Tokyo Olympics Swimming Day 2 Heats: McKeown sets new Olympic record, Murphy disappoints in 100m backstroke

Swimming heats on day two at the Tokyo Olympics saw some of the stars take to the water for the first time. There were not too many upsets with the usual suspects qualifying for the semifinals and finals.

The likes of Katie Ledecky, Kaylee McKeown, Ariarne Titmus and Lydia Jacoby all underlined their credentials while Ryan Murphy did not live up to his expectations in the 100m backstroke, finishing 8th in the heats.

Here is the events-wise breakdown of the heats from the day.

Event 1: Women's 100m Backstroke

The Olympic Record was broken thrice over the course of the Heats as the contenders laid down their markers ahead of the semifinals. Canada's Kylie Masse and USA's Regan Smith broke the Olympic Record before Kaylee McKeown took the final crown with 57.88s.

The top 16 swimmers qualify for the semifinals and here is the list -

1. Kaylee McKeown (AUS) - 57.88s
2. Regan Smith (USA) - 57.96s
3. Kylie Masse (CAN) - 58.17s
4. Kathleen Dawson (GBR) - 58.69s
5. Emily Seebohm (AUS) - 58.86s
6. Elizabeth White (USA) - 59.02s
7. Kira Toussaint (NED) - 59.21s
8. Margherita Panzeira (ITA) - 59.74s
9. Xuwei Peng (CHI) - 59.78s
10. Mariia Kameneva (ROC) - 59.88s
11. Taylor Ruck (CAN) - 59.89s
12. Anastasia Gorbenko (ISR) - 59.90s
13. Anastasiia Fesikova (ROC) - 59.92s
14. Cassie Wild (GBR) - 59.99s
15. Maaike de Waard (NED) - 1:00.03
16. Anna Konishi (JPN) - 1:00.04

Event 2: Men's 200m Freestyle

Korea's Sunwoo Hwang qualified as the leader in the Heats with 1:44.62 with 10 out of the 16 swimmers clocking sub-1.46.

The top 16 swimmers qualify for the semifinals and here is the full list -

1. Sunwoo Hwang (KOR) - 1:44.62
2. Fernando Schefffer (BRA) - 1:45.05
3. Tom Dean (GBR) - 1:45.24
4. David Popovici (ROU) - 1:45.32
5. Duncan Scott (GBR) - 1:45.37
6. Martin Malyutin (ROC) - 1:45.50
7. Stefano Ballo (ITA) - 1:45.80
8. Thomas Neill (AUS) - 1:45.81
9. Danas Rapsys (LTU) - 1:45.84
10. Townley Haas (USA) - 1:45.86
11. Kregor Zirk (EST) - 1:46.10
12. Nandor Nemeth (HUN) - 1:46.19
13. Kieran Smith (USA) - 1:46.20
14. Velimir Stjepanovic (SRB) - 1:46.26
15. Antonio Djakovic (SUI) - 1:46.37
16. Stefano di Cola (ITA) - 1:46.67

Event 3: Women's 100m Breaststroke

Tatjana Schoenmaker stunned Lydia Jacoby and laid a marker to the rest of the competition by setting a new Olympic Record with 1:04.82.

The top 16 swimmers progress to the semifinals and here is the full list -

1.Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA) - 1:04.82
2. Lydia Jacoby (USA) - 1:05.52
3. Lilly King (USA) - 1:05.55
4. Sophie Hansson (SWE) - 1:05.66
5. Martina Carraro (ITA) - 1:05.85
6. Evgeniia Chikunova (ROC) - 1:06.16
7. Ida Hulkko (FIN) - 1:06.19
8. Yuliya Efimova (ROC) - 1:06.21
9. Mona McSharry (IRL) - 1:06.39
10. Qianting Tang (CHN) - 1:06.47
11. Sarah Vasey (GBR) - 1:06.61
12. Chelsea Hodges (AUS) - 1:06.70
13. Lisa Mamie (SUI) - 1:06.76
14. Eneli Jefimova (EST) - 1:06.79
15. Kotryna Teterevkova (LTU) - 1:06.82
16. ACD Elendt (GER) - 1:06.96

Event 4: Men's 100m Backstroke

Defending champion Ryan Murphy disappointed in the heats, finishing 8th with 53.22s. Kliment Kolesnikov topped the heats with a solid 52.15s with Thomas Ceccon right behind him.

The top 16 swimmers move into the semifinals and here is the final list.

1. Kliment Kolesnikov (ROC) - 52.15s
2. Thomas Ceccon (ITA) - 52.49s
3. Jiayu Xu (CHN) - 52.70s
4. Mitch Larkin (AUS) - 52.97s
5. Ryosuke Irie (JPN) - 52.99s
6. Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (FRA) - 53.13s
7. Evgeny Rylov (ROC) - 53.22s
8. Ryan Murphy (USA) - 53.22s
9. Hugo Gonzalez (ESP) - 53.45s
10. Mewen Tomac (FRA) - 53.49s
11. Guilherme Guido (BRA) - 53.65s
12. Robert Glinta (ROU) - 53.67s
13. Isaac Cooper (AUS) - 53.73s
14. Marek Ulrich (GER) - 53.74s
15. Joseph Armstrong (USA) - 53.77s
16. Apostolos Christou (GRE) - 53.77s

Event 5: Women's 400m Freestyle

The stage is getting set for the showdown between Kathleen Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus with both of them finishing the top 3 overall. However, China's Bingjie Li looks to upset the apple cat after finishing second in the heats.

The top 8 players qualify for the finals and here is the full list -

1. Kathleen Ledecky (USA) - 4:00.05
2. Bingjie Li (CHN) - 4:01.57
3. Ariarne Titmus (AUS) - 4:01.66
4. Erika Fairweather (NZL) - 4:02.28
5. Summer McIntosh (CAN) - 4:02.72
6. Gose Isabel (GER) - 4:03.21
7. Paige Madden (USA) - 4:03.98
8. Muhan Tang (CHN) - 4:04.07

Event 6: Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay

The USA relay team surprisingly finished second in the relay heats behind an inspired Italy who took the top spot with 3:10.29. The USA team clocked 3:11.33 while Australia finished just behind them with 3:11.89.

The top 8 teams qualify for the finals and here is the full list -

1. Italy - 3:10.29
2. USA - 3:11.33
3. Australia - 3:11.89
4. France - 3:12.35
5. Brazil - 3:12.59
6. Hungary - 3:12.73
7. Canada - 3:13.00
8. ROC - 3:13.13

The semifinals and finals will take place in the coming days as multiple players will look to kick their Olympics campaign into full gear.