Paris Olympics, Day 2 Semifinals: Xu Jiayu Blasts 52.02 in 100 Back Semis; Hunter Armstrong Out
A 28-year-old Chinese veteran who has not reached the podium at a major international competition in five years will now swim for Olympic gold from lane four while an American favorite was left out of a deep semifinal field.
Xu Jiayu was the star of the show in the men’s 100 backstroke semifinals, going out under world-record pace in 24.89 before coming in at 52.02, his quickest mark since clocking 51.86 in 2019. That mark left Xu just one hundredth off the then-world record, held by Ryan Murphy at 51.85. Xu previously won Olympic silver in the 100 back eight years ago in Rio, and he won back-to-back world titles in 2017 and 2019.
Thomas Ceccon, the man who broke Murphy’s world record in 2022 with a time of 51.60, blasted through the first semifinal heat to claim the No. 2 spot alongside Xu for the final. Ceccon had qualified 12th for the semifinals, but he was dynamite coming home as he moved into the lead in 52.58, five hundredths ahead of a tie between France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and South Africa’s Pieter Coetze in 52.63. Coetze’s time knocked 15-hundredths off his own African record set last year.
- World Record: Thomas Ceccon, ITA – 51.60 (2022)
- Olympic Record: Ryan Murphy, USA – 51.85 (2016)
- Tokyo Olympic Champion: Evgeny Rylov, ROC – 51.98
Murphy was fourth in the semifinal at 52.72, potentially putting his spot in the final at risk, but the second heat was much slower, so the 2016 gold medalist and 2021 bronze medalist got into the final with little trouble in the No. 5 spot. Murphy entered the meet with the top time in the world at 52.22, recorded at last month’s U.S. Olympic Trials, but Xu took two tenths off that mark.
Not as fortunate was Murphy’s American teammate Hunter Armstrong, the bronze medalist at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023 and champion at a poorly-attended Worlds this February. Armstrong, a member of the U.S. men’s 400 free relay that won gold Saturday evening, ended up 11th in 53.11, more than a second shy of her best time.
Greece’s Apostolos Christou, the European champion in the event last month, touched sixth in 52.77, just ahead of Great Britain’s Oliver Morgan, while Spain’s Hugo Gonzalez grabbed the last spot in the final in 52.95. That denied two swimmers who broke 53 the chance to race in the final as Greece’s Evangelos Makrygiannis (52.97) and Hungary’s Hubert Kos (52.98) will not move on. Kos was the top qualifier out of prelims and won the world title in the 200 back last year, so he will turn his attention to the longer distance.
I’d like to see the Greek Christou (don’t think they’ve ever won a swimming Gold) take Gold or the Italian Ceccon.
Just no Chinese PED’s swimmer!
Hunter Armstrong is a “her”?