By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
2024 WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- February 11th – February 18th, 2024
- Doha, Qatar
- LCM (50m)
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- Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
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- Day 5 Prelims Recap | Day 5 Finals Recap
- Day 6 Prelims Recap | Day 6 Finals Recap
- Day 7 Prelims Recap | Day 7 Finals Recap
- Day 8 Prelims Recap | Day 8 Finals Recap
The men’s medley relay saw the biggest shakeup of Olympic qualifying of the entire week. The Netherlands, who didn’t swim this relay at the 2023 World Championships, are now the 9th seed heading into Paris.
While there was some movement of seeds, in the end the field of 16 only changed in one slot, with the Dutch men knocking Portugal out. Portugal was 16th at Worlds in 2023 with a 3:35.63, and were the exact same time in prelims at 2024 Worlds for 10th place.
Poland improved their spot (though they would have been qualified anyway), which is also true for Austria.
So as it turned out, there wound up being very little changed across the seven Olympic relays from World Aquatics’ two-meet qualifying scheme, designed to encourage athletes to participate in a 2024 ad hoc World Championship.
RELAY SELECTION PROCEDURE (IN BRIEF)
The top 3 finishing relays from the 2023 World Championships automatically qualified. The next 13 slots come from the best times among the combination of heats and finals at the 2023 and 2024 World Championships.
That means the field is set, pending countries declining their selections or any special dispensations made for Israel.
There is no host country automatic allocation for the Olympics and France did not attempt this relay at either the 2023 or 2024 World Championships. Unlike in past years, there is no “free-for-all” best times in the qualifying period to worry about, so the field should be set at this point, with the exception of any scratches.
The Field – Men’s 400 Medley Relay
| Rank | Country | Time | Meet |
| 1 | USA | 3:27.20 | 2023 Worlds Finals |
| 2 | China | 3:29.00 | 2023 Worlds Finals |
| 3 | Australia | 3:29.62 | 2023 Worlds Finals |
| 4 | France | 3:29.88 | 2023 Worlds Finals |
| 5 | Great Britain | 3:30.16 | 2023 Worlds Finals |
| 6 | Canada | 3:32.11 | 2023 Worlds Prelims |
| 7 | Germany | 3:32.11 | 2023 Worlds Prelims |
| 8 | Japan | 3:32.36 | 2023 Worlds Prelims |
| 9 | Netherlands | 3:32.89 | 2024 Words Prelims |
| 10 | Italy | 3:33.54 | 2023 Worlds Prelims |
| 11 | Poland | 3:33.79 | 2024 Words Prelims |
| 12 | South Korea | 3:34.25 | 2023 Worlds Prelims |
| 13 | Austria | 3:34.29 | 2024 Words Prelims |
| 14 | Ireland | 3:34.97 | 2024 Words Prelims |
| 15 | Spain | 3:35.13 | 2023 Worlds Prelims |
| 16 | Switzerland | 3:35.46 | 2023 Worlds Prelims |
| Alt 1 | Portugal | 3:35.63 | 2023 Worlds Prelims |
| Alt 2 | Israel | 3:36.47 | 2023 Worlds Prelims |
| Alt 3 | Hungary | 3:36.86 | 2024 Words Prelims |
| Alt 4 | Mexico | 3:36.88 | 2024 Words Prelims |
SwimSwam: Netherlands In, Portugal Out to Complete Paris Olympic Relay Qualifying
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