Max Giuliani hunts unlikely medal in 200m freestyle final at 2024 Paris Games

After taking 10 weeks off his job at a fishing store to head to his first Olympics, Max Giuliani is now in the mix to deliver the most unexpected of medals in tonight’s 200m freestyle final in Paris.

If you believe in the Aussie underdog story, then fishing store attendant Max Giuliani is the one to get behind as he hunts an unlikely Olympic medal in the 200m freestyle final.

Every Olympic Games tosses up an unexpected great Aussie medal, a new name shot from oblivion into the spotlight with a sensational performance that defies the form guide.

Giuliani, the Gold Coast-based Tasmanian who had to tell his boss he needed 10 weeks off from his job at Anaconda to even attend the Olympics, is the leading contender to be that story.

Promising to be the “big man” and not get overawed by the occasion of an Olympic final in his first ever Australian swim team, Giuliani rocketed into medal calculations with a stunning all-or-nothing semi-final swim to qualify fifth fastest for the final.

Romanian teen superfreak David Popovici was fastest man into the final in 1:44.53 and looms as the one to beat, but after that there is a blanket finish with Britain’s Duncan Scott (1:44.94), USA’s Luke Hobson (1:45.19), Germany’s 400m Olympic gold medallist Lukas Martens (1:45.36) and Giuliani (1:45.37) all within half a second.

Giuliani won’t die wondering in Monday night’s final, knowing he swam a faster time at the Queensland state titles in December last year and he has the capacity to go even faster if he can put the perfect race together.

Max Giuliani has come from nowhere to make the 200m freestyle final. Picture: Adam Head

“Awesome first Olympics and now I’m going into my first final which is amazing,” he said.

“100% I think it’s anyone’s race. I mean, on paper, it looks like David is the one to beat but anything can happen.

“I’m a much better swimmer than I was when I went 1:44 in December so hopefully I can put it all together tomorrow and show everyone how hard I’ve worked and hopefully reap the rewards for it.

“I can’t get left behind by those boys otherwise I’m never going to catch them.

“I mean, my back end is pretty good, but it’s not that good.

“I’m gonna have to come back in a 50-point, which is very, very difficult to do. And when you go out the item 52.1, it’s just not feasible. I want to be out there in the middle. So I gotta get after it.”

Do you think he can do it? Picture: Adam Head

Giuliani will start the race in lane two and while he benefited from trying to keep up with the early speed of Popovici in his semi-final, the final will require a blinkered approach and stepping up his confidence levels to know he can match the big dogs of the pool.

“If you walk into the marshalling room like I don’t know, kind of hunched over and sad you’ve already lost,” he said.

“You gotta really fully believe in yourself and be the big man and back yourself even if you’re not going to beat those guys.

“You’ve got to think that every day of the week. If you don’t back yourself you set yourself up for failure so you gotta get out there and be the man and act like the man.

“It’s all about staying in your own lane, but you’ve got to focus on your process and what your coach tells you to do. If you don’t do that you kind of set yourself up for failure.

“So you really have got to prepare and stick to that race plan no matter what.”

Originally published as Max Giuliani hunts unlikely medal in 200m freestyle final at 2024 Paris Games