Who Will Not Defend The Tokyo 2020 Medals At 2024 Paris Olympics

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games there will be no less than eight events in which the reigning Olympic champions will not be present to defend their medals. Between goggles hanging up, cutthroat competition between compatriots, political issues and simple lack of physical condition, let’s see who among the stars par excellence of the Tokyo 2020(1) Olympics will not take part in this summer’s Games in Paris.

100M FREESTYLE

Perhaps the most glaring absences (not absences) of these Games will be those in 100m free: Caeleb Dressel and Emma McKeon will not defend their Tokyo 2020(1) gold medals.

Both athletes were victims of the ruthless American and Australian Olympic Trials.

Dressel, who managed to qualify instead in the other two events in which he is Olympic champion, men’s 100m fly and men’s 50m free, placed third, thus securing a place in the U.S. men’s 400m freestyle relay, but failing to qualify individually.

Dressel’s time of 47.53, despite being slower than the two American swimmers Jack Alexy (47.08) and Chris Guiliano (47.25), still ranks 7th in world seasonal ranking. So if Caeleb Dressel had been born in France, Australia, China, Italy, or any country other than U.S., we might see the defending champion on the blocks. But this year, the USA sprint is really deep, and even Caeleb Dressel was not fast enough to win.

2023-2024 LCM Men 100 Free

ZhanleCHN
PAN

02/11
WR 46.80

2David
POPOVICIROU46.8806/193Jack
ALEXYUSA47.0806/184Chris
GUILIANOUSA47.2506/185Maxime
GROUSSETFRA47.3306/186Nandor
NEMETHHUN47.4906/197Caeleb
DRESSELUSA47.5306/188Josh
LIENDOCAN47.5505/169Hunter
ARMSTRONGUSA47.5902/1710Alessandro
MIRESSI ITA47.6111/30View Top 31»

As the king will be missed, so will the queen Emma McKeon.

The Australian champion missed qualifying in the 100m free, only touching the wall in sixth place with a time of 53.33. McKeon will be in Paris, as well as a reserve/heats relay swimmer in Australia’s deadly 4×100 women’s stroke, with the aim of defending, like Dressel, her medal in the 100 butterfly. Unfortunately, however, unlike the American, the Wollongong swimmer also narrowly missed qualifying in the 50m freestyle, clocking a 24.32 which, although below the OQT, was not enough to reach the top two positions occupied by Shayna Jack (23.99) and Meg Harris (24.26).

MEN’S 200M FREESTYLE

In the freestyle we will have other important absences: Olympic champions Tom Dean (200 Free) and Ahmed Hafnaoui (400 Free) will not be present in the Parisian pool.

Britain’s Tom Dean, who won the gold medal in the 200 freestyle at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, was another victim of the Olympic trials. Admittedly, competition in the men’s 200 stroke in Britain is extremely high, as it is in the fast freestyle distances in America and Australia. However, it was expected that the British record holder for the distance would be able to qualify to defend the title. Matthew Richards and Tokyo 2021 silver medallist Duncan Scott, however, touched the wall before the Olympic champion, who finished the 200 with a time of 1:45.09.

MEN’S 400m FREESTYLE

A different story is that of Ahmed Hafnaoui, the outsider, the dark horse, and the gold medallist in the men’s 400m free at the 2020 Olympics.

The Tunisian boy, who won the event when he was only 18 years old, ahead of athletes such as Australians Jack Mcloughlin and Elijah Winnington and American Kieran Smith.

Hafnaoui won two golds and a silver at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, coming in with the best world performance of that season in both the men’s 800m free, with 7:37.00, and the men’s 1500 free with 14:31.54: both times would lead the pre-Olympic seasonal rankings.

He was also one of the title contenders in the 400m, an event in which he is the reigning Olympic champion. Silver at the 2023 World Championships with a time of 3:40.70, in one of the tightest and most entertaining events of the championships, behind Sam Short who finished just 0,02 ahead of him, this would also be the fastest performance of the current season.

Unfortunately for the man who has already been named as the worthy heir of Oussama Mellouli, there will be nothing to do: an injury will likely keep him out of the pool in Paris.

WOMEN’S 100M BREASTSTROKE

Also added to the list is Lydia Jacoby, the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist in the women’s 100m breast. The then 16-year-old from Alaska, finished third at the US Trials in June with a time of 1:06.37, a far cry from the time she qualified with four years ago, and unfortunately also far from the first two positions occupied by the usual Lilly King (1:05.43) and Emma Weber (1:06.10).

Jacoby, who was also supposed to compete in the 200 breaststroke qualification, decided not to compete, with the idea of processing the failure to qualify in the event in which she was reigning champion, and come back stronger than before.

An outlook on the reigning champions who were blocked out by their own national teammates:

 

2020 TOKYO Olympics GOLD MEDAL 
2021 National Olympic Trials  GOLD MEDAL 
2024 National Olympic Trials  GOLD MEDAL 
Defending Champion at 2024 Olympic Trials

men’s 100m free
Caeleb Dressel 47.02
Caeleb Dressel 47.39
Chris Guiliano 47.38
Caeleb Dressel 47.53 (3°)

women’s 100m free
Emma Mckeon 51.96
Emma Mckeon 52.35
Mollie O’Callaghan 52.33
Emma Mckeon 53.33 (6°)

women’s 50m free
 Emma Mckeon 23.81
Emma Mckeon 23.93
Shayna Jack 23.99
Emma Mckeon 24.32 (3°)

men’s 200m free
Tom Dean 1:44.22
Duncan Scott 1:44.47
Matthew Richards 1:44.69
Tom Dean 1:45.09 (3°)

women’s 400m IM
Yui Ohashi 4:32.08
Yui Ohashi 4:35.14
 Mio Narita 4:35.40
Yui Ohashi 4:38.89 (4°)

women0s 100m breast
Lydia Jacoby 1:04.95
Lilly King 1:04.79
Lilly King 1:05.43
Lydia Jacoby 1:06.37 (3°)

 

WOMEN’S 400M IM

With the freestyle events over, there is still one athlete missing who was a victim not only of her own nation’s trials, but also of the high qualification standards themselves: Yui Ohashi, the reigning champion of the women’s 400m IM.

The Japanese swimmer missed qualifying, falling 0,35  off OQT set by the JASF. The time, however, was not the only setback, as no fewer than three athletes put their hands in front of the Olympic gold medallist, thus precluding her from participating in the event in which she had been a star in 2021. Yui Ohashi also holds the Japanese record and is the eighth best performer ever with 4:30.82.

OTHER ABSENTEES

Among the many non-qualifiers, due to the trials and the time limits imposed, there are also athletes who will miss the Olympic appointment for other reasons.

One of these will be, as we have seen, Ahmed Hafnaoui, due to injury. However, another champion, indeed double Olympic champion in Tokyo 2021 will not attend in Paris due to a personal choice.

You may ask, how does one not compete in the Olympics, leaving no less than two Olympic titles undefended? And all this of his own free will? This is a question that should be asked of Evgeny Rylov, a Russian athlete who chose not to take part in the Paris Games.

The gold medallist in the men’s 100m and 200m back, as an athlete of the Russian Federation, could not compete in the Olympics under the national flag, as he did in 2021, because he was exposed to the Olympic Committee’s ban. However, Russian athletes had the option of applying to the IOC to be admitted as neutral athletes if they met certain requirements. These were:

not to be affiliated with the army or intelligence services
never having publicly shown support for the invasion of Ukraine

Rylov stated.

“Signing the declaration would mean disowning one’s country.”

Thus sanctioning his self-exclusion from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Russian had won the backstroke events with the then European record of 51.98 in the 100 backstroke and the Olympic record of 1:53.27 in the men’s 200 backstroke. Now his absence (together with that of Kliment Kolesnikov) will make way for the competition between the remaining big 3 of the world backstroke: Thomas Ceccon, Hunter Armstrong and Ryan Murphy.

WHO WILL NOT DEFEND THE SILVER AND BRONZE MEDALS (INDIVIDUAL) FROM TOKYO

In addition to the numerous absences among the reigning Olympic champions, there is also a long list of medallists from the Tokyo 2021 Olympics who will not be present in Paris 2024.

These athletes will not compete in the Games for a variety of reasons, starting with the IOC ban, such as the aforementioned Kliment Kolesnikov, bronze in the 100 backstroke and silver in men’s 100m free in Tokyo, through to athletes who have withdrawn during the four-year Olympic period and also those who failed to make the qualifying time or a lower time than their national teammates.

RETIRED

Pernille Blume (DEN) – bronze medal in women’s 50m freestyle
Sarah Wellbrock (GER) – bronze medal in women’s 1500m freestyle
Annie Lazor (USA) – bronze medal in women’s 200m breaststroke
Hali Flickinger (USA) – bronze medal in women’s 400m freestyle
Jack McLoughlin (AUS) – silver medal in men’s400 freestyle

Russian Ban (and not applying or qualifying for neutral status)

Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) – bronze medal in men’s 100 back; silver medal in men’s 100m freestyle

NON-QUALIFIED

Cate Campbell (AUS) – bronze medal in women’s 100 freestyle
Penny Oleksiak (CAN) – bronze medal in women’s 200m freestyle
Emily Seebohm (AUS) – bronze medal in 200m backstroke
Bruno Fratus (BRA) – bronze medal in men’s 50m freestyle
Federico Burdisso (ITA) – bronze medal in men’s 200m butterfly
Jay Litherland (USA) – silver medal in men’s 400m IM
Erica Sullivan (USA) – silver in women’s 1500 freestyle

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