Olympic Games Snapshot: A Capsule Look At the Day One Events in Tokyo

Editorial content for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games coverage is sponsored by GMX7.
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Olympic Games Snapshot: A Capsule Look At the Day One Events in Tokyo

With the 2020ne Olympic Games less than a month away, Swimming World will run eight consecutive days of capsules that take a quick look at the finals that will be held on a specific day in Tokyo. These capsules will provide a snapshot of the various events, including an historical snippet for each discipline.

Day One (July 25)

Men’s 400 Individual Medley

World Record: Michael Phelps (United States/2008) 4:03.84
2016 Olympic Champion: Kosuke Hagino (Japan) 4:06.05
Most Titles: United States (Eight)
Biggest Victory Margin: 3.68 Seconds (Ryan Lochte Over Thiago Pereira – 2012)
Top-Five Times (2021) – Olympic Qualifiers
1. Daiya Seto (Japan) 4:09.02
2. Chase Kalisz (United States) 4:09.09
3. David Verraszto (Hungary) 4:09.57
4. Leon Marchand (France) 4:09.65
5. Lewis Clareburt (New Zealand) 4:09.87
Historical Note: At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Sweden’s Gunnar Larsson won the gold medal over American Tim McKee by two-thousandths of a second. Larsson posted a time of 4:31.981 to the 4:31.983 of McKee. From that point forward, a decision was made that times would only be extended to hundredths of a second, with ties awarded in necessary cases.

Men’s 400 Freestyle

World Record: Paul Biedermann (Germany/2009) 3:40.07
2016 Olympic Champion: Mack Horton (Australia) 3:41.55
Most Titles: United States (Nine)
Biggest Victory Margin: 7.40 Seconds (Henry Taylor over Frank Beaurepaire – 1908)
Top-Five Times (2021) – Olympic Qualifiers
1. Elijah Winnginton (Australia) 3:42.65
2. Jack McLoughlin (Australia) 3:43.27
3. Martin Malyutin (Russia) 3:44.18
4. Florian Wellbrock (Germany) 3:44.36
5. Felix Aubock (Austria) 3:44.51
Historical Note: Only two men have won back-to-back Olympic titles in the 400 freestyle, and both hail from Australia. Murray Rose repeated in 1956 and 1960 while Ian Thorpe doubled in 2000 and 2004.

Women’s 400 Individual Medley

World Record: Katinka Hosszu (Hungary/2016) 4:26.36
2016 Olympic Champion: Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) 4:26.36
Most Titles: United States (Four)
Biggest Victory Margin: 13.7 Seconds (Claudia Kolb Over Lynn Vidali – 1968)
Top-Five Times (2021) – Olympic Qualifiers
1. Emma Weyant (United States) 4:33.81
2. Hali Flickinger (United States) 4:33.96
3. Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) 4:34.76
4. Yui Ohashi (Japan) 4:35.14
5. Aimee Wilmott (Great Britain) 4:35.70
Historical Note: The United States won four of the first seven Olympic crowns, but has not captured gold in the past seven editions of the event. In that latter stretch, Team USA has collected four silver medals.

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay

World Record: Australia (2018) 3:30.05
2016 Olympic Champion: Australia (McKeon, Elmslie, B. Campbell, C. Campbell) 3:30.65
Most Titles: United States (14)
Biggest Victory Margin: 29.2 Seconds (United States Over Great Britain – 1920)
Historical Note: Heading into the 400 freestyle relay at the 1976 Olympics, East Germany had won all but one event. Yet, the United States came through with a shocking upset, the foursome of Kim Peyton, Wendy Boglioli, Jill Sterkel and Shirley Babashoff joining forces to prevail.

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2 years ago

The 76 relay won because Jennifer Hooker (Brinegar) swam the prelims.