Ryan Murphy 'not quite the same' in sixth-place finish in Men's 200M Backstroke semifinal

Ryan Murphy finished sixth place during the Men’s 200M Backstroke semifinal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Wednesday, leaving the four-time Olympic Gold Medalist out of Thursday’s final.

The former Cal Berkeley star finished with a 1:56.62, 0.056 seconds later than Switzerland’s Roman Mityukov. He was attempting to become the first swimmer to medial in both the 100M and 200M Backstroke for a third-straight time.

Dan Hicks, who was on the call for the semifinal race with three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines, reiterated a point about Murphy his fellow broadcaster immediately following the race.

“Rowdy [Gaines], you alluded to it,” Hicks told Gaines after the race. “You’ve got a great eye and have proved that through all these Olympic Games. You knew that it just wasn’t quite the same Ryan Murphy that we’ve seen. He battled, but he’s on the outside looking in as [Hungary’s] Hubert Kos, the guy he trains with every day, will lead the way into the final metal chase tomorrow.”

Hicks noted that Murphy’s release on the final lap pushed him deeper into the water than the rest of the field, leading to his eventual sixth-place finish in his heat. He finishes in 10th place overall in the semifinal round, two spots off from qualifying for the final race.

Team USA still has a chance to earn a medal in the event, however, as Keaton Jones‘ 1:56:39 semifinal time was good enough to earn his way into the final. The final race is set for 2:38 p.m. ET and will air live on Peacock.

Murphy is another favorite that won’t be swimming in the final race on Thursday. Previously, Great Britain’s Luke Greenbank was disqualified from the competition after he was found out to have dove underwater beyond the 15-meter mark at the start of the race, which is illegal in Olympic swimming. Greenbank said that he was “absolutely gutted,” and that the whole situation is “really annoying,” given that he feels like he’s in good form.

It’s one thing to be disqualified after swimming — but it’s another to completely miss the event entirely. That’s exactly what happened with Chinese swimmer Xu Jiayu, who didn’t show up for his semifinal heat on Wednesday. He was the No. 6 seed after finishing with a 1:55.37 during his last time out.

On July 28, Jiayu won silver in the Men’s 100M Backstroke — a race in which Murphy earned a bronze finish.