2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
The ladies’s 200 IM seems to be to be an excellent higher-stakes race than anticipated.
Previous to the beginning of the 2024 Paris Olympic Video games, it was already identified than the ladies’s 200 IM can be some of the aggressive occasions, with 4 of the highest eight performers of all time—Kate Douglass, Kaylee McKeown, Alex Walsh, and Summer season McIntosh—all taking part. However six days into the video games, the occasion nonetheless feels unattainable to foretell, because the three high seeds have all received Olympic gold medals and set private greatest occasions.
Douglass received the 200 breast in American file vogue, McKeown tied her greatest time within the 100 again and is favored to win the 200 again, and McIntosh received each the 400 IM and 200 fly whereas setting a textile world file within the latter race. After which there’s Walsh, who has the 200 IM as her solely race of the meet and received’t must take care of the occasion load that her opponents have.
With all opponents seemingly in high kind, no one may be dominated out for being “off” but. Each swimmer have to be at their very best if they need a shot at successful.
As well as, the 200 IM may additionally decide who’s essentially the most adorned feminine swimmer of the meet by way of particular person efficiency. Assuming McKeown wins the 200 again, each she and McIntosh will probably be at two particular person golds, and their placings within the 200 IM will decide who has a greater particular person tally. In the meantime, if Douglass wins, along with McKeown successful the 200 again and Katie Ledecky successful the 800 free, there will probably be 4 totally different ladies at this meet with two particular person gold medals.
In that situation, McIntosh would probably take the crown as the one swimmer with 4 particular person medals — but when Douglass breaks the 200 IM world file and is the one lady at this meet to take action, will she have a case to make for swimmer of the meet?
One other attention-grabbing variable for this 200 IM race would be the situations of this pool, which is shallower than really helpful and has been chargeable for slower-than-normal occasions throughout the board in a number of occasions. The shallow pool has generated extra waves and turbulence — how will that have an effect on swimmers on this race? Douglass, McKeown, Walsh, and McIntosh are all identified to have totally different race methods and strengths in several strokes, and will probably be attention-grabbing to see whether or not the pool impacts how they swim.
After three years of those 4 swimmers buying and selling high timers, they may lastly come collectively to compete in a single race on the best stage. And with everybody on-form, this race goes to be even higher than what we thought it could be.
