The French swimming governing body (Fédération Française de Natation) recently released a data analysis booklet for each event from the Paris Olympics. This data-packed guide lists swimmers’ 25-meter times, time in the water, total strokes, and more in tables, along with detailed information about each finalist. Over the next few days, I’ll be choosing some of my favorite events from the Olympics and analyzing the data of the world’s fastest swimmers.
This gold mine of data is entirely in French and is divided into four sections. wrap (Division), Party Nager (I swam part of the race) Non-Nazi Party (The part of the race where you don’t swim, including the start, underwater, and finish) Movement (Total number of strokes, etc.).
Looking Back
The men’s 100m breaststroke final was one of the first events available to watch on the second day of competition, with Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi touching the wall in 59.03 seconds to win and claim his first Olympic title. Adam Peaty and Nick Fink He finished tied for second place, just 0.02 seconds behind Martinengi. This event had one of the biggest time differences on the podium in Tokyo and Paris, winning in 2021 with a time of 57.37 seconds. The two gold medal times were nearly two seconds apart, sparking debate about the La Défense Arena pool being a “slow pool.” There were few surprises, as all eight finalists placed within the top 12 in this event. Here’s how the athletes performed:
- Nicolo Martinenghi, Italy – 59.03
- Adam Peaty,England/Nick FinkUnited States – 59.05
- .
- Melvin Imoudu, Germany – 59.11
- Lukas Matzerath, Germany – 59.30
- Arno CammingaNetherlands – 59.32
- Qin HaiyangChina – 59.50
- Caspar CorbeauNetherlands – 59.98
wrap (Split)
Up to 50m:
- Qin – 27.03
- Petey – 27.08
- Martinenghi – 27.34
- Imoudu – 27.37
- Fink – 27.45
- Matzerath – 27.56
- Corbeau – 27.91
- Camminga – 27.94
End 50:
- Camminga – 31.38
- Fink – 31.60
- Martinenghi – 31.69
- Matserat/Imoudou – 31.74
- .
- Pete – 31.97
- Corbeau – 32.07
- Qin – 32.47
Nicolo Martinenghi seemed to have the most consistent race in this very close field, posting the third fastest splits in both the first and last 50 seconds to finish first overall. Adam Peaty and Qin Haiyang Both ran very fast through the first 50 but then lost steam on the way back, and while Peaty and Chin claim to be in the top 20 of the fastest times of the event’s history, neither was near their best. Nick FinkHis close-quarters speed propelled him to the podium, but the American was still far from his personal best time. Arno Camminga The fastest and slowest swimmers swapped positions by 50 places.
party (I swam part of the race.)
This section gives the swimmer’s time from 15m to 45m, and then from 65m to 95m, taking into account all times except start, turn and finish. The next ranking is the total time the swimmer spent “swimming”.
- Imoudu – 37.32
- Pete – 37.69
- Matzerath – 37.85
- Martinenghi – 37.91
- Camminga – 38.02
- Qin – 38.10
- Fink – 38.33
- Corbeau – 38.98
These data, especially when combined with the next section, show the true strength of each breaststroker in the pool. Looking at these numbers: Caspar Corbeau and Nick Fink He relies more on underwater attacks and pull-outs than the two German players, Melvin Imoudou and Lukas Matzerath.
Non-Party Naje (Part of the race do not have Suum
This section focuses on the start, turns and finish of the race and includes reaction time, time spent in the water, distance travelled in the water, time to reach the 15m mark, finishing time for 5m, distance from the last stroke to the wall etc. The next ranking is the combined time taken from the start to the wall for 15m, 45-65m and 95m (measured in seconds).
- Fink – 20.72
- Corbeau – 21.00
- Martinenghi – 21.12
- Camminga – 21.30
- Petey – 21.36
- Qin – 21.40
- Matzerath – 21.45
- Imoudu – 21.79
Nick Fink He was the fastest swimmer through the first 15 meters, which is no surprise given how strong he was in the water: he was the only swimmer to start, turn and finish in under 21 seconds, and was certainly the fastest swimmer in the auxiliary portion of the event. Adam Peatyhad the quickest reaction time of 0.62 seconds, but also the slowest finish, with his final stroke coming 1.46 metres from the final wall.Nick Fink The next farthest final stroke was 0.99m.
Qin Haiyang The swimmer who took the longest time was the one who started his breakout from the first pullout and went 16.05 meters underwater. For reference, the swimmer who had the shortest first dive was Lukas Matzerath, who only went 13.10 meters underwater before starting his stroke. He was the second swimmer to reach the 15 meter mark. Nick FinkQin also had the second longest time underwater after the turn among all swimmers. Caspar Corbeau.
Distance spent in the water (in meters, including starts and turns):
- Matzerath – 23.7
- Imoudu – 24.7
- Petey – 25.1
- Fink – 25.6
- Camminga – 26.1
- Martinenghi – 26.7
- Corbeau – 27.2
- Qin – 27.6
Movement (stroke)
In this final section, we model the total strokes each swimmer took during the race, and the following rankings are given from most to least strokes taken.
- Matzerat – 45
- Martinenghi – 44
- Petey – 43
- Qin – 41
- Imoudu/Fink – 40
- .
- Camminga – 37
- Corbeau – 36
Each swimmer added four to six strokes in the second 50 meters. Caspar Corbeau In the 100m breaststroke, Kamminga, who won the 100m breaststroke in particular, reached the finish line in the same number of strokes (20 strokes) that Lucas Matzerath swam in the first 50m, while the two Dutchmen started the race with 16 strokes each, relying more on glide than tempo. Looking at Kamminga and Corbeau further down on this list, their lower stroke rates make sense, given that they are also successful 200m breaststroke swimmers. Corbeau won the bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke at this year’s Olympics, while Kamminga won the silver medal in the 200m in Tokyo. This data point, along with all the others, further shows that there is no formula for winning a race, especially the 100m breaststroke. Each swimmer has their strengths and weaknesses in the event, and many of the best swimmers are those who know how to mitigate their weaknesses. Nicolo Martinenghi was not the fastest in any segment, but he was consistent in all segments of the race to win the title.
For a breakdown of previous data, see the following article:
For more detailed information, please see this booklet.
