2 0 2 1 TO K YO O LY M P I C S
DAY 8 FINALS Sunday, August 1
(10:30 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. Japan Standard Time)
[PHOTO BY BECCA WYANT ]
MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE | WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE | MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE | WOMEN’S 4x100 MEDLEY RELAY | MEN’S 4x100 MEDLEY RELAY
>> FLORIAN WELLBROCK, GERMANY
MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE World Record: 20.91 Cesar Cielo, Brazil—Sao Paulo 12-18-09 2016 Olympic Champion: 21.40 Anthony Ervin, USA
The men’s sprinting generations have turned in the United States. The ushering in of a global new guard is slower to arrive. The United States claimed two places on the podium in Rio, but neither Anthony Ervin nor bronze medalist Nathan Adrian survived Olympic Trials this time, going by the wayside in favor of young stars Caeleb Dressel and Michael Andrew. Globally, though, the same turnover hasn’t occurred. Florent Manaoudou, Bruno Fratus and Benjamin Proud—all top-six finishers in Rio—remain in the picture, despite the former two being in their 30s. Even the “young” competitors—29-year-old Vlad Morozov and 27-year-old Kristian Gokolomeev—aren’t exactly young. The most salient question appears to be if Dressel, who went 21.04 at the recent Trials, can erase Cielo’s world record. He’s the favorite for gold, with Proud not far behind. The mystery is if anyone else, young or old, can spoil the party. —Matthew De George Gold: Caeleb Dressel, USA Silver: Benjamin Proud, Great Britain Bronze: Michael Andrew, USA
WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE World Record: 23.67sf Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden— Budapest 7-29-17 2016 Olympic Champion: 24.07 Pernille Blume, Denmark
The 50 freestyle can often be an unpredictable race in any
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international meet. With such little room for error and so many athletes bunched up together in the world rankings—not to mention the fatigue factor of the race being held on the very last day of the meet—the 50 freestyle is one of the most difficult to predict. Defending champion Pernille Blume shocked the world when she touched first in Rio, winning Denmark’s first swimming gold medal since 1948. However, Blume has not reached the podium internationally since then, finishing in fourth at the last two World Championships. Reigning world champ Simone Manuel has not quite swum to expectations in 2021, having been diagnosed with overtraining syndrome earlier this year, preventing her from training at the same level as she did in 2016. Also, Sarah Sjostrom, the 2017 world champ and world record holder, sustained an elbow injury earlier this year. That leaves the door open for two veterans: Australia’s Cate Campbell, who is looking for her first individual gold at the Olympics, and Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands, who won the gold medal in 2012. Campbell is second in the world rankings behind teammate Emma McKeon, while Kromowidjojo is directly behind them in third. But Manuel and Sjostrom are two of the best racers of all-time, and it will come down to who has the best finish on the last day in Tokyo. —Andy Ross Gold: Cate Campbell, Australia Silver: Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands Bronze: Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
