By Retta Race on SwimSwam
2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
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All eyes were on the center of the pool for tonight’s men’s 400m IM final, with host nation powerhouse Leon Marchand cranking out a new Olympic Record of 4:02.95.
He was head and shoulders ahead of the field, with Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita earning the silver nearly 6 seconds back in 4:08.62 while American Carson Foster clocked 4:08.66 for the bronze.
Unfortunately for British swimming fans, Max Litchfield found himself in 4th place and off the podium, producing a mark of 4:08.85 to fall only .19 away from bronze.
Paris marks the third consecutive Olympic Games where 29-year-old Litchfield finished in 4th place.
A small consolation is the fact that Litchfield’s time checked in as a new British national record.
Litchfield was already Great Britain’s fastest 400m IM performer of all time entering Paris, owning a lifetime best and national standard of 4:09.14 from this year’s Olympic Trials. He and Duncan Scott (4:09.18, 2022) represent the only British men ever to have broken the 4:10 barrier.
Comparing Litchfield’s previous and new record, the Loughborough swimmer was slower on the breaststroke tonight but was able to make up for it with a sub-58 split on the final 100m.
| LITCHFIELD’S NEW 4:08.85 BRITISH RECORD | LITCHFIELD’S PREVIOUS 4:09.14 BRITISH RECORD |
| 56.23 | 56.46 |
| 1:03.79 | 1:03.76 |
| 1:11.73 | 1:10.71 |
| 57.50 | 58.21 |
The men’s 400m IM was Litchfield’s only event for these Games.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Litchfield Nails British 400 IM Record, Finishes In Fourth At Third Consecutive Olympics