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2012 Olympic champion Allison Schmitt misses out on 200m freestyle final in Tokyo

Posted at 7:44 PM, Jul 26, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-26 23:14:21-04

Four-time Olympian Allison Schmitt will not contend for a medal individually in Tokyo after finishing 10th in the 200-meter freestyle semifinals. 

Schmitt, the 2012 Olympic champion in the event at 1:53.61, went 1:56.87 on Tuesday. It took 1:56.58 to advance to the final. At U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in June, Schmitt finished second to Katie Ledecky in the event, going 1:56.79 

Australia's Ariarne Titmus is the top qualifier for the final, going 1:54.82, followed by Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey with a 1:55.16 and Ledecky with a 1:55.34.

SEE MORE: Trials: Katie Ledecky wins 200 free, qualifies for 2nd event

Schmitt, a Team USA captain in Tokyo, has no other individual events at these Games, but will compete on the women's 4x200m freestyle relay. She already won a bronze, her ninth Olympic medal, as a prelims swimmer for the women's 4x100m freestyle relay.

In her first Olympics in 2008, Schmitt won a bronze medal leading off the women's 4x200 free relay. In addition to her individual gold medal in London, she won golds on both the 4x100 and 4x200 free relays, and also took silver behind a young Ledecky in the 400 free. In Rio, where she was also named a team captain, Schmitt earned a gold medal in the 4x200 free relay and a silver as a prelims swimmer for the 4x100 free relay. 

A close friend of Michael Phelps, Schmitt has been open about her struggle with mental health since the 2012 Games. After Rio, she took a hiatus from swimming but never left the USADA drug-testing pool, indicating she wasn't yet done with the sport as her friend Phelps was. In April 2018, she made her comeback at the Pro Swim Series in Mesa, Arizona.