Olympics-Swimming-Tight schedule prompts Douglass to prioritise breaststroke and medley

By Rohith Nair

PARIS (Reuters) - If Kate Douglass had her way she would be competing for more medals at the Olympics but the American said she was forced to pull out of the women's 100 metres freestyle as the final and the 200 breaststroke semi-finals were in the same session.

Douglass has already won silver in the 4×100m freestyle relay and is set to compete in the 200m Individual Medley.

The 22-year-old was third-fastest in the 200 breaststroke heats but schedule constraints and the associated fatigue if she competed in multiple events in a session forced her hand in skipping the 100m freestyle heats a day earlier.

"I did the double, the 100 free and two breaststrokes, at the (U.S.) trials and I honestly just didn't want to do it again," Douglass told reporters on Wednesday.

"I feel like it took a lot out of me, I really loved the two breaststrokes. So I decided just to focus on that... But yeah, if there wasn't a double, I would totally do both."

Apart from the relay, Douglass has had to wait for the fifth day to take part in her individual events and the 22-year-old said she could not wait to dive into the water when her event came around.

"I've gone pretty antsy just sitting around, so I was excited just to race this morning. A 200 brusher prelims, I feel is always pretty chill, at least for me. So I feel like that was a great morning," she said.

"I always feel pretty good about all of them (strokes). I feel like it's not like there's one that's feeling better than the other right now.

"So I'm excited about this race and then I'll be ready to move on to the IM."

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Paris; Editing by Christian Radnedge)