Swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, results, news, how to watch, schedule, which Australians are competing?

Lachlan McKirdy

Swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, results, news, how to watch, schedule, which Australians are competing? image

Swimming is far and away Australia's most successful sport at the Summer Olympic Games. 

Of the 501 medals won by Australian athletes in the history of the Olympic Games, 192 have come from swimming. 

That includes 60 gold medals, just over 40 per cent of Australia's total gold medal tally for the Olympic Games.

In Tokyo, Australia will have 35 swimmers competing with many gold medal favourites looking set to add to that tally. 

The biggest name is set to be Ariarne Titmus who prepares to take her rivalry with America's Katie Ladecky to the Olympics for the first time. 

While superstar Kaylee McKeown will also make her Games debut as she looks for double gold in the 100m and 200m backstroke. 

Australia will also have two four-time Olympians in the pool as Cate Campbell and Emily Seebohm make their return. 

Below are all the details you need to know about the Australians swimming at Tokyo 2020. 

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS SWIMMING RESULTS

Day 1 - Saturday, July 24

  • Men's 400m IM  - Australia's Brendon Smith qualifies fastest for the final after winning Heat 4 in a time of 4.09.27. Se-Bom finishes outside the final after coming second in Heat 2. 
    • Incredibly, heavy favourite Japan's Daiya Seto finished in fifth in Heat 4 with a time of 4.10.52. It was the ninth fastest time across the heats meaning he will miss out on the final. 
  • Women's 100m Butterfly -  Australia's Emma McKeon qualified equal fastest for the semifinals after a fantastic swim of 55.82, a new Australian record. She touched the wall at the same time as favourite Yufei Zhang. 
    • Brianna Throssell narrowly made the semifinals, finishing 16th fastest with a time of 58.08. 
  • Men's 400m Freestyle -  Aussies Elijah Winnington and Jack McLoughlin hit the wall at the same time in Heat 5 at 3.45.20. However, it's quite a slow heat so they only qualify equal fourth fastest for Sunday's final.
  • Women's 400m IM -  Emma Weyant the fastest qualifier with a 4.33.55 swim. No other swimmer went sub-4.53.
  • Men's 100m Breaststroke -  Strong swim from Aussies Matt Wilson (1.00.03) and Zac Stubblety-Cook (1.00.05) but they finish outside the semifinals
    • World Record holder Adam Peaty the fastest in the heats with a time of 57.56.  
  • Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay  - Australia qualify fastest with a time of 3.31.73. A great team of Mollie O'Callaghan, Meg Harris, Madi Wilson and Bronte Campbell. 
    • Two of those will likely come out for Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell in the final. 

Day 2 - Sunday, July 25

  • Men's 400m IM final - Australian Brendon Smith had qualified fastest but couldn't repeat the effort in the final, though he still goes home with the bronze medal. Smith posted a time of 4:10.38 to finish third behind US pair Chase Kalisz and Jay Litherland.
  • Women's 100m Butterfly - Emma McKeon is safely into the final with the third fastest time (56.33). Brianna Throssell finished sixth in her semi final but missed out on qualification for the final.
  • Men's 400m Freestyle - Jack McLaughlin looked like he'd done enough to claim gold but a super swim for 18-year-old Tunisian Ahmed Hafnaoui saw him pipped on the wall. McLaughlin had to settle for silver with a swim of 3:43.52. Elijah Winnington led the race in the opening stages but faded to finish seventh.
  • Women's 4x100m Freestyle - The hot favourite Aussies made it a three-peat and did so in emphatic fashion , setting a new world record of 3:29.69. The team of Bronte Campbell, Meg Harris, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell blew away their rivals, beating Canada in second by more than three seconds.
  • Women's 100m Backstroke - Kaylee McKeown qualified fastest for the semi finals in an Olympic record time, Emily Seebohm posted the fifth fastest time.

Day 3 - Monday, July 26

  • Women's 100m Butterfly final - Australia's Emma McKeon has taken out a bronze medal! She swam a PB time of 55.72 to take out third. Incredibly, Canada's Margaret MacNeil finished with the gold after a Commonwealth Record.
  • Men's 200m Freestyle semifinals  - An incredible first semi-final, Tommy Neil finishes in fourth with a time of 1.45.74, just outside his PB. Unfortunately, he's the ninth-fastest qualifier and will miss out on Tuesday's final. 
  • Women's 100m Breaststroke semifinals  - Australia's Chelsea Hodges finishes in 5th in the first semi with a time of 1.06.60. Like Neil, she finishes in ninth by 0.01 seconds and agonisingly misses out on the final.
  • Men's 100m Breaststroke final  - Great Britain's Adam Peaty takes out the final in a dominant swim in a time of 57.37. Just 0.2 seconds off his own World Record.
  • Women's 400m Freestyle final  - Aussie Ariarne Titmus has taken out the 400m freestyle final in a nail-biting finish over Katie Ledecky
  • Men's 100m Backstroke semifinal  - Mitch Larkin finishes second in his semifinal and qualifies third fastest for Tuesday's final. Isaac Cooper just misses out on a place in the final
  • Women's 100m Backstroke semifinal  - Kaylee McKeown and Emily Seebohm finish 2nd and 3rd respectively in their semifinal. They have both made it through to Tuesday's final (3rd and 6th fastest times).
  • Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay   - Australia take out a bronze medal thanks to a fantastic last leg from Kyle Chalmers. America take out the gold, while Italy take silver. 

Day 4 - Tuesday, July 27

  • Women's 200m freestyle semifinals -  Ariarne Titmus wins the first semifinal on the back of a fantastic last 50m with a time of 1:54.82. Katie Ledecky wins the second semi but Titmus grabs the fastest time for the final. Fellow Aussie Madi Wilson sneaks into the final with the eighth-fastest time.
  • Men's 200m freestyle final - Great Britain's Tom Dean takes out the gold medal in a time of 1:44.22. Fellow Brit Duncan Scott takes out silver.
  • Women's 100m Backstroke final -  Kaylee McKeown has taken out the Women's 100m backstroke final in a new Olympic Record time!
  • Men's 100m Backstroke final - Evgeny Rylov won the gold ahead of fellow ROC team member Kliment Kolesnikov, with Ryan Murphy of the USA grabbing the bronze.
  • Women's 100m Breaststroke final - Seventeen year-old Lydia Jacoby pulled off a giant upset to claim gold ahead of Tatjana Schoemaker of South Africa and fellow American and defending champion Lilly King.
  • Men's 200m Butterfly semifinals - Prohibitive favourite Kristof Milak of Hungary won the second semifinal in a blistering time of 1:52.22, almost three seconds clear of his nearest rival. South Africa's Chad le Clos won the other semifinal, qualifying third fastest overall. No Australians competed in either semifinal.
  • Women's 200m IM semifinals - Americans Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass finished first in their respective semifinals, with Walsh qualifying fastest overall and Great Britain's Abbie Wood recording the second-quickest time ahead of Wednesday's final.
  • Men's 100m Freestyle heats - Aussie Kyle Chalmers qualified for the semifinals with the third-fastest time in the heats. Thomas Ceccon logged the quickest time on Tuesday, while USA star Caleb Dressel qualified second fastest.
  • Women's 200m Butterfly heats - China's Yufei Zhang won her heat in the fastest time of 2:07.50, Liyan Yu of China was third-fastest in the heats. American Hali Flickinger will swim in the second semifinal on Wednesday after posting the second-best time in the heats. Brianna Throssell was the only Australian to make the final 16 and will swim from lane 2 in the second semi.
  • Men's 200m Breaststroke heats - Aussie Izaac Stubblety-Cook and Arma Kamminga of The Netherlands qualified for the semifinals equal fastest with the identical times of 2:07.37, prompting fresh questions over the timing system being used in Tokyo. Matthew Wilson was the only other Australian to qualfiy and will swim from lane 2 in the first semi.
  • Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle relay heats - Australian qualified second-fastest with a time of 7:05.00, nearly two seconds slower than Great Britain. Italy finished third while Team USA will swim from lane 2 after qualifying fifth fastest. 
  • Men's 800m Freestyle heats - Aussie Jack McLoughlin qualified for Thursday's final with the sixth-fastest time of 7:46.94. Top qualifier Mykhailo Ramonchuk of Ukraine was over five seconds faster than the Aussie. Germany's Florian Wellbrook and Robert Finke of the USA round out the top three qualifiers.

Day 5 - Wednesday, July 28

  • Men's 100m semifinals - Caleb Dressel (USA) finished as the fastest qualifier in the first semi with a time of 47.23. Aussie Kyle Chalmers finished sixth fastest with a time of 47.80.
  • Women's 200m freestyle final - Ariarne Titmus continued her incredible Olympics, picking up her second gold medal after breaking the Olympic Record with a 1.53.50 in the final. She produced a fantastic final lap to beat out Hong Kong's Haughey. Katie Ledecky finished in fifth and Aussie Madi Wilson finished back in 8th.
  • Men's 200m butterfly final - Kristof Milak took out the gold medal in the Men's 200m butterfly with a time of 1.51.25, a new Olympic Record. 
  • Women's 200m Butterfly semifinal - Yufei Zhang took out the fastest time in the semifinals with a 2.04.89. Aussie Brianna Throssell qualified sixth-fastest for the final with a 2.08.41. 
  • Men's 200m breaststroke semifinal - Aussie Zac Stubblety-Cook finished as the fastest qualifier in the semifinals with a time of 2.07.35. Fellow Aussie Matt Wilson missed out on a place in the final. 
  • Women's 200m Individual Medley final - Japan's Yui Ohashi took out the gold medal, completing the double after winning the 400m IM earlier in the meet. 
  • Women's 1500m freestyle final - Katie Ledecky won her first gold medal of the Games, taking out the inaugural Women's 1500m in an Olympics with a time of 15.37.34. Aussies Kiah Melverton and Maddy Gough finished in 6th and 8th respectively. 
  • Men's 4x200m freestyle relay - Great Britain have taken gold in the 4x200m free in a time of 6.58.58. Australia has claimed the bronze medal in 7.01.84 thanks to a fantastic swim from young Tommy Neil in the anchor leg.
  • Women's 100m freestyle heats - Australia's Emma McKeon put her rivals, including compatriot Cate Campbell, on notice after setting a new Olympic record of 52.13 in Heat 6. Campbell qualified for the semifinals with the fourth fastest time of 52.80.
  • Men's 200m backstroke heats - Tristan Hollard was the lone Australian to qualify for the final 16 and will swim from lane 2 in the first semifinal on Thursday. Luke Greenbank of Great Britain qualified fastest, over a second clear of his nearest rival in a time of 1:54.63.
  • Women's 200m breastroke heats - Jenna Strauch will fly the Aussie flag in the semifinals after qualifying in a time of 2:23.30. Outspoken American Lilly King recorded the fastest qualifying time of 2:22.10, 
  • Men's 200m individual medley heats - Mitch Larkin qualified ninth fastest and will swim from lane 2 in the second semifinal on Thursday. Controversial American Michael Andrew logged the quickest qualifying time of 1:56.40.
  • Women's 4 x 200m freestyle relay heats - Australia qualified for Thursday's final in a time of 7:44.61, three seconds clear of the USA (7:47.57) and China (7:48.98).

Day 6 - Thursday, July 29

  • Men’s 800m Freestyle Final - Jack McLoughlin finished 5th. 
  • Men’s 200m Breaststroke Final - Zac Stubblety-Cook finished 1st and earned a gold medal. 
  • Women’s 100m Freestyle Semifinal 1 - Cate Campbell finished 3rd. 
  • Women’s 100m Freestyle Semifinal 2 - Emma McKeon finished 1st. 
  • Men’s 200m Backstroke Semifinal 1 - Tristan Hollard finished 10th. 
  • Women’s 200m Butterfly Final - Brianna Throssell finished 8th. 
  • Men’s 100m Freestyle Final - Kyle Chalmers finished 2nd. 
  • Women’s 200m Breaststroke Semifinal 2 - Jenna Strauch finished 9th. 
  • Men's 200m Individual Medlay Final - Mitch Larkin finished 10th. 
  • Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay final - Team Australia finished 3rd. 
  • Women’s 800m Freestyle Heat 3 - Ariarne Titmus finished 2nd & Kiah Melverton finished 3rd. 
  • Men’s 100m Butterfly Heat 6 -  Matthew Temple finished 3rd.
  • Men’s 100m Butterfly Heat 8 - David Morgan finished 7th. 
  • Women’s 200m Backstroke Heat 3 - Emily Seebohm finished 2nd. 
  • Women’s 200m Backstroke Heat 4 - Kaylee McKeown finished 1st. 
  • Mixed 4 x 100m Mixed Relay Heat 2 - Team Australia finished 2nd. 

Day 7 - Friday, July 30

  • Men’s 100m Butterfly Semifinal 1 - Matthew Temple finished 4th. 
  • Women’s 100m Freestyle final - Emma McKeon finished first and won the gold medal. Cate Campbell finished in third place and won bronze.
  • Women’s 200m Backstroke semifinal 1 - Emily Seebohm finished 1st. 
  • Women’s 200m Backstroke semifinal 2 - Kaylee McKeown finished 2nd. 
  • Men’s 50m freestyle heat 10 - Cameron McEvoy finished 8th. 
  • Women’s 50m freestyle heat 9 - Cate Campbell finished 2nd. 
  • Women’s 50m freestyle heat 10 - Emma McKeon finished 1st. 
  • Men’s 1500m Freestyle heat 2 - Thomas Neill finished 4th. 
  • Men’s 1500m Freestyle heat 4 - Jack McLoughlin finished 4th. 
  • Women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay heat 1 - Australia finished 1st. 
  • Men’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay heat 1 - Australia finished 3rd. 

Day 8 - Saturday, July 31

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS SWIMMING NEWS

Ariarne Titmus claims silver medal in 800m freestyle behind triple-champion Katie Ledecky

A personal best and Commonwealth record time wasn't quite enough for Ariarne Titmus to trump triple champion and rival Katie Ledecky in the 800m Women's Freestyle final.

Kaylee McKeown snares second Olympic gold in 200m backstroke; Emily Seebohm claims bronze

Kaylee McKeown has completed the backstroke double at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as she won the women's 200m backstroke final - with Australia also getting bronze in the race through Emily Seebohm.

Emma McKeon wins gold medal in 100m freestyle; Cate Campbell earns bronze

Two Aussie stars claimed medals in the 100m freestyle final, with Emma McKeon coming out on top and winning gold

Zac Stubblety-Cook claims gold medal in 200m breastroke

One of the new guns for the Aussies, Zac Stubblety-Cook won a gold medal on Thursday in the 200m breastroke

Titmus claims second gold in 200m freestyle

In a similar performance to her 400m win, Ariarne Titmus has powered home in the final lap of the 200m freestyle to claim her second gold medal.

Kaylee McKeown claims first gold medal in 100m backstroke final

After an incredible final lap, Kaylee McKeown took out the gold medal in the Women's 100m backstroke final. 

She came home strong and set a new Olympic Record to claim gold. 

She also dropped an iconic F-Bomb in one of the all-time great post-swim interviews. 

Ariarne Titmus takes out first gold medal in 400m freestyle

In an incredible finish, Ariarne Titmus has beaten out Katie Ledecky in the 400m showdown on Monday. 

For a full recap of the race, head over here

Behind it was the incredible celebration of her coach Dean Boxhall that went viral around the world. 

Titmus still 'The Hunter' in Ledecky 400m free final

Catch up on our preview of the Ariarne Titmus-Katie Ledecky showdown here

McKeown withdraws from 200m Individual Medley

Aussie Kaylee McKeown has withdrawn from the 200m Individual Medley to focus on her two main events, the 100m and 200m backstroke. 

Australian head coach Rohan Taylor confirmed the news and that McKeown is expected to still be involved in the relays. 

Elijah Winnington preparing for first international swimming meet

For 21-year-old Elijah Winnington, the Tokyo Olympic Games will be like nothing he has ever experienced before, literally. 

Winnington is no stranger to competing at big events, having won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in the 4x200m freestyle relay. 

But this year's Olympic Games will mark a special moment for him. 

Not only will Tokyo be his first Olympic Games, it will be the first time Winnington has competed overseas at a senior international swimming meet in his career. 

Read more here. 

HOW TO WATCH SWIMMING AT THE TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS IN AUSTRALIA?

Swimming, like the rest of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, will be available to watch in Australia through the Seven Network. 

It is expected the majority of the swimming will be broadcast on their main free-to-air network,  Channel 7.

All the swimming, and the rest of the events at Tokyo 2020, will be available to watch on the Seven Network's digital platform,  7plus .

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS SWIMMING SCHEDULE

The swimming competition will begin on day one of the Games, Saturday, July 24

Heats for the swimming will be held in the evening sessions while semifinals and finals will be held the following morning.

Swimming will take place across nine days, with the final events on the morning of Sunday, August 1

The morning sessions will take place from 11.30 am - 1.20 pm AEST (10.30 am-12.20 pm local time).

The evening sessions will take place from 8 pm - 10.45 pm AEST (7 pm - 9.45 pm local time)

The schedule for each day is as follows. 

Day 1 - Saturday, July 24 (all times in AEST)

8.02 pm - Men's 400m IM heats

8.28 pm - Women's 100m Butterfly heats

8.48 pm - Men's 400m Freestyle heats

9.30 pm - Women's 400m IM heats

9.55 pm - Men's 100m Breaststroke heats

10.15 pm - Women's 4x100m Freestyle relay heats

Day 2 - Sunday, July 25

MORNING

11.30 am - Men's 400m IM Final

11.40 am - Women's 100m Butterfly semifinals

11.52 am - Men's 400m Freestyle Final

12.12 pm - Women's 400m IM Final

12.33 pm - Men's 100m Breaststroke semifinals

12.45pm - Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay final

EVENING

8.02 pm - Women's 100m Backstroke heats

8.22 pm - Men's 200m Freestyle heats

8.59 pm - Women's 100m Breaststroke heats

9.19 pm - Men's 100m Backstroke heats

9.39 pm - Women's 400m Freestyle heats

10.10 pm - Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay heats

Day 3 - Monday, July 26

MORNING

11.30 am - Women's 100m Butterfly final

11.37 am - Men's 200m Freestyle semifinals

11.50 am - Women's 100m Breaststroke semifinals

12.12 pm - Men's 100m Breaststroke final

12.20 pm - Women's 400m Freestyle final

12.31 pm - Men's 100m Backstroke semifinals

12.53 pm - Women's 100m Backstroke semifinals

1.05 pm - Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay finals

EVENING

8.02 pm -  Women's 200m Freestyle heats

8.29 pm - Men's 200m Butterfly heats

8.56 pm - Women's 200m IM heats

9.32 pm - Women's 1500m Freestyle heats

Day 4 - Tuesday, July 27

MORNING

11.30 am - Women's 200m Freestyle semifinals

11.43 am - Men's 200m Freestyle final

11.51 am - Women's 100m Backstroke final

11.59 am - Men's 100m Backstroke final

12.17 pm - Women's 100m Breaststroke final

12.35 pm - Men's 200m Butterfly semifinals

12.58 pm - Women's 200m IM semifinals

EVENING

8.02 pm - Men's 100m Freestyle heats

8.28 pm - Women's 200m Butterfly heats

8.50 pm - Men's 200m Breaststroke heats

9.17 pm - Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle relay heats

9.37 pm - Men's 800m Freestyle heats

Day 5 - Wednesday, July 28

MORNING

11.30 am - Men's 100m Freestyle semifinals

11.41 am - Women's 200m Freestyle final

11.49 am - Men's 200m Butterfly final

11.57 am - Women's 200m Butterfly semifinals

12.21 pm - Men's 200m Breaststroke semifinals

12.45 pm - Women's 200m IM final

12.54 pm - Women's 1500m Freestyle final

1.26 pm - Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle relay final

EVENING

8.02 pm - Women's 100m Freestyle heats

8.25 pm - Men's 200m Backstroke heats

8.52 pm - Women's 200m Breaststroke heats

9.15 pm - Men's 200m IM heats

9.34 pm - Women's 4 x 200m Freestyle relay heats

Day 6 - Thursday, July 29

MORNING

11.30 am - Men's 800m Freestyle final

11.44 am - Men's 200m Breaststroke final

11.53 am - Women's 100m Freestyle semifinals

12.04 pm - Men's 200m Backstroke semifinals

12.28 pm - Women's 200m Butterfly final

12.37 pm - Men's 100m Freestyle final

12.54 pm - Women's 200m Breaststroke semifinals

1.08 pm - Men's 200m IM semifinals

1.31 pm - Women's 4 x 200m Freestyle relay final

EVENING

8.02 pm - Women's 800m Freestyle heats

8.50 pm - Men's 100m Butterfly heats

9.09 pm - Women's 200m Backstroke heats

9.28 pm - Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay heats

Day 7 - Friday, July 30

MORNING

11.30 am - Men's 100m Butterfly semifinals

11.41 am - Women's 200m Breaststroke final

11.50 am - Men's 200m Backstroke final

11.59 am - Women's 100m Freestyle final

12.16 pm - Men's 200m IM final

12.35 pm - Women's 200m Backstroke semifinals

EVENING

8.02 pm - Men's 50m Freestyle heats

8.24 pm - Women's 50m Freestyle heats

8.48 pm - Men's 1500m Freestyle heats

10.36 pm - Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay heats

10.50 pm - Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay heats

Day 8 - Saturday, July 31

MORNING

11.30 am - Men's 100m Butterfly final

11.37 am - Women's 200m Backstroke final

11.46 am - Women's 800m Freestyle final

12.11 pm - Men's 50m Freestyle semifinals

12.32 pm - Women's 50m Freestyle semifinals

12.43 pm - Mixed 4 x 100 Medley Relay final

Day 9 - Sunday, August 1

MORNING

11.30 am - Men's 50m Freestyle final

11.37 am - Women's 50m Freestyle final

11.44 am - Men's 1500m Freestyle final

12.15 pm - Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay final

12.36 pm - Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay final

WHICH AUSTRALIAN SWIMMERS ARE COMPETING AT TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS?

Australia has announced a 35 strong group of swimmers to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

The squad was formed on the back of the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide

The squad will feature 18 women and 17 men, 22 of which will be Olympic debutants in Tokyo.

The full entry list for swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games can be found here . (Correct as of 14th July 2021). 

Event Male Female
50m Freestyle Cam McEvoy Emma McKeon
Cate Campbell
100m Freestyle Kyle Chalmers
Cam McEvoy
Emma McKeon 
Cate Campbell
200m Freestyle Elijah Winnington
Tommy Neil
Ariarne Titmus
Madi Wilson
400m Freestyle Elijah Winnington
Jack McLoughlin
Ariarne Titmus
Tamsin Cook
800m Freestyle Jack McLoughlin Ariarne Titmus
Kiah Melverton
1500m Freestyle Jack McLoughlin
Tommy Neil
Maddy Gough
Kiah Melverton
100m Backstroke Mitch Larkin
Isaac Cooper
Kaylee McKeown
Emily Seebohm
200m Backstroke Tristan Hollard Kaylee McKeown
Emily Seebohm
100m Breaststroke Zac Stubblety-Cook
Matt Wilson
Chelsea Hodges
Jess Hansen
200m Breaststroke Zac Stubblety-Cook
Matt Wilson
Jenna Strauch
Abbey Harkin
100m Butterfly Matthew Temple
David Morgan
Emma McKeon
Brianna Throssell
200m Butterfly Matthew Temple
David Morgan
Brianna Throssell
200m Individual Medley Mitch Larkin
Brendon Smith
 
400m Individual Medley Brendon Smith
Se-Bom Lee
 
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay Swimmers Zac Incerti
Alexander Graham
Bronte Campbell
Meg Harris
Mollie O'Callaghan
4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Swimmers Alexander Graham
Mack Horton
Zac Incerti
Meg Harris
Leah Neale
Mollie O'Callaghan

HOW DOES THE MIXED RELAY WORK?

For the first time at the Olympic Games, swimming will feature a mixed relay. 

It's one of a number of sports including Athletics and Triathlon that will have mixed-gender events at Tokyo 2020. 

In the pool, the event will be a 4 x 100m mixed medley relay. 

This means that four swimmers will each swim one, 100m leg of either backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke or freestyle. 

In each team, there has to be two male and two female swimmers. There is no restriction on which swimmers have to swim which leg, that choice is up to the individual team. 

Sixteen teams will compete in the semifinals of the event on July 29 before the final of the event on July 31. 

Australia won the 4 x 100m Mixed medley at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju. 

At that meet, Australia chose a male, male, female, female team. Mitch Larkin swam backstroke, Matthew Wilson swam breaststroke, Emma McKeon swam butterfly and Cate Campbell swam freestyle. 

They defeated the US by 0.02 seconds with Campbell edging out Caleb Dressel in an incredible finish. This event is going to be a must-watch in Tokyo.

WHY ARE THE SWIMMING FINALS IN THE MORNING?

The finals for each of the swimming events will be held in the morning, starting from 11.30 am AEST (10.30 am local time). 

This decision has been made so the finals can be broadcast into the prime time television market in the US. 

NBC is hosting America's coverage of the Olympic Games. 

This means the swimming finals will air from 9.30 pm in New York and 6.30 pm in Los Angeles. 
 

Lachlan McKirdy

Lachlan McKirdy Photo