Paris Olympics 2024: Day five swimming women’s finals wrap as Mollie O’Callaghan falls just shy of 100m bronze
Mollie O’Callaghan has admitted she struggled with the weight of expectation after being edged out of the podium places by the barest of margins in the women’s 100m freestyle final.
Swedish veteran Sarah Sjoestroem wound back the clock with an upset victory. Ahead of her 31st birthday this month, the woman who set the world record for the event seven years ago stormed home to hold out USA’s Torri Huske and Hong Kong star Siobhan Haughey.
O’Callaghan - who was the favourite entering the race - finished just 0.01 seconds behind Haughey to miss out on bronze by the smallest possible margin.
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“I’m very disappointed - I’m not going to lie,” O’Callaghan said on Nine.
“It was hard coming off that 200. I haven’t really had any sleep.
“So I’m pretty proud of myself to come and back it up... not many people get to do that.
“I was just really nervous and I felt like there was a lot of expectations on this one, especially on me to try and back up and be like Emma.”
20-year-old O’Callaghan can still add to her two Paris gold medals - achieved in the 200m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relay - with her likely roles in the 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay.
Fellow Aussie Shayna Jack was unable to cap her redemption story with a fairytale win, finishing fifth, but said it was “surreal” to have reached the final following her two-year suspension for a doping violation.
“It just meant so much to me. I didn’t know that I would be here or get to this point, so to be in that final with such amazing women was really special,” she said.
Elsewhere on the women’s swimming schedule, legendary American Katie Ledecky romped to victory in the 1500m freestyle final for her seventh individual gold and 12th Olympic medal.
Open-water swimmer Moesha Johnson finished sixth.
Australian duo Elizabeth Dekkers and Abbey Connor both qualified for the final of the women’s 200m butterfly event after encouraging semifinal swims.
