2 0 2 1 TO K YO O LY M P I C S
DAY 6 FINALS Friday, July 30
(10:30 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. Japan Standard Time)
[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]
WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE | MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE | WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE | MEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
>> RYAN MURPHY, UNITED STATES
WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE
MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE
World Record: 2:19.11sf Rikke Moller Pederson, Denmark—Barcelona 8-1-13 2016 Olympic Champion: 2:20.30 Rie Kaneto, Japan
World Record: 1:51.92 Aaron Piersol, USA—Rome 7-31-09 2016 Olympic Champion: 1:53.62 Ryan Murphy, USA
There are races that are close on paper. Then there’s the women’s 200 breast, which is downright congested. In the last two years, seven swimmers have posted times within 1.5 seconds of each other, led by Tatjana Schoenmaker’s 2:20.17 in April. Any of the seven could find themselves atop the podium. Unlike the 100 breast, where Lilly King enters as the marked— if not untouchable—favorite, the field is much more open. Yuliya Efimova is the reigning world champ, though she’s now 29. King is a contender, as is American/Indiana teammate Annie Lazor. Molly Renshaw and Abbie Wood are in the picture for Great Britain. Kanako Watanabe is likely to factor in for the host country, and Canada’s duo of Kelsey Wog and Sydney Pickrem were both finalists at the last Worlds. So, how to separate it all? Wait for two busy days of racing in Tokyo. —Matthew De George
Defending Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy had a dominating U.S. Olympic Trials, taking the top spot in both backstroke events for the second consecutive Olympic qualifying meet. He heads to Tokyo as the second-fastest in the world this year at 1:54.20. Russia’s Evgeny Rylov has the top time at 1:53.23, making the showdown greatly anticipated. Two more swimmers have been sub-1:55 in 2021, with Luke Greenbank of Great Britain clocking a 1:54.43 and USA’s Bryce Mefford a 1:54.79 to take the second spot on the American team. Meanwhile, Japan’s Ryosuke Irie will look to make a splash in his home country. The U.S. has a long history in the men’s backstroke—six Olympic gold medals in a row in both the 100 and 200...ever since 1996—and Murphy is the latest to hold that torch. But this will be the toughest race of his international career, and he will have to be at his best if he wants to hold off Rylov. —Dan D’Addona
Gold: Tatjana Schoenmaker, South Africa Silver: Molly Renshaw, Great Britain Bronze: Annie Lazor, USA
Gold: Ryan Murphy, USA Silver: Evgeny Rylov, Russia Bronze: Luke Greenbank, Great Britain
20
BIWEEKLY
SWIMMINGWORLD.COM
