 of the Games.