2 0 2 1 TO K YO O LY M P I C S
DAY 4 FINALS Wednesday, July 28 (10:30 a.m. - 1:05 p.m. Japan Standard Time)
WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE | MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY | WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY | WOMEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE | MEN’S 4x200 FREESTYLE RELAY
Australian Trials with a 1:53.09 Commonwealth record and is nearly a second-and-a-half faster than the rest of the world in 2021. This will likely be her second of three battles with Ledecky, and perhaps her best chance at winning gold. Also posing a medal threat is Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey, who has a shot at becoming her country’s first-ever Olympic medalist. —Andy Ross Gold: Ariarne Titmus, Australia Silver: Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong Bronze: Katie Ledecky, USA
MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY
>> ARIARNE TITMUS, AUSTRALIA
WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE World Record: 1:52.98 Federica Pellegrini, Italy—Rome 7-29-09 2016 Olympic Champion: 1:53.73 Katie Ledecky, USA
The last three Olympic champs in the women’s 200 free will be facing off against one another in Tokyo: Italy’s Federica Pellegrini (2008) plus the USA’s Allison Schmitt (2012) and Katie Ledecky (2016). Pellegrini has won the last two World titles in the women’s 200 free and has proven to be one of the best game managers—always finding a way to perfectly pace this race to come out on top. But Pellegrini hasn’t reached the Olympic podium since winning in Beijing, finishing fifth in London and fourth in Rio. But this year’s favorite looks to be Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, who came close to breaking Pellegrini’s world record at the 16
BIWEEKLY
SWIMMINGWORLD.COM
[PHOTO BY BECCA WYANT ]
World Record: 1:50.73 Kristof Milak, Hungary—Gwangju 7-24-19 2016 Olympic Champion: 1:53.36 Michael Phelps, USA
Hungary’s Kristof Milak set the world record in the 200 butterfly at the 2019 World Championships. He is a full three seconds faster than anyone in the world this year, just a few tenths off of his world record performance. So the only question, really, is how fast can he go...and how much (or if) the pandemic year has affected his training heading into Tokyo. The bigger mystery of this event seems to be how the rest of the field will shake out, considering the fastest times of the next five swimmers are within a half-a-second of each other. Italy’s Federico Burdisso, Hungary’s Tamas Kenderesi, Bulgaria’s Antani Ivanov, Japan’s Tomoru Honda (who has home-pool advantage) and Taipei’s Eddie Wang all are in the 1:54-range this year, while Germany’s David Thomasberger and USA’s Zach Harting are close behind. Meanwhile, veterans James Guy of Great Britain and Daiya Seto of Japan are just off the pace, and Chad le Clos of South Africa is always looming, making this event one of the most competitive— even if the gold medal seems to be locked up. —Dan D’Addona Gold: Kristof Milak, Hungary Silver: Tomoru Honda, Japan Bronze: Federico Burdisso, Italy
WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY World Record: 2:06.12 Katinka Hosszu, Hungary—Kazan 8-3-15 2016 Olympic Champion: 2:06.58 Katinka Hosszu, Hungary
One of the biggest uncertainties of the meet will be Katinka Hosszu, the reigning Olympic champion and four-time defending world champion in both the 200 and 400 IM. Earlier this year, Hosszu won gold in the 400 IM at the European Championships, but settled for silver in the 200 fly and bronze in the 200 IM. But as recently as 2019, she swam a 2:07.53 at the World Championships, quicker than any other active swimmer. Perhaps by late July, Hosszu will be close enough to top form to claim a medal, but she will have a large pack of challengers in close pursuit. Australia’s Kaylee McKeown has been one of the most impressive
