Paris Olympic Schedule Change Opens The Door For Marchand’s 200 Fly/200 Breast Double

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

The event order at the Paris Olympics has seen a pair of minor changes, one of which figures to be of great benefit to French superstar Leon Marchand.

According to an announcement made by USA Swimming on Wednesday, the following changes have been made to the order of events in Paris, and thus will be mimicked at the U.S. Trials:

• On Day 5, the women’s 200 fly semis and men’s 200 breast final will swap places. This makes the 200 fly the third event of the night and the 200 breast the seventh.
• On Day 6, the men’s 50 free semis will be the third race of the night (originally sixth) and the women’s 200 back will be the fifth (originally third).

The change on Day 5 puts four events and seven total heats, one of which is the women’s 1500 free, between the men’s 200 fly and 200 breast final after they were previously back-to-back (along with multiple medal ceremonies, most likely). That will allow Marchand to race both events at the Games, something we learned earlier this month his coaches had lobbied for.

DAY 5 EVENT CHANGE

Marchand is the reigning world champion in the 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM, having won back-to-back titles in the medley events while winning the 200 fly for the first time last year after claiming silver in 2023.

In the 200 breast, he has yet to race the event on the major international stage, but he did produce a time of 2:06.59 at the 2023 French Elite Championships that would’ve won bronze at the World Championships and ranks him #5 all-time.

The other schedule change could open the door for a female swimmer to race both the 200 fly and 200 back with less of a time crunch, and it also would allow a male swimmer to do the 200 IM/50 free double, though there don’t appear to be any obvious candidates for that right now.

It does, however, make it more difficult for a woman to race both the 200 back and 800 free relay.

DAY 6 EVENT CHANGE

FULL PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC SWIMMING CALENDAR

• See the U.S. Olympic Trials schedule (same as Paris without relays)

SwimSwam: Paris Olympic Schedule Change Opens The Door For Marchand’s 200 Fly/200 Breast Double