Paris Olympics, Day 4 Finals Heat Sheet: McKeown-Smith in 100 Back, Wiffen Top Seed in 800 Free
Night four at La Défense Arena includes finals of the women’s 100 backstroke, men’s 800 freestyle and men’s 800 freestyle relay, as well as semifinals of the men’s and women’s 100 freestyle, men’s 200 butterfly and men’s 200 breaststroke.
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World-record holder Regan Smith swims in lane four of the 100 back final after qualifying two hundredths ahead of defending champion Kaylee McKeown in the semifinals. This will be the first of two backstroke showdowns between the duo in Paris, and expect this to come down to the wire. There are two others in the field (and in history) who have broken 58, with American Katharine Berkoff in lane three and Canadian Kylie Masse, trying to win a medal in the event for her third consecutive Games, in lane six.
In the men’s 800 free, Ireland’s Dan Wiffen is the top seed but with plenty of talent in nearby lanes, including defending gold medalist Bobby Finke in lane two, 2021 silver medalist Gregorio Paltrinieri in lane three and 400 free runnerup Elijah Winnington in lane six. Neither of the top-two finishers from last year’s Worlds are here, with Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui missing the Games (his countryman Ahmed Jaouadi will swim in lane five) and Australia’s Sam Short failing to make the final.
Great Britain was the top qualifier for the men’s 800 free relay, with the same foursome that won gold three years ago in Tokyo favored to repeat its golden position here. The U.S., France, Australia and Germany are also well-positioned after prelims.
For the four semifinals on tap for the session, Jack Alexy and Sarah Sjostrom are the top seeds in their respective 100 freestyle events while Kristof Milak (200 fly) and Cho Sung Jae (200 breast) led the way in other events. Leon Marchand, already the gold medalist in the 400 IM, will race in both the 200 breast (first semifinal) and 200 fly (second semifinal) as he attempts a grueling double.