Adam Peaty set an early benchmark but home hope Daiya Seto suffered a shock on a busy first day of swimming at Tokyo 2020, one that saw Australian duo Brendon Smith and Emma McKeon shine.
Peaty is aiming to become the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title having taken gold at Rio 2016, while Seto made an inauspicious start to the Games.
Here is a round-up from Saturday's opening heats at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
EASY PEATY! RECORD HOLDER SAFELY THROUGH
Peaty has not been beaten in a 100m breaststroke race since 2014 and is aiming to lower his own record time of 56.88 seconds, which was set at the World Championships two years ago.
The dominant 26-year-old posted a 57.56 in a solid start to his Games, qualifying fastest ahead of Dutch rival Arno Kamminga (57.80).
Peaty produced the eighth fastest time in history, while Kamminga set a Dutch record and is the only other swimmer who has broken 58 seconds in the event.
WOE FOR SETO AS SMITH STARS
These Games were meant to be about redemption for home medal hope Seto, the bronze medallist in a men's 400m individual medley race won by compatriot Kosuke Hagino four years ago.
Seto was the favourite in the race and seeking to atone after being barred last year after his involvement in an extramarital affair. He won world gold in the 400IM two years ago, but he sensationally failed to make it out of the heats at these delayed Olympics.
Seto, who returns to the pool next in the 200m butterfly on Monday, said: "It hurts and I'm frustrated at myself. It's my mistake and I have to owe up to it. What's done is done and not a whole lot I can do about it."
By contrast, it was Smith who qualified fastest, clocking a 4:09.27 to set a new Australian and Oceanic record. New Zealander Lewis Clareburt was second quickest, winning a tight third heat over 2016 silver medallist Chase Kalisz.
Smith's compatriots Elijah Winnington and Jack McLoughlin both made it through the men's 400m freestyle, with Germany's Henning Muhlleitner (3:43.67) fastest, just ahead of Austrian Felix Auboeck (3:43.91).
MCKEON, ZHANG SET THE MARK
There was more Aussie promise in the women's 100m butterfly – a seemingly wide-open event with three competitors having gone under 56 seconds this year.
McKeon – a winner of four medals in Rio, including relay gold in the 4x100m – and China's Zhang Yufei were two of those to achieve the feat and both recorded a 55.82 to top the timesheets in the heats, the former setting an Australian record for good measure.
Sarah Sjostrom, who holds the world record, was not even certain to race in this event after fracturing her elbow earlier this year, but posted an impressive 56.18 to go third quickest. The Swede was ahead of American Torri Huske (56.29), the third woman who has gone under 56 seconds this year.
Australia were also dominant in the women's 4x100m freestyle, their time of 3:31.73 almost two seconds better than the Netherlands.
Teenager Emma Weyant bettered her personal best with a 4:33.55 to comfortably post the best time in the women's 400 individual medley prelims. The 19-year-old - a winner at the U.S. Olympic trials - was almost two seconds quicker than Great Britain's Aimee Willmott (4:35.28).
T&T's Blackman go in search of 100m freestyle medal after copping 50m free gold at World Junior Swim Champs
Trinidad and Tobago’s young sensation Nikoli Blackman continues to show marked improvements as he copped the 50 metres freestyle title in breathtaking fashion at the World Junior Swimming championships Wingate Institute in Netanya, Israel on Thursday.
Blackman, who earlier clocked a brisk personal best 22.33 seconds in the semi-finals, later underlined his class as one of the world's top young freestylers, as he won the final in 22.35s. He bettered a quality field with Australia’s Flynn Southam (22.43s) and Lorenzo Ballarati (22.47s) of Italy, taking silver and bronze respectively.
The home country was denied its first medal of the championships, as homeboy, Mikhail Povaliaev was fourth in 22.66s, while Javier Nunez of the Dominican Republic, still just a high school junior, was sixth in 22.73s.
Blackman’s performance follows the three gold medals won at last month’s Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago and surpassed those from last year’s edition of the World Junior Championships.
At World Juniors last September, Blackman was a finalist in the 50m freestyle and a semi-finalist in the 100m freestyle. He finished sixth in prelims of the 50m with 22.97s, then went 22.83s in both the semis and the final.
The University of Tennessee swimmer, who missed out on a medal in the 200m freestyle when he finished fifth in the heat in 1:50.36, is scheduled to contest the 100m freestyle on Friday
Olympic champion Adam Peaty ‘sustains facial injury in scuffle with team-mate’
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty sustained a facial injury in a scuffle with fellow Team GB athlete Luke Greenbank, the PA news agency understands.
Peaty, 28, got involved in a fracas with Greenbank at the British Swimming training centre in Loughborough last Friday. The incident is understood to have occurred following a comment Peaty made to Greenbank.
Peaty, who holds the world record for the 50 metres and 100m breaststroke, did not require any stitches for the injury he suffered, with sources close to the matter describing it as “something and nothing”.
British Swimming issued a statement which read: “An incident occurred at a recent training session that was quickly and effectively resolved by the athletes involved and the staff present at the session.”
Peaty and Greenbank are understood to have shaken hands after the incident occurred.
Peaty withdrew from the British Championships in April citing mental health issues and later admitted he had been on a “self-destructive spiral”.
He told BBC Breakfast in May that he remained hopeful of competing at next year’s Paris Olympics, but that competing and succeeding in France would not solve his issues.
“A good friend of mine said a gold medal is the coldest thing you will ever wear. It’s the coldest thing because you think it will fix all of your problems. It will not,” he said.
Life after swimming: Ja's Olympian Keanan Dols turns to coaching after injury forces early retirement
Jamaica's Olympian Keanan Dols made the difficult decision to retire from competitive swimming due to a chronic knee injury. But Dols is not leaving without hope, as he is taking the lessons learnt in the pool over the years and applying them to the next chapter of her life.
At 25 years old, Dols –who was born in Savanna-la-mar before moving overseas where he grew up in Sarasota, Florida –would have loved to parade his skills at another Olympic Games for the Caribbean Island, but opted not to go against his bodies will.
As such, he swapped his swim trunks for the coaching cap, joining the staff at Villanova University, where he will assist in shaping what he hopes will be the next generation of top-class swimmers.
"Coaching has been the plan for a few years now. Initially I was planning to start coaching after Paris (Olympic Games), but I’ve dealt with some chronic knee issues over the past few years, as well as some hip issues this past season so I made the decision to retire after the college season and begin my move into coaching," Dols told SportsMax.tv from his base in the United States.
"I learnt a lot during my time as an athlete and those experiences have definitely eased the transition as I can draw on that knowledge of the sport and rely on the people who have helped me along the way. I spent some time as a volunteer assistant with the University of Kentucky and Stanford university which were invaluable experiences that aided my decision," he added.
During his career which started in 2015, Dols represented Jamaica at numerous regional and international events, where he won several medals and established a number of national records. however, the biggest highlight of his career was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where he swam the 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley (IM), respectively.
He last sported the national colours at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England and subsequently transferred from Pennsylvania to University of Kentucky to finish off a career which he now reflects on with a great sense of pride.
"I’m definitely very proud of my career. There were ups and downs, but every experience was great as they came with lessons and also served as motivation along the way, so I’m very proud of everything I’ve accomplished. If I could change anything though, it would probably be taking a bit better care of my injuries as they came along," Dols noted.
Still, getting to the high point of his career was by no means easy and required unwavering self-motivation, so while reflecting on his journey, Dols also had some encouraging words.
"When working to achieve your dreams, it is important not to limit yourself. Set your goals as high as possible and even after you achieve them, you have to keep setting the bar higher, always strive to raise the standard of your previous performance," he reasoned.
That said, Dols, who has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in supply chain management, is eager to serve as a great young mentor to Villanova's athletes both in and out of the pool, as his attention to detail is expected to be a great asset to the school's programme.
"I’m extremely excited to be joining the staff at Villanova. It’s a great opportunity to learn and grow as a coach and I’m excited to get to coach a great group of young athletes, who are people first and athletes second," he said.
"I’m very much looking forward to this season and I feel that I bring some high-level international experience and good perspective on elite level training to make a difference," Dols ended.
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