Sarah Sjostrom attempts legendary record in women's 50m freestyle

2024 Paris Summer Olympics

Women's freestyle in numbers

The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same.

The women's 50m freestyle is set to be a close contest as three of the top four finishers from the last Olympics and five of the eight finalists will not be competing.

But now that her career is teetering on the brink, the 30-year-old Swede has given up the 100 butterfly that made her famous. Sarah Sjostrom At last year's World Championships, she recorded times of 23.61 seconds and 23.62 seconds in the 50m freestyle semi-final and final respectively, and at this year's World Championships she also led the field in the women's 50m freestyle with a time of 23.69 seconds.

She currently holds the fifth fastest record of all time. 27 Fastest Performance Anyone competing in the Olympics this summer.

it is Emma McKeonThe defending champion and Olympic record holder was eliminated in the Australian heats, but the American Kate DouglasShe won silver at the world championships in February in 23.91 seconds, opting instead to focus on the overlapping 200-meter individual medley.

Sjostrom went into the event as the overwhelming favorite to win — a gold medal here would add to the legend of a swimmer who has a strong claim to being the greatest female swimmer of all time, with the exception of one Olympic gold medal — but she did win silver in the 50m freestyle in Tokyo, despite breaking her elbow in a slip and fall earlier this year.

It would be easy to call her invincible, as she looks healthy for the first time in a long time and is consistently taking her event to new heights, but there's one swimmer who makes you hesitate to apply that moniker.

American Gretchen WalshThe 21-year-old was a star athlete at the U.S. Olympic Trials and was relieved of a huge burden by competing in the swim meet, where she opened the meet by setting a new world record in the 100 butterfly, took third place in the 100 freestyle and won the 50 freestyle in 24.06 seconds.

We know Walsh has great potential, and she now has the confidence to deliver it in a big tournament.

This is not to say she's on the same level as Sjostrom, but more like “if there is any active swimmer who I believe has the talent to get into the 23.6/23.7 range in their career,” it's Walsh (and probably Douglas too, but she's not racing).

The problem is Walsh big The schedule for this meet: at least two relays, probably three, two individual events, a big race at the start of the meet and a big race at the end. Nine days is a long time to “keep on track” and Sjostrom has relatively few events, probably two relays and the individual 50m freestyle.

Sjostrom will likely have one or two races under her belt before competing in the 50m freestyle, and then the medley relay after that. Walsh will likely have five tough races under her belt before competing in the medley relay after that. Luckily, her coach is Todd DeSorbo, the head coach of the Olympic team, which should keep her out of qualifying for the women's 400m freestyle relay, for example.

I still don't think she can catch up with Sjostrom after that long tournament.

But that doesn't mean she's a silver medal contender.

Wasik Katarzyna
World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024
February 2-18, 2024
Credit: Fabio Chetti

Polish swimmers Kasia WasikCurrently training at SMU in Dallas, USA, is one of several veteran swimmers who continues to improve in the 50m freestyle even in the latter stages of their careers.

Wasik, who turned 32 in March, has been steadily improving in the 50m freestyle as well. After several years of stagnating at 24.1 seconds, he improved his time to 23.95 seconds at this year's World Championships in Doha, winning the bronze medal in the final.

Her limits aren't likely as high as Sjostrom's or Walsh's, but her consistency has been so good she seems like the surest candidate for silver — for example, she ran 24.2 seconds at the pro swim in San Antonio in April, then ran 24.2 again in mid-May.

Can we aim for a medal in under 24 hours?

Jack Shayna
World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024
February 2-18, 2024
Credit: Fabio Chetti

If you project that it takes a guy around 23 years old to win a medal, there are only a few other guys in the sport who feel they have that kind of potential.

In addition to the above, it is clear that Shayna JackWith his 24-month doping ban now over, Jack is back on track and is one of four under-24 record holders in the world so far this season.

Among the top 10 in the world this season: Kate Campbell Australia and Simone Manuel No U.S. athlete placed in the top two at the national trials.

American Tori Fuske She ran a personal best of 24.09 at the national championships, a significant improvement from her personal best of 24.72 and lifetime best of 24.44 last season, which seemed like a big plus for Husk, who spent her redshirt season with Stanford's varsity team, where she posted a career-best fourth in the 50 meters.

Her swim in the 100m butterfly at the trials showed she was well rested but not at her best, so a score of 23 would be possible.

And there's a 21-year-old Chinese swimmer. Wu Qingfengcame in fifth in Tokyo as a teenager, but has struggled in the years since, sitting out the 2022 World Championships and only competing in the relay at the 2023 World Championships and 2023 Asian Games.

But she clocked 24.22 seconds at the China Championships in April, becoming the third Chinese woman to do so. Wu is not among the 23 swimmers who have tested positive for banned substances ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but her compatriot Zhang YufeiThe second place in the Chinese qualifying round was

I think this will be a race of seven swimmers competing for a medal.

Fight for the finals

Generally, in highly competitive races, swimmers are more likely to choose other events. Siobhan Hoagy And the swimmers other than the top two from each country (Kate Campbell and Bronte Campbell, Simone Manuel, Abby Weitzeil), the 50m freestyle is not a particularly difficult event at the Olympics.

The top 20 swimmers in the world who are unlikely to compete at the World Championships this season:

• #2 – Kate Douglas,united states of america
• #7 – Kate Campbell,Australia
• #8 – Simone Manuel,united states of america
• #Ten – Abby Weitzeil,united states of america
• #13 – Siobhan HoagyHong Kong (planned)
• #14 – Emma McKeon,Australia
• #15 – Alina Surkova, Russia
• #16 – Bronte Campbell,Australia
• #17 – Olivia Wunsch, Australia
• #18 – Molly O'Callaghan, Australia
• #19 – Taylor LackCanada (planned)

Plus No Marit SteenbergenHe reached the finals at last year's World Championships.

While there are still plenty of talented swimmers at the top of the field, it means there are very few swimmers with a surprising margin of error to enter the competition.

Meg HarrisThe 22-year-old has had a good year and is progressing well towards this Olympics. She placed second at the Australian Olympic Trials in June with a personal best of 24.26. She will run 24.29 in May 2023 and 24.32 in July 2022. She seems to be shaving off a few hundredths of a second each year, but has yet to see a significant drop in her time.

Michelle ColemanThe 30-year-old is Sjöström's compatriot and has continued to reach finals at world and Olympic events, although she hasn't run her best time since 2019. She placed seventh at last year's world championships, but her 24.48 at Mare Nostrum in early June was already close to the 24.43 she ran there.

Both French pairs are well on their way to preparing for the Olympics in their home country. The French Championships is one of the few events where there is serious competition for Olympic berths. Beryl GastaldelloThe 29-year-old won in a personal best time of 24.51. Melanie HenickeThe 31-year-old was second in 24.53.

The adrenaline will be pumping in front of a home crowd, so it wouldn't be hard to imagine one of them doing something big in the semifinals to advance to the finals, perhaps using their best swim a round earlier.

The most interesting of this group is the British Anna HopkinAt 28, she's approaching an age where sprinters are finding new life. Her best time was 24.34 seconds, which she recorded at the 2019 World Championships, and while she hasn't run faster than 24.5 seconds since then, she has come close on a few occasions, including 24.51 seconds in April 2023 and early 2024. It remains a shame we never saw her best times over the longer distances, but at just 1.65 meters tall (about 5'5″), she has made great strides over the longer distances where most petite swimmers peak in short-course pools.

SwimSwam Recommends

The most interesting thing about choosing this race is candidate Swimming hard right nowAnything can happen in the 50m freestyle, but there aren't many athletes past their prime competing for medals. There are young athletes, veterans and mid-career athletes, most of whom have recently been racing at the top of their game.

Dark Horse: Sarah Curtis, Italy – The 17-year-old Curtis has five career-fastest times in 2024, including a 24.56 at the Italian Championships in March. Other than Huske, she is the only athlete with a time of 24.5 or faster who is in what I call an “age drop” – where she has the potential to have her best time every start – and she is also the only one who is actually still in the junior age group. Italy as a country performed very well at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. If anyone was going to blow something up and make it to the final out of nowhere, I feel like Curtis is ready for it.