Day 3 of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials: Murphy 100 is the world's first, Tang Qianting's opportunity is here!
On June 18, Beijing time, the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials ushered in the third day of competition. One semi-final and five individual finals were held today, and the wonderful performances of the athletes continued to break the world records and best results, injecting new enthusiasm into the swimming world.
In the women's 100m breaststroke, world record holder Lilikin can only be described as decent in this competition, although she has many halos on her head. She won the title with a time of 1:05.43, which is only seventh in the world this year. Despite this, Lilikin is still a strong contender for gold in the women's 100m breaststroke at the Paris Olympics due to her prowess in previous competitions. However, China's Tang Qianting has already set a new world best of 1:04.39 in April this year. Therefore, the ownership of the gold medal in this event at the Paris Olympics will spark fierce competition and attention. Whether China's rising swimming star Tang Qianting can create another glory in Paris is the answer that everyone is waiting for.
Another high-profile athlete is the women's 200m freestyle champion Ledecky. She won the race with a time of 1:55.22, but this time is only 12th in the world rankings this year. Although her results are not dazzling, her strong confidence and rich competition experience still make her impossible to ignore in the future competitions. Australia's Titmus recently set a new world record of 1:52.23, marking her lead in the event. China's Yang Junxuan also swam 1:54.37 in the race as early as April, ranking sixth this year. Judging by these figures, the competition in the women's 200m freestyle will be fierce, and the importance of Ledecky if she wants to win gold at the Paris Olympics cannot be overlooked.
The U.S. team once again showed their strength in the men's 100m backstroke. Ryan Murphy won the crown in 52.22 seconds and is provisionally number one in the world this year. This result not only showed his excellent form, but also added more chips to his gold medal race at the Paris Olympics. Murphy's performance has given him a lot of anticipation for what he will do in the coming games. China's Xu Jiayu is temporarily ranked third in the world this year with a time of 52.39 seconds. Overall, the men's 100m backstroke will be highly tense at the Paris Olympics. It remains to be seen who will have the last laugh with China, Russia, the United States and world record holder Italy.
The men's 200m freestyle final was also worth watching, with Hobson winning the title in 1:44.89 and placing sixth in the world this year. Despite his impressive results, he will need to continue to be consistent in his future competitions if he is to be more competitive at the Paris Olympics. Germany's Martens is currently ranked No. 1 in the world this year with a time of 1:44.14, while China's Pan Zhanle is 23rd with a time of 1:45.68. The men's 200m freestyle is also highly competitive, and competitors will need to work hard in the future to achieve better results.
In the women's 400m medley, Grimes won the championship with a time of 4:35.00 and finished sixth in the world this year. Canada's Mackintosh set a new world record in 4:24.38, making the women's 400m medley event a suspense for the future as well. Grimes has a lot of opponents up her sleeve and she'll need to play as well as ever in the future to stand out from the crowd.
In the final women's 100m backstroke semifinals, Reagan Smith set a new American record of 57.47 seconds and finished second in the world this year. This is second only to Australia's Kelly McKeown in 57.41 seconds, making Smith a serious contender for gold in the event. In the future, Smith will need to constantly surpass himself in order to achieve greater success on the world stage.
Overall, the third day of the competition showed not only the strength of the American athletes, but also the fierce competition in the international swimming world. With the Paris Olympics approaching, athletes from all over the world are constantly adjusting their form and striving to show their style on the Olympic stage. Especially in the men's 100m backstroke, women's 100m breaststroke and women's 200m freestyle, both the American and Chinese athletes have a great chance to compete for the gold medal. We look forward to many more exciting performances in the future!
The crowd is excited about what these athletes will do in the future, who do you think will come out on top at the Paris Olympics? You can share your thoughts and expectations in the comments and cheer for the players you support!