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Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 1500 metre freestyle

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Women's 1500 metre freestyle
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
VenueTokyo Aquatics Centre
Dates26 July 2021 (heats)
28 July 2021 (final)
Competitors33 from 22 nations
Winning time15:37.34
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Katie Ledecky  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Erica Sullivan  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Sarah Köhler  Germany
2024 →

The women's 1500 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held in 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.[1] These Games marked the first time to feature women swimming in the pool longer than 800 metres.

Summary

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U.S. distance legend Katie Ledecky won gold in the inaugural Olympic women's 1500-meter freestyle, only an hour and 13 minutes after competing in the 200 m freestyle. The world-record holder in the event, Ledecky led from the start to finish in 15:37.34, almost two seconds off her Olympic record in the heats. Ledecky's teammate Erica Sullivan was not in contention for a podium finish at the halfway mark but surged over the latter half to overtake the field and claim silver in 15:41.41. The American pair's 1-2 finish represented the nation's first and only quinella in swimming events at these Games. While Germany's Sarah Köhler moved through the field after the first 800 m, she could not hold off the late charge from Sullivan, taking bronze one and a half seconds back in a German record of 15:42.91.

China’s Wang Jianjiahe was in second place through the 400 but was overtaken by Sullivan and Köhler to place fourth. Italy's 2019 World champion Simona Quadarella could not replicate her performance from those Championships, falling to fifth in 15:53.97. Australians Kiah Melverton (16:00.36) and Maddy Gough (16:05.81) as well as ROC's Anastasia Kirpichnikova (16:00.38) rounded out the finalists.

The medals for the competition were presented by the U.S.' David Haggerty, IOC member, and the gifts were presented by the U.S.' Dale Neuburger, FINA Treasurer.

Records

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Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record  Katie Ledecky (USA) 15:20.48 Indianapolis, United States 16 May 2018 [2]
Olympic record Inaugural event

The following records were established during the competition:

Date Event Swimmer Nation Time Record
26 July Heat 5 Katie Ledecky  United States 15:35.35 OR

Qualification

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The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event is 16:32.04. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) can automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time is 17:01.80. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time is eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events is reached. NOCs without a female swimmer qualified in any event can also use their universality place.[3]

Competition format

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The competition consists of two rounds: heats and a final. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the heats advance to the final. Swim-offs are used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.[4]

Schedule

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All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)[1]

Date Time Round
26 July 20:32 Heats
28 July 11:54 Final

Results

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Heats

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The swimmers with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advance to the final.[5]

Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes
1 5 4 Katie Ledecky  United States 15:35.35 Q, OR
2 5 5 Wang Jianjiahe  China 15:41.49 Q, AS
3 4 3 Erica Sullivan  United States 15:46.67 Q
4 4 4 Simona Quadarella  Italy 15:47.34 Q
5 4 6 Anastasiya Kirpichnikova  ROC 15:50.22 Q, NR
6 5 3 Sarah Köhler  Germany 15:52.67 Q
7 4 5 Maddy Gough  Australia 15:56.81 Q
8 5 7 Kiah Melverton  Australia 15:58.96 Q
9 5 2 Ajna Késely  Hungary 15:59.80
10 4 7 Li Bingjie  China 15:59.92
11 4 1 Merve Tuncel  Turkey 16:00.51
12 3 6 Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas  Hungary 16:02.26
13 4 2 Martina Caramignoli  Italy 16:02.43
14 5 8 Kristel Köbrich  Chile 16:09.09
15 5 1 Mireia Belmonte  Spain 16:11.68
16 3 5 Julia Hassler  Liechtenstein 16:12.55 NR
17 3 1 Deniz Ertan  Turkey 16:13.22
18 4 8 Jimena Pérez  Spain 16:15.99
19 2 4 Marlene Kahler  Austria 16:20.05 NR
20 3 3 Viviane Jungblut  Brazil 16:21.29
21 1 4 Katrina Bellio  Canada 16:24.37
22 3 7 Tamila Holub  Portugal 16:25.16
23 3 2 Diana Durães  Portugal 16:29.15
24 2 5 Beatriz Dizotti  Brazil 16:29.37
25 2 6 Helena Rosendahl Bach  Denmark 16:29.56
26 2 3 Eve Thomas  New Zealand 16:29.66
27 3 4 Celine Rieder  Germany 16:32.57
28 2 2 Han Da-kyung  South Korea 16:33.59
29 5 6 Delfina Pignatiello  Argentina 16:33.69
30 3 8 Katja Fain  Slovenia 16:35.92
31 2 7 Hayley McIntosh  New Zealand 16:44.43
32 1 5 Arianna Valloni  San Marino 16:54.64
33 1 3 Sasha Gatt  Malta 16:57.47

Final

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Rank Lane Name Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 Katie Ledecky  United States 15:37.34
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3 Erica Sullivan  United States 15:41.41
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 Sarah Köhler  Germany 15:42.91 NR
4 5 Wang Jianjiahe  China 15:46.37
5 6 Simona Quadarella  Italy 15:53.97
6 8 Kiah Melverton  Australia 16:00.36
7 2 Anastasiya Kirpichnikova  ROC 16:00.38
8 1 Maddy Gough  Australia 16:05.81

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Tokyo 2020: Swimming Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  2. ^ Ross, Andy (16 May 2018). "Katie Ledecky Smashes 1500 Free World Record on First Night of TYR Indianapolis Pro Swim Series". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (pdf). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  4. ^ "FINA Swimming Rulebook, 2017–21" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Heats results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.