April effectively marked the beginning of the official Olympic selection season, with multiple countries hosting Paris 2024 qualifying tournaments.
For some countries, the trials were swimmers' only chance to qualify for this summer's Olympics. In contrast, some athletes recorded one more match within the World Aquatics overall qualifying period, which ends on June 23.
If you missed the action, check out our digest of key highlights from April's most-watched championships.
swimming gb championships
The 2024 Swimming GB Championships were held at the London Aquatics Center, the 2012 Olympic swimming venue. The competition is the only qualification opportunity for British swimmers, with athletes not only achieving first place in their event, but also completing the competition, which is set by the strict Swimming Federation, and in most cases faster than the Olympic qualification time for World Swimming. The selection criteria had to be met.
Key performances included an impressive comeback 100m breaststroke at the hands of the Olympic champion adam peaty. The 29-year-old has competed multiple times since withdrawing from the 2023 British Championships and that year's World Championships, but the world record holder has been running since 2021 with a time of 58 seconds in the 100m breast. It wasn't below the wall. , he scored 57.94 points, placing him second in the world rankings for the season.
Peaty's head-turning swim was paired with a 20-year-old swimmer. Oliver MorganHe set a new Japanese record for the 100-meter back with a time of 52.70 seconds, and discussions have begun for the gold medal race in the men's medley relay. GBR's backstroke has been relatively quiet since the retirement of Christopher Walker-Heborn and others, but with Morgan's continued improvement, he now has the potential to rival the reigning Olympic champions, the United States. , putting the nation on top of the podium buzz.
As usual at elite competitions for British participants, the men's freestyle competition was frighteningly fast. Ben Proud and matt richards In the 50-meter dash, Proud ran a time of 21.25 seconds and Richards ran a time of 21.83 seconds, both of which were below the Olympic QT. In the 100-meter dash, three athletes ran under 48 seconds, led by Richards, who clocked 47.84 seconds.olympic relay teammates duncan scott Scored 47.92 2 points as Olympic 200m free gold medalist tom dean He hit a score of 47.94.
The 200m free race was the first race in a while, and there was fierce competition from all lanes. Richards again won the wall first in 1:44.69, followed by Scott in 1:44.75, Dean in 1:45.09, james guyHe clocked a time of 1:45.28 and successfully prepared his country to defend its Olympic gold medal.
British Swimming's women's team, which includes Olympic athletes, achieved reasonably good results. Kathleen Dawson He has been on a comeback tour since suffering from a back injury. Dawson, 26, clocked a time of 59.74 seconds in the 100m return, marking the first time in three years that he had achieved a sub-minute performance and qualifying for Paris.
Freya Colbert He put on a show in several events, including winning the 200m free. Colbert won the gold medal with a time of 1:56.22, the second-best time of her career. However, Colbert also ran an impressive 4:34.01 in the 400m IM, taking over the top spot and beating his previous personal record of 4:35.28 by more than a second.
China National Championship
The 2024 China Championships also concluded last month, but it was not the only qualifying event in which swimmers recorded Paris-worthy swims. Times recorded during the nine-day competition were ranked along with performances from the 2023 and 2024 World Championships to determine the two fastest swimmers to represent the Olympic Games.
Despite being a mega star, she holds the world record for the 200m breaststroke. Qin Haiyang He was a little on the quiet side, but other teammates stepped up to make it happen in a big way.
for example, Yang Junxuan He set a new national record of 52.68 seconds to qualify for the Olympics. Tozentei She set a new Asian record in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:04.39.
olympic champion Wang Shun She shined in the 200m IM, running a time of 1:55.35 midway through, marking the third best time of her career. He was just 0.3 seconds away from the 1:55.00 time he won gold at the 2020 Olympics.
100m free world record holder Pan Zanre He won the 50m/100m/200m/400m free events by a landslide, recording an astonishing time of 46.97 seconds for the 100m.
You can also check out the five main takeaways from the championship here.
swiss championship
The 2024 Swiss Championships was not a one-off trial event per se, but instead featured a 22-year-old Olympic medalist. Noe Ponti He raced as if his only chance of qualifying for the Olympics depended on it.
Ponti set new records in the 50m and 100m butterfly events, attracting worldwide attention ahead of Paris.
Although not an Olympic event, Ponti posted a 22.65 in the 50-meter fly at Worcester. This placed him sixth all-time in the event and gave him a glimpse of his form and speed potential in the main event, the 100m fly.
In that long sprint, Ponti clocked a time of 50.16 seconds, breaking his own Swiss record of 50.74 seconds, set at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He is currently the sixth fastest 100m fly athlete in history.
South Africa Olympic Team Trials
The South African Olympic Trials were the main qualifying event, but performances in other World Aquatics-sanctioned events can also be taken into consideration if there are no athletes who meet the selection criteria.
With these regulations in mind, this publication's list of South Africa's Olympic qualifiers is as follows:
2024 South African Championships (Olympic Trials) Qualifiers
Qualifying for World Aquatics Official Tournaments (other than the above)
- Rebecca Mader – Women’s 200m IM (2:10.95, 2023 World Championship Qualifier)
- chad le clos – Men’s 100m fly (51.48, 2024 World Championships)
- Matt Seitz – Men’s 100m fly (51.66, 2023 World Cup Budapest), 200m fly (1:55.25, 2023 World Cup Budapest), 200m IM (1:57.72, 2023 World Cup Budapest)
Key highlights of the South African clinical trial include: Tatiana Smith (née Schoenmaker) She set a record in the women's 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:19.92. Smith currently holds four of the top 10 all-time records in the 200m breaststroke. She became No. 1 in the world rankings this season, overtaking the American title. kate douglas It was during the semi-finals in Doha.
Erin Gallagher She also set a national record in the women's 100m butterfly en route to qualifying. Gallagher, 25, scored 57.32 points, bettering her South African national standard record of 57.59 points set at this year's world championships.
Gallagher has nine of the top 10 South African women's 100m butterfly results of all time, and has finished under 58 seconds seven times.
Finally, the University of Virginia ace amy canney He set a new African record in the 200m free. She led her team's 4x200m free relay with a time of 1:56.80, marking the first time in her career that she has broken under 1:57. Her time beat the previous South African national standard of 1:57.17. Karin Prinsloo He broke the record nearly 10 years ago in 2014, breaking the African continental record held by an Olympic medalist with a time of 1 minute 57.04 seconds. Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, founded in 2008.
Eindhoven qualifying round
Another step for Dutch swimmers to qualify for Paris 2024 was the Eindhoven Qualification Tournament, which was held from April 11th to April 14th.
olympic athlete marit steenburgen The 24-year-old was the star of the show, setting a new national record in the 200m IM with a time of 2:08.86. Her result lowered her last year's Dutch standard record of 2:09.16, making the versatile ace the first Dutch woman to break 2:10 in the 200m track and field.
In the same final session, Steenburgen ran the 100m free in an incredible 52.72 seconds, the fourth fastest time of his career.
Steenbergen opened in 25.67 seconds and closed in 27.05 seconds, coming within half a second of the national record of 52.26 seconds she set en route to becoming the 100m free world champion in Doha this year.
Tessa Giele She recorded a time of 57.38 seconds in the women's 100-meter fly race, making it very likely that she will compete in Paris. Her swim beat her personal record of 57.96 seconds, set at the Helsinki Swimming Championships in March, by half a second. She tied with Magdelena Feldhaus for third place in Dutch women's 100m fly history.
German Championship/Olympic Trials
The German championships were the last chance for German swimmers to qualify for the Olympics, as athletes compete for the vacant spaces after the 2023 and 2024 world championships are confirmed.
We had a great performance from the first day. Lucas Martens Men's 400m free. The 22-year-old Martens set the world's top time of 3 minutes 40.33 seconds, placing him fourth in history, just 0.26 seconds behind the retired athlete. Paul BidermanA seemingly elusive world record of 3:40.07 that has been held since 2009.
- Read more about Maertens' attention-grabbing performance here.
But Martens didn't stop there and followed up that performance with an impressive 1:44.14 in the 200m free. This beat his previous personal best of 1:44.79 and made him the seventh-fastest men's 200m free ever. He became world No. 1 this season, defeating the 20-year-old world championship gold medalist from South Korea. Hwang Sun Woo.
20-year-old Cedric Buessing He also showed an impressive performance in the men's 400m IM, winning the gold medal with a time of 4:12.56. Buessing, who plays for UIndy in the NCAA, recently recorded his second 4:12 performance, having clocked a 4:12.33 at the Eindhoven Qualifying Tournament early last month. His latest effort set a major personal best and earned him his first Olympic berth.
Additionally, 21 years old Isabel Gorse She won the ball in the women's freestyle and dominated the 200m/400m/800m/1500m free events.
Gose continued the momentum that earned him three medals at this year's World Championships, posting times of 1:56.66, 4:02.48, 8:19.48, and 15:52.02 for the respective distances.
Bonus – Australian Swimming Championships
Although not an Olympic trials, the 2024 Australian Swimming Championships marked an important milestone in the lead-up to the actual trials in June.
Kayley McKeown He set Japanese records in both the 200m IM and 400m IM and was unstoppable. McCune's time of 2:06.99 placed her fifth all-time at the event, and her time of 4:28.22 placed the Australian third all-time.
Meg Harris She also set lifetime bests in the 50m freestyle (24.28 seconds) and 100m freestyle (52.59 seconds), making her one of the highlights of the tournament.
Molly O'Callaghan, Elijah Winnington and William Petrick I have also created a list of 5 important takeaways from the competition as the exam approaches.
