Swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics

The swimming competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris took place from 27 July to 9 August 2024. There were 35 swimming events in the pool and two marathon swimming events in open water. The pool events happened at the Paris La Défense Arena, and the marathon swimming events were held in the Seine river between Pont Alexandre III and Pont de l'Alma.

One of the big highlights was France's Léon Marchand, who won all four individual events he entered. The competition also saw four world records broken. Pan Zhanle set a new record in the men's 100 m freestyle, and Bobby Finke did the same in the men's 1500 metre freestyle. The team United States broke records in both the women's 4 × 100 metre medley and the mixed 4 × 100 metre medley relays.

Events

Pool swimming had 35 events. There were 17 events for men and 17 for women, plus one mixed event. All races happened in a long course pool that is 50 metres long at Paris La Défense Arena. Swimmers raced distances such as 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1500 meters. They swam in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley. There were also relay races, including a special mixed team relay.

Marathon swimming had two events: a men's and a women's 10-kilometer race. These races took place between Pont Alexandre III and Pont de l'Alma in the Seine river.

Achievements

France’s Léon Marchand did very well at the 2024 Games. He won all four swimming races he entered. These were the 200 breaststroke, the 200 butterfly, and two individual medley races. It was special because he won two races on the same night, which had never been done before.

Pan Zhanle of China set a new world record when he won the men's 100 m freestyle. The United States also set new world records in some team races. Bobby Finke of the United States set a new world record in the men's 1500 metre freestyle. China made history by winning the men’s 4 × 100 metre medley relay. This was the first time a country other than the USA had won this race since it began.

Media perception of "slow" pool

During the first five days of swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympics, only one world record was broken. This was fewer than the six broken at the same point in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics swimming events and the eight from the the 2016 Rio Olympics. Because of this, and other slower swimming times than expected, some people thought the pool might be "slow". One idea was that the pool was shallower—only 2.15 metres deep—compared to the 3-metre deep pools in Tokyo and Rio. This shallowness might have created bigger waves that made swimming harder. Other ideas included the pool being a temporary structure, being a little longer than 50 metres, problems with the pool’s ventilation system, and some challenges athletes faced during the Games.

athlete psychological challenges

Schedules

Pool swimming

For the pool events, the early rounds were in the morning, and the semifinals and finals were in the evening. The schedule lasted nine days, one more day than before, to give swimmers more rest.

In February 2024, the schedule for Days 5 and 6 was changed to help Léon Marchand have enough time between his races in the men's 200 metre butterfly and 200 metre breaststroke events. The events still happened on the same days, but the order was changed to make a longer break between these two races.

Marathon swimming

The women's marathon 10 km race was on 8 August at 07:30, and the men's marathon 10 km race was on 9 August at 07:30.

Qualification

Pool swimming

Individual events

Each country could send up to two swimmers in each individual race. Both swimmers needed to meet the required time to qualify. If a country had fewer than two swimmers who met the time, they could still send one swimmer through other ways, such as relay events or special invitations.

Relay events

Each country could enter one relay team per event. The top three teams from the 2023 World Championships got to compete, and the remaining spots went to the fastest teams from the 2023 and 2024 World Championships.

Marathon swimming

Each country could send up to two swimmers in the marathon races. Swimmers could qualify by finishing in the top positions at the 2023 and 2024 World Aquatics Championships, or by being chosen to represent their continent or the host nation, France. Additional swimmers who met certain time requirements in long-distance races were also allowed to compete.

Medal summary

Medal table

  *   Host nation (France)

Source:

Medalists

Pool swimming

^a Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

^a Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

^a Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Marathon swimming

Records

See also: World and Olympic records set at the 2024 Summer Olympics

During the swimming competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics, some world and Olympic records were broken.

World records

Olympic records