Swimmers grabbed the attention of the third day of Paris Olympic 2024 when the Australian flew in the last length and snatched the record from her teammate, Titmus, who took silver. Monday’s events also saw Popovici win gold in the men's 200m freestyle, McIntosh in the women's 400m individual medley, Italian Thomas Ceccon win the men’s 100m backstroke, and Tatjana Smith in the women's 100m breaststroke.
Summer McIntosh made history in swimming at a young age. At just 17 years old, she dominated the 400m individual medley. The Canadian won her second Olympic medal, her first gold, after leading the final from the start. By the 200m mark, she was swimming at a world-record pace. She finished with a time of 4:27.71, securing the gold medal, nearly six seconds ahead of Katie Gries (USA), who took silver, and more than seven seconds ahead of Emma Wayant (USA).
McIntosh set the world record for the distance last May with a time of 4:24.38 and came to Paris as the favourite. No one could match her. She enjoyed the moments with the fans before stepping onto the podium. At 17, her future looks incredibly bright. The Olympic record held by Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu at 4:26.36 was just shy of her time, only a second off.
David Popovici won the spectacular men's 200m freestyle final with a time of 1:44.72, one of the most exciting events so far at the Défense Arena, a race with a rich history featuring champions like Thorpe, Phelps, and Michael Gross. Popovici had to work hard for his victory, making an Olympic comeback to touch the wall before his rivals, Mateo Richards of the United Kingdom and Lucas Hobson of the United States, who was the surprise of the final.
Four swimmers finished within just 15 hundredths of a second of each other, demonstrating how closely contested the race was. It was a slower final than in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, but it earned Popovici the Olympic title at 19 years old. Just three-hundredths of a second separated the three medalists. In the last length, the three swimmers exchanged positions, and any of them could have won.
The men's 100m backstroke final also showcased a high level of competition. Thomas Ceccon of Italy won gold after a spectacular finish. He struggled in the first length but made an impossible comeback in the final stretch, being the only swimmer to go under 27 seconds in the last length. He beat Jiayu Su of China and USA's Ryan Murphy, who took silver and bronze, respectively. Ceccon stopped the clock at 52.00, his best time of the year. Silver swam in 52.32 and bronze in 52.39.
Swimmers sparkle on third day
Meanwhile, the women's 100m breaststroke. Tatjana Smith won gold with a time of 1:05.28 in the last stroke the women's 100m breaststroke. She had to dig deep in the final meters as the medal was slipping away. Smith lived up to expectations, and the world record holder and world champion also achieved Olympic glory. Silver went to Tang Qianting (CHI), just 25 hundredths behind, and bronze to Mona McSharry, who was five hundredths off the silver.
The last final of Monday was the women's 200m freestyle. Mollie O’Callaghan had the best start, setting a new Olympic record with a time of 1:53.27. Titmus Arianne (Australia) with 1:53.81 and Bernardette Haughey (HKG) with 1:54.55, took silver and bronze, respectively. O’Callaghan had a great start, but Hareestyle.
Mollie O’Callaghan had the best start, setting a new Olympic record with a time of 1:53.27. Titmus Arianne (Australia) with 1:5ughey, who always turns better, took the lead.
They were on a world record pace in the early stages. O’Callaghan lost some ground and switched to a tactical race. Haughey held the lead, but O’Callaghan pushed hard in the final length to win the gold and set a new Olympic record, taking it from her fellow Australian, Titmus.
Later on Monday night, the semi-finals of the women's 100m backstroke took place as expected.
World record holder Regan Smith won the first semi-final with a time of 57.13. The American swimmer set the world record recently at the US Trials, and her form in Paris is outstanding.
She finished the race looking like she had saved some energy for the final. The other semi-final was won by Kylee McKeown. She swam slightly slower than Smith in the previous semi-final. Both will be the favourites for the final, as they are the brightest swimmers in the distance currently.
