This Olympic cycle was quite unusual. For the second time, the traditional four-year cycle was not a four-year cycle: while the Tokyo cycle was extended to five years, this time only three years were available to prepare for Paris.

Due to the pandemic, many major events, including the World Championships originally scheduled for 2021 and the European Championships scheduled for 2020, were postponed to 2022. This overlap resulted in two World Championships (Fukuoka 2023 and Doha 2024) and the European Championship 2024 in Belgradeand all this within eleven months, during the preparation period for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

These scheduling challenges led athletes and their teams to adopt different strategies to arrive at the Defense Arena in top form. One constant was undoubtedly the 2023 World Championships, which we will use as a benchmark to judge who met the expectations of the past season and who surprised positively or negatively.

Some swimmers waived the World Championships 2024 in Dohaa significant event that lost importance for many as they focused on bigger goals such as winning an Olympic title. As the event approached, others decided to take part in the Settecolli Trophy in Rome, an event that has been held every year at the end of June for over 60 years: a unique opportunity to test their form a few weeks before the finish line. At the same time, the European Championships took place in BelgradeTherefore, many athletes use this phase to assess their condition.

In this article we analyze the strategic choices of some of these champions and ask: who reached the podium at both the European Championships in Belgrade and the Olympic Games? Who did so at the Settecolli Trophy in Rome and confirmed themselves in Paris? Who did not achieve these performances?

WHO MADE IT ON THE PODIUM AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS AND THE OLYMPICS?

At the European Championships in Belgrade, many top swimmers were largely left out, although there were notable exceptions among the men. Among those who defended their European podium places at the 2024 Olympics, there are only four (+1) athletes, all of them men.

The young freestyle star David Popovic managed the double over 100 and 200 m freestyle at the European Championships in Belgrade and swam the third fastest time in history (46.88). The 20-year-old Romanian repeated this in Paris and secured gold over 200 and bronze over 100 m.

Another athlete who achieved a double victory, this time in the butterfly style, was Kristof MilakThe Hungarian won gold in both butterfly events at the European Championships, but was only able to repeat his results at the Olympic Games in the 100-meter butterfly, where he defended his Olympic title. In the 200-meter butterfly, the 24-year-old narrowly lost to the favorite from his hometown. Leon Marchandand secured a fantastic silver medal.

Two other athletes were on both podiums: the Swiss Roman Mityukov, who won bronze in the 200-meter backstroke both times, with a time of 1:55.75 at the European Championships and 1:54.85 in Paris, where Hubert Kos dominated.

The second is Apostolos ChristouThe Greek swimmer secured silver in the 200-meter backstroke at the Olympic Games with a time of 1:54.82. At the European Championships in Belgrade, he competed in the shorter backstroke events and won gold in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 52.23. In Paris, he narrowly missed the podium in this event.

WHO MADE IT TO THE PODIUM AT SETTECOLLI AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES?

In addition to the outstanding Olympic champions such as Sarah Sjostrom in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle, Nicolo Martinenghi in the 100-meter breaststroke and Thomas Ceccon Other athletes also took both podium places in the 100-meter backstroke.

• Caspar Corbeau in the 200-meter breaststroke: gold in Settecolli, bronze at the Olympics
• Tatjana Smith in the 200-meter breaststroke: Gold at Settecolli, silver at the Olympics
• Daniel Wiffen in the 800 m freestyle: bronze in Settecolli, gold at the Olympics
• Daniel Wiffen in the 1500 m freestyle: bronze in Settecolli, bronze at the Olympics
• Siobhan Haughey in the 200 m freestyle: gold in Settecolli, bronze at the Olympics
• Siobhan Haughey in the 100 m freestyle: silver at Settecolli, bronze at Olympia
• Ben Stolz in the 50-meter freestyle: gold in Settecolli, silver at the Olympics
• Isabel Gose in the 1500 m freestyle: silver at Settecolli, bronze at Olympia

WHICH FUKUOKA 2023 CHAMPIONS DID NOT MAKE IT TO THE OLYMPIC PODIUM?

It is striking that almost all athletes who became Olympic champions in Paris were also world champions in Fukuoka 2023. For women, the percentage is even higher.

However, some world champions from Fukuoka could not repeat their success in the Defense Arena and missed the podium. In the men’s competition, apart from the injured Ahmed HafnaouiThe first standout is the Australian Sam Shortwho came very close to the world record in the 800-meter freestyle in 2023, but missed the final in Paris.

Another swimmer who clearly missed the Olympic podium and the final in the 200-meter breaststroke is the Chinese athlete Qin HaiyangAfter setting the world record over the double distance in Fukuoka, he finished only tenth in that event and seventh in the 100-metre breaststroke, the other race he won at last year’s World Championships.

Less surprising in terms of times, but notable given the domestic context, is the missed podium finish by the world champion from Fukuoka. Maxime GroussetThe Frenchman, who won the title with a time of 50.14, only managed 50.75 in Paris, finishing in fifth place.

In the women’s competition, the only two swimmers who did not reach the Olympic podium despite their victories in Fukuoka were Mollie O’Callaghan and Meilutyte RouteWhile the Australian won the 200 m freestyle as expected, the swimmer who won gold in the 100 m freestyle in 2023 narrowly missed the Olympic podium, finishing fourth in a discipline that was surprisingly won by Sarah Sjostrom.

The Lithuanian swimmer, who secured the 100-meter breaststroke title in Japan with an impressive time of 1:04.62, also missed the Olympic final, as Qin Haiyangand finished eleventh with a time of over 1:06.

ALL WINNERS AND THEIR SEASON PARTICIPATIONS

ne = not eligible, non-European