Paris Olympics: Paige Madden Claiming 800 Freestyle Bronze Was Top Swimming Surprise
Paige Madden left U.S. Nationals in 2023 seriously questioning whether she would ever make it back to representing her country at a senior-level international competition. She had missed the A-final in the 200 freestyle and finished fourth in the 400 free, a long way off from swimming in the Olympic final of the 400 free two years earlier and helping the U.S. women to a silver medal in the 800 free relay, breaking the existing world record in the process. But two years removed from that success, Madden said, “I never thought I was going to go faster than what I did in Tokyo,” Madden said.
Shortly afterward, however, Madden decided to make one last move for a shot at the Paris Games, moving her training to Bob Bowman’s pro group in Tempe, Ariz., and later in Austin, Texas. Months later, she swam at the Pan American Games and won four medals, including two individual golds, but even that success did not foreshadow how Madden was on the verge of becoming one of the best mid-distance swimmers in the world.
Indeed, the 25-year-old would reach Paris, matching her success from years earlier with a 400 free Olympic final appearance and a relay silver medal, but she would also finish her campaign with a flourish, producing perhaps the most shocking result of the entire swimming competition in Paris.
During her disappointing Nationals performance the year prior, Madden did not even contest the 800 free. At that point, she had never broken 8:30 in the event, and she had to race at a local meet just to achieve a qualifying standard for the TYR Pro Swim Series. But a huge personal best at Olympic Trials put Madden in the second qualifying position behind Katie Ledecky. She would be finished with her main events, the 400 free and 800 free relay, by that point, so Madden decided to give the 800 free a run.
Only during prelims of the event did a medal come into the picture. China’s Li Bingjie, the second-fastest swimmer ever, missed the final, while Madden swam under 8:20 for the first time to qualify second-fastest behind Ledecky and ahead of Australia’s Ariarne Titmus.
The next evening, as Titmus gave Ledecky everything she could handle in the distance star’s quest to win a fourth consecutive gold medal, Madden sat in fourth or fifth place for most of the race, but just after the halfway point, she picked off a pair of more accomplished distance swimmers, Lani Pallister and Simona Quadarella, to move into bronze-medal position. With 200 meters remaining, Ledecky began to pull away from Titmus, and for a brief moment, it appeared that Madden might run down the Aussie, only for Titmus to reassert herself on the final length. Still, Madden was much closer to freestyle’s dynamic duo than anyone would have imagined.
She finished in 8:13.00 to collect the bronze medal. A joyous Ledecky informed Madden that her time was quicker than the first world record Ledecky broke in the event, and Madden’s performance made her the fourth-fastest swimmer in history.
Moments later, tears dripped from Madden’s eyes as Ledecky invited her onto the top step of the podium for the national anthem. The joy was palpable, but disbelief, not so much. Sure, Madden had dropped seven-and-a-half seconds in two swims at the Olympics and more than 15 seconds in a year, but she considered her success the result of years of training and a recently-discovered confidence that she could come to Paris and perform, even if it meant chasing down a swimmer as admired as Ledecky in the closing portion of the race.
“If you told me that a year ago, I would have said you’re crazy. Maybe a month ago, it was sort of in the back of my mind, just based off of my training, but it still feels so surreal. It’s been three years, especially this last year. I think it just hasn’t shown until tonight,” Madden said. “I think I had a few breakthroughs in training that made me believe in myself.”
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« China’s Li Bingjie, the second-fastest swimmer ever, missed the final » and Summer McIntosh with 8 :11.39 vs Katie 8 :17.12 at a meet in Orlando this year ?