Need To Know: Swimming
Fast Facts
Dates: July 28-Aug. 4
Venue: Olympic Park Aquatics Centre (pool), Hyde Park (open water)
Medal events: 34
Athletes: 950
The Basics
Along with track and field, swimming is one of the marquee sports at any Olympics. This was especially the case in 2008, when Michael Phelps (along with track's Usain Bolt) enthralled audiences in Beijing with his drive for a record eight gold medals. Phelps (nor anyone else) is going to match that feat in London, but the competition will remain both fierce and heavily hyped, thanks to an abundance of American medal contenders.
The bulk of Olympic swimming events are held in the pool, at distances ranging from 50 metres (one length) to 1,500 metres (30 lengths). Four different strokes are used: Freestyle (what you might remember from your swimming lessons as the front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Individual medley races require swimmers to use all four strokes, while medley relays divide the strokes between four teammates.
The swimming program concludes with the open-water marathon events for both men and women, both of which span 10 kilometers and take nearly two hours for the best swimmers to complete.
Canadians To Watch
Ryan Cochrane made a name for himself as a 19-year-old in Beijing, where he captured bronze in the 1,500-metre freestyle to become the first Canadian to win an Olympic swimming medal since 2000, and the first in 88 years to win one in the 1,500 free. Since then he's solidified himself as one of the best in the world at that distance, taking silver at the last two world championships. Too bad his other best event, the 800, isn't offered at the Olympics: Cochrane has also reached consecutive world championship podiums at that distance. He'll try the 400 in London, but isn't expected to contend. Standing in Cochrane's way for the 1,500 gold is China's 20-year-old Sun Yang, who broke the decade-old world record en route to winning the world title last year in Shanghai.
Brent Hayden owns a pair of world championship medals in the 100-metre freestyle (gold in 2007, silver last year) and missed out on another by just 0.02 of a second in 2009 despite eschewing the space-age polyurethene suits that were en vogue at the time but are now forbidden. The 28-year-old from Mission, B.C., hopes to rebound from the disappointment of missing the final in Beijing, and will also try to lift the relay team to a surprise medal.
Julia Wilkinson is Canada's most versatile (and maybe most tireless) swimmer. The Stratford, Ont., native made a splash in her Olympic debut by competing in a gruelling six events at the 2008 Games in Beijing, setting a Canadian record in the 100-metre backstroke and helping her relay teams set national marks in three other races. At the 2011 world championships she made the finals of the 50m backstroke and the 200m IM, but she's decided to drop the latter to concentrate on two individual events in London: the 100 freestyle and the 100 back, which she considers her best shot at a medal. She's also expected to swim on the relay team for the 4x100 free. Another reason to cheer for Julia? She's a terrific writer.
International Athletes To Watch
Michael Phelps (United States): Heard of this guy? He won eight gold medals in eight events in Beijing, breaking fellow American Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record for the most victories in a single Olympics. That won't happen again in London, where Phelps, now 27, will be swimming seven events after deciding to drop the 200 free for his fourth and likely final Olympics. The Baltimore Bullet already holds the record of 14 career Olympic gold medals. He needs three more medals (of any colour) to break Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina's mark of 18.
Ryan Lochte (United States): With Phelps in the twilight of his great career, Lochte hopes to steal the spotlight (and the unofficial title of world's top swimmer) from his teammate. Though Lochte is a year older than Phelps, he's aimed to peak for London. After winning three individual medals in Beijing, Lochte became the star of last summer's world championships in Shanghai, winning golds in four events — the 200 back, 200 free, 200 medley, and the torturous 400 medley, which Phelps initially swore off before deciding to try it again in London. Lochte won't win eight gold medals in London, but he has a chance to inherit Phelps's status as the face of the Olympics in his country.
On the women's side, American high schooler Missy Franklin is poised to become the sweetheart of the London Olympics. The 17-year-old from Denver will compete in seven events, so she could rake in a Phelpsian collection of medals. Her best race is the 200 back, in which she holds the U.S. record and the world's fastest time this year.
Canada's Medal Prospects
After a brutal 2004 Olympics, the Canadian swimming program showed signs of life with 10 finals appearances in Beijing, but was still able to produce only one medal (Ryan Cochrane's bronze in the men's 1,500). Swimming Canada has set a goal of three medals for London, but two seems more realistic. Cochrane should nab his second straight in the 1,500, but hopes for multiple medals in the pool rest on Brent Hayden's proving he can step up at the Olympics, and/or a career performance from either Julia Wilkinson (in the 100 back), Sinead Russell (100 and 200 back), Martha McCabe (200 breaststroke) or perhaps one of the relay teams (three of the six reached their final at last year's worlds). For that second medal, don’t sleep on open-water marathon swimmer Richard Weinberger, who won his first international gold at last summer’s Olympic test event in London.