An Appreciation of the Resilience and Longevity of British Stalwart and Relay Stud James Man
A Timeline and Appreciation of James Man’s Consistency
James Man, now 29, has been a participant at the world degree for the easier a part of the decade. The 3-time British Olympian broke out in 2015 with 3 Global Championships medals, together with a global identify within the 200-meter freestyle. His victory in what would grow to be his signature match used to be a vital one, because it dethroned Solar Yang, a person who on the time appeared untouchable. Man’s 1:45.14 successful time would stand as his non-public highest for almost a decade, and the Brit would additionally win silver within the 400 freestyle, ahead of anchoring Nice Britain to gold within the 800 freestyle relay. His 1:44.74 break up at the relay used to be the quickest of the sector.
2016 Rio Olympics
In Rio, after sneaking into the 200 freestyle ultimate because the 8th seed, Man completed fourth, simply two tenths out of bronze. Mixed with a 14th-place end within the 100 butterfly and sixth-place effort within the 400 loose, Man obviously packaged a robust person meet. The place the Bathtub swimmer shined, on the other hand, used to be on relays.
Man’s 1:44.85 anchor break up at the 800 loose relay moved Nice Britain from 3rd into silver medal place and a brand new nationwide document. His 51.35 100 butterfly break up at the 400 medley relay helped earn Crew GB their moment relay medal of the meet. This haul represented an enormous growth over the London Olympics, which noticed Nice Britain fail to medal throughout all relays.
2017 Global Championships
2017 used to be a yr of ups and downs for the reigning 200 freestyle global champion. After coming into the Worlds ultimate in Budapest as the second one seed, Man neglected out on a medal by means of simply over a 10th. China’s Solar Yang ran away with the win in a 1:44.39, just below a moment forward of the fifth-place Man.
Picture Courtesy: SIPA USA
While the Brit did not medal in his signature even, he excelled within the 100 butterfly, tying for 3rd with Singapore’s Joseph Training, the 2016 Olympic champion. Nice Britain additionally sponsored up its Olympic silver within the 800 freestyle relay with a global identify. This time, Man anchored the crew with an otherworldly break up of one:43.80, one of the vital quickest in historical past.
As soon as once more proving his relay consistency, Man threw down a 50.80 fly break up at the 400 medley relay, an growth of greater than a moment from a yr prior in Rio.
2018 Commonwealth & Eu Championships
Man persisted his stellar occupation in 2018. His relay performances persisted to be the spotlight of his time at the Nationwide Crew, as he helped Crew GB to a few relay golds at Eu Championships. His efforts additionally helped deliver the crew to a few silvers on the Commonwealth Video games. Just about anytime Man used to be part of a relay, he might be counted on for a a very powerful break up.
In my view, his versatility persisted to be a treasured asset to his medal haul. At Euros, Man swam to bronze within the 100 butterfly, and completed fourth within the 200 freestyle. The Gold Coast Commonwealth Video games noticed him declare silver within the 100 butterfly and bronze within the 400 freestyle. His 400 freestyle medal used to be his first within the match in 3 years.
2019 Global Championships
It was the entire extra obvious in Gwangju that Man used to be a stalwart relay performer. In my view, he neglected the general of the 200 freestyle and completed 7th within the 100 butterfly. Crew GB additionally completed 5th in its signature 800 freestyle relay, a unprecedented pass over.
Man’s lone gold of the meet got here at the ultimate day, within the 400 medley relay, the place Man submit any other forged break up at the fly leg of fifty.81. His teammate Duncan Scott surprised the sector with a 46.14 freestyle leg, on the time the second-fastest break up in historical past.
Tokyo Olympics
In a shocking transfer, Man withdrew from the 100 butterfly at the 5th evening of Olympic pageant in Tokyo. Undoubtedly anticipated to be an element, Man centered his consideration on his relay obligations. Beneath are Man’s relay splits from all 8 nights of Olympic pageant, with finals splits in daring.
800 Freestyle Relay (Gold)
1:44.66 going moment, quickest break up of the sector
1:44.40 going moment, moment quickest at the back of simplest his teammate Duncan Scott
400 Combined Medley Relay (Gold, swimming butterfly)
50.58, quickest male break up
50.00, quickest male break up
400 Males’s Medley Relay (Silver, swimming butterfly)
50.77, quickest break up of the sector
50.27, moment quickest at the back of simplest Caeleb Dressel
When the mud settled, Man yielded a shot at a person medal to deliver house 3 relay medals and two golds for Nice Britain. Swimming six instances, he by no means faltered and proved to be the relay hero Nice Britain wanted.
Upload in six medals from the Eu Championships the similar yr, and Man merely enhanced his resume. The shortened 3 yr run to the Paris Olympics noticed Man select up further relay medals, together with a 2023 Global Championships gold with the similar Tokyo squad within the 800 freestyle relay.
Paris Olympics
On the 2023 Brief Path Euros in Otopeni, Man gained silver within the 200 freestyle. An indication of items to return, this effort represented his first person 200 freestyle medal in seven years.
Tom Dean, Matthew Richards, James Man and Duncan Scott of Nice Britain have a good time after successful the gold medal within the swimming 4x200m Freestyle Males Ultimate right through the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games at Los angeles Protection Area in Paris (France), July 30, 2024.
Within the months main as much as the Paris Olympics, Man used to be firing on all cylinders. On the British Olympic Trials, he locked up his spot on a 3rd Olympic crew, completing fourth within the 200 freestyle ultimate. His 1:45.28 showed he used to be experiencing a occupation resurgence, because it used to be his quickest swim since 2017.
In my view in Paris, Man completed twenty third within the 100 butterfly, over a part moment out of semifinals. However the whole thing got here in combination within the prelims of the 800 freestyle relay. Man swam leadoff, and slammed a 1:45.04 marker. For the primary time in 9 years, he unlocked a brand new non-public highest in his signature match. His finals leadoff of one:45.09, which helped Nice Britain to a repeat identify, is his moment quickest swim ever.
Man’s performances enhanced an implausible tale for the British males. The 4 males that swam to gold in Paris have been the similar 4 who earned gold 3 years prior in Tokyo.
Now 29, a decade older than his 2015 global identify, Man is taking a look ahead to the 2028 Olympics, looking for a fourth Olympic Crew. In Man, his teammates and his nation have discovered a pacesetter, and a beacon of consistency.
