The 400 Individual Medley Voted Hardest Event in Poll of the Week (Full Results)

Leon Marchand of France competes in the 200m Individual Medley Men Final during the 20th World Aquatics Championships at the Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 27th, 2023.

The 400 Individual Medley Voted Hardest Event in Poll of the Week (Full Results)

Earlier this week, we posed a simple question to our readers: What is the hardest event in swimming? Five options were presented – the 400-meter individual medley, 200 butterfly, 1500/1650 freestyle, 200 breaststroke and 200 backstroke. Voters could also select the “other” option and use that choice as a write-in vote.

The 400 IM, often recognized as the decathlon of the sport, bolted to an early lead over the 200 butterfly, and those events ended up finishing first and second. The 400 IM finished with 44% of the vote, which was comfortably more than the 30% recorded by the 200 fly. The 1500/1650 freestyle was third with 11% of the vote, followed by the 200 breaststroke (8%) and the 200 backstroke (6%).

Based on the vote totals, it’s clear that readers had major respect for the 400 medley and the necessity of racing 100 meters of each stroke. The entire body is put to the test during the course of the event, a significant demand as different muscle groups are activated at various points.

At the recent World Championships in Fukuoka, France’s Leon Marchand captured the gold medal in the 400 IM while breaking Michael Phelps’ world record with a mark of 4:02.50. Until Marchand assumed the throne, Phelps had owned the world record in the 400 IM since first breaking it in 2002.

Here is how the voting unfolded:

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Joyce

8 months ago

Summer McIntosh also repeated as world champion in the event at the ripe age of 16. Not too shabby. But no mention here…