SWIMMING: Madi Wilson and Emily Seebohm will be chasing a historic gold medal in the women’s 100m backstroke tonight while Mitch Larkin is aiming to become the first Australian in 56 years to claim the men’s 100m backstroke crown at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in Rio.

While Australia boasts a proud history of Olympic success in the pool, gold in the 100m men’s and women’s backstroke events has proven elusive and tonight’s finals again shape as some of the most hotly contested on the Rio Olympic program.

Australia has never won gold in the women’s 100m backstroke in Olympic history, while the last Australian to win gold in the men’s 100m backstroke was David Theile at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games.

Theile, who also won gold at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, is the only Australian to win the event.

Tonight looms as Australia’s best ever chance to end that drought.

Seebohm is the current world champion and Olympic record holder. Wilson is the world championship silver medallist.

But the dynamic duo must overcome a world class field, including American Kathleen Baker, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, Denmark’s Mie Nielsen and China’s Yuanhui Fu, to win gold in a race in which just 0.51 of a second covered the field in the semi-finals.

Wilson was an impressive winner of her semi-final but knows tonight’s final will be an even tougher challenge.

“It was tough but Bohly (coach Michael Bohl) told me to get in there and race the girls next to me and that’s what I did,” Wilson said of her semi-final win.

“I think it will be a very fast final … I can’t wait to get in there and put together a good race.”

Seebohm was a little sluggish in her semi-final, finishing third behind Wilson and qualifying seventh for the final.

But the London 2012 silver medallist said she had plenty in the tank and will just need to better execute her skills in the final.

“I think my skills were probably what let it down for me [in the semi], just being a little bit more nervous than I should have been and then not really hitting my skills as hard as I could,” Seebohm said.

“My dive was a bit sloppy and I definitely know my turn was, too.

“It will be a bit easier [tonight], just because I will have had the morning off, so I feel like I will have a bit extra.”

Larkin enters tonight’s final as both the 100m and 200m backstroke world champion but, like Seebohm and Wilson, he faces a world class field in which the top five qualifiers for the final were separated by just 0.34 of a second.

“I know it is going to be a close race,” said Larkin, who produced a comfortable swim in the semis to finish second behind France’s Camille Lacourt.

“The Americans [David Plumber and Ryan Murphy] probably have a little bit more speed than I do but hopefully I can stay close to them in that first 50.

“I think it will come down to who can handle their nerve, keep a clear head and execute their skills.”

Tonight’s finals begin at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium at 22:00 (11:00 AEST Tuesday, 9 August).

David Taylor

olympics.com.au