Swimming could be Team GB’s most successful sport at this summer’s Olympics.
After a record haul of eight medals in Tokyo, their talented team has a chance of beating that number in the pool and on the Seine in Paris.
In total there will 37 events across 13 days of action in one of the marque Olympic sports.
The racing in the pool will take place at the Paris La Defense Arena – usually a rugby stadium and home of French club Racing 92, but will be converted into a swimming venue for the Games.
The open-water races are still set to, somewhat controversially, take place in the iconic River Seine.
Is Adam Peaty swimming in the Paris Olympics?
Yes, he is.
Adam Peaty heads Team GB’s 33-strong swimming team for Paris as he bids for a historic ‘Three-Peat’ – a third Olympic gold medal in a row.
Peaty, 29, has had a difficult period with injury and mental health issues since winning his second 100m breaststroke gold in Tokyo and has admitted considering quitting the sport.
But he returned to form at the British trials in April, winning the title in the fastest time in the world this year.
China’s Qin Haiyang took on Peaty’s mantle at the top while the Briton took a break but Peaty still holds the world record in the event as he chases gold again.
Which other British swimmers could win medals in Paris?
Britain boast some of the best male freestylers in the world – so much so that Tokyo Olympic champion Tom Dean did not even qualify for the event this time around.
Matt Richards, the world champion in 2023, and Duncan Scott, the Tokyo silver medallist, will be among those challenging for gold.
So strong is Team GB’s depth, they will go into the men’s 4x200m relay event, a title they won in Tokyo, as big favourites.
Don’t discount the 4x100m relay either.
Peaty, Richards and Scott could all combine in the 4x100m medley relay and GB will also be contenders in the equivalent mixed event – where teams are made up of two men and two women and each swim one stroke each.
Scotland’s Scott will also race the men’s 200m individual medley – the race where swimmers complete one length of all four strokes. He won silver in the event in 2021.
Freya Colbert is the women’s 400m medley world champion while Hector Pardoe won bronze in the 10km open water race at this year’s world championships.
Marchand, McIntosh, Ledecky – the international stars to watch at Paris 2024
One of France’s big medal hopes for their home Games is swimming superstar Leon Marchand.
He has become one of the biggest names in the sport since the last Olympics, winning five world titles and breaking American legend Michael Phelps’ 400m medley world record.
The arena is expected to be raucous whenever he is in the pool.
The great Katie Ledecky is back again for her fourth Games. She has won seven Olympic gold medals in her career and two more in Paris would mean she becomes the most successful female swimmer of all time.
One of the breakout stars of this Olympics is likely to be 17-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh. She is already a four-time world champion and 400m medley world record holder.
She could return from her first Games with a glut of medals.
A strong Australian team will be led by Kaylee McKeown, who won seven medals in Tokyo.
When are the big races at Paris 2024?
The swimming events begin on 27 July – the first Saturday of the Games.
The day is split into morning heats and preliminary rounds, starting at 10:00 BST, and a finals session from 19:30.
Peaty is in action straight away. His 100m breaststroke heat is on the opening day with the final taking place the next day.
He will hope to return for the 4x100m medley relay on 4 August.
Great Britain’s defence of their men’s 4x200m freestyle relay title will happen on 30 July, if they make the final.
There could be a huge match-up between Scott and home favourite Marchand on 2 August in the men’s 200m medley.
The swimming programme concludes with the women’s and men’s open water races, on 8 and 9 August respectively.
Is the Seine clean enough for the open water races at Paris 2024?
One of the big talking points going into the Olympics is whether the iconic River Seine, which flows through central Paris, will be clean enough to host the open-water events.
Organisers have spent a reported $1.5bn (£1.2bn) on a system to improve the water quality but testing has found “alarming” levels of E.coli in the water.
As it stands, the plan remains the same – race in the Seine.
Earlier this year French president Emmanuel Macron and mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo said they would take a dip to prove it is fit for purpose.
