Paris 2024 might not quite be home waters but Max Litchfield intends to make the most of French support in the final of the 400m IM.
Litchfield qualified second fastest for this evening’s final, as he looks to secure an Olympic medal at the third time of asking, having finished fourth in the event in Rio and Tokyo.
In his heat, Litchfield was not far off the British record as he touched home in 4:09.51, beaten only by home favourite and world record holder Léon Marchand.
The Frenchman is expected to be one of the faces of the Games, and the crowd at Paris La Défense Arena went wild as he won his heat from lane four, with Litchfield second next to him in lane three.
They will again line up alongside one another in the final, and Litchfield plans to use the decibels of the French crowd to his advantage.
He said: “There was only one goal this morning, to make that final. I got a good lane for it, next to Léon (Marchand) again. It’s a good place to be.
“The atmosphere is nice, I pretended they were cheering for me. I could hear them during that breaststroke leg. It will be the same tonight if not better. So I’m looking forward to it.”
It was a strong morning for Team GB’s swimmers, with all six in action securing their places in their respective semi-finals and finals.
Matt Richards and Duncan Scott kicked off the action, each progressing to the semi-finals of the 200m freestyle.
Having competed in the final of the 4x100m freestyle the night before, it was a quick turnaround, but after coming home with the sixth best time, Richards was pleased with his display.
He said: “Last night was a late night after the relay so it was about getting in, getting the job done and trying to conserve as much energy as possible. You’ve got to work hard but I’m very happy with that swim.
“I’m really pleased with that and we’ll see what we can do tonight. I’m sure my family will have been a bit nervous at 150 but I was in control, I knew what I was doing.”
A trio of Olympic newcomers also got their first taste of this stage, with Angharad Evans coming through in the 100m breaststroke, while Oliver Morgan and Jonny Marshall did the same in the 100m backstroke – Marshall taking the final spot in the semi-finals by a hundredth of a second.
For Evans, the new British record holder, the hope is that the nerves of a first swim on this stage will serve her in the semis.
She said: “It’s been a mix of emotions. This morning, I was a lot more emotional than I thought I was going to be. Usually, I’m not an emotional person around racing, I’m more focused around what I have to do.
“For tonight, I’m now more prepared for what I’m going to feel. I know what the race line-up looks like, what the call room is going to be so hopefully I’m a lot more prepared than I was this morning.”
Sportsbeat 2024