A highly anticipated Men’s 100m Breaststroke final saw Adam Peaty claim Great Britain’s first swimming medal of Paris 2024, while Max Litchfield set a British record as he came close to an elusive Olympic podium.
The comeback script of Adam Peaty wrote a new chapter on Sunday night in the La Defense Arena, with the two-time Men’s 100m Breaststroke Olympic champion walking out to lane four as he bid retain his title.
With the race underway, Peaty came towards the fore down the first length as expected and attempted to further place his stamp on proceedings as the charge for home ensued. Moving well through the water with a stroke technique that has transitioned to be longer and more purposeful than the ferocious stroke rate of years gone by, the final metres of the contest saw Peaty come into the wall in a blanket finish that saw the top-six swimmers all stopping the clock within three tenths of each other.
Looking up at the scoreboard Peaty had his joint silver medal confirmed alongside Nic Finc (USA), and was quick to then roll over the lane ropes to congratulate Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA) on succeeding his Olympic crown.
"I am not crying because I have come second, I am crying because of how much it took to get here. In my heart I have won. These are happy tears," said Peaty.
“Anyone that’s done sport, if you are willing to put yourself on the line every single time I think there is no such thing as a loss. I’m not defining this whole journey back by a medal, I’m defining myself by my heart, what it’s made me feel and how it’s got the best out of me.
“I’ve stood in front of this press for so so long - my major breakthrough in 2014 was ten years ago which is a long time in this sport, and if I look at the top 16 in any event how many from that time are still here competing and winning medals? So for me that’s why I’m so grateful to still be here winning medals and finding new ways to do it.”
Max Litchfield set a new British record of 4:08.85 in his agonisingly close bid to win an Olympic medal in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley.
The Dave Hemmings-coached swimmer’s position in the race became more established through the middle backstroke and breaststroke sections, placing him in the hunt for silverware among a number of swimmers left in the wave of the host nation’s fan favourite, Leon Marchand (FRA).
Onto the closing Freestyle, Litchfield made his move over the first 50m and raced down the pool to turn for the final length in second. It was to be heartbreak coming into the wall however, with Litchfield touched out by less than two tenths to finish fourth - just as he did at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
“I don’t really know what to say. It’s a lifetime best, a new British record and it’s hard because it’s so bittersweet because of that,” said Litchfield.
“I’ve given my everything physically, mentally, emotionally and it’s just not meant to be again. I’ve come fourth three Olympics on the trot and there is not many people who can say they’ve done that, it’s just tough that it’s so close again. I’m upset, but I’ve done everything I possibly could so it is just [the nature of] sport.”
Elsewhere a full house of qualification from the morning heats set up semi-finals for Matt Richards, Duncan Scott, Angharad Evans, Jonathon Marshall and Oliver Morgan across the evening session.
Richards was first to go in the Men’s 200m Freestyle qualification encounters on Sunday evening and looked solid for much of his effort. The 2023 world champion was made to endure a nervous few minutes to have a finals lane confirmed after dropping back to fourth amid a charging field around him in the later stages of his semi-final.
The game plan from Scott in the following race became clear that he wanted to lay down a firm marker in securing his passage for the final, and the University of Stirling athlete produced a swim that earns him a centre lane as the second fastest seed – while Richard’s ultimately progressed ranked seventh to book himself lane one.
Speaking afterwards Scott commented on the legacy of British involvement in the event:
“I think since Jimmy [Guy] and the [relay] boys won in 2015 worlds, since that we’ve had a real amount of consistency in this event competing at the highest level
“It’s always nice to have a fellow Brit in there for the call room, but also then to battle with them and against them as well so it’ll be a special one tomorrow night.”
There was delight for Evans in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke as she made the final on her international debut. Despite being last to the turn, Evans moved up through the standings with a well-executed second 50m to place fourth in her semi-final and qualify sixth overall.
Meanwhile Olympic debutants, Morgan and Marshall, contested for a place among the top eight places available in the Men’s 100m Backstroke final.
Having placed ninth at the 2023 world championships, Morgan went within 0.15s of his British record to claim a first individual final berth on the global stage – progressing as the seventh fastest seed from across both semi-finals. A strong effort from Marshall saw the 19-year-old slice almost half a second off his heats time as he ultimately placed 14th overall.
A quieter heats session upcoming on Monday morning features Freya Colbert and Katie Shanahan in the Women's 400m Individual Medley, in addition to Kathleen Dawson and Medi Harris in the Women's 100m Backstroke. You can find details of all the upcoming aquatics disciplines schedules from Paris 2024 through our What’s On? Page.
Where can I watch?
The BBC will be covering the majority of the Games across BBC One and Two, the BBC Red Button and BBC iPlayer. You can find their coverage schedule by clicking here.
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