arena athlete Florent Manaudou won Bronze in the 50m Freestyle and Bronze in the 4x100m Medley Relay

Paris Olympic Games 2024 Swimming Review

With the conclusion of the swimming programme attention turns to the final week of competition at these Olympic Games. But let us consider some of the most prominent and interesting stories of the Paris Olympic Games 2024 swimming competition. This proved to be one of the closest meets in Olympic history with margins between medal winners regularly requiring a photo finish. Several swimmers showed their class and dominance. Namely, the man of the moment - Leon Marchand.

Leon Marchand was widely tipped to have a breakout games having broken Michael Phelps’ last remaining individual world record in the 400 individual medley and being the poster boy of a home Olympics for the French team. He proved to everyone that the hype was real. He won 4 individual gold medals in dominant fashion setting Olympic records in all 4. He also won a bronze medal in the French relay team. This Olympics has taken him to new heights of superstardom within the sport and at just 22 years old there is likely to be even more from him in years to come.

Another prominent question in the build-up to these Olympics was whether Adam Peaty could win his 3rd 100-metre Breaststroke Olympic title. He swam very well in the heats and semi-finals. He came agonisingly close in the final with Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy getting the touch by 0.02 seconds with Peaty and Nick Fink of Team USA taking a joint silver medal. It was a bittersweet moment for Adam as he really wanted the gold medal but watched on by his family the result did not matter. His legacy is secured as one of the greatest breaststrokers the sport has ever seen. It remains to be seen whether he will retire after these Olympics but for now, he can enjoy the moment.

There was other success for the British swimmers. The quartet of James Guy, Tom Dean, Matt Richards, and Duncan Scott successfully defended their 4x200 metre freestyle relay. They won this event in Tokyo and managed a commanding performance to retain the title. Richards won a silver medal in the individual 200 freestyle just behind David Popovici with Duncan Scott narrowly missing out on the medals in 4th place. However, Scott was able to secure a silver medal in the 200 individual medley behind Leon Marchand. There was a long-awaited medal for the ever-present and consistent Ben Proud. In his 3rd Olympics, he won a silver medal in the 50 freestyle behind Cameron McEvoy of Australia, with Florent Manaudou of France in 3rd. This completed the set of major international medals for Proud having won World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and European Championships. This was a very poignant medal ceremony with Ben Proud winning his medal with the home hero Florent Manaudou in 3rd in what is likely to be his last Olympics, again securing his legacy as one of France’s most consistent sprint swimmers winning medals at the last 4 Olympics. It still remains to be seen if he will retire after these games but if he does it will be a near-perfect ending.

Some of the stars from the women’s programme included Katie Ledecky and Summer Mcintosh. At just 17 years old McIntosh had a breakout meet winning 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal in dominant fashion. While she is at the beginning of her career with much more to come, Ledecky once again proved her greatness. She won the 800m freestyle for the 4th Olympics in a row. Michael Phelps is the only other person to win the same event at 4 straight Olympics. Ledecky also won the 1500m freestyle. Her great Australian rival Ariarne Titmus defended her 400m freestyle from Tokyo and added the 200m freestyle with relay medals as well. The sprint freestyle events were both won by the great Sarah Sjöström of Sweden again showing her dominance in the sprint freestyle events.

There had been talk of the pool being a slow pool at the start of the meet with some criticising the pool only being 2 metres deep instead of the more usual 3 metres deep. However, numerous Olympic records from Leon Marchand and relays dispelled that. There were a handful of world records as well in the men’s 1500m freestyle from American Bobby Finke, the 4x100 mixed medley relay, and in perhaps the surprise of the meet, China’s Pan Zhanle set a world record in the men’s 100m freestyle at 46.40. This 4 tenths faster than the previous world record held by David Popovici of Romania. In addition, Pan went a 45.92 in the men’s 4x100 medley relay on the freestyle anchor leg to secure Gold for China. This is incredibly fast and at just 20 years old there could be even more to come from this young man.

This Olympics has proved to be a perfect swansong for some of its longest-serving stewards. With Legacies secured, these swimmers can enjoy the rest of these Olympics and see what the next chapter will look like for them. But for the younger swimmers in their first Olympics who have shot to superstardom this is just the beginning. It will be exciting to see where they will go in the next few years and in the build-up to the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. And if you are starting your own swimming journey or are taking the next step in the upcoming season don’t forget to check out the SwimPath website for all your swimwear and equipment or feel free to contact our friendly expert team for help and support.

Team GB Speedo athletes - (L-R) Matt Richards, Duncan Scott, Tom Dean, Adam Peaty

Paris 2024 Olympic Swimming Preview - questions, key events, and top swimmers

With the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics only a few days away, large contingents of the world’s audiences and media will be turning their attention to the action in the Paris La Défense arena for the next instalment of Olympic swimming history. A rich source of drama and stories and sporting greatness over the years, and the 2024 Games is shaping up to be no different. From the resurgence of Adam Peaty and Caleb Dressel to the possible dominance of Leon Marchand. From the swansong for Florent Manaudou to the record chasing Katie Ledecky and the question of just how fast will David Popovici go? Some of the stories, questions and the stiff competition promise to make these games one of the most unpredictable swim meets of recent years.

Team USA Speedo athletes - (L-R) Caeleb Dressel, Abbey Weitzeil, Regan Smith, Ryan Murphy

Will Team USA dominance continue?

One of the most prominent questions is the strength of the United States at these games. The US has been the most dominant nation in the pool, topping the swimming medal table at every Olympics since the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. They have had numerous superstars in that time - Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin have all won multiple medals with Michael Phelps leading the way with 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them Gold. But recently the rest of the world has caught up. Multiple challengers from different nations could spoil American success stories, but strength in depth should stand them in good stead for the relays. Australia seeks to spoil their party with Cate Campbell recently saying that Americans are “sore losers” and “if I hear Star Spangled Banner again in my lifetime it will be too soon.” Statements like this are not new in swimming - one of the biggest swimming rivalries of recent years was between Michael Phelps of America and Ian Thorpe of Australia. Thorpe doubted Phelps could win 7 gold medals at one Olympics. Phelps kept a picture of Thorpe in his locker as motivation. At the next Olympics in Beijing Phelps won 8 gold medals. If history has taught us anything annoying the Americans doesn’t end well. We will have to see what happens in Paris. America has medal chances with Caleb Dressel, Ryan Murphy, Katie Ledecky and the new Women’s 100m Butterfly world record holder from US trials, Gretchen Walsh. Individual medals might be more spread out, and with stiff competition in the relays anything is possible.

Team France arena athlete Florent Manaudou

Perfect send-off and a new beginning - French past and future

Every athlete dreams of a home Olympics. The French swimmers could have one of their strongest showings for their superstars or the perfect ending their retiring athletes. Leon Marchand has lit up the swimming world in recent years, dominating the NCAA circuit in America setting a slew of records. Most significantly he broke Michael Phelps’ long standing world record in the 400m Individual Medley at the 2023 World Championships. He is expected to further lower this record and to be a medal hopeful in Breaststroke, Butterfly and also the 200m Individual Medley, however, the British pair of Duncan Scott and Tom Dean will provide tough competition. Being only 22 this is his chance to really solidify himself as a swimming superstar for the future at his home Olympics. At the other end of the spectrum, we have Florent Manaudou at his fourth Olympic Games. He won the 50m Freestyle at the London 2012 Olympics and since then, he has been a regular on the medal podium in the event at major championships including the last three Olympics. Look out for the limited edition Fireflow and Boa coloured arena Primo suits he will be wearing. You can see the full Limited Edtion Fireflow Olympic colourway at SwimPath. With this almost certainly his last Olympics he will be keen to perform well but will face stiff opposition from a revitalised Caleb Dressel and a very impressive Ben Proud and Cameron McEvoy. The 50m Freestyle really can go anywhere so we will just have to see.

Team Romania arena athlete David Popovici

David Popovici - first of many?

One of the most hotly contested events at any major championship is the Men’s 200m Freestyle. The world record has stood since 2009 and this year is going to be the most competitive and fastest swim since that world record. David Popovici of Romania is the favourite with the fastest time in the world this year. A prominent arena athlete wearing the Carbon Core FX, Carbon Air 2 and the Primo at different points in his career and now wearing the brand-new Cobra Edge goggles. See the full arena range on the SwimPath website. Lukas Märtens of Germany along with Danas Rapsys of Lithuania, both arena athletes will be threats, along with the British swimmers Matt Richards and Duncan Scott beating 2021 Olympic champion Tom Dean at the British Trials - this means the 200m Freestyle will be hotly contested. The British swimmers are Speedo athletes wearing the Pure Intent & Pure Valor suits and Hyper Elite, Pure Focus and Speed Socket 2 goggles in a variety of colours available on the SwimPath website. The relay is expected to go to the British quartet, with their four swimmers all in the top 10 world rankings for 200m Freestyle with no other country having more than one. The British quartet might challenge the world record.

Team Canada Funkita athlete Summer McIntosh

Women's 400m Freestyle - ones to watch

Another story that could further develop at these Games is the Women’s 400m Freestyle, with Katie Ledecky, Arianne Titmus and Summer McIntosh favourites for this event. They have been exchanging the world record over recent years, with Titmus winning gold in Tokyo. There is likely more to come from 17-year-old McIntosh - you can see her wearing the Funkita Game On collection on the SwimPath website. Ledecky will be looking to add to her vast medal collection in the 1500m, 800m, 400m and 200m Freestyle events. While the 1500m and 800m are expected to go to the American Ledecky, the 400m is well up for grabs.

Team GB Speedo athlete Adam Peaty

Three-Peat?

The Men’s 100m Breaststroke has been dominated by Adam Peaty since the World Championships in 2015 in Kazan, regularly chipping away at his own world record. Since the 2021 Olympics, injuries and distractions out of the pool led to questions about his form however a world leading 57.94s at the British trials and winning the 2023 World Championships event made him the favourite for the gold in Paris, which would be his third in the event. Peaty is expected to go head-to-head with Qin Haiyang of China, who is Peaty’s toughest competition in the event and it will be fascinating to see who gets the gold. Both are wearing Speedo race suits in new colours available on the SwimPath website. 

There will be numerous other fascinating and dramatic stories to come from the swimming in Paris with unexpected medallists. The time for speculation and predictions is over, the time for racing is upon us, we will have to see what happens.

My name is George Williams and I joined SwimPath in November 2023. I have been a competitive swimmer for many years with Soundwell Swimming Club in Bristol and then Swansea University for 3 years training with some of the fastest swimmers in the country. I started at Soundwell when I was 9 years old and progressed over the years under several coaches culminating with 3 swims in my preferred backstroke events at British Championships in 2022. I have also raced at several English and Welsh National meets winning a silver medal at Welsh Nationals in 2019, Southwest Regional meets, and Gloucestershire County meets winning a handful of County Championship titles along the way both individually and as part of a relay team. I have since retired from competitive swimming and have done some coaching with Soundwell and am now working SwimPath.

Before working at SwimPath I was lucky enough to do some volunteering work in South Africa with a Charity called United Through Sport. I spent 8 weeks as a volunteer in 2022 and 5 months as a programme coordinator in 2023. United Through Sport uses sport as a tool to help kids develop holistically. Their education, their welfare and their overall health and wellness. Identifying kids' talent for sports allows them to access better schools and better educational opportunities and improve their overall life prospects. The charity goes to 4 schools a day and runs coaching sessions with hundreds of kids in a wide variety of sports including cricket, rugby, football, hockey, tennis, netball, basketball, dance, and perhaps most importantly, swimming. The swim programme is something I am particularly proud of. Giving nearly 100 kids the opportunity to have swimming lessons and learn water safety is priceless. Being a swimmer myself I took extra interest in this aspect of the charities programme.

SwimPath made a donation of swimming caps, swimsuits and goggles that provided the children with the necessary kit required for swimming lessons and learning water safety.

Volunteers come from all over the world, including The United States, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Weekend excursions organised by United Through Sport included safari, shark diving, bungee jumping and skydiving. This whole experience was incredible and something I will continue to be interested in and is something I would wholeheartedly recommend to young people wanting to do some travel and make a positive difference.

I am looking forward to working for SwimPath, growing the business and staying involved with the sport I love.

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