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E-mail Xinhua, July 26, 2024
Zhang Yufei of China competes in the women's 100m freestyle final at the 31st FISU Summer World University Games in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, Aug. 3, 2023. (Photo/Xinhua)
Swimming will be one of the most eagerly watched events at the Paris 2024 Olympics as previous champions seek new triumphs and new heroes emerge.
The event will run from July 27 to August 4, featuring 852 male and female swimmers competing in 35 events.
It will be staged at the recently refurbished Paris La Defense Arena, a state-of-the-art indoor venue that is usually home to the Racing 92 rugby team.
For the first time, the swimming schedule will run for nine days, a day longer than previous editions, a move that will ease the strain on multi-event athletes.
Morning heats will be followed by semifinals and finals in the evenings.
Much of the spotlight, at least from a local perspective, will be on Leon Marchand. The 22-year-old Frenchman is the reigning world champion in the 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley, holding the world record in the latter event.
But he is far from the only established star seeking a glorious new chapter to an already decorated career. Others include United States pair Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky, Australia's Emma McKeon and Britain's Adam Peaty.
Dressel will swim the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly while Ledecky is scheduled to compete in the 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1,500m freestyle.
Australia's team features Tokyo 2020 standout McKeon, Kyle Chalmers, Ariarne Titmus, and backstroke ace Kaylee McKeown.
Canadian prodigy Summer McIntosh will also be a top contender. The 17-year-old is already a two-time world champion - in the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley, and holds the world record in the latter.
Peaty, meanwhile, is aiming for a historic third consecutive gold medal in the 100m breaststroke.
One of the most highly anticipated events will be the women's 400m freestyle on the opening night of competition. It will feature a showdown between McIntosh, Titmus, Ledecky and New Zealand's Erika Fairweather. Titmus set a world record in 2023, but McIntosh, Ledecky and Fairweather are strong contenders for gold.
Likewise, the women's 100m backstroke promises to be a tantalizing battle. The clear favorites are Regan Smith and McKeown, who have pushed new boundaries in recent times. A sub-57-second race from either swimmer - or both - is a distinct possibility.
Another event on the radar of swimming fans is the men's 100m freestyle, which will see two impressive teenagers - Romanian David Popovici and China's Pan Zhanle - take on veteran Chalmers. The final is expected to showcase contrasting strategies and many are predicting a photo finish.
In the men's 100m butterfly, defending champion and world record holder Dressel will be pitted against his training partner, Joshua Liendo, as six of the eight fastest swimmers in the event's history vie for gold. Other contenders include Kristof Milak, runner-up to Dressel four years ago, and Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Noe Ponti.
Finally, the women's 200m individual medley will make for compulsory viewing as McKeown, McIntosh, Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh seek gold for their teams.
