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Olympic Swimming 2024: Where to Watch, Full Schedule
Follow swimming events – from freestyle and butterfly to backstroke and more – with our helpful viewing guide
Swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics is guaranteed to thrill, considering there's so much on deck. That includes world-class athletes, potential for record-breaking performances, and dramatic finishes.
You’re going to want to catch that exciting action. To help you keep track of swimming events – from freestyle and butterfly to backstroke and medley and more – we’ve put together a helpful viewing guide so you’ll know exactly when to tune in to see your favorite events live.
So come on in, the water’s fine – and that goes double for coverage of swimming at the Olympics on NBC.
RELATED: Where To Watch 2024 Paris Olympics: Complete Schedule
Key athletes to watch
In all, 46 American pool swimmers -- 26 men and 20 women -- qualified for the 2024 Paris Games during the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis.
None are more accomplished than Katie Ledecky, who will be competing in he fourth Olympics. Her Olympics journey began in London 2012, where she won the 800-meter freestyle when she was 15. She's now a seven-time Olympic gold medalist and owns two world records – the women's 800m freestyle and women's 1500m freestyle. In the swim trials in Indianapolis in June, Ledecky won four freestyle events and “just enjoyed the moment,” she told NBC News. Look for Ledecky in Paris in the 400m, 800m, 1500m, and the 4x200m relay races.
Joining Ledecky is Katie Grimes. Growing up in Las Vegas, Grimes was always at home in the water. At age 15, she was the youngest Olympian on Team USA in Tokyo 2020, where she placed fourth in the 800m freestyle. Grimes won silver medals at the 2022 World Aquatic Championships in the 1500m freestyle and 400m individual medley. Watch for Grimes in those events in Paris, plus a 10-kilometer open-water swim.
At the 2024 U.S. Olympic swim trials, Gretchen Walsh, a 21-year-old Nashville native, set a new world record in the 100m butterfly and secured her ticket to Paris. Walsh, who didn’t make the cut for Tokyo 2020, credited her turnaround to the fact that she “reached out for help” in the wake of disappointment. Watch for Walsh in the 50m freestyle, 100m butterfly, and 4x100m freestyle relay.
A three-time Olympic medalist – two silver, one bronze from Tokyo 2020, Regan Smith, 22, broke the 100-meter backstroke world record at the 2024 U.S. Olympic swim trials. Was that according to her plan? “Yes, it was,” she told Olympics.com. She also won her 200m backstroke and 200m butterfly races. Hello, Paris! Look for Smith in those three events.
At the 2024 U.S. Olympic swim trials, the University of Notre Dame’s Chris Guiliano made a splash – and then some. He outswam the formidable Caeleb Dressel to win the 100-meter freestyle and qualified for four more freestyle races. Guiliano will make his Olympic debut in France, where you can look for him in the 50m, 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and the 4x200m relay. How do you say “Wow, very impressive!” in French?
Speaking of Dressel, the Florida native and three-time Olympian has seven Olympic gold medals to his name, including an astonishing five at the 2020 Tokyo Games alone, including the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and 100m butterfly.
A junior at Texas, where he’s studying advertising, Luke Hobson’s major focus right now is the 2024 Summer Games. At the swim trials in Indianapolis, the Reno, NV native won the 200-meter freestyle race. Watch for him in that event as well as the 4x200m freestyle relay.
How to watch
Every day during the Summer Olympics, NBC will offer fans at least nine hours of daytime coverage of the Games’ most exciting events, including live finals coverage of swimming, gymnastics, track and field, and more. Considering the time difference (Paris is six hours ahead of the U.S.’s eastern time zone, fans will be able to watch the day’s most popular events live on NBC in the morning and afternoon. NBC will also deliver an enhanced Olympics primetime show each night, providing three hours of must-see entertainment.
In addition, every event from the Summer Olympics will be broadcast live on Peacock, which will be home to an innovative Olympics hub that will include "curated rails of live and upcoming events, dedicated in-depth hubs for nearly 40 sports, medal standings and an interactive schedule."
Complete schedule for Olympic swimming events
Saturday, July 27
5:00 a.m. ET: Heats: M&W 400m Free, M&W 4x100m Free & more
2:30 p.m. ET: Finals M&W 400m Free, M&W 4x100m Free
Sunday, July 28
5:00 a.m. ET: Heats: M 400m IM, W 100m Breast, & more
2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: M 400 IM, W 100m Fly, M 100m Breast
Monday, July 29
5:00 a.m. ET: Heats: W 400m IM, W 100m Back, M 800m Free
2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: W 400m IM, M 100m Back & more
Tuesday, July 30
5:00 a.m. ET: Heats: M&W 100m Free, W 1500m Free & more
2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: W 100m Back, M800m Free & more
Wednesday, July 31
5:00 a.m. ET: Heats: W 200m Breast, M 200m Back, W 200m Fly
2:30 p.m. ET: Finals W 1500m Free, M&W 100m Free & more
Thursday, August 1
5:00 a.m. ET: Heats: M 50m Free, W 200m Back & more
2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: W 200m Fly, M 200m Back & more
Friday, August 2
5:00 a.m. ET: Heats: M 100m Fly, W 800m Free & more
2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: M 50m Free, W 200m Back, M 200m IM
Saturday, August 3
5:00 a.m. ET: Heats: M&W 4x100m Medley, W 50m Free & more
2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: M 100m Fly, W 800m Free & more
Sunday, August 4
12:30 p.m. ET: Finals: W 50m Free, M&W 4x100m Medley & more
Thursday, August 8
1:30 a.m. ET: Women’s 10km Open Water
Friday, August 9
1:30 a.m. ET: Men’s 10km Open Water
