The swimming competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were held from 27 July to 9 August 2024. Pool events (27 July to 4 August) took place at the Paris La Défense Arena, with the two-day marathon swimming (8 to 9 August) staged at Pont Alexandre III through the Seine River.[1][2]
| Swimming at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad | |
|---|---|
 _%E2%80%93_Paris_2024.svg) Pictograms for swimming (top) and marathon swimming (bottom) | |
| Venue | Paris La Défense Arena (pool) Pont Alexandre III (marathon) |
| Dates | 27 July – 4 August 2024 (pool) 8–9 August 2024 (marathon) |
| No. of events | 37 (18 men, 18 women, 1 mixed) |
Events
editSimilar to the 2020 program format, swimming featured a total of 37 events (18 each for men and women and 1 mixed event), including two 10 km open-water marathons. The following events were contested (all pool events are long-course, and distances are in meters unless stated):
- Freestyle: 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1500;
- Backstroke: 100 and 200;
- Breaststroke: 100 and 200;
- Butterfly: 100 and 200;
- Individual medley: 200 and 400;
- Relays: 4 × 100 free, 4 × 200 free; 4 × 100 medley (men's, women's, and mixed)
- Marathon: 10 kilometres
Schedule
editThe swimming program schedule for Paris 2024 occurred in two segments. For the pool events, similar to the case for the 2012 Games, prelims ran in the morning, followed by the semifinal and final sessions in the evening and the night session (due to the substantial fees NBC has paid for rights to the Olympics, the IOC allowed NBC to have influence on event scheduling to maximize U.S. television ratings when possible; NBC agreed to a $7.75 billion contract extension on 7 May 2014, to air the Olympics through the 2032 Games[3] and is also one of the major sources of revenue for the IOC).[4][5] Several significant changes were instituted to the swimming schedule, with the program extending to nine days for the first time as opposed to the regular eight-day format. The extra day would be used to alleviate the schedules of the swimmers who would compete in the individual and relay events at the same period. Moreover, it relieved a packed schedule that witnessed three new events added to the program at the previous Games.[6][7]
In February 2024, a change was announced to the original schedule for Days 5 and 6, after lobbying by the French swimming governing body to give Léon Marchand a chance to win both the men's 200 metre butterfly and 200 metre breaststroke events.[8][9] All events remain on the originally planned days, but the event order was modified to create a longer gap between the 200 metre butterfly and 200 metre breaststroke events.
| H | Heats | ½ | Semi-finals | F | Final |
E = Evening session, starting at 20:30 local time (18:30 UTC).
Qualification
editIndividual events
editWorld Aquatics establishes qualifying times for individual events. The time standards consist of two types, namely an "Olympic Qualifying Time" (OQT, colloquially known as the A-cut) and an "Olympic Consideration time" (OCT, colloquially known as the B-cut). Each country could enter a maximum of two swimmers per event, provided that they meet the (faster) qualifying time. A country could enter one swimmer per event that meets the invitation standard. Any swimmer who met the "qualifying" time would entered into the event for the Games; a swimmer meeting the "invitation" standard was eligible for entry allotted by ranking. If a country did not have a swimmer who meets either of the qualifying standards, it may have entered one male and one female. A country that does not receive an allocation spot but enters at least one swimmer achieving a qualifying standard might have entered those with the highest ranking.[12][13]
Relay events
editEach relay event features 16 teams, composed of the following:[12][14]
- 3: top three teams based on their final results achieved at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan
- 13: top thirteen teams, with the fastest times based upon the results achieved in their preliminary heat and finals performances in the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka and 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, excluding those teams already qualified in that event from the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka.
All athletes entered in individual events could be used in relays, even if they had not achieved the OCT for the corresponding stroke and distance of the relay in which they are entered.[15] Relay teams may compose of additional athletes according to the number of events they have qualified for.
Open-water swimming
editThe men's and women's 10 km races featured 22 swimmers each, three less than those in the Tokyo 2020 roster:[16][17]
- 3: the three medalists in the 10 km races at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan
- 13: the top thirteen swimmers vying for qualification at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar
- 5: one representative from each FINA continent (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania).
- 1: from the host nation (France) if not qualified by other means. If one or more French open water swimmers qualified regularly and directly, their slots would have been reallocated to the next highest-ranked eligible swimmers from the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
Medal summary
editMedal table
edit* Host nation (France)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States | 8 | 13 | 7 | 28 |
| 2 |  Australia | 7 | 9 | 3 | 19 |
| 3 |  France* | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 4 |  Canada | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 |  Hungary | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 |  China | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| 7 |  Italy | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 8 |  Sweden | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 |  Great Britain | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 |  Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 |  South Africa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 |  Ireland | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
 Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 14 |  Romania | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 |  Greece | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Japan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 17 |  Hong Kong | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 18 |  South Korea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (19 entries) | 37 | 38 | 36 | 111 | |
Men's events
edit
Women's events
edit
b Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
Mixed events
edit| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 100 m medley relay |
United States Ryan Murphy (52.08) Nic Fink (58.29) Gretchen Walsh (55.18) Torri Huske (51.88) Regan Smith[b] Charlie Swanson[b] Caeleb Dressel[b] Abbey Weitzeil[b] |
3:37.43 WR | China Xu Jiayu (52.13) Qin Haiyang (57.82) Zhang Yufei (55.64) Yang Junxuan (51.96) Tang Qianting[b] Pan Zhanle[b] |
3:37.55 AS | Australia Kaylee McKeown (57.90) Joshua Yong (58.43) Matthew Temple (50.42) Mollie O'Callaghan (52.01) Iona Anderson[b] Zac Stubblety-Cook[b] Emma McKeon[b] Kyle Chalmers[b] |
3:38.76 OC |
b Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
Records
editThe following world and Olympic records were set during the competition:
World records
edit| Date | Round | Event | Time | Name | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 July | Final | Men's 100 metre freestyle | 46.40 | Pan Zhanle |  China
|
| 3 August | Final | Mixed 4 × 100 metre medley relay | 3:37.43 | Ryan Murphy (52.08) Nic Fink (58.29) Gretchen Walsh (55.18) Torri Huske (51.88) |
 United States
|
| 4 August | Final | Men's 1500 metre freestyle | 14:30.67 | Bobby Finke | United States
|
| 4 August | Final | Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay | 3:49.63 | Regan Smith (57.28) Lilly King (1:04.90) Gretchen Walsh (55.03) Torri Huske (52.42) |
United States
|
Olympic records
edit
Chinese swimmers doping allegations
editOn 20 April 2024, The New York Times revealed that 23 members of the Chinese swimming team tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug called Trimetazidine seven months prior to the start of the 2020 Summer Games and were allowed to participate in the games with some of the swimmers winning medals. Following the publication of the report, Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, accused the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) of covering up doping by Chinese swimmers.[18][19]
WADA argued the amount detected was too low to enhance performance. CHINADA, who had reported the results to WADA and FINA (now World Aquatics), blamed them on contamination from a hotel kitchen, a rationale that potentially exempts findings from being made public.[20] WADA released a statement, explaining that "[it] was not possible for WADA scientists or investigators to conduct their enquiries on the ground in China given the extreme restrictions in place due to a COVID-related lockdown. WADA ultimately concluded that it was not in a position to disprove the possibility that contamination was the source of TMZ and it was compatible with the analytical data in the file."[21] World Aquatics's investigation agreed with WADA.[22]
After the story was leaked, WADA was criticised by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and athletes. WADA's choice of a Swiss attorney to lead an investigation into the matter also drew criticism because he was hand-picked by the agency.[23] Experts interviewed by The New York Times said trace amounts of TMZ can be detected near the end of a doping excretion period but could not rule out contamination either.[24]
In a second statement, Tygart accused both the WADA and the CHINADA for not being transparent about the findings and keeping "clean athletes in the dark". WADA was also accused of having a double-standard as Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for TMZ and used the same excuse, but was subsequently banned for four years. WADA argued, based on non-published information and pharmacokinetics, that contamination would not have been possible in Valieva's case, but in the case of the Chinese swimmers, that no international competition was occurring around the time of the positive tests, only athletes who stayed at one of the hotels tested positive, and some individuals alternated between positive and negative results all point to contamination, not doping.[25][26] In May 2024, WADA announced that it held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the doping case of the Chinese swimmers.[27][28]
Eleven of the 23 swimmers involved in the controversy were named to the 2024 Chinese Olympic swimming team.[29]
On July 9, independent Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier concluded that WADA did not mishandle the Chinese swimmers' doping case or show bias. His interim report stated, "There is nothing in the file... to suggest that WADA showed favouritism or in any way favoured the 23 swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) between January 1 and 3, 2021." He also found no evidence of "interference or meddling" from within WADA, Chinada, or Chinese authorities. Cottier stated Wada's decision not to appeal against Chinada's conclusion was "reasonable, both from the point of view of the facts and the applicable rules". WADA President Witold Bańka welcomed the conclusion and reconfirmed the importance of clarifying these "two fundamental questions in advance of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games."[30][31]
Per reports from multiple news outlets, the Chinese swimming delegation has reportedly been tested nearly 200 times since arriving in Paris.[32] According to World Aquatics on 2 August 2024, China’s swimmers in Paris have been tested an average of 21 times by various anti-doping organizations since the start of the year.[33] Drug-testing data in 2023 from the International Testing Agency also found that Chinese swimmers had been tested more often than swimmers of any other nationality even before news of their positive tests were made public.[34]
Former Chinese diver Gao Min alleged in a post on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo that the Chinese swimmers' poor performance in the games was due to excessive drug testing they underwent.[35] Chinese swimmer Qin Haiyang said the tests "come early in the morning before we're even awake, during midday rest periods, forcing us to rest on hotel lobby sofas, and even late at night, keeping us up past midnight".[36] Wang Xue'er told a reporter from the Mandarin service of Radio Free Asia that the drug tests were okay, while Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei stated that the drug tests did not affect her much.[35]
British swimming star Adam Peaty questioned China's performances at the 2024 Summer Olympics, alluding to the cover-up of positive doping cases by Chinese swimmers, and expressing dissatisfaction with the World Anti-Doping Agency's efforts to combat cheating in sports.[37] American swimmer Caeleb Dressel emphasized the need to put trust in WADA and said that he was mainly focused on racing really tough, acknowledging that China were the better team.[38] Pan Zhanle was the only swimmer from the chinese team, to have won an individual gold in Paris 2024 and also breaking his own world record. Despite not being one of the 23 swimmers who had tested positive to TMZ, he has similarly received allegations of doping. Kyle Chalmers who came in second to him at the 100 freestyle final, however defended Pan and stated that he was confident that Pan wasn’t doping and that also he “deserves that gold medal" in [100 free].[39][40] David Popovici also came to Pan's defense by stating that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and adding in that, “This is only motivation for us. I mean, we can’t be mad, we can only congratulate him. This is what sports is.”[41][42]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Paris 2024 – Swimming". Paris 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Paris 2024 – Marathon Swimming". Paris 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Olympics on NBC through 2032". USA Today. Gannett Company. 7 May 2014.
- ^ "Fewer Russians Could Be a Windfall for U.S. Olympic Business". The New York Times. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ Longman, Jeré (12 February 2018). "For Olympic Figure Skaters, a New Meaning to Morning Routine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d Rieder, David (3 April 2022). "Event Changes Likely as Paris 2024 Moves to Nine-Day Schedule of Finals". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ Kaufman, Sophie (9 April 2022). "Paris 2024 Unveils New Nine Day Format For Swimming". SwimSwam. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Swimming: Olympic schedule change benefiting French star questioned". Kyodo News. 5 March 2024.
- ^ Sutherland, James (28 February 2024). "PARIS OLYMPIC SCHEDULE CHANGE OPENS THE DOOR FOR MARCHAND'S 200 FLY/200 BREAST DOUBLE". SwimSwam.
- ^ a b c "Schedule – Paris 2024 Olympics" (PDF). SwimSwam. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ a b c Overend, Riley (25 July 2022). "Paris 2024 Olympic Schedule Resolves Some Event Conflicts With New 9-Day Calendar". SwimSwam. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Paris 2024 – Swimming Info". World Aquatics. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Qualification System – Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – Swimming" (PDF). World Aquatics. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Paris 2024 Qualification". 1 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "How to qualify for swimming at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained". 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ "Paris 2024 – Marathon Swimming Info". FINA. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Qualification System – Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – Marathon Swimming" (PDF). World Aquatics. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ Mann, Brian (22 April 2024). "'Ban them all.' With Paris Games looming, Chinese doping scandal rocks Olympic sport". NPR. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Deliso, Meredith (20 April 2024). "23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for banned substance before 2021 Olympics: WADA". ABC News. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ MacInnes, Paul (22 April 2024). "Wada defends its actions over Chinese swimmers' doping allegations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "WADA statement on case of 23 swimmers from China". WADA. 20 April 2024. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024.
- ^ Rieder, David (30 April 2024). "WADA Releases Fact Sheet on Chinese Doping Violations". Swimming World News. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024.
- ^ Auerbach, Nicole (8 May 2024). "Chinese doping scandal roils Olympic swimming: The latest, and what it means for Paris". The Athletic. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Vrentas, Jenny; Panja, Tariq (12 May 2024). "Ahead of Olympics, World Anti-Doping Agency Faces a Trust Crisis". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "WADA publishes Fact Sheet/Frequently Asked Questions in relation to contamination case involving swimmers from China". World Anti Doping Agency. 29 April 2024. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024.
- ^ "As Paris Olympics approach, concerns continue after doping watchdog cleared Chinese swimmers in 2021". CBC News. 24 May 2024. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024.
- ^ McCarthy, Simone (21 April 2024). "World Anti-Doping Agency defends handling of elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned drug". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ "Wada calls extraordinary meeting over China swimmers". BBC Sport. 14 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Smith, Alexander (19 June 2024). "China names 11 doping scandal swimmers in its Paris Olympics team". NBC News. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ "Independent Prosecutor concludes WADA showed no bias towards China and decision not to appeal Chinese swimming cases was 'indisputably reasonable'". World Anti Doping Agency. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "Wada did not show bias in Chinese swimmers doping case, says investigation". BBC Sport. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ Overend, Riley (22 July 2024). "Chinese Olympic Swimmers Reportedly Given Almost 200 Drug Tests During First 10 Days in Paris". SwimSwam. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ Jennifer Jett and Janis Mackey Frayer and Dawn Liu and Rae Wang (2 August 2024). "Frequent doping tests and suspicion cast a shadow over China's Olympics swim team". Yahoo! News. NBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ Decent, Tom (21 July 2024). "46 tests in 52 weeks: How China's swimmers are being targeted by drug testers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024.
However, drug-testing data, seen by this masthead, reveals that the International Testing Agency (ITA) had Chinese swimmers in its sights before news of their positive tests were made public in April. Of the top 20 tested swimmers in 2023, all were Chinese, including multiple Olympic medallists.
- ^ a b Wang, Yun; Li, Yaqian (29 July 2024). "中国队失意奥运泳池 药检真的过度了吗？" [Chinese team fails in Olympic swimming pool: is drug testing really excessive?]. Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ Race, Retta (27 July 2024). "Qin Haiyang Says Drug Tests Are an American & European Plot After Testers Interrupt His Sleep". SwimSwam. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ British swimmer Adam Peaty accuses China of ‘cheating’ at Olympics, sparking fans’ anger
- ^ Olympic Medal Count Shows China Could Make History. Can Team USA Stop Them?
- ^ Overend, Riley (2 August 2024). "Proud, Chalmers, Popovici Come to Pan Zhanle's Defense After Questions Over World Record". SwimSwam. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "'I trust that': Bested Chalmers confident Chinese record-holder swam drug-free race". ABC News. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "King Kyle pours fuel on China drama, rejects 'weird' snub claims".
- ^ Ahuja, Anchal (1 August 2024). "David Popovici Makes Bold Claim After China's Pan Zhanle Suspected for Doping at Paris Olympics". EssentiallySports. Retrieved 8 September 2024.