Bet on Swimming at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Swimming Events

All of the Olympic swimming events take part in a 50m pool, with the exception of the 10k marathon, which takes place in open water. The pool events vary according to length and swimming style as follows:

• 50m – Freestyle
• 100m – Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly
• 200m – Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Medley
• 400m – Freestyle, Medley
• 800m – Freestyle
• 1500m – Freestyle
• 100m Relay – Free Style, Medley
• 200m Relay – Freestyle
• 10km Marathon – Freestyle

There are men’s and women’s versions of all of these events, and there is also a mixed 4x100 medley relay that was introduced for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The race features two men and two women, and each country can pick a swimmer for each stroke.

General Considerations for Betting on Olympic Swimming

While your betting strategy will depend somewhat on the specific event, there are some general things that you should always consider, regardless of the event.

To begin with, you should always keep in mind how important the Olympics are for swimmers. While the Olympics are not the most prestigious events for some sports, such as football, the opposite is true of swimming, and every competitive swimmer dreams of winning Olympic gold. Remember this when researching the individual swimmers and looking at their times. Take a note of their all-time personal bests and then look at their season bests. You can assume that most of them will be aiming to peak around the Olympics.

You also need to make sure that you are aware of any changes to the rules that may have been introduced. For example, there are quite regular changes to the FINA swimwear regulations. Some options have been banned, such as the polyurethane swimsuits that were developed for the 2008 Olympics. Other rules that have changed over the years relate to starts, caps, and other elements of the event. Most rule changes will have a direct effect on the outcome, so make sure that check them before placing bets.

While there are a few very notable exceptions, many swimmers peak earlier in their careers than in other sports, and very often, there are relatively young Olympic swimming champions. This means that you need to keep an eye on the emerging youngsters. Looking at past results, most gold medal winners are in their early 20s; however, some teenagers also do extremely well, such as Kyoko Iwasaki who won a title when she was just 14 years old. You can look at other major competitions to see if there are any young stars. For example, if a swimmer has done particularly well at the World Championships, you can expect them to put in a strong showing at the Olympics. There are also youth competitions that you can look at, the US Trials and various other domestic competitions. If you spot an unknown youngster who you think will perform particularly well, you may also find that they have relatively long odds, giving you the chance to land a big payout.

Researching Individual Olympic Swimming Events

The majority of Olympic swimming events are individual, so it is important that you know how to research them properly.

The most obvious place to start is by looking at each swimmer’s previous achievements. They can often give you a good basis to build upon when making predictions. Be sure to look at their personal records and their season’s best times. However, this is a little simplistic; there are more factors to be taken into consideration.

For example, when did they achieve their personal best? If it was a few years before the Olympics and they haven’t come closer in the last few seasons, then there is a chance that the swimmer may have peaked and won’t achieve a similar time again. You should also think about where the personal best was achieved. Some swimming competitions take place in 25m pools while there are other factors that might have an impact, such as whether it was a big international competition or a smaller local event. Of course, the swimmer’s age is also very important; a young athlete may improve while an older athlete may be past their best. There are other factors that will influence a swimmer’s development, such as who trains them, the funding available to them, and so on. This can make a big difference to how they perform on the Olympic stage. All of these things will help you understand how important the personal best times are and combined with the swimmers’ latest achievements and season’s best times, will give you a good idea of their current form.

When doing your research you will notice that two types of swimmers win the majority of Olympic swimming events. The first are amazingly talented individuals that excel in numerous styles, for instance Michael Phelps. However, there are also specialists; swimmers that will focus on one or two types of events and who are particularly dangerous in those events. They are not distracted by trying to win multiple medals and they will not be tired out by competing in multiple events. This is a huge advantage and one that should never be underestimated.

In a similar vein, you should always keep the Olympic schedule in mind. Many swimmers will be taking part in multiple events and this can cause its own problems. The schedule may include different disciplines on the same day, giving the swimmers very little time to rest, which can be hugely detrimental to even the best athletes’ performance.

You also need to think about the swimming season as a whole. The Olympics are extremely important to swimmers, so the athletes will be following a careful preparation process designed to ensure that they peak at the right time. Therefore, you need to try to analyse the cycle of each athlete in the build-up to the Olympics. There are a few things that can affect this, the most obvious of which is injuries. Even a minor injury can have a knock-on effect many months later. Ideally, you want to see the swimmer putting in good performances in all of the major events of the Olympic year. They don’t have to win everything, but they should be among the top performers. You should also check for other distractions, such as personal issues, sponsorship problems, and other non-swimming factors. Both the news and social media are good sources of this kind of information. If you see that a swimmer’s preparations have been disrupted, then there is a chance he/she will underperform at the Olympics.

Betting on Swimming Olympic Relay Races

There are a number of relay races at the Olympics, three for men, three for women and a mixed race. These races require slightly different research to the individual events, as you need to consider the team as a whole.

There are a number of factors that you can look at. One of the most obvious ones is the overall talent level. There are four members of a relay team and if one of them is a significantly weaker swimmer than the others, then it will severely hamper them. You need to look at teams that have four very good swimmers. If one of those swimmers happens to be a superstar then it can give the rest of the team a significant boost. Often you will see the presence of a superstar spur lesser swimmers onto greater results.

You should also consider the team strategies. While in theory it shouldn’t matter what order the swimmers go in, in practice this is not the case. It is important that each swimmer be in the right place. For instance, starting with the weakest team member could be a mistake as the remaining swimmers may be discouraged if they are behind once it is their turn. Of course, you also need to consider the individual schedules of the team members; if they have already raced that day then they may be tired.

Olympic Swimming Betting Markets

There are not many different betting markets on swimming races, usually there are just a number of outrights available. The most basic is betting on who will win the gold medal in each event. Simply pick a swimmer and if they win, then you win your bet. You may also be able to bet on a swimmer to win silver or gold.

Very often, there will also be proposition bets for you to take advantage of. These come in many different forms and can be a lot of fun. For instance, you may be able to bet on a world record being set or on the nationality of the gold medal winner, which country will win the most medals, which swimmer will win the most medals, and so on.

Be sure to take a careful look at all the available betting markets, as you never know what you may find. Do some careful research, and with a bit of luck, you will be placing many successful bets.