Paris Olympics, Day 3 Prelims: Youth Served by Daniel Wiffen, Ahmed Jaouadi in 800 Free

Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Paris Olympics, Day 3 Prelims: Youth Served by Daniel Wiffen, Ahmed Jaouadi in 800 Free

For the last Olympic cycle and a maybe a little longer, it’s been the same faces in the men’s 800 freestyle. Slowly that group has been replaced by the younger generation. Consider a page having been turned Monday.

Daniel Wiffen led the way in prelims of the 800 free at the Paris Olympics in a time of 7:41.53, pacing a field where some of the big contenders of the past will miss the final, surpassed by the next crop of talents.

Tunisian teen Ahmed Jaouadi was second in 7:42.07, and mainstay Gregorio Paltrinieri was third, proving the old guard isn’t so old just yet. Also into the final is reigning gold medalist Bobby Finke of the U.S. in a comfortable fifth.

World record: Zhang Lin, China, 7:32.12 (2009)
Olympic record: Mykhailo Romanchuk, Ukraine, 7:41.28 (2021)
Tokyo Olympic champion: Robert Finke, USA, 7:41.87

Wiffen, who holds a European record from the 2023 World Championships in which he didn’t even make the podium, was within .25 of the Olympic record in winning the final heat of four. Wiffen won gold in the 800 and 1500 free at the poorly-attended World Championships in February.

“It’s never comfortable. It just wasn’t 100%. You didn’t see my legs come in at the end, so that’s where it is really. I’m happy with the morning swim, a fast time as well, nearly as fast as my World Championships winning time.” Wiffen said.

Wiffen noted that he was more nervous prior to the race than he was before the Doha Worlds final in February, but he believes he is “100%” the fittest he has ever been. He plans to spend time prior to Wednesday evening’s final reading up on his competitors and their strategies so he knows what to expect in the final. The 23-year-old recalled the men’s 400 free final at the Tokyo Olympics, when Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui won gold from lane eight.

“Any lane has a chance. I’ll be looking at everybody. I’ll be doing my homework tonight, seeing how everybody swims it, and I’ll be making sure I’ll be one of the best tomorrow night,” Wiffen said. “Any medal is good. It’s my first race here, and it’s my first time actually being in contention for an Olympic medal. I’ll take any medal, whatever color.”

The 800 distance set had a rare chance Monday, with four swimmers having been in the final of the last Olympics and the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Only two of them were able to add the Paris Olympic final to the list. That is Paltrinieri and the man behind whom he won silver in Tokyo, Finke.

The two to miss out were Mykhailo Romanchuk of Ukraine, who set the still-standing Olympic record in the event in prelims in Tokyo before earning bronze at night, and Guilherme Costa of Brazil, in 17th and 20th place, respectively. But they weren’t alone. Sam Short, who won silver in Fukuoka last summer, was ninth in 7:46.83. Florian Wellbrock, the silver medalist at Worlds in 2022 behind Finke, was never a factor, finishing 12th.

David Aubry delighted the crowd in the second of four heats, winning in 7:44.59. That’s his top time since setting a national record and winning bronze in 7:42.08 at Worlds in 2019, and it withstood the later heats.

Heat 3 was the fastest. Paltrinieri pushed the pace early. Only Jaouadi and Finke could stay with him. Jaouadi was first to the wall in 7:42.07, .41 up on Paltrinieri with Finke in 7:43.00. Two late chargers in that heat also made it back, with Sven Schwarz sixth and Luca De Tullio seventh.

That left little room for error in the fourth heat. Elijah Winnington attacked it early. Painful as it looked, he was rewarded with a time of 7:42.86 that is good for fourth and a finals lane. Wiffen overhauled him midway through and swam away. But Short was in that heat and ended up at 7:46.83, more than two seconds behind Aubry.

Turkish teen Kuzey Tuncelli finished 11th. Wellbrock was 12th, followed by Felix Aubock and Zalan Sarkany. American Luke Whitlock was 15th.

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