The women's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held from 3 to 4 August 2024 at the Olympic Aquatics Centre at Paris La Défense Arena.[1]
| Women's 50 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Olympic Aquatics Centre. Paris La Défense Arena | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 3 August 2024 (Heats and Semis) 4 August 2024 (Final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 79 from 72 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 23.71 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Sweden's Sarah Sjöström was the favourite going into the event, and set a new Olympic record of 23.66 seconds in the semifinal to qualify as top seed. In the final, Sjöström won gold, Meg Harris won silver and Zhang Yufei won bronze, finishing ahead of Gretchen Walsh by 0.01 seconds. Slovenia's Neža Klančar set new national records in her heat, semifinal and in the final, which she qualified for despite originally being seeded 23rd.
Background
editGoing into the competition, three of the top four finishers at the 2020 games were not competing. SwimSwam and Swimming World opined that Sweden's Sarah Sjöström was the favourite, with her having set the world record of 23.61 at the 2023 World Swimming Championships and owning the 27 fastest times among all swimmers potentially competing in the race.[2][3] Four days before the event started, Sjöström had won the 100 metre freestyle.[4]
Qualification
editEach National Olympic Committee (NOC) was permitted to enter a maximum of two qualified athletes in each individual event, but only if both of them had attained the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT).[5] For this event, the OQT was 24.70 seconds. World Aquatics then filled the rest of the event places with athletes qualifying through universality; NOCs were given one event entry for each gender, which could be used by any athlete regardless of qualification time, providing the spaces had not already been taken by athletes from that nation who had achieved the OQT.[5][6] In total, 24 athletes qualified through achieving the OQT, while 55 athletes qualified through universality places.[6]
Heats
edit10 heats took place on 3 August 2024, starting at 11:00.[a] The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advanced to the semifinals.[7] Sarah Sjöström clocked 23.85 seconds, qualifying with the fastest seed and only swim under 24 seconds. Katarzyna Wasick and Gretchen Walsh qualified with the second and third seeds respectively. Simone Manuel from the United States did not qualify for the semifinals.[8] Kenya's Maria Brunlehner and Slovenia's Neža Klančar set national records of 25.82 and 24.64 seconds respectively.[9][10]
Semifinals
editTwo semifinals took place on 3 August, starting at 20:39. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the final.[12] Sjöström qualified for the finals with a time of 23.66 seconds, which broke the Olympic record by 0.15 seconds.[13][14] Walsh qualified with the second seed, and Wasick qualified with the third. Australia's two swimmers Shayna Jack and Meg Harris qualified, as did China's two swimmers Zhang Yufei and Wu Qingfeng.[15] Klančar qualified in seventh despite being initially seeded 23rd,[16] setting another new national record of 24.40 seconds and becoming the first Slovenian Olympic finalist since Sara Isakovič in 2008.[17][10]
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 | Sarah Sjöström |  Sweden |
23.66 | Q, OR |
| 2 | 2 | 5 | Gretchen Walsh |  United States |
24.17 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | 4 | Katarzyna Wasick |  Poland |
24.23 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | Zhang Yufei |  China |
24.24 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | 5 | Shayna Jack |  Australia |
24.29 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | 3 | Meg Harris | Australia |
24.33 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | 6 | Wu Qingfeng | China |
24.40 | Q |
| 1 | 7 | Neža Klančar |  Slovenia |
Q, NR | ||
| 9 | 2 | 6 | Michelle Coleman | Sweden |
24.47 | |
| 10 | 2 | 8 | Anna Hopkin |  Great Britain |
24.50 | |
| 11 | 1 | 2 | Beryl Gastaldello |  France |
24.66 | |
| 12 | 1 | 8 | Valerie van Roon |  Netherlands |
24.67 | |
| 13 | 2 | 2 | Taylor Ruck |  Canada |
24.72 | |
| 14 | 2 | 1 | Sara Curtis |  Italy |
24.77 | |
| 15 | 1 | 1 | Florine Gaspard |  Belgium |
24.82 | |
| 16 | 2 | 7 | Julie Kepp Jensen |  Denmark |
24.98 |
Final
editThe final took place at 18:30 on 4 August.[19] Sarah Sjöström had the fastest reaction time of 0.61 seconds, but stated after the race that she dove too deep and resurfaced at around 12 metres. Gretchen Walsh had the slowest reaction time of 0.75 seconds, but her longer 15 metre underwater meant that she surfaced in first place, 0.12 seconds ahead of Sjöström and 0.30 seconds ahead of Zhang Yufei in third.[20]
Walsh held her lead until 25 metres, where she was overtaken by Sjöström, who extended her lead over most of the field until the finish. At 25 metres, Shayna Jack had overtaken Yufei, placing her in third position, while Meg Harris had the fastest split over the 15–25 metre segment which elevated her to fourth.[20]
At the 45 metre mark, Sjöström was 0.34 seconds ahead of the field. Harris had further elevated herself to second place and pushed Walsh to third, with Jack having dropped to seventh.[20] Sjöström and Harris retained these positions over the last five metres, finishing in first and second respectively.[21] Yufei was 0.06 seconds behind Walsh at the 45 metre mark, but overtook her in the last five metres to take third by 0.01 seconds.[20] Klančar set another Slovenian national record of 24.35 seconds.[10]
| Rank | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Sarah Sjöström | Sweden |
23.71 | |
 |
7 | Meg Harris | Australia |
23.97 | |
 |
6 | Zhang Yufei | China |
24.20 | |
| 4 | 5 | Gretchen Walsh | United States |
24.21 | |
| 5 | 3 | Katarzyna Wasick | Poland |
24.33 | |
| 6 | 8 | Neža Klančar | Slovenia |
24.35 | NR |
| 7 | 1 | Wu Qingfeng | China |
24.37 | |
| 8 | 2 | Shayna Jack | Australia |
24.39 |
| Name | Underwater distance (m) | Underwater speed (m/s) | 15 metre split (s) | 25 metre split (s) | Time (s) | Stroke rate (strokes/min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Sjöström | 12.35 | 3.10 | 6.00 | 10.98 | 23.71 | 61.8 |
| Meg Harris | 11.22 | 2.99 | 6.27 | 11.20 | 23.97 | 61.9 |
| Zhang Yufei | 13.01 | 2.93 | 6.18 | 11.20 | 24.20 | 63.2 |
| Gretchen Walsh | 15.47 | 3.02 | 5.88 | 10.98 | 24.21 | 53.8 |
| Katarzyna Wasick | 9.47 | 3.21 | 6.21 | 11.20 | 24.33 | 60.8 |
| Neža Klančar | 15.28 | 2.79 | 6.25 | 11.28 | 24.35 | 55.6 |
| Wu Qingfeng | 10.74 | 3.07 | 6.31 | 11.32 | 24.37 | 58.6 |
| Shayna Jack | 10.61 | 3.08 | 6.19 | 11.14 | 24.39 | 60.4 |
Notes
edit- ^ All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)
References
edit- ^ a b "Results" (PDF). olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-08-15. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Keith, Braden (2024-07-07). "2024 Olympic Preview: Sarah Sjostrom Is Racing for Her Legacy in the Women's 50 Free". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 2024-07-14. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
- ^ Lohn, John (2024-08-03). "Paris Olympics, Day 8 Prelims: In Pursuit of Sprint Double, Sarah Sjostrom Cruises to Top Seed in 50 Freestyle". Swimming World News. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Li, Yanyan (2024-07-31). "Sarah Sjostrom, Who Wasn't Even Going To Swim The 100 Free, Wins Olympic Gold In The Race". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
- ^ a b "Paris 2024 – Swimming Info". World Aquatics. 5 April 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-02-08. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ a b Entries list - Swimming, World Aquatics, archived from the original on 2024-07-12, retrieved 2024-12-18
- ^ "Women's 50m Freestyle - Heats Results". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Penland, Spencer (2024-08-03). "2024 Paris Olympics: Day 8 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 2024-09-01. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
- ^ Chuma, Festus (2024-08-02). "Paris 2024 Olympics: Event guide for Saturday 2 August". Pulse Sports Kenya. Archived from the original on 2024-08-07. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ a b c Kaufman, Sophie (2024-08-04). "Paris 2024, Euro Recap: Kristof Milak Snaps Hungary's Streak of Near Misses For 100 Fly Gold". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 2024-12-08. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ "Olympic Games Paris 2024 – the ITA sanctions Bolivian athlete María José Ribera Pinto". ita.sport. International Testing Agency (ITA). 29 August 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-11-02. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ "Women's 50m Freestyle Semifinals Results". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ "Sjostrom sets Olympic record in 50m freestyle semi". NBC News. 2024-08-03. Archived from the original on 2024-09-05. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ De George, Matthew (2024-08-04). "Paris Olympics, Day 9: Sarah Sjostrom Completes Sprint Double with 50 Free Gold". Swimming World News. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Penland, Spencer (2024-08-04). "2024 Paris Olympics: Day 8 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
- ^ Bush, Bradley (2024-08-11). "Post-Olympic Swimming Results vs. Seed Analysis". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 2024-09-14. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Kaufman, Sophie (2024-08-04). "Paris 2024, Euro Recap: French Medley Relays Give Home Crowd Parting Gift Of National Records". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ "Results" (PDF). olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-08-15. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ "Women's 50m Freestyle Final Results". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ a b c d Altavilla, Sofia (2024-09-20). "High Stroke Rate And Consistency Led Sarah Sjostrom To Olympic Gold In 50 Free". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 2024-10-07. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
- ^ Wade, Stephen (2024-08-04). "Sarah Sjöström sprints to second gold medal in Paris Olympics with dominant win in 50-freestyle". apnews.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2024-08-10. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ "Results" (PDF). olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-08-07. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Bodard, Simon; Decron, Nathan; Dernoncourt, Eric; Hui, Pierre; Jambu, Clément; Loisel, Camille; Pla, Robin; Raineteau, Yannis. "Jeux Olympiques 2024: Analyses de course des Finales" (PDF). French Swimming Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-12-17.