2 0 2 1 TO K YO O LY M P I C S
DAY 5 FINALS Thursday, July 29
(10:30 a.m. - 1:05 p.m. Japan Standard Time)
[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]
MEN’S 800 FREESTYLE | MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE | WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY | MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE | WOMEN’S 4x200 FREESTYLE RELAY
>> CAELEB DRESSEL, UNITED STATES
MEN’S 800 FREESTYLE
MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE
World Record: 7:32.12 Zhang Lin, China—Rome 7-29-09 2016 Olympic Champion: Olympic debut
World Record: 2:06.12 Anton Chupkov, Russia—Gwangju 7-26-19 2016 Olympic Champion: 2:07.46 Dmitriy Balandin, Kazakhstan
Sun Yang won’t be there. The Americans, who didn’t have a finalist at the last World Championships, lack a top-30 time in the last two years. Gregorio Paltrinieri is overcoming a bout of mononucleosis. So where does that leave the field in the first-ever Olympic men’s 800 free? Wide open, to say the least. Europe seems to be the likely point of origin for the champion. Paltrinieri is the reigning world champ, leading an all-European podium in 2019 with Henrik Christiansen of Norway and David Aubry of France. Paltrinieri’s countryman Gabriele Detti has grown over the last Olympic cycle, as has Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk (the European champion in late May). Australia’s Jack McLoughlin (fourth at Worlds and ranked second in 2021) is also a contender. The addition of the 800 to the 1500 complicates schedules for distance swimmers, as does the fact that several medal hopes— Paltrinieri, Aubry and Germany’s Florian Wellbrock among them— will compete in the pool and open water. So, a first men’s 800 opens the door to intriguing possibilities. —Matthew De George Gold: Mykhailo Romanchuk, Ukraine Silver: Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy Bronze: Henrik Christiansen, Norway
18
BIWEEKLY
SWIMMINGWORLD.COM
Since winning the world title in 2017, the men’s 200 breaststroke has belonged to Russia’s Anton Chupkov. The two-time reigning world champ has won every title imaginable for the 200 breaststroke, but the Olympic gold eludes him. After dismantling the record books in 2019, when he nearly became the first man to break 2:06 in the event, he is still the favorite to take gold after four lengths of the pool in Japan. But it won’t be easy—five of the six fastest men ever in the event will be in Tokyo, and it will surely be a dogfight. Japan’s Shoma Sato has the top time in the world this year, and even without any hometown fans cheering him on, he should still be a popular pick for the gold. The 20-year-old who ranks third on the all-time list has the weight of a nation on his shoulders: Japan has won this event more than any other country at the Games—six— with the last coming from Kosuke Kitajima in 2008. Sato rattled the world record at Japan’s Trials in April, but doesn’t have an international senior level meet under his belt. Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook, who swims a very similar race to Chupkov in that he often blitzes the final 50 faster than anyone else, has the top time in the world this year with a 2:06.2 from June. Australia hasn’t won this event since Ian O’Brien in 1964, but has two gold medal contenders in Stubblety-Cook and 2019 Worlds silver medalist Matthew Wilson. —Andy Ross Gold: Anton Chupkov, Russia Silver: Zac Stubblety-Cook, Australia Bronze: Shoma Sato, Japan
