Lucas Henveaux has qualified for the semi-finals of the 200m freestyle at the Paris Olympics, setting a new Belgian record of 1 minute and 46.04 seconds on Sunday.
After an early exit from the 400m, Henveaux bounced back, recording the third-fastest time of the preliminary heats. Of the 27 starters, he’s among the top 16 swimmers progressing to the next round.
The 23-year-old from Liège competed in the fourth and final heat. A final stretch sprint saw him secure second place in his race, behind Romania’s David Popovici who clocked the overall best time of 1:45.65. In the process, Henveaux broke his own Belgian record, previously set at 1:46.31 in Antwerp in April 2023.
The semi-finals are set to take place in the evening, starting at 20:46. To reach the finals, scheduled for Monday at 20:40, competitors must rank amongst the fastest eight.
Henveaux holds the Belgian records for the 200m, 400m (3:44.61) and 800m (7:52.10) freestyle. The 400m is his favoured event for Liège Swimming; however, he was eliminated in the preliminary heats for this event in Paris on Saturday. He placed fifth at the Doha World Championships for this distance in February.
Making his Olympic debut, Henveaux is also entered in the 800m freestyle at Paris 2024. The heats for this event start on Monday at 11:28.
