Paris 2024 Olympics: Top five female swimming debutants
From Freya Colbert to Wan Letian here are the top five female swimmers who have shown promise and have the potential to make a significant impact at the Paris 2024 Olympics, marking their debut on the world’s biggest stage.
Freya Colbert (Great Britain)
Gold Medallist, Freya Constance Colbert of Great Britain poses with her medal after the women’s 400m individual medley final at the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
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Gold Medallist, Freya Constance Colbert of Great Britain poses with her medal after the women’s 400m individual medley final at the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
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At the age of 18, Freya Colbert shone at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships in Rome, where the British swimmer won gold in the 4×200m mixed freestyle event, silver in the 4×200m freestyle event, and, notably, bronze in the women’s individual 400m medley event.
Another remarkable achievement of Colbert’s came at the 2022 Commonwealth Games as she helped secure bronze in the women’s 4×200m freestyle event in Birmingham.
Colbert is also the British national champion in the women’s 400m medley category and catapulted into the spotlight with her success at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha.
At 19, she clinched gold in the women’s 400m medley event and contributed to the British women’s team winning a silver medal in the 4×200m freestyle relay.
Her golden triumph in the 400m medley event secured her a spot in the same event at the Paris Olympics in 2024. She clocked 4:37.14 in Doha, surpassing the Olympic qualifying time of 4:38.53.
Angelina Kohler (Germany)
Angelina Kohler, in her fourth appearance at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, the German won gold in the 100m butterfly event.
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Angelina Kohler, in her fourth appearance at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, the German won gold in the 100m butterfly event.
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Angelina Kohler featured at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. She won a silver medal in the women’s 100m butterfly event and a bronze medal in the women’s 50m butterfly category. Furthermore, Kohler won gold at the 2019 FINA Swimming World Cup in the 100m butterfly event.
However, Kohler’s breakthrough came recently in Doha, Qatar. In her fourth appearance at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, the German won gold in the 100m butterfly event. The 23-year-old took 56.28 seconds, while the Olympic qualifying time was 57.92. With her success in Doha, Kohler became Germany’s first female world champion in 15 years.
Kohler is set to represent Germany at the Olympics for the first time as she will take the pool in the women’s 100m butterfly event in Paris.
Dominika Sztandera (Poland)
Poland’s Dominika Sztandera reacts after winning women’s 50m breaststroke at the European Aquatics Championships.
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Poland’s Dominika Sztandera reacts after winning women’s 50m breaststroke at the European Aquatics Championships.
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Dominika Sztandera is a Polish women’s breaststroke specialist swimmer. Her major achievement came during the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2023 in Germany, where she won two bronze medals, each in the women’s 50m and 100m breaststroke events.
The Polish national champion competed at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, but couldn’t fetch a medal. However, at the Polish National Championships in April 2024, Sztandera won three golds and a silver. She emerged as Poland’s best swimmer in the women’s 100m breaststroke category.
The 27-year-old competed at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics held in Nanjing and also bears the experience of taking the pool at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. Sztandera will represent Poland at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the women’s 100m breaststroke event.
Wan Letian (China)
Wan Letian of China celebrates women’s 100m backstroke victory at the 19th Asian Games.
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Wan Letian of China celebrates women’s 100m backstroke victory at the 19th Asian Games.
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Wan Letian is a Chinese national champion specializing in backstroke and medley relay events in swimming. She has the experience of competing at the 2022 and 2023 Worlds and the short course World Championship in 2021 and 2022. At the 2022 FINA World Championships, Letian finished fourth in the 100m backstroke event, missing out on the third spot by 1.1 seconds.
However, Letian’s best was her two medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games. She clinched a gold in the women’s 100m backstroke event and a silver in the 50m backstroke category. The Chinese improved and clocked 59.02 seconds for the same distance at the 2024 Chinese Nationals. This confirmed her place at her maiden Olympic Games appearance.
The 19-year-old will represent China at the Paris Olympics 2024 in the women’s 100m backstroke event.
Letitia Sim (Singapore)
En Yi Letitia Sim in action.
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En Yi Letitia Sim in action.
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En Yi Letitia Sim is a Singaporean national swimming champion who competes in breaststroke, medley, and medley relay events.
Sim’s best performance was on display at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2023 in Germany, as she won a silver medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke and a bronze medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke events.
In the same year, Sim won a medal in every event she competed in at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games 2023 in Cambodia. She won four golds and a silver medal at the tournament.
Furthermore, at the Japan Open (50 m) in 2023, Sim took 1:06.36 minutes to win a silver medal in the women’s 100 m breaststroke event. However, with this performance, Sim qualified to compete in the same category at the Paris Olympics.