Swimming: De Bruijn, Alshammar in limelight

Sydney: Analysis of women's events in the eight-day Olympic swimming programme, which begins at the Homebush Bay pool on Saturday (*denotes defending champion):

50 metres freestyle - Reigning Olympic champion Amy Van Dyken (US)*; world record Inge de Bruijn (Netherlands) 24.39 seconds.

Inge de Bruijn equalled the 1994 world record of China's former world champion Le Jingyi and then twice lowered the mark, all in a 17-day spell this summer. But Sweden's Therese Alshammar, who broke Le's 50 and 100 freestyle short-course world records last December, is a mere 0.05 seconds slower, so the Dutchwoman will not have it all her own way.

Americans Dara Torres, competing in her fourth Olympics at 33, and Amy Van Dyken, the defending champion, will add further spice to the one-length sprint.

100 freestyle (OC Le Jingyi (China); WR De Bruijn 53.80) - De Bruijn lowered Le Jingyi's world record in May and is inevitably favourite but American world champion Jenny Thompson and Alshammar will test her to the limit.

Le Jingyi is not defending her title and world bronze medallist Shan Ying was among the 27 athletes, including four swimmers, who were dropped from the Chinese team after some failed blood tests.

200 freestyle (OC Claudia Poll (Costa Rica)*; WR Franziska van Almsick (Germany) 1:56.78) - Australia's Susan O'Neill leads the world this year by more than half a second, with defending champion Claudia Poll of Costa Rica second and the rest some way back. Germany's Franziska van Almsick, silver medallist in 1992 and 1996, had a lean time after her surprise defeat by Poll in Atlanta but is now swimming better as she takes one more tilt at gold.

400 freestyle (OC Michelle Smith-de Bruin (Ireland); WR Janet Evans (US) 4:03.85) - Michelle Smith-de Bruin, toast of Ireland after she won three golds and a bronze at the 1996 Olympics, fell from grace when she was found to have tampered with a urine sample and was banned for four years. Germany's Hannah Stockbauer, European champion in 1999, has set the pace this year ahead of Americans Diana Munz and Brooke Bennett.

800 freestyle (OC Brooke Bennett (US)*; WR Janet Evans (US) 8:16.22) - Brooke Bennett has every chance of retaining her title and matching the double achieved in 1988 and 1992 by fellow American Janet Evans, whose 1989 world record still stands. Bennett is nearly five seconds faster than second-ranked compatriot Kaitlin Sandeno.

Swiss European champion Flavia Rigamonti and Stockbauer are the best bets to foil a US one-two.

100 backstroke (OC Beth Botsford (US); WR He Cihong (China) 1:00.16). Mai Nakamura, fourth in Atlanta, won the 1999 world short-course title and will be favourite to win a close contest with Germans Antje Buschschulte and Sandra Voelker, Russian-born Nina Zhivanevskaya of Spain and her own Japanese team mate Noriko Inada.

200 backstroke (OC Krisztina Egerszegi (Hungary); WR Egerszegi 2:06.62) - Four years ago Krisztina Egerszegi became only the second swimmer to win the same Olympic title three times in succession, following Australia's Dawn Fraser (100 freestyle).

The elegant Hungarian retired after Atlanta and her successor is unlikely to be so quick. Zhivanevskaya, winner of three European titles in July, leads the way this year but Japanese pair Miki Nakao and Tomoko Hagiwara will test her resolve.

100 breaststroke (OC Penny Heyns (South Africa)*; WR Heyns 1:06.52) - Penny Heyns set 11 world records last year but has been out of the limelight this year, building up for the defence of the two Olympic breaststroke crowns she won in Atlanta.

Brash American Megan Quann and Japanese ex-world short-course champion Masami Tanaka will lead the challenge to the South African's 100 title.

200 breaststroke (OC Heyns*; WR Heyns 2:23.64) - Tanaka, world silver medallist Kristy Kowal of the US and Hungarian world champion Agnes Kovacs are the main danger to Heyns in the 200.

100 butterfly (OC Amy Van Dyken (US); WR Inge de Bruijn (Netherlands) 56.64) - De Bruijn twice lowered the world record this year and is nearly a second faster than Americans Dara Torres and Jenny Thompson, the world champion. Difficult for anyone else to figure on the medal podium.

200 butterfly (OC Susan O'Neill (Australia)*; WR O'Neill 2:05.81) - O'Neill has not been beaten in this event since she finished third behind two Chinese swimmers at the 1994 world championships in Rome.

She gave herself a further boost by breaking the 1981 world record of American Mary T Meagher at the Australian trials in the Olympic pool in May. Team mate Petria Thomas, silver medallist behind O'Neill in Atlanta where they foiled Michelle Smith-de Bruin's bid for a fourth Olympic gold, is the likely runner-up once again.

200 individual medley (OC Smith-de Bruin; WR Wu Yanyan (China) 2:09.72 - World champion Wu Yanyan was suspended earlier this year after failing a dope test. Romanian veteran Beatrice Caslaru and Ukraine's Yana Klochkova shared the European title in a rare dead-heat in the year's fastest time but Japan's Tomoko Hagiwara has been almost as quick this year.

400 individual medley (OC Smith-de Bruin; WR Chen Yan (China) 4:34.79) - World champion Chen Yan has been troubled by illness and indifferent form and has been swimming way outside her world record time. Japan's Yasuko Tajima and European champion Klochkova are the fastest so far this year.

4x100 freestyle relay (OC United States*; WR China 3:37.91) - The Americans, with Thompson, Torres and Van Dyken, should win for the third successive time. Germany, Sweden, Australia and Britain will also be in the medal hunt.

4x200 freestyle relay (OC United States*; WR East Germany 7:55.47) - The Americans are favourites, with Australia, Germany and Britain challenging.4x100 medley relay (OC United States*; WR China 4:01.67) - USA again, with Australia, Sweden, Japan and Britain in the picture.



(c) Reuters Limited.