Paris Olympics, Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet: First Gold Medals Awarded Saturday Evening
The first swimming medals of the Paris Olympics will be awarded during the Saturday evening finals session in the men’s 400 freestyle, women’s 400 freestyle, women’s 400 freestyle relay and men’s 400 freestyle relay.
Click here to view the full heat sheet.
In the opening final of the 400 free, Germany’s Lukas Martens will swim from lane four after swimming the fastest mark in prelims, but Australians Sam Short and Elijah Winnington, China’s Fei Liwei and Brazil’s Guilherme Costa will all be in position to make a run at medals.
The women’s race, meanwhile, will have Katie Ledecky in pole position after she overtook defending champion Ariarne Titmus in prelims. Erika Fairweather qualified third ahead of Summer McIntosh, so the only four swimmers to ever crack 4:00 in a textile suit will be in the center of the pool in the evening session and favored to comprise the podium.
Australia’s women are the big favorites in the 400 free relay, with Mollie O’Callaghan and Shayna Jack scheduled to join a team that already finished two seconds ahead of the field in prelims. The United States and China are leading medal contenders, and they will swim on either side of the Aussies. As for the men, China came in first place in the morning, but Australia, Great Britain, the U.S. and Italy all will be in contention.
In semifinal action, Japanese teenager Mizuki Hirai and American world-record holder Gretchen Walsh occupy the middle lanes for the first 100 fly semi, while Zhang Yufei and Torri Huske, both past world champions in the race, swim in the second heat. Adam Peaty, aiming for his third consecutive gold in the 100 breast, swims in lane four of the first semifinal next to 2021 bronze medalist Nicolo Martinenghi while surprising swimmers Caspar Corbeau and Ilya Shymanovich lead the second semi, with world champion Qin Haiyang in lane two.
