{"id":483085,"date":"2021-07-26T10:52:29","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T17:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=483085"},"modified":"2021-07-26T10:52:29","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T17:52:29","slug":"the-week-that-was-olympic-swimming-begins-with-amazing-performances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-week-that-was-olympic-swimming-begins-with-amazing-performances\/","title":{"rendered":"The Week That Was: Olympic Swimming Begins With Amazing Performances"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.<\/em><\/p>\n

This week, the Tokyo Olympics swimming competition finally got underway with four finals Sunday morning (Tokyo time) and another four Monday. Australia and the United States have each captured two gold medals so far. Meanwhile, Carson Foster swam a faster 400 IM than the time that won Olympic gold, and controversy over COVID-19 vaccinations dominated the swimming conversation right before the Olympics.<\/p>\n

Read the five biggest stories of the week in The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.<\/p>\n

The Week That Was #1: Tokyo Olympics Swimming Begins; Australia on Fire<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Australia’s gold-medal winning women’s 400 freestyle relay team — Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher — USA Today Sports<\/p><\/div>\n

By John Lohn, Matthew De George, Dan D’Addona and David Rieder<\/em><\/p>\n

The Tokyo Olympics is underway with eight gold medals already awarded at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. Gold-medal winners so far include the USA’s Chase Kalisz<\/strong> in the men’s 400 IM<\/a>, Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui<\/strong> in the men’s 400 free<\/a>, Japan’s Yui Ohashi<\/strong> in the women’s 400 IM<\/a>, Australia in the women’s 400 free relay<\/a>,\u00a0Canada’s\u00a0Maggie MacNeil<\/strong> in the women’s 100 fly<\/a>, Great Britain’s\u00a0Adam Peaty<\/strong> in the men’s 100 breast<\/a>, Australia’s\u00a0Ariarne Titmus<\/strong> in the women’s 400 free<\/a> and the United States in the men’s 400 free relay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay:\u00a0<\/strong>The outcome was expected and, yet, Australia still found a way to dazzle as the first day of finals at the\u00a0Olympic Games in Tokyo<\/a>\u00a0came to a conclusion. All it took was a world record in the 400-meter freestyle relay \u2013 and quite a global mark it was.<\/p>\n

The foursome of\u00a0Bronte Campbell<\/strong>,\u00a0Meg Harris<\/strong>,\u00a0Emma McKeon<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Cate Campbell<\/strong>\u00a0blasted a time of 3:29.69 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre to wipe nearly a half-second off the previous world record of 3:30.05, and hand Australia its third consecutive Olympic crown in the event. Cate Campbell, the oldest of the sister combination, has been the common denominator on all three relays.<\/p>\n

Few events on the Olympic program are no-doubt-about-it affairs, but the outcome of the first relay of the Tokyo Games truly has been long known. Australia boasts a sprint contingent that is unrivaled, the rest of the world envious of the Dolphins\u2019 depth. Members of the Aussies\u2019 prelim squad,\u00a0Mollie O\u2019Callaghan<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Madison Wilson<\/strong>\u00a0were cheerleaders during the final, and their skills certainly would have been welcomed by any other nation.<\/p>\n

Women’s 400 Freestyle:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hype is \u2013 and always will be \u2013 a major element of the sports world. Rivalries are built up, with the media and fans alike eager to witness a moment in history. Frequently, these much-anticipated showdowns unfold as duds, the actual event unable to live up to lofty and sometimes unrealistic expectations.<\/p>\n

Occasionally, though, something special is produced.<\/p>\n

On the second day of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the final of the women\u2019s 400-meter freestyle earned legendary-event status, as Australia\u2019s\u00a0Ariarne Titmus<\/strong>\u00a0and American\u00a0Katie Ledecky<\/strong>\u00a0battled in an epic duel that will go down in Olympic lore. Ultimately, it was Titmus who prevailed, as she ran down Ledecky over the last 100 meters and touched the wall in 3:56.69, the second-fastest time in history. Ledecky, who had the lead for most of the race, clocked in at 3:57.36, the No. 4 all-time performance, but not quite quick enough to retain her Olympic crown.<\/p>\n

#2: Carson Foster Swims 4:08.46 400 IM in Austin<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Carson Foster — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

By David Rieder<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The eyes of the swimming world are focused squarely on Tokyo right now with the Olympics swimming competition underway. Nineteen-year-old American\u00a0Carson Foster<\/strong>\u00a0will not be in Tokyo after\u00a0finishing third in the event at U.S. Olympic Trials behind\u00a0Chase Kalisz<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jay Litherland<\/strong><\/a>, but Foster swam a 400 IM Friday evening that reminded the world that even after missing the Tokyo team, he will be battling for international medals in that event in short order.<\/p>\n

Foster swam a time of 4:08.46, lopping two seconds off his previous lifetime best in the event. Foster had previously recorded a 4:10.50 in prelims at Olympic Trials before swimming a 4:10.86 in finals, a half-second behind the fast-finishing Litherland. Foster\u2019s time topped world champion\u00a0Daiya Seto\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0mark of 4:09.02 that was the fastest in the world for 2021 and made the Cincinnati native the ninth-fastest performer in history, along with the fifth-quickest American behind\u00a0Michael Phelps<\/strong>,\u00a0Ryan Lochte<\/strong>, Kalisz and\u00a0Tyler Clary<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Foster later spoke with Swimming World<\/em> and discussed his reaction to swimming faster than Kalisz’s eventual winning time from the Tokyo Olympics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Week That Was #3: Maya DiRado Criticizes Michael Andrew for Not Being Vaccinated<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Maya DiRado — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

By David Rieder<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Maya DiRado<\/strong>, who won four medals for the U.S. team at the 2016 Olympics, posted a Twitter thread<\/a> Tuesday evening commenting on\u00a0the announcement by first-time U.S. Olympian\u00a0Michael Andrew<\/strong>\u00a0that he has not been vaccinated against COVID-19<\/a>. Andrew discussed his decision to not be vaccinated in a virtual media session from the Olympic team\u2019s training camp in Hawaii on July 8. Andrew said that prior to Olympic Trials, he \u201cdidn\u2019t want to put anything in my body that I didn\u2019t know how I would potentially react to,\u201d but he then claimed that he had no plans to be vaccinated in the future.<\/p>\n

DiRado, who retired after claiming an upset gold medal in the women\u2019s 200 backstroke at the Rio Olympics in one of the most stunning moments of those Games, wrote that \u201cAs a former member of Team USA, I\u2019m disappointed in\u00a0<\/span>@SwimmerMichael<\/a><\/span>\u2018s decision to attend the Olympics unvaccinated and his reasoning behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She then posted a thread of eight tweets that detailed her three main issues with Andrew\u2019s stance against vaccination. She discussed that it would be honoring the American scientists who developed the COVID-19 vaccines by getting the shots, and she explained that in her experience on the Olympic team, athletes did everything they could to put the U.S. team\u2019s interests ahead of their own. She believed that getting vaccinated and minimizing risk during the Tokyo Games should have been the highest priority for each swimmer.<\/p>\n

Later, Tom Shields<\/strong>\u00a0responded on Twitter and criticized DiRado for \u201cshaming\u201d Andrew<\/a>. Shields rhetorically asked that, as a member of the USA Swimming\u2019s board, \u201cWhat part of that responsibility involves shaming one of our Olympian\u2019s (sic) on the eve of competition?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Shields, who swam on the 2016 team with DiRado and is on the 2021 team with Andrew, went on to point out that he does not necessarily disagree with DiRado\u2019s point about the importance of vaccines, but he questioned her timing and the medium of her comments and also potential ostacization of unvaccinated individuals and potential mental health consequences.<\/p>\n

#4: O<\/strong>us Mellouli to Compete in Tokyo Olympics After All<\/h3>\n
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Ous Mellouli — Photo Courtesy: Qatar Swimming<\/p><\/div>\n

By David Rieder<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Days after Tunisia\u2019s\u00a0Ous Mellouli<\/strong>\u00a0said\u00a0he would be skipping the Tokyo Olympics after a legal battle with the Tunisian swimming federation<\/a>, he has now confirmed he will compete in the 10k open water race as originally planned. Mellouli announced the decision on his Instagram account and separately confirmed the news to\u00a0Swimming World<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Mellouli wrote his Instagram caption in Arabic, but according to a translation of the text, Tunisian Olympic Committee president\u00a0Mehrez Boussain<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cpledged to settle the dispute between me and the Tunisian Swimming Federation after the Tokyo Olympics and insisted on me participating in the marathon final on August 5.\u201d Mellouli qualified for the race after\u00a0finishing 10th in the marathon qualifying swim in Setubal, Portugal, on June 20<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Bossian believes in my abilities to honor Tunisia and ascend the first places in Tokyo and pledged to provide the necessary and appropriate conditions for the Olympic champion to prepare for the Paris Olympics 2024 if I was able to do so,\u201d Mellouli said in his Instagram post (via Google Translate). \u201cI am grateful to the Olympic Committee for this diplomatic intervention and this high sportsmanship that, if you apply, will not be rejected or rejected.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Week That Was #5: USMS Nationals Take Place in Greensboro<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo Courtesy: USMS<\/p><\/div>\n

USMS held its first National Championships in two years this week in Greensboro, N.C. The meet was held in short course yards (delayed from its original May dates) and featured reduced capacity and split sessions, with swimmers aged 60 and older competing in the morning and swimmers 59 and younger competing in the afternoon. Seventeen USMS national records were broken over the course of the week. Read recaps from the five days of the meet.<\/p>\n