Swimming
Tokyo Olympics, Swimming, Day 1: Daiya Seto ousted! Katinka Hosszu disappointing. Emma Weyant and Adam Peaty dominant.
A debrief of what happened today across the 6 swimming events at the Tokyo Olympics as Emma Weyant and Adam Peaty put on a show.
The second biggest sport at the Olympics - Swimming kicked off today at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. A series of heats across 6 swimming events witnessed drama, shock, records being broken, and tears- of both sadness and joy.
Adam Peaty, as expected, finished as the winner of his heat in the Men's 100m Breaststroke event.
However, the major shock of the day came in the Men's 400m Individual Medley where medal favourite Daiya Seto failed to qualify for the final after failing to finish inside the top 8.
World Record holder Katinka Hosszu will be looking to better her performance in the final after a disappointing swim saw her finish 7th in the top 8 list of the Women's 400m Individual Medley. Australia's Emma Weyant on the other hand, announced herself as the gold medal contender in the same event.
Here's a look at what happened today and what we can expect in the successive rounds tomorrow.
Event 1: Men's 400m Individual Medley
The top 8 swimmers across the 4 heats progress to the Final.
We mentioned that Swimming guarantees drama and the very first event witnessed some. Tokyo Olympics medal favourite Daiya Seto missed out on qualifying for the final after a disappointing performance.
Incredible shock: The heavy favorite in the men's 400 IM, Daiya Seto, misses qualifying for the final tonight, after fading on the freestyle leg of the race. The first of many surprises at these Games, no doubt#Tokyo2020
— SwimSwam Live (@SwimSwamLive) July 24, 2021
The top 8 swimmers set to battle for the podium tomorrow morning are:
1. Brendon Smith (Australia): 4:09.27
2. Lewis Clareburt (New Zealand): 4:09.49
3. Chase Kalisz (USA): 4:09.65
4. David Verraszto (Hungary): 4:09.80
5. Alberto Razzetti (Italy): 4:09.91
6. Jay Litherland (USA): 4:09.91
7. Leon Marchand (France): 4:10.09
8. Max Litchfield (Great Britain): 4:10.20
Event 2: Women's 100m Butterfly
The top 16 swimmers across the 5 heats progress to the Semifinals.
In a star-studded event, the medal prospects in the didn't fail to deliver. Australia's Emma McKeon, USA's Torri Huske, and Sweden's Sarah Sjoestroem put in rather dominant performance to seal their position in tomorrow's semifinal.
The top 16 swimmers who qualified for the Semifinals of the event are:
1. Yufei Zhang (China): 55.82
2. Emma McKeon (Australia): 55.82
3. Sarah Sjoestroem (Sweden): 56.18
4. Torri Huske (USA): 56.29
5. Margaret Macneil (Canada): 56.55
6. Louise Hanson (Sweden): 56.97
7. Anastasiya Shkurdai (Belarus): 56.99
8. Marie Wattel (France): 57.08
9. Elena di Liddo (Italy): 57.41
10. Claire Curzan (USA): 57.49
11. Katerine Savard (Canada): 57.51
12. Ilaria Bianchi (Italy): 57.70
13. Anna Ntountounaki (Greece): 57.75
14. Arina Surkova (Russian Olympic Committee): 58.02
15. Svetlana Chimrova (Russian Olympic Committee): 58.04
16. Brianna Throssell (Australia): 58.08
Event 3: Men's 400 m Freestyle
The top 8 swimmers across the 5 heats progress to the Final.
The event which is largely expected to be dominated by the Australians, there were a few others who stole the limelight. Switzerland's Antanio Djakovic broke the Swiss record to book a place in the final. Tunisia's Ahmed Hafnaoui also booked his place in the final.
In a very wild heat 4 of the men's 400 free, Danas Rapsys was out under WR pace at the halfway mark, but ended 5th. Germany's Henning Bennet Muhlleitner had a phenomenal 2nd 200, winning the heat in 3:43.67. Felix Auboeck 2nd (3:43.91), Gabriele Detti 3rd (3:44.67)#Tokyo2020
— SwimSwam Live (@SwimSwamLive) July 24, 2021
The top 8 swimmers who qualified for the Final are:
1. HB Muhlleitner (Germany): 3:43.67
2. Felix Auboeck (Austria): 3:43.91
3. Gabriele Detti (Italy): 3:44.67
4. Elijah Winnington (Australia): 3:45.20
5. Jack McLoughlin (Australia): 3:45.20
6. Kieran Smith (USA): 3:45.25
7: Jake Mitchell (USA): 3:45.38
8. Ahmed Hafnaoui (Tunisia): 3:45.68
Event 4: Women's 400m Individual Medley
The top 8 swimmers across the 3 heats progress to the Final.
Riding the hopes of an entire country, Hungary's Katinka Hosszu put up a rather disappointing performance after finishing fourth in her heat. Meanwhile, USA's Emma Weyant put in a shift and qualifed for the final with the best time of the lot.
Japan's Yui Ohashi clears the field in heat 2 of the women's 400 IM, touching in 4:35.71. USA's Hali Flickinger had a great final 50, going from 4th to 2nd, touching in 4:35.98.#Tokyo2020
— SwimSwam Live (@SwimSwamLive) July 24, 2021
The top 8 swimmers who qualified for the Final and will be fighting for a place on the podium are:
1. Emma Weyant (USA): 4:33.55
2. Aimee Willmott (Great Britain): 4:35.28
3. Yui Ohashi (Japan): 4:35.71
4. Mireia Belmonte (Spain): 4:35.88
5. Hali Flickinger (USA): 4:35.98
6. Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas (Hungary): 4:35.99
7. Katinka Hosszu (Hungary): 4:36.01
8. Ilaria Cusinato (Italy): 4:37.37
Event 5: Men's 100m Breaststroke
The top 16 swimmers across the 7 heats progress to the Semifinals.
The Peaty Event. There's just no stopping him, is it?
Adam Peaty answers the call, posting a 57.56 in heat 7. That's our top time of the morning!#Tokyo2020
— SwimSwam Live (@SwimSwamLive) July 24, 2021
The top 16 swimmers to progress to the Semifinals are:
1. Adam Peaty (Great Britain): 57.56
2. Arno Kamminga (Netherlands): 57.80
3. Michael Andrew (USA): 58.62
4. Nicolo Martinenghi (Italy): 58.68
5. Zibei Yan (China): 58.75
6. James Wilby (Great Britain): 58.99
7. Andrew Wilson (USA): 59.03
8. Felipe Lima (Brazil): 59.17
9. Ilya Shymanovich (Belarus): 59.33
10. Federico Poggio (Italy): 59.33
11: Joachim Lucas Matzerath (Germany): 59.40
12. Ryuya Mura (Japan): 59.40
13. Andrius Sidlauskas (Lithuania): 59.46
14. Fabian Schwingenschlogl (Germany): 59.49
15. Anton Chupkov (Russian Olympic Committee): 59.55
16. Kirill Prigoda (Russian Olympic Committee): 59.68
Event 6: Women's 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay
The top 8 teams across the 2 heats progress to the Final.
Dominant swimming from Australia in this event. Great Britain might have a say in where the medals actually go.
Great Britain takes the first heat of women's 4x100 free relay, clocking a 3:34.03#Tokyo2020
— SwimSwam Live (@SwimSwamLive) July 24, 2021
The top 8 teams to progress to the Final are:
1. Australia 3:31.73
2. Netherlands: 3:33.51
3.Canada: 3:33.72
4. Great Britain: 3:34.03
5. USA: 3:34.80
6. China: 3:35.07
7. Denmark: 3:35.56
8. Sweden: 3:35.93