2016 Rio Olympic Games: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher- USA TODAY Sports

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Everything you need to follow along live with day one prelims of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Competition begins at 1 p.m. local time (12 p.m. EST/9 a.m. PST) Hit refresh for all the latest coverage.

Heat sheets for day one prelims are linked below.

Events:

Men’s 400 IM:

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The men of Japan, the USA and Australia will highlight the final of the men’s 400 IM as all three countries athletes qualified for tonight’s final.

USA’s Chase Kalisz claims the top seed after posting a final time of 4:08.12, an all-time best for Kalisz. Kalisz utilized his strong backhalf to overtake Japan’s Daiya Seto in the final 150 meters of heat four. The two battled all the way to the wall, but Seto could not hold off Kalisz, slipping to second with a 4:08.47.

Kalisz spoke about his prelims swim, commenting, “I didn’t expect to be anywhere near that. I thought it was going to be a 4:11. I just wanted to control the heat. I feel like I’m in a good place. We’ll see what happens tonight. I’m just excited to represent my country. At Trials I felt like I was operating on nerves which is never a good thing for me. Now I feel like I’m operating on excitement.”

IM superstar and silver medalist at the 2012 London Games, Kosuke Hagino, picked up the third place seed with a qualifying time of 4:10.00. Hagino led the entirety of heat three and will look for the challenge from Seto and Kalisz in tonight’s finals.

Breakout star from the USA Olympic Trials, Jay Litherland, hung close to Kalisz until the very last leg of the IM, qualifying fourth overall with a time of 4:11.10.

Litherland spoke about the swim: “Felt amazing. Me and Chase going 1-4 pretty cool feeling kinda nice to set U.S. up…In the ready room I couldn’t stop shaking.”

“You can’t hold anything back. Thats for sure.” he said of prelims.

Great Britain’s Max Litchfield picked up the fifth place qualifying spot with a time of 4:11.95, just ahead of the Australian duo of Thomas Fraser-Holmes (4:12.51) and Travis Mahoney (4:13.37).
Joan Lluis Pons Ramon of Spain rounds out the top eight qualifiers with a time of 4:13.55.

Women’s 100 Fly:

Photo Courtesy: David Rieder

Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden cruised through her prelims swim in this morning’s 100 butterfly and claimed the top seed in 56.26. The world record holder had former world record holder Dana Vollmer of the United States only three tenths behind in 56.56.

When asked about her swim, Vollmer commented, “I’m happy with that. Obviously the fastest I’ve gone since coming back….I felt good but I have a lot left in the tank. [David] Marsh said the race looked really good and obviously I didn’t fade.”

Canada’s Penny Oleksiak posted a new World Junior Record as she claimed the third seed in 56.73.

American Kelsi Worrell secured fourth in 56.9, telling the media, “There’s less stress here than at Trials.”

China’s Ying Lu was fifth in 57.08.

Jeanette Ottesen of Denmark (57.15) and China’s Xinyi Chen (57.17) took the sixth and seventh spots. Japan’s Rikiako Ikee was just over a second behind the leader with an eighth seeded 57.27.

Australia’s Emma McKeon (57.33), Hungary’s Liliana Szilagyi (57.70), Korea’s Sehyeon An (57.80), Egypt’s Farida Osman (57.83), Belgium’s Kimberly Buys (57.91), Brazil’s Daynara De PAula (57.92), Japan’s Natsumi Hoshi (58.15) and Brazil’s Daiene Marcal (58.15) round out the semifinals.

Men’s 400 Free:

Photo Courtesy: David Rieder

The USA’s Conor Dwyer, Australia’s Mack Horton, Italy’s Gabriele Detti kept things close in the final heat. Dwyer posted the fastest prelims 400 freestyle in 3:43.42. Horton finished second in 3:43.84, just ahead of Detti in 3:43.95.

Sun Yang and Connor Jaeger went head to head in the second to last prelims heat of the 400 freestyle. Yang got to the wall first in 3:44.23 to claim the fourth seed. Jaeger touched in 3:45.37 to return to tonight’s finals in seventh.

Australia’s David Mckeon posted a 3:44.68 for fifth and James Guy of Great Britain grabbed the sixth spot in 3:45.31.

France’s Jordan Pothain clinched the final lane in 3:45.43.

Korea’s Park Tae Hwan (3:45.63) and Canada’s Ryan Cochrane (3:45.83) did not make the final as they finished in 10th and 11th.

Women’s 400 IM:

katinka-hosszu-hungary-400-im-prelims-2016-rio-olympics

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

The “Iron Lady” of Hungary, Katinka Hosszu, kickstarted her third Olympic run with a dominant showing in the women’s 400 IM. Hosszu jumped out to an immediate lead in the final heat of prelims and never looked back, quickly bypassing the World Record line to show the world that she means business. At the turn from the breaststroke to the freestyle, Hosszu was more than three seconds ahead of World Record pace but was unable to replicate 2012 champion Ye Shiwen’s freestyle split of 58.68.

Hosszu stopped the clock at a final 4:28.58, finishing just shy of Ye’s 4:28.43 World Record.

Picking up the second place seed for tonight’s final was Mireia Garcia Belmonte of Spain from the same heat. Belmonte stopped the clock at a 4:32.75.

Maya DiRado of the USA battled Great Britain’s Aimee Wilmott throughout heat three, edging her out in the final 25-meters. DiRado posted a 4:33.50 for the third place seed, while Wilmott’s time of 4:33.08 earned her fifth.

Grabbing the fourth place seed was teammate to Wilmott, Hannah Miley (4:33.74). This is Miley’s third Olympic Games pursuing a medal in the 400 IM, as she just missed the podium in 2012 with a fourth place showing.

2012 Silver Medalist Elizabeth Beisel turned in a time of 4:34.38 to earn the sixth place seed, just ahead of Japan’s Sakiko Shimizu (4:34.66).

Canada’s Emily Overholt completes the top eight qualifiers with a 4:36.54.

Olympic champion Ye Shiwen will not be competing to defend her title, finishing 27th overall in prelims.

Men’s 100 Breast:

Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Great Britain’s Adam Peaty scorched the prelim field at day one of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, powering his way to a new World Record in the men’s 100 breaststroke.

The young Brit, who last year became the first swimmer to swim a sub-58 100 breast, lowered his own World Record of 57.92 down to a swift 57.55 taking charge from the beginning of the race all the way until the end.

Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki clocked the only 58-second swim of the morning, stopping the clock at a 58.91, good for the second place seed.

Brazil’s Felipe Franca and the USA’s Kevin Cordes delivered similar times for the third and fourth place seeds respectively. Franca turned in a time of 59.01, while Cordes posted a 59.13.

Fellow USA team member Cody Miller picked up the fifth place seed with a time of 59.17, just ahead of Australia’s Jake Packard’s 59.26.

South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh (59.35) and Brazil’s Joao Gomes (59.46) claimed seventh and eighth respectively.

Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Balandin (59.47), Great Britain’s Ross Murdoch (59.47), China’s Li Xiang (59.55), Lithuania’s Giedrius Titenis (59.90), Russia’s Vsevolod Zanko (59.91), Colombia’s Jorge Mario Murillo Valdes (59.93), and Germany’s Christian Vom Lehn (1:00.13) complete ninth through fifteenth in tonight’s semi-finals.

New Zealand’s Glenn Snyders will pick up the sixteenth seed after Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta scratched out of the scheduled swim-off.

Women’s 400 Free Relay:

Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

In the final heat, Amanda Weir got the Americans to the wall first at the 100 mark, but the Canadians held the lead at the halfway point. The Australians surged ahead in the back half and earned the top seed with a 3:32.39. The time was an Olympic record, and a strong reminder of why the Australians are the favorite in the event.

The Australian combination of Madison Wilson (54.11), Brittany Elsmlie (53.22), Bronte Campbell (53.26), and Cate Campbell (51.80) overturned their own existing Olympic record of 3:33.15.

Weir (53.60), Lia Neal (53.65), Allison Schmitt (53.72) and, Katie Ledecky (52.64) combined for a second seeded 3:33.59 for the Americans. , just ahead of the Canadians.

Canada’s Sandrine Mainville (54.17), Chantal van Landeghem (52.90), Michelle Williams (53.73), and Taylor Ruck (53.04) delivered a combined 3:33.84 for third.

The Italians won the first heat in 3:35.90 to take the fourth seed, just .04 ahead of the Netherlands with a 3:35.94.

Sweden (3:36.42), Japan (3:36.74), and France (3:36.85) also clinched spots in the final.

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Laura

7 years ago

Thanks to a very greedy NBC-affiliate owner. NO one in New England can see any Olympics if you have the misfortune of being with DIRECT TV

Cate

7 years ago

Reply to Laura

Turn off your cable and switch to antenna setting on your TV. Then your outside antenna will pick up the signal for NBC. I don’t have cable and use an external antenna called the leaf. Hope this helps.

Sean

7 years ago

Where are the results posted?

VANESSA ANN Merriman

7 years ago

B GOO GO AUSSIE IN THE SWIIMMINH SWIMMINHG BEST

mAMadU4

7 years ago

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