Saturday, July 24, 2021
Tokyo Olympics: Day One Prelims Notes
The swimming competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 had its inaugural sessions today and saw all 10 individual U.S. swimmers advance to the next session. After the day one prelims session, Sarasota Sharks’ Emma Weyant came out with the highest seed among U.S. swimmers, going 4:33.55 to claim top spot in the women’s 400m individual medley.
More from day one prelims:
Men’s 400m I.M.
• Chase Kalisz’s 4:09.65 was second in his heat. He led his heat after the butterfly and breaststroke leg and finished in 4:09.65.
• Jay Litherland clocked in at 4:09.91, over half a second faster than his time in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming finals. The time marks the third swim he has posted in his career under 4:10 and is seven tenths off his personal best.
• Kalisz will enter tonight’s final as the third seed, Litherland will enter as a tie for fifth seed.
Women’s 100m butterfly
• Torri Huske finished second in her heat in 56:29, putting her as the fourth seed for tonight’s semifinal
• Claire Curzan finished third in her heat in 57.49, putting her as the 10th seed for tonight’s semifinal
• This marks the first time since 1984 where the U.S. will have two teenagers go onto the semifinals in the women’s 100m butterfly.
Men’s 400m Freestyle
• Jake Mitchell and Kieran Smith swam in the same heat, in lanes one and two, respectively. Smith is seeded sixth and Mitchell is seeded seventh for tonight’s final.
• Mitchell’s 3:45.25 knocked six tenth’s off his incredible time trial at Olympic Trials this past June.
• Kieran Smith posted a 3:45.25, good for the second-fastest swim of his career.
Women’s 400m I.M.
• Emma Weyant won her heat by a body length, touching in 4:33.55 to put her as the top seed for tonight’s final. The time was nearly five tenths faster than her personal best and is the second-fastest swim by an American since the 2016 Rio Olympics.
• Hali Flickinger’s 4:35.98 makes her the fifth seed for tonight’s final. Flickinger was nearly four-and-a-half seconds behind Japan’s Yui Ohashi entering the final leg and closed the gap to finish just two tenths behind Ohashi at the final touch.
Men’s 100m Breaststroke
• Michael Andrew’s 58.62 won his heat and puts him as the third seed going into semis. He was one of only six swimmers in the event to go sub-:59 in the morning’s prelims.
• Andrew Wilson’s 59:03 was second in his heat and puts him as the seventh seed for semifinals. The swim is his sixth-fastest performance ever.
Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay
• The U.S. relay team of Olivia Smoliga, Catie DeLoof, Allison Schmitt and Natalie Hinds went 3:34.80 to finish as the fifth fastest relay team. Should the U.S. medal in the final, it would give Schmitt her ninth Olympic medal, earning her a share of fifth place on the all-time total medal leaderboard among female Olympic swimmers.
Competition resumes at 10:30 a.m. JST/9:30 p.m. ET with the men’s 400m I.M. final, women’s 100m butterfly semi, men’s 400m freestyle final, women’s 400m I.M. final, men’s 100m breaststroke semi and women’s 4x100m freestyle relay final.
More from day one prelims:
Men’s 400m I.M.
• Chase Kalisz’s 4:09.65 was second in his heat. He led his heat after the butterfly and breaststroke leg and finished in 4:09.65.
• Jay Litherland clocked in at 4:09.91, over half a second faster than his time in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming finals. The time marks the third swim he has posted in his career under 4:10 and is seven tenths off his personal best.
• Kalisz will enter tonight’s final as the third seed, Litherland will enter as a tie for fifth seed.
Women’s 100m butterfly
• Torri Huske finished second in her heat in 56:29, putting her as the fourth seed for tonight’s semifinal
• Claire Curzan finished third in her heat in 57.49, putting her as the 10th seed for tonight’s semifinal
• This marks the first time since 1984 where the U.S. will have two teenagers go onto the semifinals in the women’s 100m butterfly.
Men’s 400m Freestyle
• Jake Mitchell and Kieran Smith swam in the same heat, in lanes one and two, respectively. Smith is seeded sixth and Mitchell is seeded seventh for tonight’s final.
• Mitchell’s 3:45.25 knocked six tenth’s off his incredible time trial at Olympic Trials this past June.
• Kieran Smith posted a 3:45.25, good for the second-fastest swim of his career.
Women’s 400m I.M.
• Emma Weyant won her heat by a body length, touching in 4:33.55 to put her as the top seed for tonight’s final. The time was nearly five tenths faster than her personal best and is the second-fastest swim by an American since the 2016 Rio Olympics.
• Hali Flickinger’s 4:35.98 makes her the fifth seed for tonight’s final. Flickinger was nearly four-and-a-half seconds behind Japan’s Yui Ohashi entering the final leg and closed the gap to finish just two tenths behind Ohashi at the final touch.
Men’s 100m Breaststroke
• Michael Andrew’s 58.62 won his heat and puts him as the third seed going into semis. He was one of only six swimmers in the event to go sub-:59 in the morning’s prelims.
• Andrew Wilson’s 59:03 was second in his heat and puts him as the seventh seed for semifinals. The swim is his sixth-fastest performance ever.
Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay
• The U.S. relay team of Olivia Smoliga, Catie DeLoof, Allison Schmitt and Natalie Hinds went 3:34.80 to finish as the fifth fastest relay team. Should the U.S. medal in the final, it would give Schmitt her ninth Olympic medal, earning her a share of fifth place on the all-time total medal leaderboard among female Olympic swimmers.
Competition resumes at 10:30 a.m. JST/9:30 p.m. ET with the men’s 400m I.M. final, women’s 100m butterfly semi, men’s 400m freestyle final, women’s 400m I.M. final, men’s 100m breaststroke semi and women’s 4x100m freestyle relay final.