{"id":516259,"date":"2022-11-14T06:11:31","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T13:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=516259"},"modified":"2022-11-14T06:11:31","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T13:11:31","slug":"race-of-the-century-part-ii-womens-400-freestyle-the-cant-miss-event-on-path-to-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/race-of-the-century-part-ii-womens-400-freestyle-the-cant-miss-event-on-path-to-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Race Of the Century \u2014 Part II? How Special Showdown Developing On Path to Paris 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Race Of the Century \u2014 Part II? Women’s 400 Freestyle the Can’t-Miss Event On Path to Paris<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given that it was only four years into the new millennium, the moniker was a bit of a stretch. Hyperbole, though, has long been a part of the sporting landscape, and not giving the matchup a nickname seemed wrong. So, the sole meeting between three of the sport\u2019s titans<\/a> at the 2004 Olympic Games was anointed The Race of the Century.<\/p>\n

No one blinked.<\/p>\n

For those who balked that the in-the-moment assessment was premature, time has proven otherwise. In Athens, the men\u2019s 200-meter freestyle \u2013 indeed \u2013 emerged as worthy of its title, the event\u2019s headliners delivering a clash for the ages. Ultimately, it was Aussie Ian<\/strong> Thorpe<\/strong> who mined gold, the podium also featuring Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband<\/strong> and American Michael Phelps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr<\/p><\/div>\n

How deep was this podium? Combined, the medalists boast 44 career Olympic medals, including 31 gold. All three athletes managed at least one Olympic repeat. Together, they set 49 individual world records \u2013 46 courtesy of Phelps and Thorpe. To match this firepower will not be easy, and some might argue that the suggestion of a sequel \u2014 and that\u2019s where this article is headed \u2014 is blasphemy.<\/p>\n

Yet, here we are. The calendar says the 2024 Olympics in Paris<\/a> are less than two years away, and with each flip, the focus of the medal challengers will intensify. As far as the women\u2019s 400 freestyle is concerned, the contenders for the podium are limited \u2013 a major upset necessary to blow up what could be the Race of the Century \u2013 Part II.<\/p>\n

To introduce the combatants, we will briefly turn to the approach utilized by Jeopardy.<\/p>\n