Paris Olympics: Kristof Milak Dominates 100 Fly Prelims at 50.19; Liendo Second As Grousset, Ponti Tie for Third

Kristof Milak -- Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Paris Olympics: Kristof Milak Dominates 100 Fly Prelims at 50.19; Liendo Second As Grousset, Ponti Tie for Third

At the last Olympics in Tokyo, only six men swam under 51 seconds in the entire competition, with Caeleb Dressel and Kristof Milak winning gold and silver, respectively, as they cemented their status as the two fastest men ever. Both men missed the World Championships last season, and in their absence, the event got much quicker and deeper. Now, with both men back in the fold and back in medal contention, there were seven 50-second swims in prelims alone as a tight battle for the medals is shaping up.

Hungary’s Kristof Milak, the silver medalist in the event behind American Caeleb Dressel three years ago, has already collected a silver medal this week in the 200 fly, falling only when Leon Marchand stormed home to take gold. Milak sizzled in his opening 100-meter swim, clocking 50.19 to tie Dressel for No. 3 in the world rankings for 2024. No one was able to top that in the remaining heats.

Switzerland’s Noe Ponti, the bronze medalist in Tokyo who swam a joint best time and national record on the way to fifth in the 200 fly, checked in at 50.65 to finish behind Milak in their shared heat. Milak’s Hungarian teammate Hubert Kos (51.58) was fourth in the heat, returning to the pool less than 15 hours after collecting Olympic gold in the 200 backstroke.

World Record: Caeleb Dressel, USA – 49.45 (2021)
Olympic Record: Caeleb Dressel, USA – 49.45 (2021)
Tokyo Olympic Champion: Caeleb Dressel, USA – 49.45

The crowd inside La Défense Arena woke up to cheer on Maxime Grousset, the world champion in the event last year. Grousset blasted a 23.27 opening split and came home in 50.65 to equal Ponti’s time from the previous heat. Australia’s Matt Temple was also below 51 seconds at 50.89, followed by Poland’s Jakub Majerski (51.18).

The final heat saw Canada’s Josh Liendo, who jumped up to No. 5 all-time in the event earlier this year, score the win at 50.55, out-pacing one of his Canadian teammates and one of his training partners at the University of Florida. Liendo clocked 50.55, just ahead of Ilya Kharun, the young swimmer originally from north of the border who grabbed 200 fly bronze earlier in the competition. Kharun went 50.71, with Dressel finishing well to take third in the heat in 50.83. The Netherlands’ Nyls Korstanje led early on but ended up fourth in the heat in 51.17.

The French crowd was thrilled to see Clement Secchi sneak into the semifinals in a tie with Japan’s Naoki Mizunuma for 15th at 51.62. Notably, American Thomas Heilman was among those failing to advance, touching 18th in 51.82.

Prior to the circle-seeded heats, China’s Sun Jiajun put up a time of 51.85, four tenths ahead of South Africa’s Chad le Clos, who clocked 52.24. Le Clos is a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the event. Sun is likely to handle the butterfly leg on the Chinese men’s 400 medley relay, and his performance will come with pressure as he joins Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang and Pan Zhanle on a squad that will contend for gold.

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