Day 4 Wrap – Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Day four of racing in Paris saw Eve Thomas (Coast) back in action for the longest event on the competition schedule — the Women's 1500m Freestyle. The dual Olympian produced her best individual finish at an Olympic Games, placing 12th in the world.
Over the opening 400m of the race, Thomas kept pace with Australian Moesha Johnson, before Johnson upped the tempo to try and bridge the gap with the leaders. Thomas stayed consistent with her lap splits, sitting comfortably in sixth place across the opening 1000m. Thomas looked to make a move in the following laps, moving up to fifth at the 1100m mark. As the fatigue set in during the last third of the race, Thomas held on strongly to touch sixth in her heat (16:13.74), posting the third fastest time of her career.
Thomas' result marks her best individual finish at an Olympic Games, a significant rise up the ranks since her 26th place in Tokyo three years ago.
Lewis Clareburt (Club 37) returned to competition for his second event of the Games — the Men's 200m Butterfly. The Commonwealth Games champion was up against another world-class field in one of the most physically demanding events on the swimming schedule. The competitors in his heat set the pace early, with Clareburt splitting fairly consistently from lane eight before a last lap surge saw him finish seventh in his heat (1:57.12). He placed 21st overall, with his time was nearly identical to his that he produced at the 2024 New Zealand Swimming Championships in Hawke's Bay.
Clareburt will now have a well-deserved rest before suiting up for the Men's 200m Individual Medley, with his heat on Thursday 1 August from 9pm.
The fourth day of racing in Paris also saw Cameron Gray (Coast) make his Olympic debut, taking on the Men's 100m Freestyle. Gray got off to a good start, before settling into his stroke. Turning last at halfway, Gray made a late surge to touch sixth in his heat and 31st overall (49.24). It was a stacked world-class field that progressed through to the semi-finals in one of the most competitive and popular events on the schedule.
Gray will return to the competition pool later in the week for his other event in Paris — the Men's 100m Butterfly.
Congratulations to our swimmers who represented New Zealand proudly on day four in Paris.
Action from day five in Paris gets underway tonight, with Kane Follows (Neptune & Swim Dunedin) returning for the Men's 200m Backstroke heats.
Day Five
Heats (from 9pm NZST – Wednesday 31 July)
Men’s 200m Backstroke (Follows)
Potential Finals Swims (from 6.30am NZST – Thursday 1 August)
Men’s 200m Backstroke Semi-Final (Follows – 7.37am)
Kane Follows returns for his favoured event on day five – the men’s 200m backstroke. The New Zealand record holder is the only one of our swimmers racing in the heats of day five.
Day Six
Heats (from 9pm NZST – Thursday 1 August)
Men’s 50m Freestyle (Torepe-Ormsby)
Men’s 200m Individual Medley (Clareburt)
Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay (Fairweather, Transom, Thomas, Deans)
Potential Finals Swims (from 6.30am NZST – Friday 2 August)
Men’s 200m Backstroke Final (Follows – 6.37am)
Men’s 50m Freestyle Semi-Final (Torepe-Ormsby – 6.44am)
Men’s 200m Individual Medley Semi-Final (Clareburt – 7.35am)
Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Final (Fairweather, Transom, Thomas, Deans – 7.49am)
Day six gets off to a fast start, with Taiko Torepe-Ormsby debuting in the men’s 50m freestyle. The fastest Kiwi of all time arrives in Paris in excellent form, breaking the New Zealand record in April to qualify for the team. Always a popular event at the Games, this event could see the world record under pressure, as Australia’s Cameron McEvoy closes in on dipping under 21 seconds. With the barest of margins separating the field, it will be another one to watch.
Our women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team will also take to the pool on day six, where Caitlin Deans and Laticia Transom will make their Olympic debut alongside Erika Fairweather and Eve Thomas. Fresh off their fifth-place finish in Doha, the team will be full of confidence having broken the New Zealand record earlier this year. With all four swimmers in good form, the team looks like they are shaping up to go faster again.
Lewis Clareburt returns to pool for the heats of his final event of the Games – the men’s 200m individual medley. Clareburt arrives in Paris as the 13th fastest seed in the event, having been a finalist in Tokyo.
Day Seven
Heats (from 9pm NZST – Friday 2 August)
Men’s 100m Butterfly (Gray)
Women’s 800m Freestyle (Fairweather & Thomas)
Potential Finals Swims (from 6.30am NZST – Saturday 3 August)
Men’s 50m Freestyle Final (Torepe-Ormsby – 6.30am)
Men’s 200m Individual Medley Final (Clareburt – 6.43am)
Men’s 100m Butterfly Semi-Final (Gray – 7am)
Erika Fairweather and Eve Thomas head into the women’s 800m freestyle as the eighth and ninth fastest seeds, respectively. This will be another competitive event to watch, with the battle in the heats bound to be close as they vie for a spot in the final.
Cameron Gray takes on another stacked field in the men’s 100m butterfly, featuring reigning Olympic champion and world record holder, Caeleb Dressel, who continues his return to competitive swimming after some time off.
Day Eight
Potential Finals Swims (from 6.30am NZST - Sunday 4 August)
Men’s 100m Butterfly Final (Gray – 6.30am)
Women’s 800m Freestyle Final (Fairweather & Thomas – 7.08am)
The penultimate day of the swimming in Paris is the final day we could see our Kiwis in action, with potential finals spots available for Fairweather and Thomas in the women’s 800m freestyle and Gray in the men’s 100m butterfly.
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.
Wednesday 31 July
Day Five Heats – from 9pm NZST
Men’s 200m Backstroke (Follows)
Thursday 1 August
Day Five Finals – from 6.30am NZST
Men’s 200m Butterfly Final (Clareburt*) – 6.36am
Women’s 1500m Freestyle Final (Thomas*) – 7.07am
Men’s 200m Backstroke Semi-Final (Follows*) – 7.37am
Men’s 100m Freestyle Final (Gray*) – 8.22am
Day Six Heats – from 9pm NZST
Men’s 50m Freestyle (Torepe-Ormsby)
Men’s 200m Individual Medley (Clareburt)
Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay (Fairweather, Transom, Thomas, Deans)
Friday 2 August
Day Six Finals – from 6.30am NZST
Men’s 200m Backstroke Final (Follows*) – 6.37am
Men’s 50m Freestyle Semi-Final (Torepe-Ormsby*) – 6.44am
Men’s 200m Individual Medley Semi-Final (Clareburt*) – 7.35am
Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final (Fairweather, Transom, Thomas, Deans*) – 7.49am
Day Seven Heats – from 9pm NZST
Men’s 100m Butterfly (Gray)
Women’s 800m Freestyle (Fairweather & Thomas)
Sunday 3 August
Day Seven Finals – from 6.30am NZST
Men’s 50m Freestyle Final (Torepe-Ormsby*) – 6.30am
Men’s 200m Individual Medley Final (Clareburt*) – 6.43am
Men’s 100m Butterfly Semi-Final (Gray*) – 7am
Monday 4 August
Day Eight Finals – from 6.30am NZST
Men’s 100m Butterfly Final (Gray*) – 6.30am
Women’s 800m Freestyle Final (Fairweather* & Thomas*) – 7.08am
Comments