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Olympics: Day Five Prelims Heat Sheets Posted; Four Individual Events and Women’s 800 Free Relay
The Olympic swimming competition has passed its halfway point, and Wednesday evening in Japan will bring the prelims of four more individual events as well as the women’s 800 freestyle relay at 7 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET in the U.S.). The schedule includes the women’s 100 freestyle, men’s 200 backstroke, women’s 200 breaststroke, men’s 200 IM and women’s 800 freestyle relay.
The top two seeds in the women’s 100 free are Australians Cate Campbell and Emma McKeon, who teamed up to lead their team to gold in the women’s 400 free relay on day one. Sarah Sjostrom, who out-performed her own expectations in the 100 fly coming off an injury, will be the third seed, and while Canada’s Penny Oleksiak will defend the gold medal she tied for in 2016, American Simone Manuel is not competing, with Abbey Weitzeil and Erika Brown on deck.
The men’s 200 back sees Russia’s Evgeny Rylov as the top seed after capturing Olympic gold in the 100 back already, while Ryan Murphy of the U.S. will aim for some payback after Rylov took him down in the 100 back and in the 200-meter event at the last two world championships.
Tatjana Schoenmaker was a big surprise in the 100 breast as she broke the Olympic record and held the top seed through prelims and semifinals before fading to second in the final. But the South African is the top seed in the 200 breast, while King and fellow American Annie Lazor will swim in the middle lanes in heat three and British teammates Molly Renshaw and Abbie Wood will be next to each other in heat two.
Michael Andrew begins his pursuit of Olympic gold in the men’s 200 IM as the top seed with Duncan Scott, already a silver medalist in the 200 free and gold medalist in the 800 free relay, set to swim next to Andrew in the final heat.
Finally, the Australians will be heavy favorites in the women’s 800 free relay, even though 200 and 400 free gold medalist Ariarne Titmus will likely sit out prelims before joining the squad for the final.
