Day 7 Wrap – Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Day seven of racing in Paris saw Erika Fairweather (Neptune & Swim Dunedin) qualify for her fourth final in Paris in the Women's 800m Freestyle. What an incredible feat to be ranked in the top eight in the world across three individual events and a relay!
Fairweather swam in the first of two heats, getting off to a strong start and looking smooth through the water. She was leading at the 200m mark, before Australian Lani Pallister and German Isabel Gose pulled away in the second half of the race. Fairweather had settled into fourth place for most of the second 400m, before a last lap surge saw her reclaim third on the wall (8:22.22). It was the fifth fastest performance in her career, and enough to see her progress through to the final as the seventh fastest qualifier.
Speaking to Sky Sport after the heat, Fairweather was pleased to execute her race according to plan.
"Today the plan was to finish top three in my heat. 800m is not my favourite event, I definitely prefer the 200m and 400m, so to get that result is really great."
Congratulations to Erika Fairweather, coach Lars Humer and her support team for reaching another Olympic final. Fairweather will line up at 7.28am on Sunday 4 August NZST for her final swim in Paris.
In the following heat, Eve Thomas (Coast) concluded her busy schedule in Paris by placing 12th overall in the Women's 800m Freestyle.
Thomas raced in a stacked heat, which included the reigning Olympic Champion Katie Ledecky (USA) who is looking to make history and win this event for a fourth consecutive time. The pace was rapid from the start, with Thomas settling into her rhythm early and focussing on racing her own race. Thomas was fifth from the 100m mark and stayed there for the remainder of the heat, putting in a fast final 100m to finish strongly in 8:33.25. Thomas finished 12th overall, improving upon the 18th place she earned in the same event in Tokyo three years earlier.
Thomas spoke to Sky Sport after her heat swim.
"That wasn't the swim I was hoping for today. This week hasn't been exactly what I have been training for, so I'm a little bit disappointed, but I'm still young and I'm willing to use that to project me into the new season. I plan on going to LA so this won't be the last time you see me at an Olympic Games."
Thomas reflected on her campaign, with her highlight making the final in the relay.
"Making the 4 x 200m Freestyle final last night was something really special. We weren't projected to make that final so to be able to sneak in was a huge achievement."
Congratulations to Eve Thomas, coach Dean Boxall and her wider support team for everything they have accomplished in Paris.
Cameron Gray (Coast) returned to the pool for his second event in Paris, the Men's 100m Butterfly.
Racing in an unseeded heat, Gray got off to a good start to surface near the front from an outside lane and touch fourth at the turn. Up against some big names in swimming, Gray finished sixth in his heat and finished 32nd overall in his seventh fastest time in his career (53.83).
Congratulations to Cameron Gray, coach Michael Weston and his wider support team for all they have achieved together on Olympic Games debut.
The finals on day seven had the French crowd roaring again, with some world-class performances setting the pool alight.
In the Men's 50m Freestyle final, four-time Olympian Cameron McEvoy (Australia) was looking to secure his first Olympic gold medal. With a new training philosophy for sprinting, he was set for the moment to showcase his readiness on the big stage. Getting off to the best start was Ben Proud (Great Britain), with McEvoy pulling up alongside at halfway. McEvoy pulled away over the final 15m to win gold (21.25) ahead of Proud (21.30) and Frenchman Florent Manaudou (21.58). By claiming bronze in front of his home crowd, Manaudou becomes the first man to win a medal in the 50m event at four consecutive Olympic Games.
The Women's 200m Backstroke was an opportunity for Australian Kaylee McKeown to create history as the first woman to complete the backstroke double (100m and 200m) at consecutive Olympic Games. Having already won the 100m earlier in the week, McKeown signalled her intent with a great start and underwater to surface half a body length ahead at 15m. However, it was Tokyo silver medallist Kylie Masse (Canada) who led at the first turn, before American Regan Smith took the lead to be ahead of McKeown's World Record pace at the 100m and 150m splits. However, an outstanding final underwater and lap saw McKeown create history as she won the gold in an Olympic Record (2:03.73) ahead of Smith (2:04.26) and Masse (2:05.57).
The crowd was chanting before the athletes were introduced for the Men's 200m Individual Medley, with Frenchman Leon Marchand set for his final individual swim in Paris. Marchand gave the crowd something to cheer about, taking the butterfly out fast and establishing a healthy lead during the backstroke. Renowned for his breaststroke skills in the medley, he left the field in his wake to be under World Record pace at the final turn. It was a battle with the World Record line for Marchand during the freestyle as he set an Olympic Record (1:54.06) to win his fourth gold medal from four starts, finishing just 0.06 seconds outside Ryan Lochte's World Record from 2011. Duncan Scott (Great Britain - 1:55.31) won his second consecutive silver medal in this event, while defending Olympic champion Wang Shun (China - 1:56.00) took bronze.
Day eight is the final day of action for our Kiwis in the water, with Erika Fairweather closing out our campaign in the Women's 800m Freestyle final. The finals session starts from 6.30am on Sunday 4 August NZST.
Day Eight
Finals Swim (from 6.30am NZST - Sunday 4 August)
Women’s 800m Freestyle Final (Fairweather – 7.08am)
The penultimate day of the swimming in Paris is the final day of our Kiwis in action, with Fairweather taking on the women’s 800m freestyle final.
Don’t miss any of the action on Sky Sport during these Games. For those who don’t have Sky Sport on a regular basis, you can stream all 12 channels and more via their Olympics Pass for a special rate (available for purchase from Thursday 25 July), or you can watch free coverage of selected live content and highlights free-to-air on Sky Open (freeview channel 15).
Follow Swimming NZ on Instagram (@swimming_nz) and Facebook, and keep an eye on our website, to stay up to date with all the swimming action from Paris.
You can also download the NZ Team app to track your favourite sports and Kiwi athletes as they strive for gold in Paris.
Swimmer Entries
Kane Follows
100m Back (Entry time: 54.46)
200m Back (Entry time: 1:57.13 – NZ Record)
Lewis Clareburt
200m Butterfly (Entry time: 1:55.82)
200m IM (Entry time: 1:57.36)
400m IM (Entry time: 4:09.72 – 7th fastest seed)
Cameron Gray
100m Butterfly (Entry time: 52.53)
100m Freestyle (Entry time: 48.26 – NZ Record)
Taiko Torepe-Ormsby
50m Freestyle (Entry time: 22.86 – NZ Record)
Hazel Ouwehand
100m Butterfly (Entry time: 57.43 – NZ Record)
Eve Thomas
1500m Freestyle (Entry time: 16:07.46)
400m Freestyle (Entry time: 4:05.87 - 13th fastest seed)
800m Freestyle (Entry time: 8:22.27 – 9th fastest seed)
4 x 200m Freestyle Relay (Entry time: 7:53.02 – NZ Record)
Erika Fairweather
200m Freestyle (Entry time: 1:55.45 – 8th fastest seed)
400m Freestyle (Entry time: 3:59.44 – NZ Record – 4th fastest seed)
800m Freestyle (Entry time: 8:21.06 – 8th fastest seed)
4 x 200m Freestyle Relay (Entry time: 7:53.02 – NZ Record)
Caitlin Deans & Laticia Transom
4 x 200m Freestyle Relay (Entry time: 7:53.02 – NZ Record)
Daily Schedule
*start times are subject to change, while semi-finals and finals are subject to athlete progression.
Sunday 4 August
Day Eight Finals – from 6.30am NZST
Women’s 800m Freestyle Final (Fairweather) – 7.28am
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