Maggie MacNeil misses the podium in 100-meter butterfly heartbreaker

After winning gold in the event in Tokyo, the former LSU swimmer failed to medal in the women’s 100-meter fly.

[autotag]Maggie MacNeil[/autotag] had the chance to defend her gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 100-meter butterfly, but the former LSU swimmer missed the podium after coming up short of a bronze medal on Sunday.

MacNeil ultimately finished fifth in the event with a time of 56.44, just 0.02 seconds behind fourth-place finisher Angelina Koehler from Germany. Americans Tori Huske (gold) and Gretchen Walsh (silver) and Chinese swimmer Yufei Zhang (bronze) rounded out the podium.

It’s a disappointing result for MacNeil, who was seen as being in a strong position to medal once again in the 100-meter fly. She ultimately finished 0.23 seconds shy of the podium.

Stay tuned to LSU Wire for all the latest on former Tigers stars competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Former LSU swimmer Maggie MacNeil qualifies for Olympic final, seeks to defend gold medal Sunday

You can watch Maggie MacNeil defend her gold medal at 1:40 p.m. CT on NBC.

Former LSU swimmer [autotag]Maggie MacNeil[/autotag] won the gold medal for Canada in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and she will have the chance to defend that medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday.

MacNeil finished with a time of 57.00 in the preliminary event but qualified for the final with a 56.55 time in the semifinal. She will go for the gold medal at 1:40 p.m. CT, and you can watch live on NBC or stream it on Peacock.

Former LSU swimmer Pavel Alovatki and current swimmer Jovan Lekic both competed in the 400-meter freestyle but failed to qualify for the final.

MacNeil began her career at Michigan but transferred to LSU for her final year, leading the Tigers to an SEC championship while winning multiple individual SEC titles and a national title.

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LSU swimmer Maggie MacNeil sets record with 50-back split at SEC Championships

The LSU women’s swim team leads the way at SECs after Day 1.

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release from LSU’s athletic department.

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Tx. – LSU swimmer Maggie MacNeil continued her dominance in the NCAA season by adding the fastest 50-yard back split to her resume Tuesday on day one of the 2023 SEC Championships inside the Rec Center Natatorium.

LSU diver Chiara Pellacani finished the three-meter springboard finals in third place, earning a bronze medal – the first medal for the Tigers at the SEC meet. Pellacani closed the final session with a score of 341.85. In the prelim session, she finished in the top eight alongside Helle Tuxen and Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant.

Tuxen and Gutierrez Lavenant closed the finals with respective scores of 294.05 and 276.10.

After one day, the LSU women lead the way in first place with 178 points. Following behind in second and third going into day two are Florida (150) and Kentucky (149).

To begin the prelim session, the diving team competed in prelims for the men’s one-meter and women’s three-meter. On the men’s side, Adrian Abadia and Zayne Danielewicz finished in 15th and 17th place, respectively, which earned the Tigers its initial points of the meet. On three-meter, Maggie Buckley claimed 17th place and Hayley Montague placed 34th.

In the 200-yard medley, LSU claimed eighth, which was led off by MacNeil’s record-breaking performance. In addition to her individual record, the school record fell too. Held since 2009, the relay team of MacNeil, Hannah Womer, Hannah Bellina and Michaela de Villiers broke the longstanding record with a time of 1:36.59.

For the 800-yard freestyle relay, the LSU women placed fourth with a time of 7:02.12. The relay team of Katarina Milutinovich, Megan Barnes, Reagan Osborne and Chloe Cheng broke the second school record of the session. The previous record had been standing since 2016.

On the men’s side, the Tigers finished in eighth place with a time of 6:22.46.

The 2023 SEC Championships are available to stream on the ESPN app with each prelim and final session being housed on SECN+. Live stats for the meet’s entirety can be found on MeetMobile. Live results on the diving side can be accessed at divemeets.com, which updates after each individual dive.

ORDER OF EVENTS (All Times Central)
Wednesday, February 15
9:30 a.m.: Swimming Prelims
12:30 p.m.: Diving Prelims
5:30 p.m.: S&D Finals

Thursday, February 16
9:30 a.m.: Swimming Prelims
12:30 p.m.: Diving Prelims
5:30 p.m.: S&D Finals

Friday, February 17
9:30 a.m.: Swimming Prelims
12:30 p.m.: Diving Prelims
5:30 p.m.: S&D Finals

Saturday, February 18
9:30 a.m.: Swimming Prelims
12:30 p.m.: Diving Prelims
5:30 p.m.: S&D Finals