Katie Ledecky will swim for gold at the 2021 Olympic Games – here’s how to watch the event on NBC

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• Tokyo Olympic swimming events started on July 24 and conclude July 31.
• Swimming events will air on NBC and USA Network via live TV streaming services.
• On the USA team, expectations are high for Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel.

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Swimming events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics started on July 24 and continue daily until July 31. Live coverage will be broadcast on NBC and the USA network.

The USA team has several strong competitors in women’s and men’s divisions, but all eyes will be on Katie Ledecky when she gets in the water. Ledecky already has an impressive collection of five gold medals and one silver medal coming into the Tokyo Olympics. If she snags three more gold medals in Tokyo, Ledecky will tie swimming legend, Jenny Thompson, as the winningest female US Olympian of all time.

In the men’s division, Caeleb Dressel is expected to lead the pack after his impressive showing at the 2019 FINA World Championships. Dressel earned two gold medals during the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

During the first three days of swimming events, the USA team earned three gold medals. In an unexpected victory, 17-year-old Alaskan Lydia Jacoby took home the gold medal for her performance in the women’s 100m breaststroke. For the men’s swimming division, Americans earned a top podium spot in the 400m individual medley and the 4x100m freestyle relay.

Katie Ledecky posted the fastest qualifying times in 200m and 1500m freestyle, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. On July 27, the women’s finals for both events will air live during prime time coverage on NBC.

How to watch Olympic swimming

Live broadcasts of Olympic swimming events are split between two channels: USA and NBC. For both men’s and women’s events, you can watch the preliminary heats on USA and the finals on NBC. Swimming heats will air in the mornings starting around 6 a.m. ET, and final races will air later in the evening during primetime coverage.

If you already have access to NBC and USA through a pay-TV provider, you can also stream every swimming event live via the NBC Sports app or NBCOlympics.com.

If you don’t have cable, you can get NBC and USA through a variety of live TV streaming services. Sling TV is the cheapest subscription service for watching all the Olympic swimming events. New members can get their first month for just $10 (regularly $35). NBC is only offered in select markets, however, so be sure to check Sling’s website for availability first.

FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV are additional live streaming services with access to both channels for watching Olympic swimming, but these options are more expensive at $65/month each.

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Viewers who can’t tune into events live can stay caught up on the action by catching highlights and primetime coverage on NBC. For free swimming highlights and videos from additional Olympic events, you can download the Peacock app or visit NBCOlympics.com.

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Men’s Olympic swimming schedule

July 27

Event	Time	Channel
100m Freestyle (Heats)	6:02 a.m. ET	USA
200m Breaststroke (Heats)	6:50 a.m. ET	USA
4x200m Freestyle Relay (Heats)	7:17 a.m. ET	USA
800m Freestyle (Heats)	7:37 a.m. ET	USA
100m Freestyle (Semifinals)	9:30 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Butterfly (Final)	9:49 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Breaststroke (Semifinals)	10:21 p.m. ET	NBC
4x200m Freestyle Relay (Final)	11:26 p.m. ET	NBC

July 28

Event	Time	Channel
200m Backstroke (Heats)	6:25 a.m. ET	USA
200m Individual Medley (Heats)	7:15 a.m. ET	USA
800m Freestyle (Final)	9:30 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Breaststroke (Final)	9:44 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Backstroke (Semifinals)	10:04 p.m. ET	NBC
100m Freestyle (Final)	10:37 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Individual Medley (Semifinals)	11:08 p.m. ET	NBC

July 29

Event	Time	Channel
100m Butterfly (Heats)	6:50 a.m. ET	USA
4x100m Medley Relay, Mixed (Heats)	7:28 a.m. ET	USA
100m Butterfly (Semifinals)	9:30 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Backstroke (Final)	9:50 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Individual Medley (Final)	10:16 p.m. ET	NBC

July 30

Event	Time	Channel
50m Freestyle (Heats)	6:02 a.m. ET	USA
1500m Freestyle (Heats)	6:48 a.m. ET	USA
4x100m Medley Relay (Heats)	8:50 a.m. ET	USA
100m Butterfly (Final)	9:30 p.m. ET	NBC
50m Freestyle (Semifinals)	10:11 p.m. ET	NBC
4x100m Medley Relay, Mixed (Final)	10:43 p.m. ET	NBC

July 31

Event	Time	Channel
50m Freestyle (Final)	9:30 p.m. ET	NBC
1500m Freestyle (Final)	9:44 p.m. ET	NBC
4x100m Medley Relay (Final)	10:36 p.m. ET	NBC

Women’s Olympic swimming schedule

July 27

Event	Time	Channel
200m Butterfly (Heats)	6:28 a.m. ET	USA
200m Freestyle (Final)	9:41 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Butterfly (Semifinals)	9:57 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Individual Medley (Final)	10:45 p.m. ET	NBC
1500m Freestyle (Final)	10:54 p.m. ET	NBC

July 28

Event	Time	Channel
100m Freestyle (Heats)	6:02 a.m. ET	USA
200m Breaststroke (Heats)	6:52 a.m. ET	USA
4x200m Freestyle Relay (Heats)	7:34 a.m. ET	USA
100m Freestyle (Semifinals)	9:53 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Butterfly (Final)	10:28 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Breaststroke (Semifinals)	10:54 p.m. ET	NBC
4x200m Freestyle Relay (Final)	11:31 p.m. ET	NBC

July 29

Event	Time	Channel
800m Freestyle (Heats)	6:02 a.m. ET	USA
200m Backstroke (Heats)	7:08 a.m. ET	USA
4x100m Medley Relay, Mixed (Heats)	7:28 a.m. ET	USA
200m Breaststroke (Final)	9:41 p.m. ET	NBC
100m Freestyle (Final)	9:59 p.m. ET	NBC
200m Backstroke (Semifinals)	10:35 p.m. ET	NBC

July 30

Event	Time	Channel
50m Freestyle (Heats)	6:24 a.m. ET	USA
4x100m Medley Relay (Heats)	8:36 a.m. ET	USA
200m Backstroke (Final)	9:37 p.m. ET	NBC
800m Freestyle (Final)	9:46 p.m. ET	NBC
50m Freestyle (Semifinals)	10:32 p.m. ET	NBC
4x100m Medley Relay, Mixed (Final)	10:43 p.m. ET	NBC

July 31

Event	Time	Channel
50m Freestyle (Final)	9:37 p.m. ET	NBC
4x100m Medley Relay (Final)	10:36 p.m. ET	NBC