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We saw some very exciting races during the 2024 Paris Olympics with plenty of razor-thin finishes. But just how close were these showdowns?
In terms of the time difference between the winner and 4th place (gold and no medal), we saw four of the closest races of all time.
In terms of absolute difference, the closest race of all time is the women’s 50 freestyle at the 2016 Olympics. Denmark’s Pernille Blume won in 24.07, and 4th-place finisher Francesca Halsall from Great Britain clocked 24.13 – a spread of only 0.06.
However, it is not an apples-to-apples comparison when looking at events with varying distances. For example, a spread of 0.10 in a 1500 freestyle race represents a closer finish than a spread of 0.06 in the 50 free.
What we’ve done here is compare the events using the average difference per 50 meters. For example, if the difference between 1st and 4th in a 200-meter race is 0.20, the average difference by 50 meters is 0.05.
Using this criterion, the Paris 2024 Olympics saw the two closest finishes in Olympic history.
| Year | Event | Winner | Winner’s time | 4th place | Time difference 1st-4th | Average difference by 50 meters |
| 2024 | 200 free, Men | David Popovici (ROU) | 1:44.72 | Duncan Scott (GBR) | 0.15 | 0.0375 |
| 2024 | 100 breast Men | Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA) | 59.03 | Melvin Imoudu (GER) | 0.08 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 400 free, Women | Rebecca Adlington (GBR) | 4:03.22 | Coralie Balmy (FRA) | 0.38 | 0.0475 |
| 2021 | 800 free, Men | Robert Finke (USA) | 7:41.87 | Florian Wellbrock (GER) | 0.81 | 0.0506 |
| 2016 | 50 free, Women | Pernille Blume (DEN) | 24.07 | Fran Halsall (GBR) | 0.06 | 0.06 |
| 2021 | 100 fly Women | Maggie MacNeil (CAN) | 55.59 | Torri Huske (USA) | 0.14 | 0.07 |
| 2008 | 1500 free, Men | Oussama Mellouli (TUN) | 14:40.84 | Yury Prilukov (RUS) | 2.37 | 0.079 |
| 2016 | 200 breast Men | Dmitry Balandin (KAZ) | 2:07.46 | Andrew Willis (GBR) | 0.32 | 0.08 |
| 2021 | 400 free, Men | Ahmed Hafnaoui (TUN) | 3:43.36 | Henning Muhlleitner (GER) | 0.71 | 0.0887 |
| 2024 | 100 free, Women | Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) | 52.16 | Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) | 0.18 | 0.09 |
| 2024 | 400 free, Men | Lukas Märtens (GER) | 3:41.78 | Sam Short (AUS) | 0.86 | 0.1075 |
| 1976 | 200 free, Men | Bruce Furniss (USA) | 1:50.29 | Andrey Krylov (URS) | 0.44 | 0.11 |
| 2004 | 400 free, Women | Laure Manaudou (FRA) | 4:05.34 | Camelia Potec (ROU) | 1.00 | 0.125 |
| 2000 | 50 free, Men | Anthony Ervin (USA) | 21.98 | Lorenzo Vismara (ITA) | 0.13 | 0.13 |
| 1992 | 200 IM, Men | Tamas Darnyi (HUN) | 2:00.76 | Jani Sievinen (FIN) | 0.52 | 0.13 |
| 1984 | 200 free, Women | Mary Wayte (USA) | 1:59.23 | Michele Pearson (AUS) | 0.56 | 0.14 |
| 1988 | 400 free, Men | Uwe Daßler (GDR) | 3:46.95 | Matt Cetlinski (USA) | 1.14 | 0.1425 |
| 2021 | 400 IM, Men | Chase Kalisz (USA) | 4:09.42 | David Verraszto (HUN) | 1.17 | 0.1462 |
| 2004 | 200 free, Women | Camelia Potec (ROU) | 1:58.03 | Paulina Barzycka (POL) | 0.59 | 0.1475 |
| 2004 | 50 free, Men | Gary Hall, Jr. (USA) | 21.93 | Stefan Nystrand (SWE) | 0.15 | 0.15 |
In the men’s 200 freestyle, Romania’s David Popovici won the event in 1:44.72, only 15 one-hundredths clear of 4th-place finisher Duncan Scott from Great Britain. That gives us an average of 0.0375 by 50 meters, the closest ever.
The event also saw the closest finish in the event between 1st and 2nd: Britain’s Matt Richards finished only 0.02 seconds behind Popovici. That’s even closer than in Tokyo at the 2021 Olympics, where Tom Dean won by 0.04 seconds ahead of… Duncan Scott!
The second smallest spread between 1st and 4th also ocurred at the 2024 Olympics. In the men’s 100 breaststroke, only 0.08 separated Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi, who won in 59.03, and Germany’s Melvin Imoudu, 4th place in 59.11. This corresponds to 0.04 seconds each 50 meters.
In fact, only two one-hundredths of a seconds separated the three swimmers who made the podium: Britain’s Adam Peaty and United States’ Nick Fink tied for the silver in 59.05. This is the smallest difference registered in an Olympic podium ever, even considering the absolute difference. The times were slower than we expected — Martinenghi’s winning time would only be enough for the 8th place at the 2021 Olympics. But the event was one of the most exciting in Paris.
Prior to the 2024 Olympics, the closest finish occurred at the 2008 Olympics in the women’s 400 freestyle. Britain’s Rebecca Adlington won the event in 4:03.22, only 0.07 seconds ahead of American silver medalist Katie Hoff (4:03.29), and 0.38 ahead of 4th-place Coralie Balmy from France, an average of 0.0475 by 50 meters.
Two other events from the 2024 Olympics also had very close finishes. In the women’s 100 freestyle, only 0.18 seconds separated winner Sarah Sjostrom from Sweden and 4th place Mollie O’Callaghan from Australia, or 0.09 by 50 meters. In the men’s 400 freestyle, Germany’s Lukas Märtens finished 0.86 seconds faster than 4th place Sam Short from Australia, or 0.1075 by 50 meters.
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