Jessica Danielle is the creator of the Player Perspective sports blog.

Over the years the number of Olympic swimming events has been retooled quite a bit, but there are still too many races. I think it's time to make some changes again. In total, there are 34 events: 17 for men and 17 for women. Among those events are 5 individual freestyle races, 2 team freestyle races and 2 individual races for each swimming stroke (breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly) and 2 individual medleys.

Not only does the sheer number of events make it a hassle for fans to keep up with who won what, but it also results in an inordinate amount of opportunities for swimmers to medal. For those reasons, I question the need for competition in multiple distances in each stroke.

The number of swimming events makes it a hassle to keep up with who won what, and provides too many opportunities to medal.

I'd recommend eliminating the individual 100 meter races for each stroke and the 200-meter medley. I’d also get rid of four of the freestyle races but keep the 100 meter and 1500 meter (800 meter for women) and one of the relays. This structure reduces the total number of races for both men and women from 34 to 18 and has a corresponding effect on the number of qualifying events.

Fewer events would create greater competitive intensity because swimmers who hope to medal more than once must broaden their focus rather than gravitating toward a specialty. The changes would also make the medals more meaningful and better highlight the most talented swimmers. Fewer races could also open the door for more swimmers to emerge as stars rather than being lost in a sea of winning names – something that would generate interest and encourage more young people to pursue swimming as a sport.

An earlier version of this post included an incorrect reference to the 100 meter medley. The post has been revised.