2015 FINA World Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

On the 3rd morning of the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, we’ll see American Kevin Cordes making his World Championships premiere in the 50 breast. The event will feature the 100 breast champion, Great Britain’s Adam Peaty, and the official World Record holder in this event, South Africa’s Cameron Van Der Burgh.

The women’s 200 free prelims are locked and loaded with incredible talent. Katie Ledecky and Katinka Hosszu each have a new World Record to their name already at this meet. They’ll challenge World Record holder Federica Pellegrini and defending World Champion Missy Franklin.

Singapore’s rising star Joseph Schooling will take a crack at the men’s 200 fly, as will American Tom Shields. The defending World and Olympic Champion Chad le Clos is a major player in this event.

Sun Yang will look to defend his 800 free title to close the session, as the men vie for spots in the final.

2015 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Pool swimming: Sunday, August 2nd – Sunday, August 9th
• Prelims 9:30AM/Finals 5:30PM (Local Time)
• Kazan Arena Stadium
• Kazan, Russia (UTC+3 hours)
• Full coverage
• All sport medal tables
• Live stream (Universal Sports)
• Schedule and Results

MEN’S 50M BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• 2013 World Champion: Cameron Van Der Burgh, RSA – 26.77
• World Record: 26.67 – Cameron Van Der Burgh, RSA – 2009
• Championship Record: 26.67 – Cameron Van Der Burgh, RSA – 2009

Cameron Van Der Burgh opened the session in an exciting fashion, chasing the world record line in prelims this morning. He got his fingers to the wall in front of it, finishing at 26.62. It was a new World Record, under the official record of 26.67 he set in 2009 and tying Adam Peaty’s unconfirmed record from last summer.

Van Der Burgh set himself in position to lead, but there are multiple men who can realistically break that record in semis or finals. It looked like it might not last very long at all, as Slovenia’s Damir Dugonjic narrowly missed it in the next heat up at 26.70. Peaty responded in the final heat with a 26.68 to sit in between those 2 headed into semis.

American Kevin Cordes fared well in that heat with Peaty, setting a new personal best by 4 tenths. He was also under the 27 mark at 26.93 to rank 4^th overall in his first swim of the meet. That’s just .07 away from Mark Gangloff’s American Record of 26.86 from the 2009 World Championships.

Brazil moved 2 swimmers through to the semis with Felipe Franca Silva (27.10) at 5^th and Felipe Lima (27.37) at 8^th. Slovenia also got 2 in with Dugonjic’s teammate Peter John Stevens (27.46) coming in 12^th.

Christian Sprenger (27.54) narrowly missed the semifinals, as did American Brendan McHugh (27.62), at 17^th and 18^th respectively.

Top 16: Van Der Burgh, RSA; Dugonjic, SLO;  Peaty, GBR; Cordes, USA; Silva, BRA; Siladi, SRB; Snyders, NZL; Lima, BRA; Feldwehr, GER; Perez-Dortona, FRA; Prigoda, RUS; Stevens, SLO; Balandin, KAZ; Toniato, ITA; Mustafin, UZB; Titenis, LTU

Results

WOMEN’S 200M FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• 2013 World Champion: Missy Franklin, USA – 1:54.81
• World Record: 1:52.98 – Federica Pellegrini, ITA – 2009
• Championship Record: 1:52.98 – Federica Pellegrini, ITA – 2009

The heat 5 battle between Katinka Hosszu and Katie Ledecky was the highlight of the 200 free prelims. Ledecky lead from start to finish, clocking the only sub-1:56 with a 1:55.82. with Hosszu trailed by just a few tenths the whole way. They’ll take lane 4 in their respective semifinal heats. China’s Duo Shen finished behind them to take 4^th after prelims.

Defending World Champion Missy Franklin followed that up by winning the next heat to take the 3^rd seed. She was just a tenth slower than Hosszu in 1:56.42. Also in that heat, World Record holder Federica Pellegrini grabbed the 6^th spot for semis with a 1:57.34.

In the final heat, Russia’s Veronika Popova (1:57.18) took the win in the final heat in front of her home crowd. Australia’s Emma McKeon (1:57.78), France’s Charlotte Bonnet (1:57.99), and Netherlands’ Femke Heemskerk (1:58.10) will also move through to semis from that heat.

Sweden’s Michelle Coleman grabbed 10^th in 1:58.11, one spot ahead of Great Britain’s Siobhan Marie O’Connor (1:58.27).

Top 16: Ledecky, USA; Hosszu, HUN; Franklin, USA; Shen, CHN; Popova, RUS; Pellegrini, ITA; McKeon, AUS; Bonnet, FRA; Heemskerk, NED; Coleman, SWE; O’Connor, GBR; Guo, CHN; Andreeva, RUS; Igarashi, JPN; Rangelova, BUL; Lyrio, BRA

Results

MEN’S 200M BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• 2013 World Champion: Chad le Clos, RSA – 1:54.32
• World Record: 1:51.51 – Michael Phelps, USA – 2009
• Championship Record: 1:51.51 – Michael Phelps, USA – 2009

After earning a medal in an impressive showing in the 50 fly yesterday, Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh was the dominant performer in the men’s 200 fly prelims. He posted a world leading 1:53.71 to overtake Denmark’s Viktor Bromer (1:54.47) on the back half. The two are now the top seeds for semifinals.

American Tom Shields also qualified for semis out of that heat, sitting 9^th at 1:56.12. He beat out South Africa’s Sebastian Rousseau (1:56.29) for 3^rd. Singapore’s Joseph Schooling was the next man to the wall. His 1:56.85 was good enough to qualify him 13^th.

The race between Japan’s Daiya Seto (1:55.60) and Poland’s Jan Switkowski (1:55.78) came down to the wire in heat 4 to qualify them 3^rd and 4^th.

Brazil’s Leonardo De Deus topped team USA’s Tyler Clary, 1:55.83 to 1:55.86 for 5^th and 6^th overall. Next to De Deus, defending World Champion Chad Le Clos cut it very close in the qualifying rounds. His 1:56.92 tied him for 4^th in that heat with Australia’s Grant Irvine, just 14^th after prelims.

Top 16: Cseh, HUN; Bromer, DEN; Seto, JPN; Switkowski, POL; Seto, JPN; Clary, USA; Sakai, JPN; Morgan, AUS; Shields, USA; Dmitriadis, GRE; Rousseau, RSA; Croenen,, BEL; Schooling, SIN; Le Clos, RSA; Irvine, AUS; Kunert, GER

Results

MEN’S 800M FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• 2013 World Champion: Sun Yang, CHN – 7:41.36
• World Record: 7:32.12 – Zhang Lin, CHN – 2009
• Championship Record: 7:32.12 – Zhang Lin, CHN – 2009

Defending World Champion Sun Yang easily won the first circle seeded heat. His 7:47.87 gave him a commanding lead over Canada’s Ryan Cochrane (7:50.28). That’s just off his 2015 best of 7:47.58 from Chinese Nationals.

The final heat was much faster and much more competitive. USA’s Connor Jaeger and Italy’s Greg Paltrinieri made it a 2 man race for the win. Jaeger came through at the finish in a world leading time of 7:44.77 over Paltrinieri, who took 2^nd overall in 7:45.15.

That swim for Jaeger is just a second off the American record of 7:43.60. The owner of that record, Michael McBroom, qualified 4^th for finals in 7:47.05. He came into the wall just behind Great Britain’s Stephen Milne (7:46.41).

Australia’s Mack Horton will get his first World Championship final swim in this event. His 7:47.08 landed him 6^th. Poland’s Jacek Wojdak (7:48.95) will make his second finals appearance.

In an early heat, Norway’s Henrik Christiansen set a Norwegian record in 7:49.70 to qualify 8^th. Cochrane missed the final, bumped to 10^th after the final heat. That means Yang was the only swimmer from the first circle seeded heat to qualify for finals.

Top 8: Jaeger, USA; Paltrinieri, ITA; Milne, GBR; McBroom, USA; Horton, AUS; Yang, CHN; Wojdak, POL; Christiansen, NOR

Results