The third night of swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics delivers the most jam-packed finals session yet, with five sets of medals on the line and many of the races difficult to predict.
Australian superstars are set to square off in the 200m freestyle final when Ariarne Titmus takes on Mollie O'Callaghan in the latest chapter of a tense personal rivalry between the pair.
A pair of American all-time greats in their respective strokes, backstroker Ryan Murphy and breaststroke specialist Lilly King, will both race in their signature events in search of more Olympic hardware.
Canadian teenage sensation Summer McIntosh has a chance to deliver one of the performances of the Games when she sizes up the competition in the women's 400m IM.
Monday's finals session in Paris begins at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT and can be seen live on NBC, NBCOlympics.com, Peacock and more.
Women's 200m freestyle final
A highly-anticipated showdown awaits between two Australian superstars. Defending gold medalist and world record holder Ariarne Titmus will take on countrywoman Mollie O'Callaghan, who had previously set the world record to win the 2023 world championship title.
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
Watch all the action from the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games live on Peacock
Both are coached by fiery Aussie swim coach Dean Boxall, however, the swimmers do not train together and maintain something of a heated personal rivalry. That comes to a head Monday in Paris.
Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey has the best chance to disrupt the Australian 1-2 finish, though it's more likely the former Michigan Wolverine takes bronze.
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MEDAL FAVORITES:
Ariarne Titmus (AUS)
Mollie O'Callaghan (AUS)
Siobhan Haughey (HKG)
THE AMERICANS
Claire Weinstein
Erin Gemmell (DNQ for final)
Men's 100m backstroke final
This event is as wide-open as any the Paris pool has seen yet. Ryan Murphy, the 2016 gold medalist and 2023 world champion, hasn't had his best stuff so far through the first two rounds.
Nor has world record holder Thomas Ceccon, though the Italian did manage to secure himself a middle lane next to Chinese veteran Xu Jiayu, the top qualifier by over a half-second in the semifinals.
France's Yohann Ndoye Brouard is a darkhorse contender for the podium, and will have a vocal home crowd behind him.
MEDAL FAVORITES:
Xu Jiayu (CHN)
Thomas Ceccon (ITA)
Ryan Murphy (USA)
THE AMERICANS
Ryan Murphy
Hunter Armstrong (DNQ for final)
Women's 100m breaststroke final
Another difficult final to predict features three of the six fastest women ever in the event: Lilly King, Tatjana Smith and Tang Qianting.
Tang of China has been the fastest of the three so far this year and is a slight favorite, though Rio 2016 gold medalist King can never be counted out.
In Tokyo, however, Smith (nee Schoenmaker) edged King for the silver medal behind surprise gold medalist Lydia Jacoby. Jacoby did not qualify to defend her gold.
MEDAL FAVORITES:
Tang Qianting (CHN)
Tatjana Smith (RSA)
Lilly King (USA)
THE AMERICANS
Lilly King
Emma Weber (DNQ for final)
Women's 400m IM final
Canada's 17-year-old phenom Summer McIntosh is a heavy favorite to clinch her first Olympic gold medal in this event, two days after winning silver behind Ariarne Timus (and ahead of Katie Ledecky) in Saturday's 400m freestyle final.
McIntosh, the 2022 and 2023 world champion, has owned the world record in the event since April 2023, then further lowered the mark as recently as the Canadian Olympic trials this past May.
The same woman has won both the 200m IM and 400m IM at seven straight Olympics, and McIntosh looks poised to be the next to do so.
Team USA's Katie Grimes also has a very good chance at finding the podium. Grimes, 18, competed as a 15-year-old in Tokyo, where she was the youngest U.S. athlete in any sport. She has a chance to make history in Paris. No woman has even won Olympic medals in both pool swimming and open water swimming. Grimes, who'll swim the 10k open water event Aug. 8, will attempt to become the first.
MEDAL FAVORITES:
Summer McIntosh (CAN)
Katie Grimes (USA)
Jenna Forrester (AUS)
THE AMERICANS:
Katie Grimes
Emma Weyant
Men's 200m freestyle final
Everything points to this being David Popovici's moment. The 19-year-old Romanian set the pace in both the prelims and semifinals. Coming off a heartbreaking fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Games, Popovici will have his sights set on the top step of the podium Monday.
He'll have to navigate several tough challengers, though, including a pair of decorated Brits: Tokyo silver medalist Duncan Scott and 2023 world champion Matthew Richards. Germany's Lukas Martens, who already has a gold medal in these Games in the 400m freestyle, also looms as a threat.
American Luke Hobson, somewhat surprisingly, won the first semifinal Sunday and could spoil someone's podium plans.
MEDAL FAVORITES:
David Popovici (ROU)
Duncan Scott (GBR)
Lukas Martens (GER)
THE AMERICANS
Luke Hobson
Chris Guiliano (DNQ for final)
Semifinals
In the only semifinal of the night, American star and world-record holder Regan Smith will look to position herself well for Tuesday's final in the women's 100m backstroke, where she'll likely take on Australia's Kaylee McKeown.
